Being Solution Based And Not Technology Based, Pros and Cons of VR and 360 Videos, How VR, AR and 360 Videos Are Changing Storytelling Methods

In this episode, we chat with Ricky Holm, the founder of Chocolate Milk & Donuts. Chocolate Milk & Donuts is a virtual reality and 360 video production studio that specializes in creating unique and riveting experiences for its clients; including Pepsi, Hasbro, and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Listen to this episode as we talk about how his love for films led him to create Chocolate Milk & Donuts, the importance of solution-based proposals, the advantages, and disadvantages of using VR, AR, and 360 video, and how VR helped satisfied his need for social interaction during the lockdown.

Listen to episode 57 on Apple Podcasts here: Being Solution Based And Not Technology Based, Pros and Cons of VR and 360 Videos, How VR, AR and 360 Videos Are Changing Storytelling Methods

LOL! Let humor thrive in your video campaigns

Laugh a little. Laugh a lot. Go ahead! It will make you and your viewers happy. Give your viewers insight into who your company is on a personal level. One way to do that is by using humor. Ready to see how humor uplifts your video advertising campaigns? Our reasons below will encourage you to start adding those jokes to your scripts and strategy.

We all know the power video marketing has on your brand; it can strengthen the relationship of your consumers by keeping them entertained and informed. We also understand the power viral videos have on our social media feeds. We are compelled to watch and share within our network. Humor is a strong factor in these viral videos. People love to laugh and share videos that made them laugh on social media. Humor will help your videos get your company noticed as it’s more than a video showcasing a product’s features and benefits, but it’s a video showing personality. Using humor also reveals a brand’s approachability and empathy.

When incorporating humor into your strategy, know who your audience is and post the video to YouTube to increase your likelihood to appear high on the search results. Make your customers feel comfortable and informed about your brand. It’s important to note that while humor can make an awkward situation into a laughable one or a relatable situation, not every joke is going to carry over to your audience. That is why it is best to place the humor naturally in the conversation, keep them short, use proper timing, and avoid talking about a serious topic that could be deemed too lighthearted and devalues its severity. Humor is a great tool to use in your marketing campaigns to increase engagement for your brand.

Credit: Scenic Road WHY HUMOR WORKS IN ADVERTISING AND YOUTUBE CAMPAIGNS

What's Trending For Video Marketing in 2021?

Video continues to be the content medium used in industries ranging from insurance firms to charities. As video continues to be rampant with consumption in 2021, it is time to monitor which video marketing trends will be present this year.

Social media platforms continue to offer new features to their platforms. LinkedIn introduced two new features added at the end of 2020 to join the channels with prominent social video and live-streaming abilities. Strategize how using LinkedIn Stories and LinkedIn Live can help your professional videos. Increased social media use calls for more opportunities to appeal to your audience. With most users using multiple platforms to communicate with others, your company should also branch out onto the social media platforms and create content that reflects your brand and product offering in different video formats and aspect ratios.

Regarding your video creation process, expect to see more industries adapting and improving the work from home video content approach with podcasts, Zoom calls, and live events. Adaptation is key, and if you’re struggling with how to inform your consumers about a product or service, then incorporate explainer videos into your video marketing. According to Google, about 70% of viewers watch YouTube videos to assist in a problem they have. Use explainer videos to guide your audience to make the right decision for them. Continue to test and monitor these trends while promoting valuable and relatable content.

Credit: The Animation Guys 2021 Video Marketing Trends To Look Out For

Include Video in Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Are you a fellow digital marketer or business owner and are ready to add something new to your marketing strategy in the new year? If you haven’t included video already, video marketing is a strategy to consider. So how can incorporating video into your strategy help your business? We’ve got the answer for you along with key tips and guides to get you started.

Videos do exceedingly well in getting your message across in an entertaining and informative way. One of the main reasons marketers include video into their strategy is to promote their products or services. Approximately 97% of marketers state that videos help their customers understand more about their business, according to HubSpot, whether it’s through showcasing their products or telling their background story. Videos create an authentic connection between the brand and the consumer. Consumers also find videos useful, with 90% of them watching videos before making a purchasing decision, according to SocialMediaToday. If there’s another content medium to share what your business is doing to your consumers, then why not create it?

Now that you have some key statistics of using videos in digital marketing, let’s get into the types of videos to post. There are many variations of videos to create, however, the live video, interview-style, and animated video types have been proven successful to implement. Experiment with the videos you want to produce. Each video type, whether it’s informative or entertaining, helps the consumer understand who your business is. Remember to follow the guidelines on each social media platform as the video rules tend to differ. Videos are an accessible and convenient medium for marketers to produce and consumers to consume. Start creating your videos for your digital marketing strategy. Start anew with video.

Credit: Makenzie Walker Importance of Video in Digital Marketing

3 Tips on How To Shoot Videos For Brands During Covid-19

Here are 3 tips I've learned from working with HBO, Colgate, and That's It that will help you create videos for brands during Covid-19 so you can still create content for brands and clients during the pandemic.

Sign up to reserve your spot for this Wednesday's free webinar at: https://free.videocontentschool.com/covidvideowebinar

Lesser-Known Video Production Costs

As a filmmaker, knowing what expenses you may incur along your production process; can financially prepare you for any emergencies you may have. Overlooking these costs can affect your cast, crew, and your overall production. Do you know that these costs have just the same amount of importance as costs directly related to your video production? If you didn’t know, we have a list of the 6 lesser-known video production costs you should be aware of.

Just about everyone knows that video production is expensive. Of course, there is a huge range, from Hollywood movies with hundreds of millions of dollars to indie films with just several thousand or even hundred dollars. But no matter what it is, a high-quality production’s expenses will add up fast. For brand new filmmakers, it can be overwhelming when unexpected expenses grind their production to a screeching halt. We’re here to help you learn some of those lesser-known video production costs.

1. Food Costs. It may seem simple that people need to eat, but food costs for the cast and crew are very often overlooked. Especially for shoots that may take all day and be physically demanding, the cost of food can take up a substantial part of a production’s budget. People should get breaks to eat every few hours so everyone is able to work to their full potential. 

2. Transportation. Transportation may be almost a non-factor for a skeleton crew with little equipment. But if you have a fair amount of people and equipment, transportation will not just take up time, but money as well. You may even have to get rental vehicles or trailers to transport equipment from set to set.

3. Post-Production. If you edit your production yourself, post costs will be virtually non-existent. But if you don’t edit it yourself, you’ll need to hire an editor. If you want special effects, you’ll need to hire someone for that. You may also have to hire other people that specialize in areas such as audio editing and colour grading. 

4. Re-Shoots. Sometimes in the process of post-production, you find a continuity error, or don’t like how a line was delivered, or something along those lines. If that happens, you may decide you want to re-shoot a shot, multiple shots, or even whole scenes. This means hiring the cast and crew needed for the re-shoot, as well as acquiring the necessary shooting location and equipment.

5. Marketing. Of course you want people to see your production after it’s finally completed. But if you aren’t well known, or even if you are, you’ll have to make sure people know about your production. This will require marketing it. For smaller indie films, marketing consists largely of word-of-mouth marketing, but for Hollywood movies, marketing costs often match that of the actual production costs. 

6. Copyright. While it’s not exactly the most fun part of production, establishing a copyright for you film is crucial to protect it from people stealing it and using it for their own profit. Perhaps the most infamous example of a movie without copyright is Night of the Living Dead. George Romero’s classic zombie flick didn’t hold a copyright for decades, and so showed up in countless other movies. It’s very important to make sure the same doesn’t happen to your production.