Free Guide to Improve SEO With Video On Any Business Website

Video helps website SEO

Yes, Video On Your Website Improves SEO

Can video improve your SEO ranking in search? We find that it helps in an indirect way. Having a strong online presence is crucial for businesses to reach their target audience and stay competitive.  Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in ensuring that your website ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs). While there are many strategies to boost your website’s SEO, one often overlooked method is incorporating video content into your business website.

The Power of Website Video

Video has become an incredibly popular form of content consumption and an effective means to promote or convey a message. According to recent studies, 85% of internet users in the United States watch online videos regularly. Additionally, over half of consumers want to see more video content from the brands they support. We’ve even seen a rise in introduction videos.

From product demonstrations and customer testimonials to behind-the-scenes footage and educational tutorials, video allows businesses to communicate their message effectively and engage with their audience in such a way that builds trust and creates a connection between the business and the viewer. By adding videos to your website, you provide visitors with diverse media options that cater to different learning styles while keeping them on your site longer…leading to improved SEO.

The Impact on Website SEO

It’s no secret that search engines love rich media content like images and videos. When it comes to ranking websites, search algorithms take various factors into account – including user engagement metrics such as time spent on site and bounce rates. Video easily adds time spent on your site while they view your content.

A well-optimized video embedded within your webpages can significantly enhance these metrics by increasing dwell time – the amount of time users spend actively engaging with a webpage before returning back or navigating elsewhere. As visitors stay longer on your site watching informative or entertaining videos related to their interests or needs, it signals search engines that you have valuable content worth promoting.

Title Tags: Incorporating Keywords

Title tags play an essential role in helping both users and search engines understand what a webpage is about. Including relevant keywords in your video’s title tag can improve your website’s visibility on SERPs for those specific terms.

For example, if you have a video tutorial on “how to bake a cake,” incorporating the keyword “cake baking tutorial” into the title tag will increase the chances of your video appearing in search results when someone searches for that particular topic. This increases organic traffic to your site and boosts SEO rankings.

Video Transcriptions On Your Website: Boosting Keyword Density

In order for search engines to understand what a video is about, it’s crucial to include transcriptions or captions. Not only do they provide accessibility benefits for users with hearing impairments, but they also contribute to SEO by enhancing keyword density within the page itself. While YouTube usually generates a transcript automatically, the transcript typically does not embed into your site; therefore, you should embed one yourself.

Crafting accurate transcriptions that capture key phrases and industry-specific terms directly related to your content helps search engines recognize the relevance of your videos and webpages more effectively.

Social Sharing: Increasing Backlinks & SEO

One major factor that affects SEO is backlinking – when other websites link back to yours. By having engaging videos on your business website, you increase their shareability across social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. When viewers find value in these videos and share them with their network, it generates more exposure for your brand while creating valuable backlinks – ultimately contributing positively towards improving SEO rankings.

Here’s an interesting video that helped one nonprofit understand what they do with their 5k Race in raising funds to help those in need. This video lived on a website that kept people engaged because it was fun to watch, entertaining, informative, and visually appealing.

(Did that entertain you? Did you watch some of the video? You just spent a little more time on our blog post, didn’t you?)

The Mobile Advantage

In recent years, mobile usage has skyrocketed globally. Over 50% of online searches now come from mobile devices rather than desktop computers. Websites with embedded videos are proven to be more mobile-friendly compared to pages filled solely with text-based content or heavy images since they tend not only load faster but also offer an interactive experience without overwhelming small screens or draining data plans excessively. This mobile advantage further enhances user experience, which search engines prioritize when determining SERP rankings. A seamless mobile experience that incorporates engaging video content will help your website rank higher in searches conducted on smartphones or tablets.

With mobile use increasing so dramatically over the past decade and the ability to stream video increasing at the same time, any business can catch the potential customer when they want information. The new SEO is really about being the solution to their problem (search) when they need it.

Conclusion

We believe that integrating videos into your business website is a powerful SEO strategy that can significantly improve both user engagement and organic search rankings. When you optimize your video’s title tags, include transcriptions for improved keyword density, and leverage the shareability of videos across social media platforms to increase backlinks, you create an online environment that can captivate visitors while boosting the visibility of your brand on search engine results pages.

Incorporating video content is not just optional – it’s an essential component of any successful digital marketing campaign. Start harnessing the power of video today to enhance your SEO efforts and connect with your target audience. If you don’t, your competitors will.

 

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How To Be A Disrupter in Your Industry – Killer Video

How to Be a Disrupter with Video - Plum Productions Blog

If You Want To Be a Disrupter, You Have To Be Different – Use Video

One of the most powerful tools your marketing department can use is video. It can be a disrupter, if used properly. Video does everything you want in a short amount of time. Video quickly shows the viewer they can trust you and create a bond (hey I think they’re nice people) and communicate your value proposition and authority, all at the same time. This typically can be done in 90 seconds or less. It’s actually quite remarkable.

