Behind-the-scenes videos are a great way to intrigue both customers and prospects. Ultimately, it’s a way to build a better connection between your brand and its audience. According to Forbes, 53% of customers say they are likely to buy from brands that are transparent on social media. So, maybe it’s time to mix up the polished social posts with real, authentic content that sparks interest in your followers.

What is behind-the-scenes (BTS) content?

It’s the proverbial drawing back of your brand’s curtain. It’s often casual in nature and shows the employees, the process, the struggles and the wins of your company. The key to BTS videos is to focus on capturing the raw everyday runnings of the business to create a connection between your brand and your followers.

7 Behind-the-Scenes Video Ideas

Mixing up your behind-the-scenes video ideas will keep your content fresh and exciting.

1. Capture the raw everyday

Customers want to feel connected to a brand— this is what creates customer retention. They want to see what supporting your business means for the people running and working within the brand. This also takes the pressure out of always having to create really professional content— which is also important but is definitely time-consuming.

Fortunately, having more raw content means that you’re more likely to be able to offer consistent content for your audience.

2. Give exciting updates

Sneak peeks are such a powerful way of getting followers excited about a new launch. Springing a launch on your audience without any build-up doesn’t create the same level of hype.

Giving updates into the process before the launch of a new product or service helps to increase engagement levels. That means your audience is primed to commit to a sale by the time launch day arrives.

3. Give a tour

You may look around your premise and wonder what people would find entertaining about a tour of the place. And yet, this is a valuable marketing tool that gives customers a close up of the dynamic of your brand.

4. Get creative with showing off!

Showcasing your products needs to be exciting— interesting transitions, music and creative backdrops make all the difference in how viewers perceive your product or service.

5. Have a Q and A or fire round

These are great because they’re quick to organise and tend to be a laugh. Oftentimes, it’s hard to come up with something to say and throwing a Q&A out there gives you a chance to connect with your viewers on a personal level. Alongside this, fire rounds are always a laugh.

Both video ideas are a great way to get a deeper sense of what your viewers want to know about your brand and what areas of your brand intrigues them. As the old adage goes— if you don’t ask, you’ll never know!

6. Follow the trends

The best way to achieve this is to follow brands that do this well. Moreover, try to find brand’s in different industries rather than simply hopping on the bandwagon of a competitor. Whether it’s a trending song or humorous insights into the struggles of running a business, this gives you a chance of reaching a new audience by appearing on people’s FYP (for you page).

7. Show the highs… and the lows

When you’re in the thick of running your business in the middle of a crisis, the last thing you might think of is to point a camera at it.

But that’s exactly what you should do!

Showcasing the struggles and the resilience of your business appeals to the humanity in your viewers. People admire brands that get through the hurdles. Brands that make mistakes but turn it around.

Every brand has these moments, but if you don’t share them, you’re missing a chance for your followers to see the human side of your brand, which helps create a loyal following.

Also, perfection is boring. If you only show the shiny front of your business online, your followers won’t connect to your content in the same way.

4. Have fun with it

Finally, don’t take your BTS marketing strategy too seriously. The only real pitfall when recording BTS videos is to take the brand too seriously.

Sprout Social found that 71% of consumers watch videos on social media to laugh.

Have a think about your brand and what they’d find entertaining— for instance, some might find that overly “silly” content off-putting, other demographics will find it amusing.

It might take a few goes to relax in front of the camera, but it’s always best to have a laugh and keep it natural. Behind-the-scenes content works best when it’s not rehearsed, otherwise, you’re not giving viewers a true insight into the workings and personality of the brand.

Looking to finally take control of your video marketing strategy?

VideoWorks revolve around telling stories, which is the easiest way for people to digest and remember information. Our craft is centred around engaging your audience, and the experience built up in our small team gives you the professional edge.

If you’re looking for a top-quality animation video for your business, contact us here at Videoworks London. We can have a chat about your video marketing goals.

You can also get in touch with our sister companies, VideoWorks Dublin or VideoWorks Belfast.

The post 7 Effective Behind-the-Scenes Video Ideas appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

A release form between a video production company and contributors to a video is a vital step in a video production process allowing us to use the footage and ultimately allowing our clients to use the footage. A large part of our work is with real people (as opposed to actors) and everyone has a right to privacy and control over the image and voice. Having a release form that has been sourced via professional legal services is vital in making sure permission to film, record and license the footage of a real person is vital.

What to include on a release form?

All contracts share the same characteristics and a release form is in no way different. A release form should include:

• the parties involved and their definition (company and participant)
• the duration and scope of the permission to use the footage
• the consideration given – how much is given to the participant?

What should a contributor release form look like?

 

COMPANY:                                        COMPANY NAME (the Company)

 

ADDRESS:                                        

 

 

TITLE:                                                

 

DATE OF FILMING:                           ___________________

 

NAME OF CONTRIBUTOR:              __________________________

 

EMAIL:                                               __________________

 

 

 

 

In consideration of the opportunity afforded me by the Company to participate in the video provisionally entitled“PROJECT NAME” (the video) and the payment of one pound (£1) (the receipt and sufficiency of which I hereby acknowledge) and for other good and valuable consideration, I hereby consent to the filming and recording of my contribution to and participation and performances in the Video, the nature and the content of which has been fully explained to me.

