Saturday 24 February 2018

Did Video Kill the TV star as well?

TV Station Transmitter Tower in competition with online video created by video production companies and private people.Its been long accepted that video killed the radio star but the question is : Did video kill the TV star too? Truth be told video did not kill the radio star at all.Radio is as strong as ever, just in a different way. If the United States is the only consideration, then its actually syndication that did the most to kill the radio star as we know it. The saying actually comes from when MTV came to life. It was believed that people would flood to music videos over music on its own.This belief exploded MTV into a super channel known world wide. As you may know MTV however is not a music TV station anymore. Its seems radio made a comeback. To really understand what the future holds you simply have to look at how people love convenience. Its not the music video versus the music but the convenience versus past systems. Satellite radio made an initial dent on radio because of the ability to listen to a wide range of services and to have music without advertising.

This however was not really the final nail as streaming became the greatest threat to all forms of broadcasting. Some thought that it meant simply putting the existing broadcast onto online streams as a new delivery system for the same programming. This turned out to be far from the truth. The public became instead a consumer of sound bites and video clips. The world seems to be spinning faster everyday and most people just don't have the time to listen to a full news broadcast and music or talk shows.
If you look outside the United States, the picture is quite different. Many countries don't have satellite radio and many have very poor streaming if you are moving. This makes listening to streaming radio problematic because the signal often breaks down as the signal jumps from one cell tower to another.

With all things, technology will change over time. This means that when signals are clear and stable for a high percentage of the time across the planet, the full change from broadcast will most likely happen. That discussion however does not address the question of video.
Many thought websites like YouTube would be mild distractions at best with silly cat videos and illegal low quality copies of movies, being just another piece of junk TV.
Those in the know, like Google, realized otherwise. After Google took over YouTube the platform become a real contender for news, music, entertainment and a platform for people to voice their opinions on subjects ranging from fashion to politics, dating to global affairs.

A place to put your home video became not only another form of entertainment but a massive new business platform. The potential for advertising was suddenly realised in a way most could never have foreseen.

Depiction of Internnet star who is as famous as a regular celebrity in internet videos as opposed to broadcast TV.One type of star that has appeared is the YouTube star. Self made celebrities have begun competing with broadcast TV and movie stars. Some have termed them "Internet famous" vs "really famous".Oddly many of the "Internet famous" have more followers than traditional stars.Many of them are also self made millionaires.




The question then was : Do businesses take YouTube advertising seriously? Would companies reputation be tarnished in anyway by being associated with what many might see as unprofessional ?
At first all went well and many companies took full advantage of the cheap exposure and made huge leaps in their marketing. The fairytale however was short lived. For what ever reason many companies found that their adverts were played on channels not flattering to their image.They banded together, according to mainstream news, and demanded that YouTube control better, how and where the adverts were placed and what channels were acceptable. Many successful YouTube channels quickly became demonetised.
The question hung in the air of "what does this mean for online video marketing?" Just as marketers got to grips with the world of video commercials online, they had to rethink their strategy.

The changes not only affected YouTube channels and companies but also video production companies who had changed their services from broadcast advertising to online video marketing. The changes were not just technical as with the format and compatibility but also in understanding the diverse audience. Unlike TV channels of old, it was found that if the wrong target market was chosen, the marketing became pointless. Video marketing was no longer about making a pretty 30 second commercial and pounding it over and over on broadcast TV.The marketing with video now had to be more focused. Luckily, the algorithms that Google has been working on, have been able to help marketers to direct marketing to the appropriate audiences. Video production companies also had to come to terms with the idea that many of the video platforms were becoming more and more "live". With Periscope, Facebook Live and other services making it possible for individuals to "broadcast", the standard ideas of  advertising changed. Many people believe that the video production companies in Johannesburg and around the world have a handle on the changes happening but in fact it is such a fast changing industry that even marketing companies along with video production companies are trying to get to grips with the changes. While many of the changes have made it more viable to target a niche market, the terrain is still unknown. Many mistakes will be made and hopefully lessons learned from them. The many casualties along the way might not care too much about the lessons learned when they see their income disappear. Many YouTube channels have had to turn to outside sources for income besides advertising.These ranged from donations through many services and even printing T shirts and other merchandising for their followers to purchase.

Online video presenter shown offering an oppinion as opposed to video productions that are for marketing.One of the biggest problems is that their is no official broadcast authority. YouTube and Google have began monitoring and attempting to filter content for what is more "appropriate". Some have argued that the choices are wildly biased in political and social spheres. While cat videos are still considered by many as "acceptable" , independent news channels claim that they can be demonetised for holding the "wrong opinion".



While it has always been the responsibility of marketing companies to navigate the industry, video production companies have become the first contact for small and medium sized businesses. This means that corporate video production companies in Johannesburg are expected to not only understand the online industry but be experts. They are expected to have  an inside knowledge of how to market video correctly that best helps the businesses. Although it shouldn't be the video companies responsibilities, if the clients think it is, then it is.

