Competitive Videos For Small Businesses - 7 Ways To Boost Your Brand

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By now you’ve probably heard all about how video can help your business. You might already be making videos, or at the very least, you know why you should!

If you’re wondering how to use video to market your small or any sized business, Jam Shakeshaft Video is here to help you get started. We’ve rounded up a list of seven different ways your business should be using video, so you can get started on receiving the benefits from professional video content.

INTRODUCTION VIDEOS

Part one of the Curvabilis yoga course held by Megan Marcelle Yoga.

1. Introduce Yourself and Explain What You Do

Some of the best small business videos are a simple hello. Not only are you adding a face to your business, but you can add a video to your homepage or social media platforms simply outlines what you do and what problem you solve for your customers. Even better, keep it under 60 seconds so your message, sale or service is absorbed by the viewer.

You’ll find this is a lot more effective than trying to cram the same explanation, sale or services into the headline and first paragraph of your home page. all while struggling to keep everything above the fold.

The combination of both audio and visual stimulation in short introduction video makes describing complex concepts much easier—and easier to understand to the viewer.

Take advantage of this by adding a few in-depth videos that explain the details of your product features or the different services you offer for viewers to discover once they’re hooked. These can live on a separate section of your website, drawing viewers in for further education to help them decide to buy or commit to a service.

TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS

Johnson & Boon's Legal Guard - Recommendation from Naked Media

2. Highlight Social Proof with Video Testimonials

If you’re doing your job right, your biggest brand advocates should be your customers or clients. Why not get them in front of a camera and share what it is that makes them love your product and your company so much?

First-hand accounts are much more effective for your audience than hearing the same people from your company do the same pitch over and over again. In fact, 46% of adults in the UK say they trust consumer-written online reviews, while only 10% trust ads on websites and 9% have faith in written messages from brands, according to research from Forrester.

Video customer testimonials are way more believable and affective than the standard, one-line blurb.
It’s the difference between this:

“I couldn’t believe what ABC company did for my wedding!” – Sally, NYC

Johnson & Boon's Legal Guard - Recommendation from Naked Media

And this… (the video above) This video provides the connection from meaningless words on a page to something thats heartfelt and meaningful.




EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS

A short, punchy icon animation to fit in time with the voiceover. This animation was to explain why to choose Sykes Holiday cottages in a unique and captive ...

3. Educational videos

Providing education to address a problem/pain point for your target audience is a great way to get noticed. Start with a little keyword research to find high search volume keywords in your niche. There are a variety of content formats to help you create educational videos including live-action videos, whiteboard videos, and webinars.

The key to these videos is that they’re short yet very informative. Whether you are in the business of selling business tools or consumer products related to health and beauty, educational videos are a great way to start building a long-lasting relationship with your audience. Businesses that are cause-related can use educational videos to explain their cause in an interesting way.

A short animated video containing property content and animated facts and figures. This education video is used by Sykes Holiday Cottages at networking events and PR shows.

Educational video content is critical for spreading awareness about your products and services. You should regularly produce quality educational videos. The strategy will fetch you more attention for your brand and a growing subscriber base for your content. They are equally helpful in capturing and nurturing leads.

PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS

A business promotion video for The Mucky Paws Club. Nikki at The Mucky Paws Club is a huge lover of all breeds of dog. Not only does this video portray this,...

4. Business Promotion & Corporate videos

Corporate and business promotion videos serve to showcase your company and its vision to your audience. It is the ‘About Us’ page of your website converted into a live-action video!

A corporate or business advertisment video includes details like:

  1. Strengths of a company and its team

  2. Details about the business infrastructure and quality standards

  3. Awards and achievements

  4. products or services we offer

Corporate videos build trust among your audience and focus more on the corporate brand, its values, and its objectives. These videos can be very influential in converting prospects who are considering a variety of options.

Here is a very cool example of how you can use your corporate video to advertise space, office, or building to rent. Using motion graphics within your corporate videos are a cost-effective way to create impactful business videos (which can be a huge plus).

The Capital is the largest office building in Liverpool extending to over 410,000 sq ft with an occupier mix including UKBA and RSA. Situated within a prime ...

EXPLAINER & DEMO VIDEOS

5. Explainer, informative, installation and demo videos

An essential part of marketing your products and services is to explain their unique value proposition.

91% of consumers have watched an explainer video to learn about a product or service. - Strategic

An explainer video is an animated video that illustrates the core features of your products and services in simple terms. It uses animated characters, text, graphics, and a narrative to tell your product story. Just note: You must use a professional voiceover and music while creating an explainer video.

