Education

Find a Hobby That You Enjoy

“I do think another outlet that you really enjoy will really balance your life out.”

Marc Nieto’s quote reflects on how participating in another activity that helps foster your creativity can assuage any feelings of being burnt out. Marc is an LA-based artist, skilled app developer, and Twitch streamer. Revisit this episode as we discuss topics such as the prioritization of education vs. pursuing your passion, having a full-time job to fund your creative hobbies, and the benefits of live streaming.


Listen to episode 36 on Apple Podcasts here: Prioritizing Education VS Passion, Having A Side Hustle To Fund Your Creative Business, And The Benefits Of Livestreaming.

Apply These 6 Methods to Enhance Your Video Marketing Strategy

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Are you ready to increase the connection between you and your customers with video marketing? Don’t know if your current strategy is working? As video continues to be the content medium that educates, entertains, and informs viewers on all platforms, it makes sense that more businesses are implementing video marketing to their content strategy. If you’re realizing that your video marketing strategy needs some extra help to reach your customers, focus on these methods to enhance your video marketing strategy.

When you view the videos you made, how many of those don’t have a target audience in mind? Research the type of people you want to reach, your goal for the video, and the channels your audience watches videos on during the planning process. This will help you decide which videos you need to create that would appeal to your customers. With your target audience identified, create a video that tell who your business is. This is a great opportunity to share any testimonials, behind-the-scenes clips, or inspirational messages that allows your viewers to understand more about your business and it’s story. After identifying your audience and planning your video, determine if you should film the video yourself, hire an in-house video production team, or a video production agency.

Now that your video is made, it’s time to upload it on YouTube, landing pages, emails, and social media channels your viewers are on. However, each platform is different so optimizing your videos to meet the various aspect ratios, video lengths, and caption lengths can help your video be seen on the social platform. To continue to help your engagement and SEO, include subtitles and keyword tags, write short titles, add links to your website, and adjust the video for mobile users. Aside from the video content, the writing the call to action is the best way for the customer to increase its brand awareness and perform and action.


Credit: Written by James Jorner 6 Ways to Strengthen Your Video Marketing Strategy

Editing Softwares

Do you have the necessary desktop editing software needed to edit your quality video? Whether you’re a beginner, advanced, or pro editor, using editing software that works for your skill level and the device will make the editing process a lot smoother. As you search for compatible editing software, pay close attention to the features they list and the type of videos you edit as the software may end up as not feasible to you. In this clip from our video content course, we offer our favorite recommendations along with their advantages and disadvantages for free and paid desktop editing software.

Authentic Community Growth, Fitness & Creativity, And The Importance Of Finding Your True North

Our next podcast guest this week is Justin Rimon, podcast host and producer of the “Just Trek Podcast”! The “Just Trek Podcast” explores the many inspirational adventures and stories hikers, explorers, and travelers partake in the outdoors. Justin is also an event producer, experiential marketer, and former manager of the popular dance group, I.aM.mE, and former community manager at Trip.com.

In this episode, we talk about how authentic engagement helps build communities, why networking is important, and the importance of finding your true north.

Link to episode 38 on Apple Podcasts here: Authentic Community Growth, Fitness & Creativity, And The Importance Of Finding Your True North

Connect with Your Audience to Create a Story

“But, I feel like, with marketing, advertising, we really have to go to others, to our target audience.”

This quote came from author, filmmaker, and co-founder of Spot on Media Shervin Youssefian as he explained how it’s best to reach out to customers by determine your target audience to understand who they are as a customer. Shervin has also won numerous writing and directing awards and worked with several reputed brands as co-founder of Spot On Media.

Revisit this episode on iTunes as we talked about the power of storytelling in advertising, creating relatable commercials, the challenges of dealing with client expectations, and the reason why creatives should also become a salesperson or add one to their team to further the progress in the projects they have.

Listen to the full episode here: Storytelling In Advertising, Creating Relatable Ads, And The Importance Of The Salesperson Element In A Creative Business

Start Video Marketing For Your Small Business

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Video marketing is here, it's thriving, and it's not going away. If you're a small business owner and you haven't added video marketing to your content marketing strategy yet, you still have time to join your competition. Video marketing is the use of goal-driven videos in your content marketing strategy to reach your ideal customers. With that said, videos are such a versatile content medium that adding them to your strategy will help your customers be aware of your company, your products or services, and your story. Follow along as we highlight why video marketing is valuable for your small business and how to use this strategy to improve your online presence!

Let’s start with some statistics. As technology continues to increase and the resources needed to create videos become more accessible, more and more companies are uploading videos on their landing pages, YouTube channels, and social media. Videos have the power to maintain your viewer's engagement on your video and within your website. There is a 157% increase in organic search results when there are videos embedded on your website. You can also expect conversions of up to 80% when you include videos on your landing page. In addition to increased conversions, your business might see more product sales after viewers see your product video, with 64% of them more likely to make a purchase. Choose to upload videos on YouTube, the second most popular site in the world, according to Alexa. Short videos have value, and if the average viewer watches more than 90 minutes of videos a day, and a majority of viewers use YouTube to watch videos, then maximize that opportunity to connect with your customers on that channel.