 

I hereby grant all the consents, if any, which the Company may require under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

 

I agree that the Company may transfer and assign this Release or all or any part of the Company’s rights under it.

 

The entire copyright throughout the world for all purposes in the Video and in all products of my services hereunder shall vest in belong and is hereby assigned by way of assignment of present and future copyright by me irrevocably to the Company its successors and assigns exclusively TO HOLD the same unto the Company absolutely throughout the world for the full period of copyright and all renewals and extensions thereof and thereafter in perpetuity and the Video and any part or constituent thereof and any such other products of my services hereunder may be altered adapted added to reproduced exhibited exploited dealt with or sold by the Company by any means whether now known or hereafter devised for any purpose whatsoever and whether my engagement hereunder is still subsisting or not.

 

I hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive to the fullest extent possible any so-called moral rights that may be deemed to be in existence in relation to my contributions to and my participation and performances in the Video and I hereby agree not to institute support maintain permit or support any action lawsuit or proceedings on the ground that the Video produced and/or exploited by the Company in any way constitutes an infringement of any moral rights. I acknowledge that the consideration set out above is inclusive of equitable remuneration for the purposes of any rental or lending rights vested in me.

 

I acknowledge and agree that my contributions towards and performances in the Video and my name and/or likeness may be advertised and used in exploitation of the Video at any time and from time to time throughout all countries of the world in perpetuity.

 

I acknowledge that the Company shall have no obligation to use my contribution or performance in the Video. I acknowledge that I am not entitled to a credit in relation to my contribution to the Video. I hereby waive any claim(s) I may have for loss of opportunity to enhance my reputation as a result of the non-inclusion of my performances and contributions in the Video.

 

I confirm, and warrant that I am entitled to enter unto this Release and I am not under any contractual or other obligations precluding one from doing so.

 

I undertake to keep confidential any matter which comes to my attention in relation to the Video.

 

 

 

AGREED AND ACCEPTED:  ____________________________

(Signature)

 

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Platform popularity means competition. This article is specifically for businesses looking to take actionable steps to build engagement, retention and loyal customers from Youtube.

7-step strategy to increasing visibility on Youtube

1. Get the basics right

Before posting another video or even uploading your first, it’s crucial to have an inviting channel page. Your channel art needs to be coherent, optimised for different devices.

A channel with noticeable and enticing outbound links has a higher chance of converting people to their site. With this article being geared towards businesses, we’re assuming that this will be the goal of your Youtube videos for most of you.

Your channel description doesn’t just give your viewers an insight into your business. Youtube’s algorithm has a better chance of placing your brand within the correct industry and hence suggest your videos to those most likely to connect with your content. So take time to craft channel descriptions, create outbound links and upload high-quality graphics.

2. Own your niche

With other social media channels, diversifying your feed tends to work in a business’s favour. With Youtube, it’s far better to laser focus on a niche. Again this isn’t about beating the algorithm but working with it.

Since Youtube is the leading platform for long-form video content, viewers commit a good chunk of time to a video. For a viewer to become a loyal follower of your page, you’ll need to focus on your niche so they can anticipate that new content from your channel is going to be engaging for them. It can be tempting to branch out, but your brand visibility should offer engaging, entertaining and informative content around your industry. If you’re a food tour in Dublin or a wine business in Clapton, know what your focus is.

3. Research and SEO

Rather than creating videos that you think will do well, you can take out the guesswork with some research.

You can purchase SEO plug-ins such as Keywords Everywhere that are reasonably priced. These will allow you to search for terms within Youtube and see the search volume per month. You can also filter the search based on country, which is handy if your content is location-specific.

If you’re new or have a small following on Youtube, search for terms that fit well into your brand but don’t have a massive search volume. The big channels in the industry will likely cover 1,000+ p/m search terms. Look for search terms that are more obscure and look at the quality of videos on the first page. Once you find a gap where the quality isn’t super or doesn’t quite fit the search term, it’s time to make a video!

4. Custom Thumbnails

It’s tempting to screenshot an image out of your footage. The problem is that the quality will never be as good as a photo. Have a think about what might draw in a viewer ad take time to lay out the scene. You can have an incredible video behind a mediocre thumbnail and caption, and it will never get the attention and views it deserves.

Peter McKinnon does a wonderful job of showing what viewers will get out of the next 10 minutes of viewing. If using text in your thumbnail, choose a consistent font, but play around with the layout. Font consistency combined with playful text placement keeps the thumbnails looking unique but still in-keeping with your brand.

5. Alert your followers

Drive traffic to your new video as soon as it’s uploaded.

Neil Patel divulges that, unlike traditional SEO, videos that perform well in the first 24 hours tend to do well for the life of the video. Have a trailer video prepared to upload to your other social channels.

Head onto your stories and discuss the ins and outs of the video, why you thought it was essential. Maybe let viewers in on the filming process. Essentially, get people curious enough about the Youtube video that they’ll click on your Youtube. Send an exciting email through your mailing. All of these elements will help boost that initial view, which will mean that the video will perform better in the long term.