Explainer videos are extremely beneficial for startup companies and businesses selling complex technology products.

Such videos are helpful in the capture stage of the buyer’s journey. You can put up your explainer video on your landing page along with a relevant Call-to-Action, to collect some qualified leads for your business.

EVENT HIGHLIGHT & MARKETING VIDEOS

The Wirral Life™ Awards 2019 Highlight Video Here are the best parts of the event. a huge congratulations to all the Wirral businesses, both the winners and ...

6. Event videos

Promoting your events on social media is a great way to strengthen your relationship with your fans and followers.

Video of a live event increases brand favorability by 63%. - Twitter

You can get professional videographers to record corporate event videos and then post them up on your social pages. Live streaming on social media is a trend that’s proven to work and requires minimal resources. You can live stream short snippets of your business events as stories on Instagram or as live videos on Facebook and Twitter.

Event promotion videos are very helpful in nurturing your existing leads and building deeper relationships with them. They do this by creating hype around your brand and its newly launched products, and spreading the word! If you are a big brand with a large, geographically dispersed audience, then videos like these are a must!

‘THANK YOU’ VIDEOS

7. ‘Thank You’ Videos

Thanking your customers is a great way to make them feel special.  These type of videos also work equally well in helping you to retain your existing clients and get more business from them. You can use any video format to thank your customers, but creating a very personal video would surely add more value.

Here is an example of a striking ‘Thank you’ video from Talbots, a US-based women’s fashion brand.

In this video, the whole executive team of Talbots comes together to thank their customers. The video gives the audience a sense of being a part of the Talbots community - of women who love to dress well. Videos like these help in bringing out your brand values and making your audience feel connected to those values. All types of B2B and B2C brands can make use of ‘Thank You’ videos for higher customer retention. Make sure you have a large customer base and you’ll definitely benefit from such videos.

If you are considering video to help promote your business, then why not contact Jam Shakeshaft Video today for a creative approach and competitive quote.


Property advertising and walk through videos: What are my options?

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So you’re selling properties online and want to add property videos to your listings. Brilliant! Here are 3 options.

Have you noticed that more and more websites are incorporating videos into their content? Videos provide engaging, bite-sized chunks of information, which pretty much any type of web content can benefit from.

Is it fair to say that we’re becoming lazier online? The herculean effort required to raise a tired arm and swipe an exasperated finger to move between property photos is just too much for some. Or maybe the majority.

Perhaps we’re just busier than before and doing stuff like eating the freshly ‘deliverood’ Pad Thai whilst checking out property listings on the iPad is the norm. Property videos facilitate the lazy and busy amongst us to sit back and simply absorb the property pixels, no hands needed.

It might sound too fancy, too complicated or too expensive, but there really is a video option for everyone. If you’ve never considered property videos, read on to see what your listings are missing!

Why should I add property videos to my listings?

Making your listing as engaging as possible will help you to stand out from the crowd, generate more interest and more viewings. That’s what it’s all about, right?

Property videos are a great way of doing this, and there are several ways to make videos that really showcase and sell your property.

Whilst a Tony Stark-style mansion will have the budget for a high-end 3D 360° Virtual Reality or Pro Video Tour, your average 3 bed semi won’t. But that doesn’t mean that your bread-and-butter properties can’t come to the video party!

If you’ve read our stuff before, you’ll know we believe that great property photography is essential and that there are some strong arguments (3, actually) for why you should include a floor plan in your listing.

But with lots of agents now having both, video is another way to make your listing stand out. Property videos are engaging—and they look pretty fancy, too! Still not convinced? Here are some things to consider…

  1. People LOVE video: By 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic. Showcase your properties in a way that people want and expect to see.

  2. Stand out from the crowd: A branded video can be the icing on the cake of your listing! Are your competitors using videos? No? Then your listing will be all the more enticing!

  3. Win more instructions: When pitching for your vendor’s business, just drop in: “Oh yeah, and we’ll be marketing your property with a beautiful 1080p HD video on the portals and our social media channels”. See what happens.

  4. Better for your SEO: Google loves engaging content and pages with videos often rank better than ones without. Property videos are good for your audience and good for SEO.

  5. Tyre kickers: Some kinds of property video will give an excellent overview of the house, weeding out people who would have booked a viewing and wasted your time but now, after watching the video tour, know not to bother.

Starting to come round to the idea of property videos?

Take a look at our rundown of the various types of video to learn how to give your listings that wow factor!