With all this chaotic changing of the rules, online marketing has begun to look like a "loose cannon".
TV broadcasting of old suddenly looks appealing because of stability. The truth is though that the sheer expense of broadcast TV simply makes it out of the question for most marketers. This means that no matter how rough it gets, the price factor will keep small and medium sized businesses looking to corporate video production companies to make it work for them. So did Video kill the TV star? Clearly not ...well not yet. Only time will tell how video changes, how its delivered and how it will be used for entertainment, news and marketing.


Monday 19 February 2018

Video marketing for small business

Big companies have clearly seen the benefits of video marketing online and understand how much more affordable and effective it is compared to past expensive broadcast advertising. Small businesses are however less convinced. The sad thing is that online marketing should actually be benefiting small businesses due to its low cost and accessibility. Small businesses though are always tighter with their spend. This is totally understandable because they have less to spend and less ability to take risks. The small companies that do see the enormous benefits have taken up the challenge and seen huge benefits. For many people advertising is seen as a one to one exchange where all the money that is spent must be immediately visible as a return and therefore if no immediate returns are seen it seems to them to be a loss and a waste of time. Many small businesses pour good money after bad into low quality traditional advertising such as print media or phone books. The returns are minimal to say the least but they stick with it because they know it well and are comfortable with it.
When a good video campaign is put together by skilled people in a video production company the returns can be fantastic but because it is new territory for small businesses they often shy away from it.

Scene depicting computers and video being usedfor online marketing


Video production companies are in many cases also part of the problem because of their inability to distinguish between large and small companies. The expectations and the disposable funds are not the same. Large companies expect the videos to be very high end requiring expensive equipment and expertise while small businesses do not have the same expectations and have much less to spend.
Some might argue that video companies should not differentiate between big and small companies and treat everyone the same. This is a confused and short sighted approach. Any wealthy businessperson may well buy an expensive imported car while a small business owner may be more likely buy a smaller, more affordable car. Does this mean the two people are being treated differently? Clearly not. The same should apply to video productions. Smaller companies should have more affordable video productions available to them. This does not mean they should accept inferior quality but rather a service which best suites their budget.

Set of corporate video production in Johannesburg


It has been assumed by many that the only way to get a cheaper video made is by using a student or a new comer to the industry. While this thinking greatly benefits the students and newcomers by the lessons they learn, they are learning their lessons at the clients expense and the expense may be great when loss of business is factored in.
There also many dangers involved with low skilled videographers. Many don't have the basic understanding of copyrights and privacy laws. This lack of knowledge can have very costly results in the form of legal action and danger to individuals. The professional small business should really be looking at professional corporate video production companies to create the video that they need for their online marketing. There are more and more skilled video production companies who are beginning to offer affordable video productions that can greatly benefit small businesses. With many services in a free market, competition drives prices down making it possible for small businesses to take advantage of these services.

There are some important factors to keep in mind though when using these more affordable high quality video production services.

The first and most important thing to keep in mind is that video marketing is not SEO. SEO which means Search Engine Optimisation, is a completely different field. While video can play a major part in the Seo work, it in its self is not SEO. The very skilled SEO experts know that video is an intrinsic part of a good SEO strategy but they also know that video cannot stand alone. If you were to put your fantastic video onto YouTube and just wait and watch if anyone will see it, you are in for a mountain of disappointment.
Videos need to be promoted just like any piece of content. If you created a typed piece of marketing material, you wouldn't assume that it would promote its self.You would know that you need to pay a publisher of some kind to promote it. A print add needs to be printed in a publication that is distributed. The same applies to video.

Different videos have different purposes. An "About us" video is great for your website and YouTube but it can not be used for social media. Videos need to be tailored to each format. There are also different price tags for different types of videos. There is no "one fits all" video. Corporate video production Johannesburg companies are often asked for a quote on a corporate marketing video of a few minutes, as if video is sold by minute like meat is sold per pound or kilogram. This is not the case with video. A video of a person speaking in one place is very different to moving graphics, aerial video footage or even a heavy edit for effect. No video can be quoted as a fixed generic amount.Each video, with its own complexities will have a different price. Many small business owners make the mistake of wanting a TV style advert for their business. The advert on TV often costs hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars or rand to produce. Small businesses don't need these adverts. Also many small video production companies in Johannesburg can produce much more appropriate videos at a lower cost.

Camera operator with video camera


Its not a once off. Videos are often seen like websites, where once it is all done nicely it is a "set and forget" situation.This may work for a reasonably long while for websites but it does not work on videos. With social media becoming so pervasive in the marketing of all sizes of business,  it has affected the need for high volumes of content. With video becoming more and more important to social media, video has become a high turn over piece of content. Video productions put together by video production companies in Johannesburg were mostly seen as a low turn over high price type of marketing material. This has changed and video production companies have seen the importance of responding to the demand.The growth in demand for high turn over low price content may eventually over take the high priced video productions. This reluctant acceptance of this change will completely change the playing field of video production and the field of marketing.

 






Monday 5 February 2018

Video Content For Social Media.