6. Control traffic using cards and end screens

Cards and end screens help you have more of a say in what an engaged viewer will watch next.

Cards are clickable and interactive CTA’s that you can weave into your video. This can greatly influence view counts and promote other videos, or even playlists, in your channel.

Besides playlists, cards and end screens are two of the only tools that YouTubers can use to bypass the algorithm and directly influence our audience’s next choice.

Two top tips for cards:

• Limit the number of cards in a video as too many can disrupt the viewer’s enjoyment of the video.
• Place a card at the moment when there is a significant drop-off in viewership. This helps direct them to one of your videos that they might find more relevant or entertaining for them rather than leaving your channel altogether.

7. Add closed captions

YouTube has a simple feature for you to add closed captions to notate your video as it plays. Not only does this increase your video’s accessibility for those with hearing difficulties, but it’s also useful for those who don’t wish to play the video out loud.

The third benefit being Google and Youtube crawl these captions, which will help twitch the video’s SEO.

Engaging viewers through Youtube requires a blend of creativity but also a deep understanding of viewer behaviour and Youtube’s algorithm.

We’re a small team here at Videoworks London with a knack for storytelling and creating video content that connects people to your brand. If you’d like to collaborate on a Youtube video for your business, you can get in touch with us at Videoworks London.

The post Not Getting Views on your Business Youtube Channel? Here’s How to Fix it appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

So much so that it is a commonly-used verb – you’ll commonly hear holiday-goers responding on their stay, “We Airbnb-ed in Paris”. Getting a brand to rise to that kind of infamy, especially as it’s not a legacy brand such as Coca-cola or Levis, requires innovation and marketing. 

Exploring how Airbnb got to where it is today gives plenty of insight for a company looking to head in the same direction – up.

In 2014, Airbnb’s revenue was $0.4 billion; in 2019, that number had risen to $4.7 billion. Even during the pandemic, where most people were under governmental orders to restrict their movement, Airbnb’s revenue only fell to $3.4 billion.  

Looking to the massive surge in Airbnb users, the number in 2012 lay at 6 million. By 2018, that number became 150 million. 

Experiential marketing 

Airbnb rose to fame right when experiential marketing was becoming a really effective method of securing loyal customers. Before Airbnb, travel had already become the norm for most people in the western world. The number of long weekend flights away had risen. However, there was also the element of people have seen everything before. There isn’t much that sets most hotels apart. 

With Airbnb, however, lies a platform where ordinary people can let you into their corner of paradise. Some even offer to do local tours or break bread with their visitors. It’s the sense of getting off the beaten track and into an old farmhouse cottage, a geodesic dome or a boutique townhouse that oozes personality. 

All of this is bang in the centre of what people want now – experiences. 76% of consumers prefer to spend on experiences than on material items. On top of that, consumers identify “inspiration and meaning” as the most sought-after quality in brands, a 200 per cent increase from 2012 for this particular set of attributes. 

So perhaps it’s worth asking how your business can provide that experiential element – even if you’re selling products. Is there a way to give a more meaningful brand-customer interaction? Find untold secrets to brand awareness in this article.

Investment in video content

In 2019 Airbnb announced a video strategy that simply lets branding and entertainment drive profits. 

“The more we put content out there, the more you’re going to bring people to the platform,” says Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s senior vice president of global policy and communications, in the Reuters interview. 

Airbnb has partnered with Apple’s upcoming streaming service for their docuseries “Home,” which features unique homes around the world and the stories of the homeowners. Although the show’s premise isn’t new to viewers, viewers can book these locations through Airbnb.

Showcasing the most exciting properties reminds people why Airbnb is such an enticing marketplace. Video content can be a subtle way of inspiring and entertaining an audience rather than the obvious hard-sell. Using unconventional marketing campaigns helps to set Airbnb apart from the hotel industry and online travel agencies.

Previously Airbnb gambled with launching its own magazine. However print has been dwindling for years now, and there isn’t much interest in new magazines hitting the shelves. Digital, and video in particular, has been a much more effective strategy serving viewers their dream getaways – especially during a pandemic. 

Email Marketing

Airbnb saw this as a real opportunity to build a community among users and ran with it. Their emails are highly personalised, and this is largely down to the fact that they have regional teams on the ground rather than one marketing campaign for all of their users. 

Airbnb’s marketing campaigns, especially their referral campaigns, are highly successful. In the referrals, customers will receive an email offering a discount for both themselves and a new customer should they sign up using your link. A quick copy and paste of the link into Whatsapp, or just pressing the “share to Facebook” link makes for quick work and easy to share discounts for both parties. Paypal had a similar offer when they started and was the source of their surge in signups. It certainly worked for both these businesses.

Cross-selling

The most successful companies know how to showcase what a customer wants. When going on holidays, tourists will enjoy excursions, activities and experiences. Airbnb knew this and so set up Airbnb experiences – an easy to find tab on the Airbnb homepage.

Airbnb experiences are also shared on the page just before checkout. This simplifies the person’s holiday planning, making it more of an all-in-one process. Using data analytics to their advantages to provide a personalised booking process makes customers come back.

