Corporate video production Brisbane

Corporate video production needn’t be confined to all-out marketing videos.

There are other valuable ways that your videos can keep adding value to your organisation and we look at a couple of case studies below that may spark a few ideas for your own business.

Raising Employee Motivation

One recurrent problem for many large companies is that the larger they become the less “connected” their team members feel with the core of the organisation; this is particularly true of organisations with many sites around the country.

Harnessing the communication power of video internally within your organisation is a cost-efficient and very effective way to reach staff members who otherwise have very little contact with head office.

General Motors recently announced that they were doing just this – using video to keep employees informed, engaged and motivated.

They provided 31 employees out in the field with Flip video cameras and asked them to film and send back the footage from their day. They also ran a contest for employees with prizes for the best video and distributed them on the GM Intranet.

Leading lights in the company were also interviewed and these short videos were made available to staff.

Generally all videos were kept below 5 minutes – short, sharp bursts proved more popular than anything longer – just like we have been saying for your other corporate videos.

The GM approach was very popular and entertaining and proved a great way to keep employees informed about the day-to-day runnings of the company; this, in itself, increased the sense of belonging to the organisation and raised motivation levels.

Improving Customer Service

In the UK, British Gas announced recently that they were piloting an online video customer service system.

From their call center in Leeds, a trial system has been set up whereby British Gas customers can talk to a customer service advisor through streaming video.

This is in response to a survey that the company ran, where two-thirds of their customers said they believed their query would be handled more satisfactorily if they could see the customer service advisor.

British Gas has therefore seen the value of putting a face to a problem for creating a solution.

While your business may not need live streaming customer service, it does need a human face; most of your customers prefer to deal with a “human” organisation and there is growing frustration with businesses that have lost their human face….especially online. Video is a low-cost, effective way to get that back.

Corporate video production is rapidly expanding its horizons. It’s no longer just a sales pitch, though that’s important too; nowadays think laterally about how it can add value to your business in other areas.

for more on Brisbane video production

Video Production

Facebook Testing New Self-Service Ad Features, Revamping Check-in Numbers

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2165168/Facebook-Testing-New-Self-Service-Ad-Features-Revamping-Check-in-Numbers

Facebook Testing New Self-Service Ad Features, Revamping Check-in Numbers

by ClickZ, April 2, 2012
Facebook is running a small test that’s aimed at improving its Marketplace Ads self-service platform.

“We’ve heard from self-service advertisers that they want more guidance on how to optimize their campaigns based on their marketing goals,” Facebook rep Annie Ta told ClickZ News. “For example, some advertisers may want to get more app installs while others may be more interested in likes. As a result, we’re testing out a new design and set of features in the self-service ads creation tool.”

The key features running in the test, according to the Menlo Park, CA-based digital giant, include:

Flexible targeting options. Advertisers will be able to employ both precise interests and broad category targeting in the same campaign. In the current Marketplace Ads iteration, brands must choose between the two options.
Goals-driven ads automation. Marketers will be able to specify upfront the key campaign objectives, such as app installs or gaining likes/fans. The system will optimize their ads based on these goals, Facebook says.
A simpler interface.
Ta added, “Our overall goal is to make setting up ad campaigns easier and more tailored to achieving specific marketing objectives on Facebook.”

Here’s a screenshot of the workflow displayed in the test:

For Brisbane Video Production

Updates to Facebook Check-in Numbers

Meanwhile, Facebook has sent the following email to Facebook admins, alerting them that numbers on Pages will be updated “in the next few weeks”:

We are revising check-in numbers on Facebook Pages to give you a more accurate picture of how people are visiting your business. Among these changes, previously, if an individual checked into your business multiple times, each check-in was counted into your Page’s total check-in number.

Now, if someone checks into your business multiple times within a 12-hour period, that action will be counted as one unique check-in.

In addition, when people tag their friends at a location and upload a photo, those photo tags will be counted more holistically. For example, if 20 photos were uploaded to an album at a specific location, we’ll now count that as a single check-in. If Jessica checks into a location and tags five friends in the photo she uploads with her check-in, the total check-ins number will be six — Jessica plus her five friends.

Brisbane Video Production

(via Instapaper)

Brisbane Video Production

Facebook Just Bought Instagram For 1 Billion Dollars
http://fstoppers.com/facebook-just-bought-instagram-for-1-billion-dollars

Facebook Just Bought Instagram For 1 Billion Dollars

Facebook just purchased Instagram for 1 billion dollars. Who would have ever thought that an app that simply takes an image, makes that image square, puts a retro filter on the image, and then posts the image to a blog could be worth $1,000,000,000.00. To all of the Instagram users out there; are you excited or terrified about this merger?