Business woman using laptop to share video on social media as content for online marketing.Video being used for social media is not seen in the way that video productions were originally seen. They are however as important as the full blown corporate video production Johannesburg companies provide . Some might say that they are now the most important. The video used though is on a much smaller scale and more of a throw away type of product. Because social media moves so quickly, and the content disposed of so quickly, it can become a very expensive exercise for most small businesses to keep up.
The over-cooking of small videos for social media can be an overkill. It is important to maintain quality but there are ways to reduce the cost of video for social media. There are some important ideas to keep in mind when deciding on the video content but there are no hard and fast rules as the use of video for social media as it is so new and ever-changing. Sticking to hard and fast rules would be a bad idea.
Although the playing field may change wildly and quickly, human behaviour remains the same in most cases. People's attention spans are low to say the least and the flood of information has numbed most people to marketing and advertising. So the idea is to grab their attention and get the message across quickly and memorably in the least irritating way. Worst case scenario you want it not to be an expensive exercise.

Online marketing should really be a much more affordable and effective way of marketing than traditional broadcast media. This means that if a company's online marketing budget begins to look like a broadcast budget, the company would have to rethink their marketing strategy.
Sometimes the content that is to be used is to be as throw away as possible to make sure the campaign can be ongoing. Having one amazing piece of content every blue moon is less effective than reasonably good content on a consistent basis. This type of content is not widely available at good prices because the ones who hold the keys to the equipment and skills to create the content are the same people who provide the high quality, high priced, video content for broadcast and corporate video marketing. They don't want to be seen as companies who create low quality throw away media.

Camera operator cretaing video content for social media video.There, however, is a rising market of video production companies in Johannesburg and around the world who are seeing the growth of a huge market for short, low cost, medium quality content. The important part is that it must be video content. Although images and text do play their part, the rise of video content is staggering. Video has all but over taken all other forms of content for social media, however most of it is low quality DIY nonsense. The video production companies who take up the challenge of creating the highly sought after video content will be part of one of the greatest digital media gold rushes ever seen.

To understand what this content is we have to look at people's behaviour. Firstly it must be eye catching to grab people's attention over other less attractive content. It must get the message across quickly because people lose interest very quickly. It must be memorable enough for people to want to share it and it must not look cheap even though it is. Most people are very judgemental when it comes to poor quality marketing. It's for this reason that the quick and cheap route is a tricky one.

The most popular form of social media content was info graphics.They held the lions share of the desirable content landscape for a long while. Short videos have however started to challenge info graphics for the title of "King of social media content". Info graphics are not cheap so the leap to short video is not that far.

The difference though is the source of the content. Most info graphics are put together by graphic designers, while social media video content is mostly put together by corporate video production companies and by a new bread of content providers.Video production companies Pretoria based or around the country can provide the same content as online providers with a local connection. While most types of content can be bought online, sometimes the sense of disconnect with unknown providers overseas can feel awkward. Local providers can often be just a phone call way to communicate about any issues with your content. Also payment and invoices are a lot easier because most online services work in dollars and not local currencies. The invoices are often also not valid for local tax purposes. Corporate video production companies Johannesburg based may be slightly more expensive but because the services are tax deductible and the communication is often better, the extra expense may not be that problematic.

For most small businesses a price range of a few tens of dollars or few hundred Rand per piece of content is about as big as the budget will go. There is a type of content that is fairly affordable but has a sense of quality to it. This type of content is based on basic templates that can be customised to suite each message for each company. The four important parts to any content are attractive, informative, memorable and sharable. This can be easily achieved with a short animated video adapted to have text suitable for the company message.
The formats can vary from 1080P HD to portrait and even square format. The reason is that most social media is consumed on mobile devices. The aspect ratio on PC is good for HD and many mobile devices, if turned on their side can also use the same aspect ratio, but most people hold their phones upright which means a portrait format is better. The format the can work on both portrait and landscape is the square format of equal height and length. While full marketing videos are best kept to the 16 by 9 aspect ratio of 1080p HD, social media is consumed in too much of an unpredictable manner so the square, or 1 by 1, ratio can be more useful.
The square aspect ratio is not as attractive but is highly shareable and easily consumed. These can sometimes be more important. When going through a list of video production companies in Johannesburg, make sure the company can provide a range of services for online marketing.

The variations on the content include simple typography, which is words floating around the screen, animated characters either as actual animation or as white board type of characters.Then there is the logo animation which basically turns a standard logo into an animated logo. The animated logo does not work well on its own but as part of other content. One of the most popular types is using a combination of typography, visual graphics with photographs and ending with a logo animation. This combined with music and even a voice over can be spectacular. They can be more expensive though so having it without music and voice will cut costs and a lot of social media is consumed using mobile devices with the sound off. So it will not have much of an impact to remove the audio all together.

Here are some examples of social media content :

Animated Logo:



Character animation:



Typography:



Graphics with photos and
video and animated logo:










Marketing With Video In 2019

Its time for all who have been waiting in the wings to finally turn to video marketing to boost their business exposure. If your company doe...