Conversion rates, number of views, length of watch time, and several other statistics can be measured and tracked over time. Keep in mind that some videos perform better than other and that can happen because of the content and where it is placed.

Creating Killer Video

When creating killer video, it’s important to consider where you’ll be placing it and how you’ll be using it. Essentially, what is your goal in creating a or several videos? If you’re are creating the video so you can sell more product, you’ll likely be creating a promotional video or advertisement. These can come in many forms, but typically are viewed as ads. It’s not often people want to watch ads.

You can’t create killer video if you don’t understand who is viewing it and why they need or want to view it. We highly recommend working with your video production company to create a sense of understand who the target market is before you start recording video.

Here are some basic starting points in creating killer video:

  • What is the purpose of the video (increase sales? increase awareness? something else?)
  • Clarity on what you’re trying to promote (is it clear to the viewer?)
  • Clearly defining your target audience and knowing where to find them.
  • Identifying when, in the buying process, they are in. Are they in the just looking phase? Actively browsing/looking? or Ready to purchase, call, or take action?
  • Clearly define what problem your customer has and answering that call. What is their problem and can you solve it? Do they understand that you can?
  • Where is the video going to be placed? This must be where the customer is looking or would normally look. Place the video/ad where they are. Don’t make them come find you.
  • Budget – Do you have a clearly defined budget for your project? If not, things can get out of control if you allow it. At Plum, we price things so you know exactly how much things will be with no surprises.
  • Creativity – Sometimes making a video that is highly creative can be priced higher than you think. OR, it can be created without as much cost as you think. It’s important to talk about that early.
  • How will you measure success? When creating video, getting views can be a number to gauge success. For others, this means nothing, rather, they need to see increased traffic on the site or an increase in product sold.
  • When we know how to measure success, you’ll know what action the viewer should take. It’s important to say that in the video…What do you want them to do?

ORIGIN-GENSLER 2 MINUTE from Plum Productions on Vimeo.

 

Types of Video Used to Disrupt an Industry

Knowing all this is helpful, but how does this help you be a disrupter? It helps you determine which type of video you need to create. Here are several types of video you can create to disrupt your industry:

  • Testimonial Videos (also known as Client Referral Videos) – These are your clients who can say what you can’t say. In reality, you can say it, but will they believe you or your clients? If they’re willing to say it or if they’re raving fans, you need to get that on video. We feel like this is one of the big drivers to get people to trust you.
  • Explainers – Videos that show you know what you’re doing by illustrating how you help others or explaining what you do. It might even be a mock up of what you do. Either way, this is a highly effective video to use to clearly define what you do.
  • Product Demonstrations – Sometimes it helps to show people exactly what the result of your service does. Less effective in some uses, highly effective in others. Ask us about these.
  • Educational Videos – These are typically found on YouTube and help people solve their problem or answer their questions. By educating them, they see you as an expert in the field. For example, you might subscribe to a YouTube channel to learn more about financial markets, accounting, or even cooking. Whichever channel you subscribe to, you’re doing it to be entertained, but also, to be educated. These can also come in the form of an expert interview. Using this can be disrupting to your competition.
  • Direct Messages – These might be a quick recorded message captured via VidYard or something similar. It’s a message that is custom crafted to speak directly to the receiver. You can also create custom messages for a type of client and send those. For example, if you have a service company like a plumbing company and want to send an introduction video of the person who will be coming to the house that afternoon, you could create a message that is generic but specific to the situation. That’s disrupting!

The video industry is growing. Business is using video. But how you use video and creating interesting video becomes more and more important.

 

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Professional Service Video

What video format is the most suitable for a professional service? This type of question gets asked with production services for what a company is looking to accomplish with using video as a means to support their business.

So what types of videos should you look to create as a production company in order to accomplish the goals set out by businesses in need of content?

Every business is unique in what it offers to its customers and how they interact with the consumers they hope to attract to their products. Depending on the service or product they provide, the styles of videos created can vary greatly from one another. Choosing the right format to create with the clients you intend to work with can impact the video product you eventually end up with producing.

Let’s look at the different types of video formats you can create for professional services!

Product Videos

This video format is based around a company that needs to visually show off a product and the function it provides to its user. These videos typically show the product in use or staged around a backdrop to fully depict its form that the consumer will see used in action.

Videos like this are able to effectively show how a company can properly showcase an object and convey its intended purpose to an audience. Also these videos are a great way to increase exposure to other clients as work made in this type of content is easily transferable to other projects.

Professional Service Tutorial Video

Many uses for video formats revolve around being able to show a process or action completed for its audience. A tutorial video is exactly what it means by showing a product or process throughout its steps to get to the finished result.

These videos can be both informational to employees and existing customers as this can help businesses alleviate an essential process they provide with direct input of the desired experience they wish to create. Either if the video is centered around a physical product or an online based task, the value of showing how something works is beneficial for both the company and the consumer.