How can your company simplify life for your customers and cross-sell to increase their likelihood of becoming loyal customers? 

Influencer marketing 

You may not be aware that Airbnb invests in influencer marketing. That’s because of how subtle and enticing this content appears on the social media user’s feeds. Their most common method is to collaborate with celebrities who share snap pics of their latest Airbnb stay and post to their socials. Simple but effective and has boosted its impressive growth over the years. It is a great way to find your target market – influencers across Instagram and Facebook have their own niche, and finding one that fits your own target market gives you a direct line to them. Site traffic to Airbnb website lies at 91 million in January 2020– influencer marketing is a leading driver of these impressive stats.

Airbnb’s success is directly related to their deep and adaptive understanding of what their customers want. They understand that needs and desires change and are willing to try unconventional forms of marketing for a fresh and welcome approach to brand awareness.

Finding that nuanced approach takes experience and talent to deliver. We’re a small team here at Videoworks London with a knack for storytelling and creating video content that connects people to your brand. If you’d like to get started with a video production project that boosts your brand’s awareness, you can get in touch here.

The post The Gems of Airbnb’s Marketing Strategy appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

It doesn’t matter how long you spend on post through social channels or cranking up on your ad spend. Not unless your brand stands out from the crowd. Otherwise, your brand isn’t going to reach its potential.

Brand awareness is one of the main pillars of building a successful business; that includes B2B as well as consumer-facing brands. Have a think about it; when you go to buy a car, you’re likely to be much slower to opt for the obscure brand that you’ve never heard of before.

That said, if you’d seen some crisp, professional ads displaying this car as the newest in motor performance and you’ve consistently seen trustworthy reviews, then you’re far more likely to at least be open to learning more about this car brand. The same can be said for any industry. Consumers are smart. They’re reluctant to invest their money into unknown products and services. Brand awareness is where you can build real momentum and start standing out from your competitors.

Top methods to build brand awareness

1. Referral strategy

Referral marketing is an incredible option because you have the opportunity to generate brand awareness and acquire new customers at the same time. There’s not a whole pile of other methods that have this capability.

Also, you’re working with your loyal customers. Those that trust and admire your business are the ones that will be spreading the word to their friends, family and perhaps their social media followers.

AirBnb is an excellent example of what can happen when a business focuses on its referral programmes. They committed to making the referral programme as simple as possible for customers to partake. This included the ability to share across multiple channels, so whether it was via a link, Facebook or email – people would still find it easy and quick to spread the word.

AirBnb also found a difference when A/B email testing with one crucial element. Each invite needed to appear as a gift, not a promotion. And that applies to a lot of referral marketing. Making it sound inviting rather than pushy, will make people a lot more open and excited about joining in on the programme.

Taru Bhargava, author at AppVirality, describes just why this person-to-person referral experience is so effective:

“We tend to follow the footsteps of those whom we value. Sometimes these actions imitate ‘the monkey see and monkey do’ approach. According to a Nielsen report, 84% of people go by recommendations from friend and family. If we observe it carefully, word-of-mouth via mobile app referral follows the same trend. In Airbnb’s case, it was further elevated by a personalized landing page, when a user installed an app via a referral link.”

2. Create a brand awareness campaign

It’s not going to shock any of you reading this that campaigns these days primarily involve video.

Here are the three reasons that hold businesses back from creating video campaigns:

• 66% of marketers don’t make videos because they think it’s too time-consuming.
• 41% of marketers don’t make videos because they think it’s too complicated.
• 37% of marketers don’t make videos because they think it’s too expensive.

If this is what’s holding your brand back, then it’s time to open to the advances in technology.

A good smartphone can create videos. The quality won’t be cinematic, but it will still effectively get your message across.

Another key to creating a campaign within budget is organisation. If your team has decided that the video quality needs to be impressive, then a top-quality video production crew can create multiple campaigns in a batch. This makes each campaign more cost-effective and saves time. It’s also great for a business to have content ready to roll out in advance. Having professionals in the creative process will provide refinement in defining and connecting with your target audience. It also gives you the expertise to make your brand memorable within these videos.

There are many formats to play around with, here are just a few:

• Animation videos
• Brand introduction video
• Event videos
• Explainer videos
• Interview video
• Testimonial videos
• Tutorials/How to videos
• User-generated content
• Vlog

This is just a taster, yet it still gives plenty of scope on different angles that enliven your business and allow prospective customers to see into what makes your brand worthy of their attention.

3. Epic storytelling

No matter what format or platform you choose for your content, even the simplest photo tells a story, has a mood, conveys meaning. According to research by Headstream, if people love a brand story, 55% are more likely to buy the product in future, 44% will share the story, and 15% will buy the product immediately.

A memorable brand tells wonderful stories that connect with the audience, invokes emotions, and sparks interest. Creating stories that make your brand unforgettable, and you’ll win the interest of your audience.

