We get a lot of questions from our clients and associates in Oakville about video production procedure and how we go about writing our scripts. Script writing for a video is of course one of the first steps in the production process and requires a substantial amount of skill and experience to be done right. There are many variables involved in creating a great video script. Here are a few rules of thumb that we always follow in writing our scripts.

The term “elevator pitch” has become a popular catchphrase in business. The idea is to find a short summary that quickly and simply defines what you do and/or what your company does should you find yourself sharing a short elevator ride with a person of importance to your business. In a situation like this, you would be prepared to pitch your products or services to that person in that short period of time in the hopes of procuring new business.

In many ways, a video can be seen somewhat like an elevator pitch in that you must capture someone’s attention quickly to deliver your message (or pitch). Although there are exceptions, for the most part we approach our scripts from that perspective. We know that a video has upwards of five seconds to grab attention and compel a viewer to continue watching. Within these crucial first seconds, the viewer must get a clear idea that your company and brand are awesome and that your products or services are something they need…. NOW. A balanced combination of voiceover narration, compelling video shots and/or animated titles and text, are some of the many elements that can be written in to achieve this.

With video, one size does NOT fit all so we always keep the target audience (client’s target customers) in mind when developing our scripts. This comes down to having efficient dialogues with our clients and developing a thorough understanding of their target customers. Additional market research is often necessary on our part. The goal here is for the target audience to be able to easily identify with what is being expressed in the video. We ask ourselves the question: “What is the problem that this product or service solves?”. Often, creating a simple scenario or case example can help viewers get the point quickly. From there we present the solution. We explain what makes this product or service ideal and why the viewer should choose our solution over the competition. The solution needs to create a desire for the viewer to act fast.

In terms of duration, today the most effective marketing videos are between 30 and 60 seconds. 90 seconds and beyond is where you start losing viewers unless your content is really exceptional. Keeping a video to within 30-60 seconds means really keeping your information and content to-the-point. Narrations, actors’ lines, shots, call-to-action text, etc. must all be properly planned out to fit within this time rage. It helps to keep sentences and on-screen text short and to use simple language…. no insider-industry jargon…. always use layman’s’ terms. Once the working draft is complete, we read through the script and time it with a normal speaking cadence to confirm that the duration falls between the preferred 30 – 60 seconds. Revisions are then done as needed and the process is repeated until we’ve achieved the right duration for the script. This works very well if the video has narrations throughout and also helps us imagine how the visuals will play out on screen. It’s also important to allow for the right amount of time for the call-to-action shot at the end (the next step the viewer can take to get started). When the working draft is complete, we submit it to the client for feedback and apply any necessary revisions. As soon as the client approves the script … it’s lights, camera, and action time!

Script and concept development is the first step and a decisive factor in whether a video will be great or if it will be a flop. If you are interested in joining the millions of companies world wide that are enjoying the benefits of having video in their marketing plan, contact a reputed corporate video production company today. Remember, video is no longer just some luxury marketing tool in it’s infancy, utilized by early adopters. Video marketing is essential NOW. And it all starts with a great script!

In our 11 years of producing video production content in Oakville, we’ve come to understand one important fact: Oakville is a great city in which to do business. You’d be hard pressed to find a business professional in Oakville that disagrees. Between the treasure trove of corporations, industries, co-operative networks, and of course the large population, the opportunities for success and innovation in Oakville are truly endless. And let’s not forget all the business enabling venues: great restaurants, boutiques and cafes on every corner; exciting sports, activities, and a nightlife that attracts Hollywood stars. Oakville has all the furnishings to accommodate today’s business professional in almost every way.

That said, this abundance of industries, companies, and business professionals also makes for stiff competition regardless of your industry. Beyond maintaining high quality standards and methods, you must also be effective in communicating your company’s excellence to your target market and be successful in converting them into customers. This is where marketing plays an integral role. And as regards to marketing, according to latest statistics, no other marketing tool is as effective as video production for the conversion of new customers. Don’t believe me? Check out these 3 statistics provided by Brightcove:

• Using video on landing pages can increase conversion by 80%.

• Visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not.

• Video in email marketing has been shown to increase click-through rates by over 96%. In response, the number of marketers planning to use video in email campaigns has increased five times since the beginning of 2009.