Mark Zuckerburg writes on his wall:

“I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.”

Video Production

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Video Production

[Video] Filmmaker Andrew Stanton Breaks Down Storytelling
http://fstoppers.com/video-filmmaker-andrew-stanton-breaks-down-storytelling

Here is a list of the items he discusses. [via The Digital Naturalist]

1. STORYTELLING IS JOKE TELLING. It’s knowing your punchline, your ending, knowing that everything you’re saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal, and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understandings of who we are as human beings.

2. WE ALL LOVE STORIES. We’re born for them.

3. STORIES AFFIRM WHO WE ARE. We all want affirmations that our lives have meaning. And nothing does a greater affirmation than when we connect through stories.

4. STORIES CAN CROSS THE BARRIERS OF TIME, past, present and future, and allow us to experience the simularities between ourselves and through others, real and imagined.

5. “FRANKLY, THERE ISN’T ANYONE YOU COULDN’T LEARN TO LOVE ONCE YOU’VE HEARD THEIR STORY.” -a quote Mr. Rogers always kept in his wallet

6. GREATEST STORY COMMANDMENT: MAKE ME CARE. Emotionally, intellectually, aesthetically – just make me care.

7. AT THE BEGINNING, ALL GOOD STORIES SHOULD MAKE A PROMISE TO THE VIEWER THAT THIS STORY WLL LEAD SOMEWHERE THAT’S WORTH THEIR TIME. A well told promise is like a pebble being pulled back in a slingshot and propels you forward through the story to the end.

8. START A STORY LIKE YOU’RE TELLING IT TO SOMEONE AT A BAR: “Here, let me tell you a story. It didn’t happen to me, it happened to somebody else, but it’s going to be worth your time…”

9. STORYTELLING WITHOUT DIALOGUE IS THE PUREST FORM OF CINEMATIC STORYTELLING. It’s the most inclusive approach you can take.

10. WE’RE BORN PROBLEM SOLVERS. We’re compelled to deduce and to deduct, because that’s what we do in real life. It’s this well-organized absence of information that draws us in.

11. THE AUDIENCE ACTUALLY WANTS TO WORK FOR THEIR MEAL. They just don’t want to know that they’re doing that. Your job as a storyteller is to hide the fact that you’re making them work for their meal.

12. THERE’S A REASON THAT WE’RE ALL ATTRACTED TO AN INFANT OR A PUPPY. It’s not just that they’re damn cute; it’s because they can’t completely express what they’re thinking and what their intentions are. And it’s like a magnet. We can’t stop ourselves from wanting to complete the sentence and fill it in.

13. THE UNIFYING THEORY OF TWO PLUS TWO. Make the audience put things together. Don’t give them four, give them two plus two. The elements you provide and the order you place them in is crucial to whether you succeed or fail at engaging the audience.

14. STORYTELLING IS NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE. That’s what’s so special about stories, they’re not a widget, they aren’t exact.

15. STORIES ARE INEVITABLE, IF THEY’RE GOOD. But they’re not predictable.

16. ALL WELL-DRAWN CHARACTERS HAVE A SPINE. The character has an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they’re striving for, an itch that they can’t scratch.

17. CHANGE IS FUNDAMENTAL IN STORY. If things go static, stories die, because life is never static.

18. “DRAMA IS ANTICIPATION MINGLED WITH UNCERTAINTY.” -William Archer, British playwright

19. WHEN YOU’RE TELLING A STORY, HAVE YOU CONSTRUCTED ANTICIPATION? In the short-term, have you made me want to know what will happen next? More importantly, have you made me want to know how it will all conclude in the long-term? Have you constructed honest conflicts with truth that creates doubt in what the outcome might be?

20. A STRONG THEME IS ALWAYS RUNNING THROUGH A WELL-TOLD STORY.

21. WHEN CREATING A NARRATIVE, USE WHAT YOU KNOW. Draw from your past. It doesn’t always mean plot or fact. It means capturing a truth from your experience, expressing values you personally feel deep down in your core.

22. STORYTELLING HAS GUIDELINES, not hard, fast rules.

23. INVOKING WONDER IS THE MAGIC INGREDIENT, THE SECRET SAUCE. Wonder is honest, it’s completely innocent. It can’t be artificially evoked. When it’s tapped, the affirmation of being alive, it reaches you almost to a cellular level. There’s no greater ability than the gift of another human being giving you that feeling– to hold them still just for a brief moment in their day and have them surrender to wonder.

Gold Coast Video Production

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Video Production

Why Facebook Terrifies Google
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_facebook_terrifies_google.php

ReadWriteWeb

Google is still the biggest, baddest online advertising company on the planet. Its $2.9 billion profit last quarter, announced yesterday, was almost as much as Facebook’s revenue for all of 2011.