4. Retargeting Campaigns

Retargeting campaigns fosters brand awareness so effectively. This strategy reminds your website visitors of your products and services after they leave your website without buying. After visiting specific pages, it allows you to retarget them and show your visitors relevant visual or text ads when they visit other websites. These are your audience segment that have a high potential of becoming customers. They’ve browsed your website but perhaps need time to consider the purchase. Drawing from the infamous rule of seven, it takes an average of seven interactions with your brand before a purchase will take place.

Retargeting enables your brand to focus on perspectives that are most likely to become customers. This refinement boosts brand awareness and also offers personalisation in the content that you use to interact with this segment. They will see your content across various websites and social channels that they use. People will have a conception that your brand is successful and reliable as they’ll become familiar with your branding and learning more about your business ad by ad.

Brand awareness isn’t rocket science. If you follow these steps and ensure that your content is both high-quality, engaging and has a strong storytelling core– then you’ll see tangible evidence of growth in brand awareness. If you’re looking for a professional team of storytelling content creators, you can get in touch with us here at Videoworks.

The post The Untold Secrets to Building Brand Awareness in 2021 appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

Instagram isn’t an impossible platform to gain traction in– although it can certainly feel that way without the right tactics. If you follow and commit to these steps in 2021, you will experience growth in your reach and engagement.

Let’s get into it!

There is no “beating the algorithm”

This term is mentioned by social media gurus about as frequently as it rains on the streets of London, but it just isn’t true.

Yes, there is an algorithm. Its job is to provide users with content they will enjoy so they stay longer on the platform and watch more ads.

That’s it.

It’s not out to get business accounts or show your post to only 10% of followers unless you pay to boost it.

Saying that, although we can’t beat the algorithm into submission with a stick – we can use the algorithm in our favour. We have to be focused and tuned in to what our audience is seeking. That means recording weekly stats and analysing what had your followers commenting, liking sharing. Monitoring which posts increased your brand’s reach. Analyse your competitors – observe when their account is experiencing a spike in growth and find out why.

The better your content engages your audience, the more the algorithm will push it out.

Engaging

Before even discussing how to create quality content for your brand – here’s a trick that so many businesses miss. They don’t do the engagement work.

Time each week needs to be committed to reaching out – it’s rare for posts to go viral and a business to gain thousands of followers overnight. However, although the rate of growth is slower this way, it’s much more steady and reliable. Take the time to comment, like and share content from those with a potential interest in your brand. Be genuine and try to make comments at least five words in length.

Here is what other articles won’t share; they want content marketing to appear very glamorous and feed-focused.

However, the behind the scenes graft, such as engagement, that will make your posted content far better received. You’ve done the work, built and maintained the community, and these people are far more likely to interact with your content.

Create snappy video content

Instagram rushed out its additional video features – reel, guides, and IGTV– to keep followers who are migrating to TikTok. With each update, functionality improves, and marketers are getting more of an insight into how people are using these features. We’ll look at the four main video formats with tips on how to make an impact:

Reels

Use the tools available in the Reels uploading process:

• add text (do this!),
• music (also unless speaking, throw a song in the background),
• filters and effects.

That being said, creating a reel is simple – it’s making an engaging one that’s the trick. The key is to find content that’s sparking conversion on social. Create a unique slant adds value and entertainment. Also, showcase the exciting parts of your business, offer sneak peeks of secret projects.

Feed Video

While a reel is set in portrait mode (1920px x 1080 px), feed video’s have the square dimnesions (1080px x 1080px) that’s classic to Instagram. Keep this in mind before shooting, as you might find it impossible to fit your video neatly into the frame.

• No need to use the whole minute – in fact, it’s better if you don’t. A Hubspot study revealed that feed videos that received the most comments averaged 26 seconds. Our brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text, making people scroll quickly through Instagram. Try shortening your videos to fit users’ expectations – less is more.
• Set a cover image – it’s easy to forget and is one of the last steps. You can do so while writing your caption. People will scroll right past the cover image if it’s a random, blurred frame from the middle of your video.

Stories

Stories are becoming more and more essential to a business. Some key elements to weave into your strategy:

• Consistency– it’s okay to take days off (you can announce the day before that you’re going for a #digitaldetox) but try to post 4-5 days a week and create a story arc on those days…
• Story arc– rather than posting random images throughout the day, instead post a couple of subsequent posts that tell a story. This method is far better for story retention and feels more experiential and meaningful for the viewer.

IGTV

IGTV has the lowest engagement and views compared to the above features, and it’s no wonder why. Social media users are consistently looking for short, snappy, shareable content. HOWEVER, there is one exception: Lives, ESPECIALLY Lives with guests. These are great for exposure as both your audience and the guest’s followers can tune in and watch– you can also save this to your IGTV.

Research your competitors’ strategies

Not just what competitors are positing, but also how often and what times. Inspect their captions, how they reply to comments, who’s liking and engaging with their posts.

This doesn’t mean to copy-cat everything your competitors are doing – that way, your brand will always be one step behind and also would detract from your own brand identity. Instead, be a critic – what’s working well for them and what isn’t. That helps to take the guesswork out of what will perform for your business on the platform.

Captions

Here’s your chance to encourage participation, and communicate a compelling CTA (call to action) is the path to engagement,

Get your comments section busy by exploring a topic that matters to your audience. Value their input– respond to comments with thought rather than just planting in a few love hearts.