Corporate video production has become one of the top marketing tools in the world today. With world wide brands increasing their video production budgets to unprecedented levels, online audiences and social media users are being converted through highly entertaining videos with celebrity interviews, professional acting and direction, incredible animation, effects, and even top notch hollywood style action stunts – as seen in the Volvo Trucks “Epic Split” video with Jean-Claude Van Damme:

But that said, one does not need a multi million dollar budget to create powerful video content. It is true that a high level of video production quality is needed to capture and hold your audience’s attention but you certainly don’t need Hollywood production companies to create compelling video content.

All you really need is a trusted professional corporate video production company with many years of a experience, supported by an extensive and diverse portfolio and testimonials. The company you choose must also have an excellent creative team with vast knowledge of video production procedures and content marketing trends. When you find the video production partner that fits your individual needs and can provide  all of the above, then you are ready to move forward.

In short, Oakville is a major part of the golden horseshoe of Ontario. It is a vibrant entity with countless moving parts helping to create a strong Canadian economy and quality of life. At this moment, companies are being built, deals are being made, and countless successes are being attained. With the right vision, the right company, and these effective marketing tools, you’ll be on the fast track to finding your own success in the big city!

When it comes to your business – hire a professional

In 1985, a year after the Apple Macintosh computer was launched, the first desktop publishing program, Pagemaker, was released for the Mac. It launched a world of professional page layouts and home-made garage sale flyers, all on a home computer.

Suddenly everyone was a graphic designer! The number of brochures being produced soared, but the number of bad brochures soared as well.

Today we see the same phenomenon in the world of video. Small, HD video cameras and inexpensive desktop video editing software have legions of people producing and editing videos.

It’s certainly suitable for hobbyists to edit short videos and post them on YouTube for fun, but in the business world that can lead to disaster. A poor quality video can lead to an unsatisfactory impression of your company and brand. You can’t go back and make a new first impression.

With video becoming an increasingly vital component of  commercial websites, your business requires the production values that a video professional brings to the job.

Online video is the business card of the 21st century

As Canadian businesses shift more of their attention online, it’s more important than ever to understand the key trends being seen across the internet.

10 Online Video Trends Every Marketer Needs to Know

1. According to ComScore, Canada continues to lead the world in online engagement,  with visitors spending an average 45 hours per month online, representing a fertile ground for digital marketers and advertisers.
2. 181 million US internet users watched nearly 40 billion online videos in January 2012
3. Smartphone penetration has reached 45% in Canada. Mobile content and online videos are finding new followers from the corporate world.According to Forbes Insights: “59% of executives prefer to watch video over reading text. Younger executives in particular appear more inclined not only to view video, but also to share it over the business-oriented “social” web. Their growing influence is likely to make business-related video even more prevalent in the coming years.”
4. Nearly 85% of the internet audience viewed online video.
5. 90% of shoppers find video useful when purchasing.
6. People who view an engaging online video are 64% more likely to buy or explore the brand.
7. Video traffic on mobile devices is now 50% of wireless network traffic.
8. People using mobile devices – such as iPhone, Android, Blackberry and iPad – view online videos two and a half times longer than desktop users.
9. In a keynote address at CES in January, YouTube’s VP of Global Content, Robert Kyncl, predicted that video would soon be 90% of internet traffic.
10. More videos are uploaded in 60 days than the three major US networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) produced in 60 years

If 90% of all internet traffic will be for video – will people really bother with a website without video? Companies that don’t embrace video are at risk of being left behind.

Online video is no longer “the future”. Online video is here and it’s the newly accepted norm.

Video to drive foot traffic to your trade show booth

So you’re thinking about marketing your products or services at a trade show, conference or expo. You’ve designed your booth, complete with company banners, flyers, brochures and hand outs.

But how will you drive traffic to your exhibit? Video is ideal for the trade show environment.

Image two adjacent booths: a video playing at the booth on the left, no video at the one on the right. Which direction will heads turn? Research shows that a booth with a video gets more attention.

• A video will increase the amount of time a potential client stays at your booth.
• A video can remove the discomfort of establishing eye contact and gives your audience a less intimidating environment for them to view your company’s products and services.
• A video helps to engage attendees who are passively walking past your booth by allowing you to gradually connect with them.
• A video is also an ideal way to illustrate “before and after” results.