#1: 3D Virtual Reality Tours

This one feels a bit sci-fi but it’s pretty impressive. 3D Virtual Reality Tours allow potential buyers to explore the inside of the property through a full 3D 360° walk-through. If you’ve ever looked at a company’s internal Street View on Google Maps, it’s just like that.

People can navigate through the house, going from room to room as if they were actually there! They get a good feel for the property’s size and layout, and can view the rooms from any angle. If you’re feeling particularly fancy, you can use a VR headset for a totally immersive experience.

Matterport is a popular technology/company providing 3D Virtual Reality Tours, click here to see a real life example >

What properties is it for?

A high-quality 3D 360° property tour isn’t cheap, so they’re better suited to luxury properties with a higher return on investment.

VR tours also work best on properties that are well presented throughout, rather than those trickier ‘viewing strongly recommended’ listings.

How is it done?

The property is photographed using 360° cameras. Special software is then used to stitch the images together, creating a virtual property. You can also highlight areas of interest like hardwood floors or brand-new fitted appliances that you don’t want people to miss!

Pros

A VR tour is a really impressive way to show off a property and adds prestige to your brand. As this technology gets cheaper and more accessible, 360° tours may become the norm, so now could be a great time to get ahead of the trend!

Cons

You probably won’t be able to make a VR tour if you’re not a professional, and hiring one can be expensive. It might be out of your price range right now, but costs could drop as the tech becomes more common.

The software required for viewing 360° tours isn’t supported by Rightmove or Zoopla. You’ll have to host the tours on your own site and link to it from the listing—though this has the added bonus of getting more people onto your website!

#2: Pro Video Tours (aka Virtual Tours, Property Walk Through)

A Professional Video Tour is a recorded walk-through of the property, taking viewers into each room individually. You can even include the surrounding area in your video, giving a flavour of the location.

Specialist camera and recording equipment is used to keep the camera still and smoothly glide around the house. The footage is then professionally edited in software like Adobe Premiere Pro with music and graphics added.

What properties is it for?

Pro Video Tours are, on the whole, still for the higher end stuff, but this will depend on what area of the country you’re in (which determines the value and therefore your commission and budget).

These professionally made property videos (yes, you’ll need to hire an expert) give a clear idea of size and layout, allowing viewers to feel as though they’ve already visited. And, to be honest, on a nice house, they look incredible!

If you want to ditch the ‘Pro’ aspect of the video tour, then you could do it yourself by just walking around the house and record it on your smartphone. However, the difference between your video tour and a Pro Video Tour will be, err, kind of noticeable.

How is it done?

Someone physically walks around the property, filming their point of view as they go. Usually performed by a professional videographer.

The video can be a simple walk-through or something with higher production value, using tracking shots or even drone footage. The video footage can be edited with branding, music and narration if you like.

Pros

Professional Video (or Virtual) Tours give a great idea of the property and can look phenomenal in a nice home, definitely ramping up the ‘warm tingly feeling’ someone gets when they just have to book a viewing!

Plus, they’re doable for anyone with basic camera skills if you go down the DIY route (but these don’t look phenomenal).

Cons

Depending on your skills and what you want the end result to be, video tours can take a long time to make. Hiring someone who know how to do it properly can get expensive, especially if you opt for all the bells and whistles.

#3: Video Slideshows

A Video Slideshow is the easiest and cheapest way to make a video tour. They simply transform property photos into video, playing them one after the other like a slideshow. While these may now sound pretty basic compared to the other 2 options, they can still look very cool!

Photos of the property are displayed alongside various transitions, motion effects and music. You can also encourage people to contact you by adding your own custom branding and a CTA. Good video slideshows are much more dynamic and engaging than photos, and can help you to get real people through those doors!

What properties is it for?

Video Slideshows are perfect for properties of all shapes and sizes, both low and high value, as they can be created very quickly (Like, a few hours after taking the photos quickly). They’re also extremely cost-effective.

How do I do it?

You can use software like Adobe Premiere Pro, or there are companies that can do it for you (that’s where we come in!).

You’ll need to take the pictures of the house first, then either add them to Premiere Pro or send them to us to do it for you. The example Video Slideshow above is one that we made.

To make sure that your videos look awesome, the images need to be awesome as well. Download our Ultimate Guide to Property Photography for our simple tips to help you to capture sensational shots! You may also fancy enhancing your images first to show the property in its best light.

Pros

Video Slideshows are a really affordable option suitable for a wide range of properties. They’re quick and easy to create, and don’t require expensive equipment or time-consuming video shoots.

A slideshow can be just as engaging and informative as a walk-through tour, but at a fraction of the cost, giving a great return on investment. If you’ve got a nice set of property photos, you’ve got what you need for a great property video!