User-generated Content

Make user-generated content a pillar of your content marketing.

Why?

UGC has a 4.5% higher conversion rate on Instagram.

Create exciting campaigns and giveaways to get your followers involved. Request that they tag your account and maybe use a specific hashtag to gain reach for your brand. Be sure to reshare this content! You have a strong testimonial at your disposal here.

With so many brands vying for Instagrammers time, the fact they made the time to create content for your brand shows that they trust and align with your business.

If you’d like to create video content that is expertly crafted and tells a strong story – you can contact us at Videoworks here.

The post How to Create an Instagram Content Marketing Strategy 2021 appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

We’ve done many, many testimonial videos for our clients over the years. In this article, we’re going to share how to create the best testimonial video for your budget.

Why video testimonials are a good idea

• Testimonials make for a great story – hearing someone’s experience of your business is a brilliant idea and not just for creating a level of trust. When done right, testimonial videos are entertaining as the customer tells their story, which leads us onto…
• Testimonials are evergreen – these are incredible assets to have that you can share around your online presence. You can also gather a lot of valuable content out of a single testimonial.
• They are cost-effective – unlike a high-end, underwater content shoot, you don’t need a whole lot of fancy equipment. We’ll be getting into what you will need further on in this article.
• They offer behind the scenes – there’s such a saturation of brands, and consumers don’t necessarily buy the cheapest or the best product anymore. Yes, they’re looking for high-quality, but are also searching for personality. If they enjoy your content, if they can connect with your business, they’re far more likely to become loyal supporters. 86 per cent of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support (Stackla, 2019).

Top Tips for Creating an Excellent Testimonial Video

Before recording day

Here are tasks that are great to do in advance of shooting so that everything runs smoothly.

Get clear on the video’s tone

We’re mentioning this before shoot day because it’s key to having brand consistency online.

Is your brand humorous? Natural? A bit cheeky?

Even if you’re a B2B brand, there has to be more to your brand’s tone than ‘professional’. Once confident in the feelings you want to invoke in your audience from this video, then the next steps will be much easier to create.

Write a script

Collaborate with your customer about what aspects of the customer relationship you want to focus on.

As you’ve got the tone nailed, communicate with your customer how they can help bring this to life. For example, if your content often feels unscripted to the users, encourage your customer to make full use of their own personality– to smile, laugh and crack a joke!

Choose a Testimonial video format

There are a couple of formats you can consider. Each option will provide a different feel to the testimonial. The first is known as the talking head style. Typically, we’re shooting from the chest up. This is used so much in journalism because it portrays a sense of truth, reliability and professionalism.

Next, you have conversational interviews, and these instantly set a more casual tone. Note that even the type of chairs you sit in, straight back versus a couch, can be used for tone setting. The more welcoming the set, the better chance your audience will connect with the message.

Remote interviews are obviously handy if you and your client aren’t in easy reach of each other location-wise. Having a video production company create up a set in your client’s base saves time and prevents having to travel. In the end, you’ll have a high-quality testimonial video to have on hand.

The Set-Up

1. Camera

What sort of shooting equipment do you need?

You can use a smartphone camera if you’re tight on budget. The newer smartphones specifically are delivering higher quality footage. However, what you might struggle with is a shaky end-product. A mid- to high-range DSLR and tripod will produce a sleeker finish.

The last thing you want is to ask a customer of yours to come in and spend half a day recording just to realise that the footage isn’t usable.

For a professional and engaging finish, consider going with a video production company. They’ll have all the equipment and expertise to pull in the viewer. Stopping the scroll is an art form, and takes more skill than meets the eye. If you have the budget, outsourcing video testimonials enhances the look and feel of the finished product.

2. Sound

There’s nothing better than nice crisp audio. Research published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society found that low-quality audio made people perceive the quality of a video overall as much lower. So how can we ensure high-quality audio? Using a lapel microphone, also known as a lavalier microphone, helps pick up the speaker’s voice. If you’ve got the budget or already own one, shotgun mics also work well in this scenario.

3. Lighting

Natural light, or a recreation of it, is often what suits this style of video. Softbox lights are wonderful for creating diffused light that is flattering and appealing to the eye. You can also sit the speaker facing a window and shooting with natural light, although it will be a little more unpredictable, and you have to contend with clouds.

4. Warming up to the camera

The first take won’t be the one that makes the final cut. That means that you need to set time aside for multiple takes, allowing the customer to relax and get used to the lens and lights.

5. Add graphics and text

Of course, this doesn’t have to be done but overlaying your testimonial with text has a few benefits. Captions make it easier to catch and keep your audience’s attention. View time increases by 12 per cent when videos have captions. Many people dip into their phones during the workday and will keep the volume on mute while accessing their favourite social media apps. Graphics are another really effective method of holding attention and also an opportunity to strengthen brand recognition.

6. Editing

Editing isn’t just snapping the snippets of footage together. Using techniques such as colour grading and transitions throughout the conversation helps to create a standout video that engages the viewer.