But Facebook has something important that Google doesn’t, and it scares Google’s pants off: Facebook knows who you are, to an incredible level of detail. Because you tell it.

As you’ll see, that allows Facebook to tailor its ads to a much finer set of users than Google’s search ads currently allow. That’s why Google is pushing so hard on Google+.

All that profile information you’ve filled out over the years on Facebook? That’s not just there for your friends and colleagues to see, or for self-expression. Facebook is also able to use much of it to target the advertising you see on Facebook. (And, eventually, potentially all over the Web, the way Google does.)

The easiest way to see how powerful this is would be to take a quick spin through Facebook’s ad-creation tool. It’s remarkably simple and straightforward. Just figure out what your ad is for and give it a title, some body text and an image.

And then you’ll get to the magic: Facebook’s targeting page. Here, you can narrow your ad’s target by an incredible basket of options. Location, age, gender, precise interests (as volunteered!), Facebook connections, sexual orientation, relationship status, languages, education and specific workplaces.

So if you want to reach the 100 people on Facebook who live in California, are between 18 and 36 years old, like “space” and work at Apple or Google, you can. Amazing.

Here’s what it looks like:

Video Production
Google’s search advertising product, on the other hand, only offers a fraction of this targeting. You can target by location, languages and devices. But it mostly comes down to keywords: What are people searching for or looking at?

That’s useful information, for sure, especially when you’re selling something. But it would be nicer to also be able to target much deeper, the way you can on Facebook.

That’s why Facebook, even though its business is much smaller than Google’s today, represents such a threat to Google. It’s only a matter of time until Facebook expands its advertising scale by opening the equivalent of “AdSense” - self-service ads for any site, using Facebook’s superior targeting capabilities. That actually goes directly after Google’s core business; that could hurt.

In the meantime, Facebook has a huge and growing set of data about its users that Google just doesn’t. Heck, many (most?) of Google’s search users aren’t even really “users” at all - they’re not logged in, they don’t volunteer any personal information, etc.

To get Video Production

Over the coming months we will be featuring behind the scenes peeks at our Brisbane video production shoots and showing how some of our clients’ online videos were put together and the effects they’ve had on the business. Today we start with Enviroblast.

The Enviroblast Video

The video you see above was made for Enviroblast in 2011. You may have seen their trucks around Brisbane or the Gold Coast; they are hard surface cleaners of residential, commercial and industrial premises.

Their challenge was to create something that engaged the viewer, showcased what their company was all about and essentially convinced potential customers to pick up the phone and book their service.

The video was to be uploaded to their YouTube channel and included with client quotes, so it was going to play an active role in promoting the company.

This was important because it was not merely going to sit on a website passively. It was going to be sent out with every emailed quote to showcase the company and convert inquiries into solid bookings; it had to be top notch and really hit the spot.

That’s why we spent such a long time planning the video.

Client Match Up

We always like to work with people whose beliefs and business principles we share. Part of what we loved about the guys at Enviroblast was their ethics with regards to the environment – they recycle their water, so that it doesn’t go back into the waterways and use safe cleaning processes that won’t damage the local ecosystem. They stand for something.

We also felt that the Enviroblast guys were switched on and were quick to see the potential benefits of video for their business. They had a great brand, were good marketers and had a brilliant overall cleaning product that could use video to help it stand out from the rest.

We could also see when we first met them that the video shoot would be fun – and so it turned out. You should be able to see that energy throughout the video.

Video Planning

Enviroblast wanted an upbeat and “cool” feel to their video, based on the profile of their target market, but it also had to showcase their products and services very professionally.

It took lots of planning to work out how to get this feel and we spent a couple of days with them before any shooting was done.

We used a questionnaire to get the basic information we needed – such as company background and aim of the video, as well as other key input. It’s important for the producer to know what the client wants – this point is often missed by video production companies that assume they know what the client wants without even asking! Big mistake!

The best videos generally have a natural flow and energy about them, but there’s a lot of time and effort, not to mention skill, that goes into getting a “natural feel”. It’s something of a paradox!

The Shoot

We filmed the video over a day in three different locations, including their business premises.

We used the following equipment:

• 5d mark ii Camera
• Prime lenses
• Miller tripod
• Z finder

Results

You can judge the results for yourself, but Brett and Steve were extremely happy with the end video; and so, it seems, are their clients.

Almost a year after that video was made, close rates have reportedly gone through the roof at Enviroblast and sending the video with every emailed quote has worked wonders.

This is what we strive for at the Labs. We take video seriously but love to work with clients that are fun, have a great outlook and are clear about what they need to happen with their videos.