YouTube / Online Advertisement For A Professional Service

An online advertisement is the most direct way to promote a business product to its intended audience. These videos are meant to have a call to action for its viewer to see a service offered to choose a certain company over the competition.

This type of advertisement can showcase the effectiveness of the product’s company and the production company’s strengths in grabbing the audience’s attention when choosing from alternative options. From a business standpoint companies always have a need to expand interest in what they offer to customers and advertisements are the most direct way to communicate the value they provide.

Live Stream Videos

A long-form way to highlight what a company offers is to create a video that shows a live event or seminar type presentation to an audience. Whether it is a recording of the event or the actual live production of the stream, the facilitation of how this is handled is usually up to a production company through the services they offer.

This means that whether you edit the final product or handle the logistics of the event, businesses will look to companies that are able to ensure their event goes smoothly and professionally captured. Also these types of videos can be an efficient way for companies to increase the amount of work they have with clients as these streams are not usually as demanding from an editing standpoint as most of the work has been already captured.

 

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What Length (How Long) Should A Business Video Be?

How Long Should a Business Video Be, video camera and lens

How Long Should A Marketing Video Be?

We get this question a lot…”How long should a marketing video be? Especially for a business?” Most people think a video should either be short (15 to 30 seconds) or long (4 to 5 minutes). Both might be right; both might be wrong. Here are our thoughts.

The length of your video depends on your goals and objectives. Are you looking for leads? Are you looking for sales? Are you looking to inform? Bring them to a funnel? Provide education? There are several reasons videos are created, but not all perform the same and not all should be used for any given situation.

How Long for Informative Videos?

Video marketing is a bit science and art, so let’s first identify where you’re using the video. That’s going to drive content and length. For example, many popular videos on YouTube are longer videos. Longer videos are popular because they are providing information and viewers watch longer to learn more. Their content is giving the viewer information that they need or want (think How to Create Your First YouTube Video or How to Use Doodly). These online videos are informative and provide insights into something extremely specific. It has nothing to do with a viewer’s attention span because they want to know the information.

How Long for Facebook Videos?

On the other extreme are Facebook Videos and Instagram Stories. These tend to be shorter in length because they are more social in nature and typically more promotional. Instagram limits the length of your video, but most companies are finding that 30 seconds for an Instagram video is most effective. If someone is scrolling through Instagram, they’re usually doing it to relax or waste time while waiting somewhere. Ads can be effective, but you must get to the point quickly.

Facebook videos are remarkably similar to Instagram in that they’re being watched while relaxing or waiting somewhere. Also, like Instagram most of the time people are scrolling along on mute; therefore, when creating social media videos, it is important to incorporate graphic punch words like this below.

How Long for Corporate Video?

Video content used for the purpose of marketing tend to be 60 seconds to 2 minutes. Most of our clients tend to keep their videos around 90 seconds so that the overall message can be shared yet keep the length short enough to hold their attention. Long videos can perform if used properly. For example, an Explainer Video typically requires a little more time to illustrate how something works. But an About Us video typically requires less time and people typically won’t watch the entire video.

What About A Corporate Website Video?

For any video production project, we’ll want to know where the video is being placed. This usually drives length as well. We might recommend editing a variety of lengths to give you flexibility in where to use each. For example, videos for a corporate website should be 30 to 90 seconds…just long enough to make the viewer want to learn more or take action (call you or fill out a submission form).

How Long for Landing Page Videos?

If you have a landing page to sell a product or service, once again, these videos should be 30 to 60 seconds, less than a minute long. People are not watching these videos long because they want to hear your key message and decide to purchase or not. Typically, this happens within 10 to 15 seconds. Any video on a landing page should be placed high up on the page…above the fold so that viewers see it immediately and know what to do.

Email Marketing Campaigns

While these videos can be any length, think about who you’re sending this to and why they should watch any longer than they must. These are typically slightly longer because they’re sent with the intent to educate and inform…not to sell. Using the word “video” in your email title should help your open rate (just make sure there’s a video to play!)

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos are typically meant to help people understand your product or service and explain how to use it. If you want to do these, you’ll want to keep them between 60 and 90 seconds…and get to the point rather early (by about 30 seconds) so they can feel like they should keep watching.

What About Case Study Videos?

Depending on the content, these videos can be 5 to 10 minutes, but can also be made into shorter chunks to make them easier to consume. We’ve seen long form versions perform well and short form videos of this type perform well. If it’s more complex, we recommend shorter chunks.

And for About Us Videos?

This is a video that can vary a little too. If you sell something that needs to earn trust before you make the sale, a longer video might be appropriate. That might mean it runs 3 or 4 minutes. This gives the viewer some time to consume and make some trust-level decisions. If they like you and your team and your culture, they’ll call you. These videos are typically about your culture, your team, and who you’re trying to attract to your team.

What about Interview Videos?

