Five mistakes you’ll make in Video Marketing

Five mistakes you’ll make in Video Marketing

Video content is absolutely vital for business today, but is it as simple as throwing your content together, uploading, and waiting for those hits to roll in?  No.

So, what are these “video pitfalls”?

“Social media”

Using only YouTube to showcase your video content is a very popular pitfall.

You should use your video across as many platforms as you can, that means on Facebook and Vimeo too.  You could even make short versions of your video – teasing or introducing the full piece.  Post that short version to your Instagram and/or Twitter page(s).  From these platforms, content increases its shareability.

These extra channels also have some impressive analytical reports.  In the future, you’ll know where you’re getting the most hits.

“Call to action”

So, you’ve done the hard work?  You’ve managed to captivate your audience!  …Now what?

At the very least, give them the details so they can follow your video up with a visit to your website.  Encourage them to sign up to your newsletters or add you to their social media circles.  This means that you have a new point of contact.

If they reach the end of your video but don’t want to purchase from you right away – it’s important to use good social content so they keep you in mind.

“Point and shoot”

When it comes to making your video, the “point and shoot” technique is probably the most common approach.

When a client comes to us, we look into their company.  We identify the audience and their goals, we set up meetings and ensure that all parties understand the brief.  After that, we storyboard the work, so everyone knows what the end product will look like.

The same goes for when you’re making your own videos.  Pressing the red button and pointing the glass end towards things won’t work.  You’ve got to know what the end goal is.  Why are you doing this video?

“Post and hope”

After you’ve managed to film and edit your video, it’s not a case of posting one video to your YouTube page and then linking that to your website.  You have to know what’s worked and what hasn’t.  That means looking through the analytics.

You’ve posted it to Facebook, what interaction did you get?  You’ve posted it to YouTube – did the majority of the audience switch off after 10 seconds?  Did the majority of people link to it from your social platforms, or are they subscribing to your channel?

Once you’ve analysed all these stats, you should have a good idea if you’ve managed to reach your goal(s).  If you didn’t, where did it go wrong?

“At the very least”

You don’t always have to have a polished, perfectly produced video – but it’s a good idea to have at least one.  A “main video”.

This video should reflect your brand, and encourage your audience that you’re the professional, trust-worthy company they’ve been looking for.  It’s important for you to understand exactly what makes you the best people for a given job, and your video needs to take every opportunity to make this clear to the viewer.

10 TRACKS TO GET YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING

Whether you need a mental kick start or a chance to take a break, music is an important part in helping generate and shape ideas.  Here are 10 tracks we have found that helps to get those creative juices flowing…

 

Amadou & Mariam – Sabali

The first entry in our list has split opinion in the office, with reactions ranging from being underwhelmed to flat-out annoyed!  Personally, I love it, and I hope you do too.

Anthony Naples – Refugio

Sometimes you need a bit of grit to help approach your work from a different perspective; this track gives us that with a healthy dose of groove.  My go-to in those ‘vanilla moments’.

David Bowie – Rebel Rebel

There are certain classic tracks that we can’t help but react to, and what is certainly one of David Bowie’s greatest pieces definitely fits that bill.  RIP to a legend.

Gaussian Curve – Ride

We don’t always listen to music when we colour correct.  When we do, we listen to Gaussian Curve.

Nuyorican Soul – I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun (4hero Remix)

A wildcard that needs to be given time to grow, when it does, it usually gets heads nodding.  A great way to loosen up your tense, right hemisphere.

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

From the moment this kicks in, strange things start to happen in my body.  All good things though, and of course highly creative…

Dischro Creative – Video Driver

We had to, we really had to!  This gets our creative juices flowing and most importantly, it gets our insides all fuzzy with pride.

Lucie Silvas – Nothing Else Matters (Metallica cover)

Another one for those colour correction days, Jobe shouted this track after no small amount of deliberation!  While the original is mind-blowing, this cover is fully deserving of wider recognition.

Orbital – Lush

This one comes from our resident four-four-meister Kayle.  “When in doubt, Orbital.”

Slaves – The Hunter

Sometimes you just need to take a second.  Not a quiet second, but a moment to think.  Then head bang.  Enter Slaves – if this doesn’t get your juices flowing, become an accountant.

 

We hope our selections work for you and we’d love to hear any other suggestions you may have.  Let’s keep those juices flowing!

-Alex.

“That one shot”

Pre-production is an important part of what we do here at DC.  We plan and research every video meticulously before we leave the studio and set up for the first shot.  There are however, on some shoots that we go out on, ‘actuality’ shots, that you just can’t anticipate.  Ones that make you chuckle or ones that you know have captured the overall mood of the video perfectly.  We’ve come to call those, “that one shot”.  This blog looks at some of our favourites that have come up during the last year or so.

The Events Room Presents: Sugar Ray Leonard

We were delighted to be asked to work with The Events Room again, this time in the company of one of the all time greats, Sugar Ray Leonard.  Our “one shot” from this particular shoot was when Joe Calzaghe caught Sugar Ray’s eye from across the room.

The Boardroom Coffee Shop item

Kindness comes in many forms, even the simplest of acts, like buying someone in need a coffee.  That’s the concept behind the Suspended Coffee movement, spearheaded in Wales by The Boardroom coffee shop in Duke Street Arcade.  During our shoot, we filmed a number of people who had purchased a Suspended Coffee, and caught this man, deep in thought.