Video slideshows can also be displayed in the ‘Video Tour’ tab on Rightmove.

Cons

A Video Slideshow can’t display the precise layout of a property in the same way as a VR or pro video tour; they can only show what the photos show.

They are less immersive and less impressive compared to other types of property video available.

Property videos by Jam Shakeshaft Video

If you like the idea and look of a property video and want to learn more about what Jam Shakeshaft Video can do, head over to Jam Shakeshaft Video’s property page for more info and to see further examples, or get in touch if you’ve got any questions.

Simply send Jam Shakeshaft Video an email today or call on 07709 627 634 for a free competitive quote. standard turnaround for a professional property video is 48 hours after the property has been captured. More urgent properties can be completed for the very next day.

8 Reasons You Need to Use Video Marketing In Your Business

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Videographer Wirral video creator video editor business video marketing video jamshakeshaftvideo.jpg

1. Video Boosts Conversions and Sales

First things first. Videos can make you some serious money. Adding a product video on your landing page can increase conversions by 80%. And Treepodia team has made it sure that video works well regardless of the category in which you deploy it.

Video can also lead directly to sales. Studies show that 74% of users who watched an explainer video about a product subsequently bought it. So better start crafting your exciting product videos now!

If you think about it, the effectiveness of video is not even that surprising. After all, vision is our most dominant sense. Most information transmitted to our brain is visual. So if already pictures can boost engagement massively, imagine what moving pictures can do to your business.

2. Video Shows Great ROI

To get you even more excited, 83% of businesses say that video provides good return on investment. Even though video production is not yet the easiest nor cheapest task, it pays off big time. Besides, online video editing tools are constantly improving and becoming more affordable. And even your smartphone can make pretty decent videos already.

Another good news is that your videos don’t have to be perfect. It’s the content that matters! Latest research shows that users are mostly put off by videos that don’t explain the product or service clearly enough. Low quality and poor design didn’t matter nearly as much. So it’s fair to say that video is like pizza – when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good!

3. Video Builds Trust

Trust is the foundation of conversions and sales. But building trust should be a goal on its own. The whole concept of content marketing is based on trust and creating long-term relationships. Stop selling and let the people come to you by providing them interesting and useful information. I couldn’t have said it better than Mark Schaefer, the Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions:


Video does it all. Video content is likely to engage us and ignite emotions. And when we talk about elite people in the audience, YouTubers have become the most powerful social media figure to promote your brand. So, if you are serious about content marketing, you must be serious about video, too.

Promotional videos can foster trust as well. Some consumers are still skeptical about buying products and services on the internet because they fear fraud and cheating. But effective marketing videos present your products in a conversational form. That creates a sense of individual approach which is why 57% of consumers say that videos gave them more confidence to purchase online.

4. Google Loves Videos

Videos allow you to increase the time spent by visitors on your site. Thus, longer exposure builds trust and signals search engines that your site has good content. Moovly gives us whopping statistics: You’re 53 times more likely show up first on Google if you have a video embedded on your website. Since Google now owns YouTube, there has been a significant increase in how much videos affect your search engine rank.


Make sure to optimize your videos on Youtube for SEO. Write interesting titles and descriptions. Add a link back to your website, products, and services. Give potential customers the way to take the next step. And explore the world of interactive videos, to encourage actions even more.


5. Video Appeals to Mobile Users

Video and mobile go hand in hand. 90% of consumers watch videos on their mobile. From Q3 of 2013, mobile video views have grown more than 233 percent. YouTube reports mobile video consumption rises 100% every year. Since people like to watch videos on the go, and the number of smartphone users is growing, your video audience keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Also, Google tells us that smartphone users are twice as likely than TV viewers and 1.4 times more likely as desktop viewers to feel a sense of personal connection to brands that show video content or ads on their devices.

The growth of mobile video means, brands need to be sensitive to the personal experience people have on their smartphones. For example, give them a better choice in the video content they consume.

6. Video Marketing Can Explain Everything

Are you launching a new product or a service? Create a video to show how it works. 98% of users say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. That is why 45% of businesses who use video marketing said that they have an explainer video on their home page. Of those businesses, 83% said that their homepage explainer video was effective.

Trying to explain a difficult concept? Create animated videos. Animation can bring concepts to life that no text or live video can. Besides, boring talking heads are not enough anymore to break through the clutter. Animated videos are a perfect combination of entertainment, nostalgia, and simplicity. And they work.

Make sure you use a process that will get you results. Use these 20 pre-production steps to make your video content stand out from the rest. Check out the essential tips and examples of best practices on how to make a product demo video.