Interview videos are typically informative and internal (or sent to a specific audience). They provide insights into the company and what he or she is working on to achieve objectives. We would recommend lengths of 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how engaging the topic is. Please don’t make people sit through something they don’t need to know. 🙂

Thought Leadership Videos

If the leaders of your organization want to stand out from the crowd as a thought leader, this video is ideal. Think TED talk or presentation style video. The speaker doesn’t have to be on stage, but the concept is similar. This content should be used for industry presentations or other relevant situations. These are typically 10 to 20 minutes in length, depending on the complexity or needs.

Video Reviews/Testimonial Videos

Have your customers/clients tell your prospects how good you are. These are highly effective for a landing page (under your main video or interspersed into the main video). Prospects often need validation to their decision. They need to know they’re making the right decision and don’t want to feel alone. This is a highly effective way to do that. These typically are short (30 to 60 seconds) and can be combined into a longer piece if needed. You can also use these in email campaigns after someone has hit a landing page but has not purchased.

We hope this post helps you decide what length your video should be based on where you are using it and what your objectives are. If you have any questions, please reach out and we can answer them.

 

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Virtual Marketing – Videography during COVID-19

woman-computer-office

Virtual Marketing – Powerful Tools during COVID-19

The issue isn’t so much if you should create video it’s a matter of how. Virtual Marketing has taken off during COVID, so how do you create video during this pandemic? It can be easier than you think, but it will take some extra planning.

During the pandemic, we were all subject to time at home. Time to think about, “What now?” While some took that time and created something new or slightly different, others waited to see what will happen next. One component that was impacted heavily was video marketing. How do you create new stuff? How do you advertise when everyone is home and they don’t want what you’re selling? Do you ramp up social media? Do you create poor quality video content? How do you create video while social distancing? All great questions, but there are answers and there is a silver lining.

It’s tough to do a full-blown video shoot with a large crew, lots of cameras, lots of people on set, etc. How do you create a video when have your staff is still working from home? You don’t. But what you can do is create a planned out shoot that will provide you with the video that shares your message safely. COVID and the lock down has created a huge opportunity for some. Here’s what we’ve been doing to help those who want to use this opportunity to maximize their messaging.

  • Show How You’re Dealing With COVID – This is one way you can use video. Show your potential clients/customers how you are currently using the proper protocols and safety procedures to keep them safe. That’s what they want to know: Can I trust them to keep me safe? Show them how you’re doing things right and how you’ll keep them safe.
  • Capture Virtual Content – We’ve edited several ‘virtual’ events where the client has a Zoom call and has it edited into a concise video featuring interviews and conversations. These videos/calls can be branded and made to look professional, even though it’s just a Zoom call.
  • Small, Short Content – Some clients are asking us to crate videos using stock video, 2D graphics, even Doodly videos. All of these options allow the business to share a story and get it out via social media or via broadcast. Branded and visual makes the message complete.
  • Create a Video Review – Get your current customers to create a video review for you. They can do it with their cell phone or they can come to our studio where they can come in the back door, stand in place (everything is all set up already) and say their few lines, and leave the back door without touching anything. Masks are required, but we’ll be socially distanced as well.
  • Being Human – If you’ve ever wanted to create your own video using your iPhone to send messages to your clients, now is the time. Video, even poor quality image video, is effective. You’ve seen the late night shows do it on television, so can you…and you can do it without the fear of looking foolish or skimping on quality.
  • Last Point – Know that people don’t want to be sold hard right now. That’s a tactic that can work during normal times. Try this instead: “We’re sure you’ve been impacted by COVID, but we have no idea how badly. We also want to say that we’re here for you when you need us. If you don’t need us now, we completely understand. If you need us in a new way, please tell us so we can help.”

Change creates fear. Instead of being fearful, it’s time to embrace it. Know that we’re doing to be dealing with this for a while moving forward. Knowing that, what changes can you make in your business to make you stand out, be compassionate, and highlight your safety mechanisms all at the same time?

Here’s an example a Zoom Call that was converted into a show:

Here’s an example of a Doodly style video we created.

The opportunities are endless. Need help coming up with ideas? Let us know. Have a different idea that you’d like to do, we’d love to talk and see if it’s something that we can do for you.

Best Restaurant Video Ideas

Best Restaurant Video Ideas - drinks

You’re here because you likely asked yourself how to create a restaurant video or should I create a restaurant video.

In the restaurant business, there are essentially four ways to increase your sales:

Restaurant Video Idea for New Trial

Marketing activities related to new trial are used to acquire new customers. One way to get new customers is through referrals or recommendations. Getting a recommendation from a friend is one of the top ways to increase new trials. So how does video fit into this? Consider this:

One way is to send an email campaign to your current customers asking them if they like the restaurant enough to share their experience with their friends. The location should craft a message (let us know if you need help) that informs the viewer what it is they should do to share their experience. Is it do a review on Google or Yelp or TripAdvisor? Is it forward this message to a friend? There are several more, but you get the point.