PHS – Time-lapse Project

DC already had a working relationship with PHS when we were approached to film their latest social endeavour.  During this three-month project, we had the opportunity to meet the resident fox at their plant in Staines (which you may remember from our previous blog).  With a few dog treats, we managed to coax him onto camera.

Children in Need – Why am I falling?

We were honoured to be asked to film Ramin Karimloo’s recording to raise money for BBC Children in Need. During the recording, Ramin showed his playful side, often acting up to the camera and taunting our cameraman!  We just didn’t expect to have so much fun on this shoot!

Bring him Home, sister agrees and smiles

We were asked to shoot a performance video Classical Reflection (from BBC’s “The Voice”) recording their cover of the West End hit ‘Bring Him Home’, as part of a promotional campaign in the lead up to release.  As everything was being recorded live, there were a number of moments we enjoyed, not least of all “the smile”.

Our Favourite Locations – The Top 5

From an urban town in Greater London to the heart of the Brecon Beacons, the following is a list of our favourite five filming locations…

5. Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park has hosted international rugby matches for well over 100 years and is perhaps the most hallowed turf in the game.  Steeped in history, the stands of this great stadium build an unparalleled big match atmosphere, inspiring the players and making for a memorable occasion.

Click here for a one minute insight to what IWRTV was all about!

IWRTV’s fourth show was filmed at this great stadium, and we were very privileged to film some of the Welsh and French greats here.

4. The Hayes, Cardiff

Possibly the most unexpected appearance in our top five, this commercial area in the Welsh capital certainly offers more than at first meets the eye.

The largely pedestrianised area boasts beautiful modern architecture such as the Central Library and St. David’s 2, but these mammoth buildings pay a deserved homage to the celebrated makeup of the capital’s Victorian arcades.

Watch our Flash Mob video here.

This busy area of the city was the scene of Cardiff Blue’s European shirt launch flash mob.

3. Maes yr Onn, Manmoel

Set high above the Gwent valleys, you may not have heard of Manmoel.  If not, you’re missing a wonderfully endearing setting.

Looking north at the surrounding hill farm and abandoned quarries, this could be any other district of the Welsh countryside, but turn to the south-west and you are treated to a stunning panorama overlooking Gwent and Islwyn.

Click here to enjoy the rugged beauty of the Welsh Valley.

This view contends with even the most picturesque locations in Wales and is worthy of a place in our top three.

2. PHS Greenleaf, Staines

Drive through the suburbs of Staines in Middlesex and experience the heart of England’s green belt.  Tumbling into the river Thames, this town is the home of PHS’ wholesale nursery.

On entering the facility, your senses are overwhelmed with colours and aromas you just don’t expect in what is virtually Greater London.

Click here to see why this was our runner up location!

If you pick the right day, you may even be fortunate enough to encounter the resident fox or one of the other many urban inhabitants of this quaint little community.

1. Brecon Beacons

There’s something incredibly enchanting about the rugged beauty of the Brecon Beacons.

As you look through your view finder at the rough, beautiful terrain, you see a place of virtually unrivalled beauty – boasting both character and reams of history.  It can be felt in every lake and waterfall and absorbed while walking though every mountain and valley.

Click here to see why the Beacons get our top spot!

The setting for our Brecon Carreg video in the Beacons is a worthy winner of our “Top 5 Favourite Filming Locations” blog.

http://www.dischrocreative.co.uk

Considering a career with a film crew? Troubles like these may make you reconsider!

Filming out and about on location poses even the most experienced crew certain issues.  In fact, it is impossible to ever rely on the working environment being just the way you want it to be….  Here’s our top five camera crew problems from our trips out and around Wales!

• Live broadcasts are always stressful. All news crews know how tough vox pops can be to organise and film.  Everyone, it seems, has a very forthright opinion until the camera light comes on.  Some people just don’t get what you are doing however, no matter how many times you explain it to them in simple terms.  One lady reluctantly agreed to a live soundbite on a prime-time news programme managed to compose herself and give a great performance only to finish the interview by asking when she would be on TV….in front of an audience of millions.

• All of nature is against you, not just the animal kingdom. When setting up a night-time time-lapse camera, you can expect the bad weather but even on a perfectly clear night, lit by a majestic moonlight, a mischievous leaf from a nearby tree will still manage to find a way to lodge itself over the camera lens and ruin a whole evening’s work.

• At least calmness transcends the medical profession. The BBC drama Casualty shows the emotions of personnel in A&E but in real life the doctors are nurses we encounter are always serene and efficient……unless you walk in through the door covered in the realistic fake blood from the packs you have been using in a scene when even the calmest member of staff might drop her guard and scream, at the top of her voice, “OH MY GOD”!

• Trust no-one. The incompetence of the public and their inability to comprehend the filming process is, whilst sometimes frustrating, entirely understandable.  However when you ask your own experienced crew member to accomplish a simple task such as asking delegates to be interviewed in front of a green screen, the last thing you would expect is for the first subject to be wearing a green dress so they can be made to simply appear on screen as a bizarre floating head.

• I repeat, trust no-one. When taking a break from filming, it is important to remain vigilant….otherwise you may well find yourself questioning your sanity in the editing suite when unrecognisable scenes appear on screen as a result of colleagues “fun”.

Be warned!

http://www.dischrocreative.co.uk

DC Blog – on the way!

Content coming soon…