When it comes to the specific content in your video, the options are endless. This is the opportunity to teach, inform, or entertain your viewers about your business. For example, you can explain a term in your industry, introduce a team member, or produce a series of short videos answering frequently asked questions! According to HubSpot, over 74% of customers prefer to learn about a product or service through video than in a text format. This sparks a wonderful opportunity for your video content strategy. Set clear goals with an engaging and authentic story in mind for your viewers to watch. Then post your video on your website and the social media channels your customers are frequently on. Join 81% of businesses using video marketing and implement it in your strategy today!

Credit: Boosted by Lightricks Video Marketing for Small & Local Businesses in 2020

Hard Drives & Data Storage

Do you have enough storage for your videos? Store your videos in a large hard drive that has a fast transfer speed and accommodates your needs. Navigate how much storage you need based on the device you’re editing on and the resolution of your video. In this clip from our video content course, we explain hard drive file system compatibility and suggest which type of hard drives to buy and how much computer storage to save before editing your video.

Video Marketing is Statistically Bound to Make an Impact in Your Business


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Are you a facts-based person and need to know why you should invest your time and effort into video marketing? We understand how necessary it is to have all the facts and research handy before jumping into a new activity. That’s why we have a list of popular video marketing statistics that proves why your content strategy needs video marketing.

Videos are meant to grab your viewer’s attention. When a video is on your landing page, more potential customers will spend about 88% more time on your site, especially if the video is what led them to your landing page. That’s right! Videos help with SEO. In addition to SEO, 88% of marketers using videos in their strategy see a return on investment in video marketing, according to Animoto. Incorporating video marketing can increase sales, conversion rates, brand awareness, and the level of trust between your business and the customer.

What’s one way you can increase the trust with your customers? By creating content that ranges from entertaining, informational, and educational, all with the goals of appealing to your audience and showcasing more sides of your business. Explainer videos do well in this regard as they allow your business to share your knowledge on a topic or share more about your business. 96% of users watch explainer videos to help them learn about a related term in your industry or about your product or service. Those users also prefer to watch videos made from a brand or business, according to HubSpot. About 85% of U.S. internet users watch online videos, according to Statista. That percentage of internet users can wind up watching your video. You’ll want to grab their attention with interesting authentic content that is optimized for the platform and device your viewers may be watching on. One of the platforms you should upload on is YouTube. A majority of marketers are already using video marketing on the platform, with nine out of ten marketers planning on using YouTube for video marketing, according to Wyzowl, so it makes sense to join your competition and start uploading videos there. Videos are a very versatile content medium that’s set to work with your brand and better your content marketing strategy.

Credit: Written by Katherine Rundell 7 Popular Video Marketing Statistics of 2020

Understanding Exposure

Do you need to adjust your exposure in your camera settings? An image or video with correct exposure does not have the subject lost in the highlights or shadows. Know how to control the exposure on your camera by using a light meter or zebra lines so that you can recognize when your images are overexposed or underexposed. In this clip from our video content course, we go over two camera settings you can use to control the amount of exposure on your camera.

Effective Team Building, Importance Of Finding A Niche For Your Company, And The Need For Constant Innovation

Check out our interview with Directive Consulting’s CEO, Garrett Mehrguth! Directive Consulting is a next-gen performance marketing agency for software companies. As a thought leader, Garrett has work published by Salesforce, Marketing Land, Moz, Marketo, Search Engine Land, Ahrefs, Convince & Convert, Search Engine Journal, and more.

In our interview, we discussed strategies to build an effective team, the importance of choosing a niche for your company; and stress how crucial innovation is to improve your brand and attract more clients. We also discussed the benefits that reading books and consistent learning have on personal and business growth.


Listen to episode 37 on Apple Podcasts here: Effective Team Building, Importance Of Finding A Niche For Your Company, And The Need For Constant Innovation

"What lane do you want to be in?"- Lesley Lopez Podcast

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do everything. But there is something that is-you’re taking away opportunities for growth if you don’t focus sometimes"

In this clip from episode 34 of our podcast, Lesley Lopez discusses how not taking the opportunity to focus on a skill or activity, if you have multiple skills in a role, can potentially hurt your chance to grow in that skill or activity; especially when you have a team skilled in doing other roles. Lesley Lopez is the COO of ReKon Productions, a member of the Producer Guild of America, and a seasoned producer who has produced many independent features and commercials from prominent brands such as Nickelodeon, Nestle, and Sony.

Listen to the full episode under Creative Haven on iTunes as we discuss more of being multi-talented, the process of working with directors, and the reason why creatives shouldn’t own a company if they really want to make art.

Listen to episode 34 on Apple Podcasts here: Advantage of Having Multiple Skills, Working In A Team Environment, And Why Creatives Shouldn't Run A Company

Find Your Optimal Video Length for the Best Engagement

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So you’ve entered into the world of video marketing and you’re already uploading videos to your audience! Great job! Are those videos meeting the engagement goals you set for them? Have you considered that the video length is a possible reason for not hitting your goal? If not, don’t worry, because our guide goes over the conditions in a video that could determine the engagement.