Ask your customers to create their own video or photo and post it to your social media page (you’ll be monitoring, of course). Ask them to tag their friend when they do. If the friend shows up at the restaurant, ask them to show you the video and their name…give them a special price, dish, or drink. You’ll get the whole town talking about you.

Restaurant Video Idea for Building Frequency

Now it’s time to get them back in the door. Your image and reputation are critical. Before you can expect someone to return, it is important that the dining room, the kitchen, and the bar all performed to the expectation of your customer. Before they leave, you probably already asked them what they would have improved about their experience. This is important later, in your marketing materials, because you’ll want to focus your message on the things people were positive about while you work to improve items that detracted from their experience.

If you’re a large scale operation, it can be tough to get good feedback. It is critical to get email addresses from your customers to answer a survey. Keep it simple. Add a layer to this tactic by creating a video with a message of, “We want to know what you thought of us… and please be honest” can significantly increase the likelihood of getting the survey filled out. Make sure you ask about their food and beverage experience individually and collectively. Try to keep the survey to less than 2 minutes to fill out.

Incredible customer service always brings them back. Consider a quick service restaurant where each meal is made to order. What if you noticed a person coming back after their first time. The staff should recognize this, thank them for returning and ask them if they’d like to try the same meal they did yesterday with the same toppings…and list them. You’d have to jot notes down the day or two before when they came in but if you rattled off their favorite toppings before they ordered, they’d be impressed! That’s full service for your customer!

Restaurant Video Idea for Increasing the Check Size

Create a secret menu only the staff knows about. This menu should contain a drink, side, or topping that matches the flavor profile (and costs a little extra). Every dollar counts in the restaurant business, and by suggesting a drink or side dish because they taste so good together, the average check size increases.

Enter video. Your advertising should match that concept. we’ve never seen a restaurant commercial with a single item focus…there’s always a matching side dish or drink. Need help creating the right flavor profile and video? We can help you there too!

Restaurant Video Idea for Increasing the Party Size

Technically, you’re in the entertainment industry. So you should be the place to bring friends. Encourage it often…with every couple or group of four: “Please bring your friends next time.” Perhaps it’s a coupon that is for parties of 6 or more or it’s an advertisement that suggests that parties of six or more “Have more fun and get a free appetizer to get you started!” The ideas are limitless when it comes to how to increase the party size and every one of them can be supported by a video.

When it is time to ramp up the sales after we’ve come out of quarantine, let us know which area you’d like to focus on and we’ll help you get it done with video.

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Image by bridgesward from Pixabay

Hotel Video Production Marketing Strategy

hotel video production, woman at resort hotel pool with drink

Hotel Video Production

Are you worried about how to fill the rooms? Are you unhappy with your online reputation? Do you have a desire to improve the online engagement levels with your website? Have you been anguishing over trying to get the rooms to look exactly how a guest will find them when they arrive, but you haven’t been able to create a strong marketing campaign that shows a potential guest what they can expect. Should you use hotel video production strategies to fill the rooms?

Sometimes pictures are enough, sometimes they are not.

We’ve got you covered. In this post, we’re going to share with you how creating the right marketing plan and business strategy can incorporate solving several of the above issues. Hotel video production and marketing involves several facets of activity like social media marketing, online advertisements, print, billboard, and other levels of marketing that will drive traffic to your hotel.

We’re sure you’ve done focus groups and have learned about the needs of your guests and you’ve reviewed the Ps of Marketing, but we’d like to suggest that there are a few elements that may have been missed. Potential customers obviously want to know what the location looks like, but do pictures clearly show and/or explain your products or services. Do they do it adequately enough that one would not be surprised when traveling. When we travel, we’re often surprised by the difference in photos an the actual location.

Every aspect of the tourism industry should be maximizing video to their advantage. Here’s why. When someone plans a trip to places like Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Naples, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or Key West, they do a lot of research.

Just like you do marketing research, their research includes things like what does the hotel look like? What do the amenities look like? What about the room, what should I expect to see and feel when I enter the room? Video shows people all the elements that are important to them.

What is the Marketing Process to Maximize Sales?

If you want to attract more guests to your hotel, you’ll want to show off the grounds, the rooms, the amenities and use social media platforms to increase the likelihood of being found by a potential guest during their search. When you define your marketing to incorporate what your guests want, they’re more likely to buy. While product price can impact a guests decision, if they see, hear, and feel the value, they are more likely to spend a little more to enjoy their vacation.

Reputation is critical in the hotel business. Hotels rarely survive a long-term negative leaning review score. No amount of advertising or video can offset poor scores. If the reputation is bad it’s time to make some operational improvements and hold off on any sales and marketing activities. You’ll only make more people mad by having them show up and be disappointed.

The process of maximizing sales is in a strong process. The process should include high quality video, appropriate placement with an appropriate spend and help potential guests understand what it is they’re looking at and why they should book your hotel for their next vacation.