Also adding music, whether as an intro or outro or an ambient instrumental throughout the testimonial is a great way again to connect with the audience and invoke the desired feelings you want out of the testimonial.

Testimonials make a business trustworthy, having a video format makes them more engaging. They help your audience discover your brand and what makes it unique. Crucially, people can envision themselves availing of products or services. You can get in touch with us here at Videoworks if you’d like to collaborate on your next testimonial video.

The post How to Make an Incredible Testimonial Video appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

A virtual events producer understands the virtual experience. Their work lies in making the event run smoothly, which centres a lot around the logistics of timing, sound, video quality. Having one on your team also kickstarts promotions, streamline registration, build atmosphere and optimise engagement!

Decide on your virtual event

A lot of companies think that a webinar is the only way to go for them when hosting any sort of online event. There are other options though that can be effective in delivering quality content to your audience.

Live Interviews – calling on an expert in your field or one tangential to it, often boosts your attention across social media.

Live Q and A – this is often thought of as a slice of the event, but it can also work well for in its own right. It’s useful for launching a product with lots of new features, for example.

Product Launch – creating hype for a product launch can be rocketed with a top-notch event.

Fireside Chat – let your brand community into your business with a casual chat. That could be an Instagram Live, for example, and works well in warming potential consumers to your business and strengthening your existing community.

Influencer Takeover – this works well once you choose the right influencer. It has to be someone (with a genuine following) that targets a demographic similar to that of your business,

Livestream platforms

Just like choosing the venue for an event, settling on a livestreaming platform has a heavy influence on your viewer’s experience. Some options on the market are quick to set up and easy for users to access but may have the tendency to glitch every so often or the video quality may be below par. That’s fine if you’re hosting an informal session. However, this doesn’t bring across a very professional tone, especially if it’s a paid event.

There are plenty of options on the market now, here are some of the top competitors:

• Zoom
• Youtube Live
• Facebook Live
• Google Hangouts
• Microsoft Teams
• Instagram Live
• Dacast
• Vimeo
• Periscope
• Twitch
• Youknow

Each of the streaming services has its benefits and drawbacks. Instagram Live, for example, is extremely easy to get going but has a very basic set of features and is limited in how you can get your audience interacting. On the other hand, Vimeo packs in a lot more functionality from multiple simultaneous streams, geoblocking and IP restriction. Vimeo and a couple of others on this list provide eCDN, which is a peer-to-peer delivery system that will allow you to stream your event across your network of users with minimal local bandwidth consumption.

Timing

Here’s what’s going to make or break the event. Not giving your business enough time to prepare for an online event can affect the uptake, deliverance, engagement and takeaway feedback.

To give you an idea, 56% of marketers will take between 2-4 weeks to plan even a small virtual event. So starting early and getting around to finalising the following factors will set your business up for the best possible results. Enter the mindset from the beginning that your event is going to impress and ignite interest, rather than ticking the “engage with customers” box.

Promotion

What are your key performance indicators? Or in other words, how can you distil your event into a marketing elixir. What makes your event unique and essential addition to a person’s life?

Next, solidify your proposition. What are people going to walk out with after leaving the event?

Once you’ve got that figured out, it’s time to create hype across social. Promotion is essential for any online event – so it’s important to allocate a segment of your budget to creating awareness. Creating a hashtag for the event is also a good tactic. Encourage any speakers to use this in the weeks and days coming up to the event. According to Hubspot, “If you have speakers from other organizations, make sure to ask the thought leader or brand to promote the event — or their session — on their channels”.

You can also create a competition around this hashtag for attendees. You may consider teaming up with influencers or partnering up with another company to spread the word and increase sign-ups.

These are just a sample of the ocean of techniques that a virtual events producer will have at their disposal. They’ll be able to decide the best social media strategy for your particular event. Having this inside track makes sure that your event connects with an ample audience.

Registration

Handling registrations but also cancellations and ensuring that all this runs smoothly takes expertise or else a lot of time as well as trial and error if done in house. A virtual events producer will get your system automated, easy to manage, as well as user friendly. Having too many stages in the sign up is a sure-fire way to drop potential conversions along the path to registration.

Optimising for an online platform

A lot of your team’s strengths are transferrable from in-person to online events. However, the technologies used in the online sphere require experience being able to handle. That holds especially true in the middle of a conference filled with people and a glitch occurs, or the sound disappears. A virtual events producer will likely have everything up and running before it becomes an option for people to go and make a cup of tea and miss a crucial part of the talk.

Engagement

Here are a few suggestions to keep your audience engaged throughout your entire event:

• Live polls
• Encourage using the chat feature
• Q and A section
• Passionate speakers
• A well-paced schedule with time for tea breaks

Feedback

Letting your audience leave without a call for feedback, is a massive opportunity wasted. Be human – let them know how it will help your business and their experience to learn from this event. As we’ve touched on before, offering a competition or discount increase response rates. Another tip is to keep the questionnaire quick and simple to submit.

We’re an experienced team of virtual events experts. Whether you’re looking for a full suite of skill sets to launch a large event, or need a producer to oversee that your event runs smoothly, you can get in touch with us here at Videoworks.