7. Video Engages Even the Laziest Buyers

Video is a great tool for learning, but it’s also super easy to consume. Today’s life is too busy to have time to read long product descriptions or dig deep into services. The modern customer wants to see the product in action. Video preference is one of the most important driving forces of using video in your content marketing.

Video marketing can capture a wide audience, and it works on many levels. Even the laziest ones. Make sure you target not only to the eyes but also to the ears of the potential client. Your competitive advantage gets double power!

8. Video Encourages Social Shares

In the 8th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report Michael Stelzner stated that 60% of the social marketers used video content in 2015 and 73% of the total respondents planned to use it in 2016. And they sure did.

Social networks also encourage video content with their new features. Facebook has launched 3600 Video, Live Video, and Lifestage (A Video-Centric App for Teenagers). Instagram put in place 60-Second Videos & Instagram Stories, Twitter has Periscope. And YouTube is the second most popular social network in the world.

However, in a social media context, video marketers must remember that people share emotions, not facts. 76% of users say they would share a branded video with their friends if it was entertaining. So create fun entertaining videos to encourage social shares. Emotions are not exactly ROI but social shares can increase traffic to your site, and you can take it from there.

Bonus Tip 1: Video Ads Work Wonders

Hear this: the average click-through-rate of video ads is 1.84%. That’s the highest CTR of all digital ad formats! And for a 15-second non-skippable YouTube video ad the completion rate is 92%. For skippable video ads, the rate is 9%.

Video ads are also highly effective on social media platforms. Facebook, clubbed with Nielsen, projected the value of video ads on its platform. They learned that 74% of the total Ad Recall can be achieved already within the first 10 seconds of the video. So, fight against banner blindness by making video ads instead.

Bonus Tip 2: Video Is Rocking Email Campaigns

When you’re creating videos already, make sure you to incorporate them into your email marketing campaigns. An introductory email that includes a video receives an increase click-through rate by 96%! That’s a great way to stand out from competition and get your message across.


Top 10 Reasons Why You Need An Event Video

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Corporate Event, Music Event, Awards Event, Business Event, or Special Event!

Event Highlight Videos can boost your companies reach!

According to a Forbes Insights study, 65% of the business executives surveyed said that they would visit a company’s website, after viewing a video. (source)

And that’s just one of the reasons that so many businesses choose to create an event video.

Need more convincing?

Here are ten more reasons why you should promote your business with an event video.

#1 Perfect For Delivering Key Messages

Event videos are usually bright, fast-paced, colourful, and feature lots of people are smiling in front of the camera. This enables the video production company to create a really fast-paced edit and present a lot of key messages. At the same time, those messages can be presented in a really informal way, so that it doesn’t appear overly promotional.

#2 Let Your Customers Sell Your Event

During the event, you can film interviews with your clients, vendors, and other event attendees where they share their experiences. This is a great way to provide nonbiased, social proof to market your next event.

#3 Maximize Your Events Entertainment

There is invariably an element of entertainment at most events which you can include as part of the video. This way you are not only educating your audience, but you also entertain them with the footage that you capture.

#4 Improve Your Company’s Brand Image

Through the video, you’re giving out the impression that your company is a really great company to work. Potential employees and corporate partners will be shown your business in the best possible light.

#5 Leverage Other Brands

You can use your video as a branding exercise. Get lots of brand names in there, and not just your own. Show the world with which great brands you are working, put them in the video, and then put that event video out on YouTube.

#6 Position Your Company In The Market

You can use it as a positioning exercise, the video can say that your company is young, fresh, cool and funky. An event video is a great way of saying “look at the type of events that we put on, aren’t they awesome”.

#8 Create Marketing Material For Future Events

You can use them to promote future events and illustrate why people should be going to them, you can send the event video out to your clients to say either,

“Look at the event that you came to, and wasn’t it brilliant. Here are the highlights, I hope you had a really good time.”

Or you can use it to send to clients who didn’t turn up to the event and say;

“Hi, look what you’ve missed it was awesome, but you are still getting the key messages out of it.”

#9 Highlight Your Company Sponsorship

You can highlight your companies’ sponsorship of a certain event through a video as well. The event video can sit on your YouTube channel, which really underlines the association between your brand and the event that you sponsored.

#10 Provide A Platform To Explain Your Vision

You can have a company representative talking about why they sponsor a certain event and highlight the importance of that event to your company. This can both be used for your internal and external communication. An event video is a fantastic platform to explain your company vision and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.


Want Your Own Event Video?

We would love to help. Use our contact form or call us on 07709 627 634