Before we get into the video length, it’s crucial to consider the other reasons why viewers might not fully watch your video. When you create videos for your business, you may create them to be informative, educational, or entertaining. The videos you upload are to appeal to your target audience, optimizing for the device they are on. This is where viewing your analytics plays a role. Look into where your viewers are watching your video as well as when the engagement tends to drop. This will help you create content that keeps them engaged throughout the video. After you’ve adjusted the content, target audience, and device optimization, if needed, let’s move on to the video length.

Video length is a good metric to review towards understanding your viewers, as you can pinpoint where most of your viewers finished the video and what they might have missed after they left the video. Each video type has a desired length that has optimal engagement. Most videos that perform well vary between 30-119 seconds, according to The Next Web. However, according to Wisita, a 2-minute video can do well in engagement. However, don’t be restricted to create videos within two minutes. The longer your video is, the more you will have to stay connected with your audience as engagement continues to drop.

Here are some strategies to include in the context of your video to help your customers stay engaged. Focus on one main subject and if that subject is a pain point your customer requested, that’s even better because you will have their attention during the video. To ensure that, write the pain point or main subject in the title, caption, and keywords of the video. Don’t forget to add captions and include a CTA to take them to another video or through a sales funnel. If you’re planning on uploading your video on social media, keep in mind that those platforms have varying optimal video lengths as well. Now your short, concise, engaging video is ready to be uploaded! For more information, click the article below.

Credit: Jesica Mraz Short vs. Long Videos: What is the Best Explainer Video Length?

Focus & Depth of Field

Have you heard of the term depth of field before? Depth of field is an important concept in photography and videography as the distance between the objects in your camera frame determine which objects are sharp and clear. Control the depth of field by adjusting the aperture, distance from the lens, and the focal length. In this clip from our video content course, we explain what depth of field is and how to adjust your camera settings and lens to make your image or shot in focus for your next project.

Prioritizing Education VS Passion, Having A Side Hustle To Fund Your Creative Business, And The Benefits Of Livestreaming

Listen to our next podcast with guest Marc Nieto! Marc is an app developer, Twitch streamer, and LA-based artist.

In this episode, we reminisce over growing up in a household that valued creativity but prioritized education and about how having a full-time job removed the pressure of bringing money through music, which brought more freedom. We also talk about Marc’s life as a Twitch streamer and his reason why live-streaming is a great way to connect with your audience.


Listen to episode 36 on Apple Podcasts here: Prioritizing Education VS Passion, Having A Side Hustle To Fund Your Creative Business, And The Benefits Of Livestreaming.

Environmental-Friendly Virtual Sets

“The fact is when you’re in a virtual world, you’re not cutting down trees and burning fuel to construct the sets and everything else.”

This quote, from episode 33 of our podcast with Tim Pipher, discusses the positive impact using virtual sets have on the environment. Tim is the owner of LA Castle Studios, a video production company that specializes in combining cutting-edge technology with high-quality camera equipment to create unique visual effects and virtual and physical environments and sets.

Continue listening on iTunes as we dive deeper into technology and video production. Topics include the advantages using technology has on creativity and artists; how producers should adopt new technologies for future productions, as they save money, time, and reduce waste.

Listen to episode 33 on iTunes here Modern Era Of Visual Effects, Impact Of Technology, And The Need To Embrace Newer Technology!


Effective Marketing Strategies to Drive Customers

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Last week, we shared with you our feature in Feedspot’s Top 40 Video Production Blogs and Websites To Follow in 2020. Now let’s take a look at these brands who went viral, focusing on the takeaways of each. We’ve got many strategies to share, so let’s get started!

Dominique Ansel Bakery created a pastry that blended his current offering of croissants and a customer suggestion of donuts. The bakery focused on the quality of the cronuts than the quantity. That helped his bakery control the demand of his customers.

Another viral success story comes from the fashion and apparel short shorts brand, Chubbies. After a successful initial test, the founders spent months building their brand and their inventory. That time spent was necessary as they were able to narrow in on an ideal customer and brand story they could target and expand on in the future. When companies go viral, not every viewer is going to know who your company is. Having a strong brand identity before sending your content lets those in and out of your target audience know who you are.

Some more strategies are to utilize ongoing trends, reach outside your target audience, and use user-generated content on social media. Finally, create content that is appealing, relevant, and drives customers to action, regardless if it goes viral or not. Always remember to have a strategy and PR plan in place when you have more demand for your product or service or when engagement is increasing. These takeaways provide useful strategies business owners can implement for their own brand.

Credit: Written by Meg Prater Help! My Brand Went Viral: 16 Small Brands That Made It Big

Types of Shots

Need ideas on how to make your story flow through your camera shots? Experiment with these types of shots to help convey your character’s perspectives and emotions in the shot. Add more creativity and thought to your camera shots through the use of pans and tilts, dolly and tracking shots, and crane shots. In this clip from our video content course, we demonstrate and explain the camera shot types mentioned above.