The post Why You Need a Virtual Events Producer for an Impressive Online Event appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

Keeping your AGMs running through this time is essential. Unlike a lot of meetings that have been postponed or cancelled due to COVID, AGMs are mandatory. Many companies have been doing it in some way online for years. It’s a great way to save costs and allow shareholders living further afield to attend from home. However, as user friendly as many of the video conferencing software services claim to be– all of them come with some learning curve, be it shallow or steep.

Let’s dive into core elements that create a successful virtual AGM.

Constitution

We’re starting here because it’s best to make sure the virtual AGM is Since many companies need to hold an AGM before their accounts can be approved, it’s essential to ensure that your company law allows for your AGM to be hosted online.

It’s essential that you’ve amended your company constitutional documents so that you can host a virtual AGM as well as ensure that you’re being compliant when voting by proxy online.

Security

Before choosing your video hosting platform, it’s important to think about what security measures they provide. After all, AGMs typically control the big decisions that shape how a company operates. So, it’s important that the service you choose has robust authenticity measures. That helps to prevent unauthorised third-parties from accessing the video call.

Having a backup plan

Wi-Fi cuts out, electricity outages happens or someone has to deal with a personal emergency. Unlike with an in-person call, you don’t get the same opportunity to pass the baton onto another attendee.

Give attendees plenty of notice that the AGM will be going ahead and break down how they can access the video call. Also, many video services have the options to voice call if members don’t have the technology or would prefer to access the call on their phone.

Slides are great – they help in conveying and discussing the financial statements. So if you choose to use them then it’s best for at least two members to have access and be comfortable with hosting the presentation.

Preparation

Sending out a summary of what’s going to be discussed makes for a more organised AGM. If we’re being honest, although very important decisions are being made for the company, it’s many an AGM that has been needlessly dragged out. Having everyone on the same page and having the documentation in front of them means that the hosts are less likely to be interrupted by questions that a simple AGM document had been sent out a couple of days beforehand.

Protocol

Once the apologies and minutes of the last AGM have been read out, it’s time to discuss how the meeting will be run. Disruptions to the flow of the video call tend to rise in line with the number of people on the call.

As Goldfarb describes in a recent Forbes article:

“The problem is that, while virtual annual meetings work reasonably well for most plain vanilla, uncontested situations, they are not designed for corporate battles involving activist investors or for dissident shareholders who want to see and hear an accountable management and board.”

The protocol of who can speak, and when, will differ depending on the company. The number of attendees is a major factor, but there are other variables such as the likelihood of conflict arising. For larger AGMs, one solution is to have attendees write their questions in the chat and the chairperson will allegate someone to answer.

Digital podium for directors and executives

Shareholder votes often change during the course of an AGM – and that’s why holding one is so crucial even if it wasn’t mandatory. Shareholders need to have the full scope. Transparency is crucial here. If the company decides to have Q and A’s beginning from a chatbox, again protocol should be put in place to protect against any ‘cherry-picking’ of questions. This allows shareholders whose views may not align with the board and management to have a voice. In this case, we have to work through the challenges of this format to ensure transparency and visibility.

Rehearse

Just like with your traditional AGM being prepared conveys a level of professionalism and creates a level of competence and dedication. With the virtual AGM, there are a few other aspects to consider other than your presentation skills. Chair and speaker transitions need to be considered which helps to reduce the mess that a video call can become when people consistently talk on top of each other. Consider how the voting system will be set up and how you can make this as easy as possible for the voter. Some video call software services have a secure voting system and other’s don’t so it’s something to consider when choosing your hosting platform. However, there are also add-ons or external links that you can use to open the voting polls for your shareholders.

Also, ensure your Chair has a copy of the agenda at hand, to make it easy for investors and members to follow the action.

Engagement

Now, we’re onto the dynamics of a video conference. Here it’s advisable to use the features that your video software provides. Here at Videoworks, we often create videos for AGMs which allow you to capture in motion exactly what needs to be portrayed in the AGM.

Animated content or whiteboard explainer videos allow you to summarise the key points that need delivering and help keep shareholders engaged. Having content designed ahead of the live call tends to save time in the question and answers section as you can work ahead of time to capture exactly what your shareholders will likely want to know. Also think of the practical elements, set a schedule and do your best to stick to it.

If you need help hosting a virtual AGM, we have plenty of experience helping business provide high-quality video content so that your messages get across. Get in touch with our expert creative team for help with your upcoming AGM.

The post Virtual AGM: How to Host One Successfully in 2021 appeared first on Video Production London - VideoWorks.

Screen-recording is a great way of gathering content for your video. Whether for a training video or to incorporate digital elements into an explainer video, learning how to screen record has been an essential process for us over the year. So how do we do it?

Screen Recording With Audio

One of the great applications to use is Loopback (formerly Soundflower). It’s a fantastic piece of software that let’s the audio output of your computer become an input. Once installed, go to your audio preferences and set your input to Loopback (2 channel).

Screen-Recording with Quicktime Player

Next up, open quick-time player and click file, screen record. Loopback should have your audio setup correctly!

And there you go! Don’t forget to change back your audio input preferences in your preferences panel.

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