Loyalty, Engagement, and Services – Fort Lauderdale Hotels

Marketing includes featuring a locations strength to their advantage. If you are a Fort Lauderdale hotel that has luxurious amenities, a relaxing and beautiful spa or an impeccable golf course, it’s critical to showcase that. If you have nearby attractions or nightlife that is important to the attractiveness of your hotel, show that too. Does your food stand head and shoulders above your competitors? You should feature Instagram-worthy video of your specialties.

Hotel Video Production: Increase Hotel Loyalty Using Video

Marketing can refer to reinforcing a positive visit. What if after a guest leaves, they receive a personalized standardized (yes…do both) video that thanks them for visiting. What if you had several videos that were at your disposal to email after their departure that mentioned an amenity or service they used?

What if they used your spa and the video you send to them afterward mentions that you’re glad they were able to use the spa and that you hoped they enjoyed their experience. How powerful is that? Would they know it wasn’t made specifically for them but that it was made only for those who visited the spa? You have the data, use it!

If you’re wondering how to make these things happen and more (yes, we have a lot of ideas related to improving loyalty and reputation), we’d be happy to talk about it with you. Give us a call and we’d be happy to work through all of these areas with you. As a South Florida video production company, we’ve seen and been a part of a lot.

The hotel/hospitality business can be frustrating, but it can also be rewarding. If you’re struggling to figure out how you should be using video, let us help you by working through our marketing strategy session and let us craft a plan with you. You control the direction, we’ll provide the creative that works.

 

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

Who is South Florida’s Best Video Production Company?

Best Video Production Company Traits and Successful people

Qualities of the Best Video Production Company

When you’re looking for the best video production company or a video agency, you may have certain things you’re looking for: quality, speed of work, and processes. But, when you start your search for a full service production company, there are several factors you should consider. Here are three areas to consider when trying to find the best video production company to match your needs.

What to Consider When Hiring the Best Video Production Company

Professionalism. Several factors should be considered before hiring a Miami video production company. Interview a few companies to determine which one can work with you from a personality standpoint. If you don’t think you can get along during a preliminary interview, you won’t enjoy the rest of the process. Remember, they might feel that way too, so it’s important to talk openly about that. To expand on that, consider their level of professionalism. Do they behave as a company that will respect your brand? Do they match your brand overall? Professionalism isn’t always the first thing most people think of when looking for a partner, but it should be.

Timelines. As a business owner, you’ll most likely have a timeline that is important to you. If you’re going to produce corporate videos, you’ll want to allot the appropriate amount of time to craft, plan, and create a high quality video project. There are many production companies in Miami, but which one can produce and execute the plan in the timeline you have allotted.

When crafting your timeline, please remember to incorporate your crew’s timeline to create your video too. Some companies like to shoot first and figure it out later and others (like us) will only shoot once we have a plan. If you’re going to shoot video commercials, you’ll want to plan appropriately. Sometimes that take a little longer, but it’s worth the wait.

If your timeline is to create something in a week, you may not get the quality you want. If your timeline is six months, you also might not get the quality you want. It all depends on the moving parts and the plan.

Quality. You know it when you see it, but it really is subjective. What you deem to be quality may be subpar (or over the top) to someone else. Communicate what quality is to you and have them communicate what quality is to them. Most important, if you see work that you like on their website and their Vimeo or YouTube page, then they’ll most likely be able to hit the mark on your project.

If you’re looking to do quality video marketing in Miami Florida, you’ll want to make sure they know your quality specs before you start. You can read more on this in another blog we posted called How to Choose the Best Video Production Company.

Best video production process

What Are the Keys to a Successful Shoot?

Whether it’s a corporate event, a corporate video production project, or simply media marketing, you’ll want your shoot (and project) to be successful. Why put forth all that energy and money and not have a successful outcome? What does it take to have a successful shoot? There are three things we like to think are what make all our shoots successful.

Planning. The planning process must answer the Who, What, When, Where, and How questions before a shoot date is even scheduled. That goes with any video production service. For example, there must be a preproduction call or meeting that occurs where you discuss who will be on camera, who is writing the script, who is approving the script, when the call time is, where the shoot will happen, what equipment will be used, how the project will be executed, and how the editing process will work.

There are usually other questions to be asked (from both sides) that are more specific to a situation, but discussing this before the shoot ensures everyone is prepared before it begins.

Pre-Work. Once a script is approved, its important everyone does their part to be ready. Sometimes the client needs to approve a script or provide feedback or changes so that the shoot can be executed without wondering what the final product will look like. If props, talent, or other items need to be obtained, they need to be done well before the shoot date. No one likes a surprise and neither do we.

Communication. Planning and communication go hand-in-hand, but both are critical to a successful shoot. As an agency, we want communication from the client so we know what they need, want and are worried about. We want to communicate to the client as often as necessary to be clear on what needs to happen next and ensure a successful shoot.

Where? Finally, all the planning and prework are important but so is knowing where the video will be used. What is the point of creating this video if where it will be used isn’t clear. If it’s for use on social media, then certain elements must be present to brand it accordingly.