Set your booth apart from your competition at your next trade show with a video! Enhance your brand. Promote product visibility. Generate excitement about your products/services.

4 Reasons to have an Online Video Profile

No matter how much written content and photos you have on your website, they can’t convey as much about you and your services as a video profile.

Our Online Profile is a short 1- to 1.5-minute video featuring owners, staff and customers in a “real” documentary style format.

The Age of YouTube and Reality Television
While the idea of using video as a marketing tool is not new, in the age of YouTube and Reality Television most people are now accustomed to seeing ordinary people talk about themselves — sharing their knowledge and expertise, or creating their own ”reality TV” show. The benefit of these self-promotions is that potential customers get to hear from you — the business owner.

Doing Business with  People You Know
An Online Video Profile Video helps customers to feel like they know you, even before they’ve met you! If they like you on video, they’ll  probably like you in person. People prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust. Video can go a long way toward building those qualities into your relationship with virtual strangers.

Yellow Pages No More
Long gone are the days of the yellow pages. Your customers likely go straight to the Internet to find you and to learn more about you, all before calling you.

Be Yourself
Your online profile will help distinguish you from your competitors and build a local presence, just by being yourself. A promotional video is great for nearly any type of business owner; lawyers, accountants, web designers, physicians, realtors, dentists, mechanics, restaurant owners, contractors, just to name a few.

And keep in mind that maintaining the momentum with new, helpful videos will leave your target market wanting for more.

5 Steps to Optimizing Video Thumbnails

Today video marketing in Oakville is highly competitive. Creating effective custom thumbnails can make all the difference when it comes to a viewer choosing to watch your video, or deciding to watch another. The thumbnail acts as a first impression for your video… it’s the first image anyone sees of your video, but so many companies in Oakville fail to take advantage of this optimization feature.

Nothing beats a custom thumbnail image that ties in with your video, your channel message and your brand. Apart from making quality videos that viewers want to watch, companies should follow some basic guidelines when creating optimized thumbnails.

Here are 5 ways you can optimize your thumbnails:

#1 Make the Best Use of Colour

The brighter the colours, the more chance the thumbnail will stand out from the rest of the competition. Of course, that doesn’t mean to go completely overboard. Do just enough to differentiate your video from the others. Don’t settle for the existing colours in your image. Through graphic design software, boost the saturation in the thumbnail image just enough to make the colours stand out over other thumbnails. Even small adjustments to the hue and saturation can attract viewers directly to your thumbnail instead of others. Consider applying a filter to your thumbnails. Even something as simple as sharpening the edges can have a subliminal effect on thumbnails.

#2 Include an Image of a Face

Make sure that your thumbnail image has a close up of a human face whenever possible. This will help your image stand out on whatever device it’s being viewed on. Emotional facial expressions can also go a long way to engaging viewers to watch. The added emotion will capture the viewer’s attention and make them want to watch the video to see what caused this emotion.

Buzzfeed has this down to a science.

#3 Use an Action Shot

Another way of capturing attention is to use an action shot as the thumbnail (if possible). The added sense of motion will encourage viewers to click on your video to see what it’s all about. The Slow Mo Guys are known for conducting crazy experiments, and along with optimized titles, they almost always include the main action shot from their videos on their thumbnails. The amount of clicks they get shows just how effective this approach can be.

#4 Create Custom Branding for Your Thumbnails

Giving your video thumbnails some brand consistency is an excellent way to build awareness for your content, especially if your videos are in a very competitive category online. Lowes does a good job of this using their branded colours to tie all their content in.

#5 Test and Analyze

One last tip is to test your thumbnails. YouTube still doesn’t have a native feature so you’ll need to rely on resources like TubeBuddy for this. A well-planned testing strategy can improve the performance of your videos and channel almost immediately, so don’t overlook this valuable strategy. Also, stay open to replacing thumbnails if you you can see it isn’t working for your video.

Remember to choose thumbnails that are accurate to the content within your video. Although in the past it was indeed possible for companies to build an audience on Youtube using misleading thumbnails, it doesn’t work like that anymore. Now that Youtube is much more focused on watch time than on simply driving clicks and views, you have to make sure that whatever is on your thumbnail is indeed what your video is all about. If you can follow these guidelines for your video marketing strategies, you’ll create thumbnails that not only accumulate viewer clicks but you’ll also build your Oakville audience.