If it is for a music video (something we don’t do much of) then other shots need to be included. Remember, corporate video is usually pretty structured unless you’re trying to communicate a message of individuality and distinctiveness. We more information about all of this at Steps to Video Production.

If you’re looking for the best video production company of South Florida, you now have the tools to decide which one to hire and why they really are one of the best. Happy searching and let us know if we can help you.

 

Related Posts: 

How to Generate Sales Leads with Video

Four Strategies for Video Marketing on LinkedIn

Video Production Definition

Business and Video Marketing for 2020

Covid graphic

Wow! That escalated quickly! If you’re run or own a business, the entire landscape changed drastically sometime around the beginning of March. By now you’ve been locked down for some time and are trying to figure out who might still be potential customers and who won’t be around much longer. A little scary, yes. Impossible? No. We can do this.

First, let’s start with the obvious trends. Business is down. People are not out and about. Most people are home and working. Some are more productive than others, but they are working. This is the time that most people have started to go through a set of emotions and thoughts that will either bring them out quickly or suppress them into depression. Many people are angry and in denial about the direction things are headed. “What do you mean we need to lock ourselves down in our homes for a month? How am I supposed to make a living?” We’ve all thought it.

With all these changes, who really knows what is going to happen. One thing is for sure, at some point, businesses will be open and people will be happy to get out of their homes. This might be an excellent time to create a strategy. What opportunities lie ahead as we approach the end of this quarantine? What should I be doing now that will bring me out and open for business faster than my competitors?

Before you get too far ahead, we want to share something else with you. Here’s what we’re noticing.

Right now, we have observed something incredible. The number of people online every day is incredibly high. There has been a HUGE spike in online video viewing. We’ve seen it with Jenn Jager’s YouTube page. We’ve heard on the news that Netflix and YouTube have decreased streaming video quality to keep the bandwidth open.

Here’s the secret opportunity that’s happening right now

Everyone is at home. They’re watching more videos on YouTube than ever before. What typically plays before a video? Advertisements. That’s where the magic is happening right now. Now is the time to seize the opportunity. It’s time to create a small business video that can talk about your who you are. This is particularly true if it relates to a product or service that serves the community well.

Not only are the number of viewers up, the number of companies paying for advertising is way down. Simple supply and demand says prices are falling for ad placement. Are you taking advantage of that? Here’s one trend you should not miss!

If you don’t have a landing page, now might be the time to create one. It takes a little bit of work, but if you do it right, you can place an explainer video that brings a potential customer to a sale. Almost any landing page product works. Make it easy to buy and easy to understand what the offer is.

We still need to stay connected…just do it separately.

How do you build trust but not sit across a table to sell? Think digital marketing and video. With YouTube Ads (and even television ads) you have the opportunity to speak directly to your target audience to possibly garner trust. Depending on the type of content you’re creating, your video content should promote connection and relationships. If you’re going to create online video, you’ll also want to think about how to keep it branded.

Brand videos speak to the overall brand of the business, the people who work there, and the mission of the business. Do you need to have a big video production company come in to your videos? Maybe. But for now, doing it yourself is not all bad. Need some tips on how to do it yourself? Check out Jenn’s YouTube Channel (Video Marketing Your Business) where she educates viewers about apps, lighting, and equipment that she recommends if you’ll be doing it yourself.

When it’s time to really increase sales, you might consider hiring a crew to create a more brand sensitive video that sells you and your business. You might consider starting that process now so you can be one of the first on the crew’s schedule once they can come out of their homes.

How Do I Create a Video While Under Quarantine?

If you want to create videos while under quarantine, you’ll need to think about how to do it without other people being involved. There are a couple of ways…

Footage. First, there is the use of footage you had shot professionally before the lock down. You can use those clips of B-Roll (secondary shots) by adding professional narration, some licensed music, and 2D graphics. This can be all you need to keep your brand out in front of your target audience.

Graphics. Another option is the use of only 2D graphics as the entire video. We’ve all seen the CDC’s graphics video that shares who is at risk and what we should be doing now to protect ourselves. This video contains just graphics and music. It’s effective because the viewer can follow along while getting the point of the video. In that video, its more of a public safety message, but the same can be done with any business. They’re rather straight forward to create and reasonably effective. Here’s that video:

Whiteboard. Another option is whiteboard video. This isn’t something we do a lot of, but we do have a course that we share how to use some of the features of Doodly. Jenn created it and a lot of people have bought it so they can be better at using the software. Here’s a link to Jenn Jager‘s new page where the lessons are and where you can get a copy of Doodly.

Stock Video. Finally, there’s stock video. We sometimes use stock video to add some depth to a video. This might be a good time to use it since you can’t shoot more video. Consider using some footage you’ve already captured and adding some stock video to make a point you hadn’t in a previous project. Or, simply use stock video to create an entirely new video. We’d simply add narration and some graphics to give a fully finished feel. Here’s one we created using only stock video, professional narration and animation.

All of these are valid options to shooting a video with a crew. It can certainly get you by for the next several months. If you plan correctly, you’ll be positioned to be the first company to call when the restrictions loosen up.

If you have questions, reach out to us. We’re happy to help.

The Case for Video Content Marketing and SEO Results

Case for Video Marketing

The Case For Video Marketing and How It Helps SEO

Whether the business is large or small, content is king when it comes to search and being found. If you’re looking for a case for video marketing, this is it. According to OptimWise there are several factors that lead to success in being found in a search. OptimWise also shares that the items that are important and improve your chances are stuff like the quality of the content and how well the keywords have been researched and used effectively.

Other factors include newness of information, how well information answers a question being looked for, and how well items are structured and tagged. Items that can decrease success are items like useless content and stuffing keywords throughout to try to trick Google and the like.

Why Video?

Before we get into the SEO portion, it’s important to understand why video is helpful in general. When videos are relatively short, they can be more impactful than a quick paragraph. Why? Emotion. Emotions can be communicated quickly with music, visuals, movements, transitions, text on screen, verbal statements, etc.

When these come together in a video, the effect is magical. Viewers are drawn into the story, the feeling. They feel like they’re a part of the situation or problem. This is important because without emotion, you’re selling or telling. Everyone wants to buy, no one wants to be sold. Period.

case for video marketing and google search showing video results

Another reason for video is that Google likes it. When you type in a question you will not receive one or more (sometimes several) videos related to that question For example, doing a quick search about Doodly, we find the results are mostly video results along with information about the company that created it.

Notice the top video? That’s our Creative Director, Jenn Jager. She’s the first search result on Google and near the top of YouTube (depending on what you search). How did she do this? Read on…

Case For Video Marketing and How Video affect Search Engine Results

There are several factors that affect search (there are literally 10s and sometimes 100s of items under each of the above listed factors that affect results positively and negatively) and video is not the only one. It is one of the items that impacts rankings positively as long as certain things are in place. We know that Google (Alphabet), the world’s largest search engine, also owns YouTube as one of its brands, so having YouTube video as one type of content helps. But what type of video is helpful in getting results?

Using Google Analytics will help you determine the appropriate keywords, target audience, and real world information on your current performance. If you find an area in the analytics that pops out as a success, maximizing this information can help you determine what information you should be providing.

For example, if you determine that an area of your business is being found related to specific keywords, you might consider adding more blog posts surrounding that topic. In each blog post, you might determine a video about that topic or question might be appropriate. Why would you do that?

It has to do with your visitor’s attention span. Our experience has told us that when a video is on a page, people will more likely watch it versus read the text. If the visitor is reading the text, they may lose interest in the written word and move on (to another page or a different website).

If a visitor is watching an appealing video, they typically stay on the page to the end or near the end of the video…thus more time on the site. This will maximize your content marketing efforts by keeping them on your site longer.

Another factor related to the above paragraph is how this impacts bounce rate. By keeping a viewer on your page longer, your page (and the analytics) are telling Google that the content located on that page (or website as a combination of page) is high quality and keeps the visitor on the page. This is called lowering your bounce rate.

Wistia reported in 2016 that pages without video tracked time on page at 2.6x less than pages with video (article here). Interestingly enough, we find that pages on our website that contain video also track longer visit times. Coincidence? We think not!

Digital Marketing & Video

As a digital marketer, we recommend using video in your social media marketing efforts. If your content marketing strategy doesn’t include social media, you’re missing something. More importantly is the engagement of video on social media.

By adding video to posts, you’re also improving your engagement. Link building is typically related having links from outside websites that bring visitors to your site (and a little the other way as well), but social media is the easiest form.

Creating content, and more specifically video content is not as difficult as you might think. We work on YouTube projects regularly and use a program called Tube Buddy to determine topics and information people are looking for so we can provide content people want. If you want, you can click the link and subscribe to it (by the way, this is an affiliate link).

Whether you’re run a product or service business, providing content and information your prospective customers need and want is directly related to the success of being found online. Search traffic is one area that creating video content can help any business improve their results.

We also hear clients tell us that they don’t know what topics to create content around, such as blog topics, etc. They say they’ve created tons of content already and don’t want to repeat what they have. We think this is a mistake. When blog content repeats (with a different angle), it tells search engines that this website is more about this topic than any other…making the site an expert in the topic.

We have several case studies on our website where clients created videos for a specific purpose, brought viewers to a specific landing page, and converted them to a full-blown lead. Converting a prospect to a sale is a salespersons job. Marketing and video marketing improve the likelihood of converting to a lead and then to a sale, thus affecting the business’s bottom line.

If you need ideas on how to create content, we’ve created a blog post about it so you can create hundreds of topics. Remember to create a mix of written (text) and video (visual) posts so you can analyze which is more impactful for your visitors and which ones perform well. If you find two of 30 posts do very well, do more about those two topics. It will help your ranking. Besides, its’ what your visitors are looking for.

Need help? Give us a call!