We hope that oozes through in our videos because we love helping our clients achieve their end goals.

For all your Gold Coast and Brisbane video requirements contact Michael on 0447 610 823.

You may know all the benefits of using FAQ and testimonial videos in your video production strategy, but one great technique that many Brisbane business owners neglect is interviewing.

An important part of any strategy is knowing where to go once you have covered the basics.

Taking it to the Next level

With video, some of the basics are those we have mentioned above – plus maybe a promotional video about your business.

Many are not still getting that part right or using it to its full potential, but for those businesses that have got a head start on the rest…

…How do you reach the next level?

…How do you start to position our business so that you stand out from the crowd?

Luckily that’s not too difficult right now, because few Brisbane businesses are currently getting it completely right with their video production and marketing strategy; but further down the line, when it becomes totally “mainstream”, you will have to be a little special to stand out.

So you might as well get started now.

No Business is an Island!

Our businesses are not self-contained. They are all part of a wider community connected to the local people, the surrounding area, our industry or market sector and the business community as a whole (other small and medium business owners etc.)

We run a video production business, for example. We know many other video producers, internet marketers, business coaches and local business owners in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and others in the same sector around Australia.

Who do you know?

Choosing Your Interview Target!

Are their leading lights in your field? People respected and–in-the-know or with influence? People with interesting or left-field opinions? Local celebrities interested in what you do? Small business owners in a similar position to many of your customers?

Interviewing them and getting their “take” on subjects that your customers are interested in is sound strategy. Why? Because it helps position your business as playing with the big boys, at the top end of town – and whatever other cliché you wish to use.

Just by association you raise your level of esteem amongst your customers – and we all know how important our reputation and credibility is, in business.

If you approach people that you don’t already know you get the added bonus of expanding your network – making connections with people that may last and open doors in the future.

Approaching Your Target!

Let’s face it – they can only say “no”. There’s no harm done!

Most likely they’ll be flattered that you want to talk to them on camera and will agree, if you can find a suitable time. Make it easy for them to say “yes” by being flexible with time and location, stressing that you will keep it short ( 10 or 15 minutes?) and respecting their schedule.

Online interviews are a great alternative to face-to-face interviews; the visual quality doesn’t really matter as long as the sound is clear – if you have chosen the right person, people are mainly interested in what your subject is saying.

Informing, Educating and Entertaining!

Smart video marketing strategies these days are based around educating, informing and entertaining your viewers.

There’s so much video out there that you need to give your viewers what they’re after, or they’ll click away within 10 seconds.

Interviews with the right people in your field can help grab and maintain attention, and provide the type of content that gets visitors coming back for more.

Video Production

Go here for link http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/06/40-filmmaking-podcasts-you-should-be-listening-to/

What do you mean you don’t get enough filmmaking discussion? You want more???

Well, yeah, so do we.

We’ve scoured the corners of internets and came up with an informative and entertaining list of podcasts covering all aspects of filmmaking: from scriptwriting to special effects, producing to directing, and just plain ol’ yak about our favorite (and least favorite) films.

Download them all and you’ll no reason to be bored for the next couple hundred hours.

Enjoy:

How Brisbane Businesses Can Build Their Audience Through video production

Brisbane businesses using video production in their marketing strategy are successfully building their audiences; this is because online video is maturing and visitors to websites are expecting to see it – from a “nice to have” it’s becoming a “must have”.

You can increase the “buzz” around your own small business through a variety of ways from getting the cameras rolling yourself to outsourcing the whole job to a professional Brisbane video production company.

Either way, here are a few tips to help you increase your number of viewers and get them coming back to you again and again.

Less is More

In terms of the length of your videos, think short; 2 to 3 minutes is normally adequate or you will send your viewers either to sleep or elsewhere! Keeping it short and punchy is the golden rule.

Make Them Stand On their Own Two Feet

Make each of your videos a separate entity that needs no prior or post-video viewing to understand it. Include all contact details and calls to action in each video so nobody needs to click elsewhere to find you.

It’s about Education and Information

Know what your audience wants to talk about, then have the conversation; inform and educate your viewers and that way you will build your reputation as a source of knowledge in the subject; this will have people recommending you, passing your details on to others and coming back for more.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Sound

It’s video – not a podcast – but don’t underestimate the importance of sound to the overall video; that means getting a good microphone that allows your words ( and your message) to come across clearly, as well as adding any incidental music to the edit, post-shoot.

Light the Way

Don’t skimp on lighting as it will back-fire; until you see badly made video you don’t realise how important lighting is and it really can ruin the effect you are trying to achieve; you don’t need to be an international film director but you do need people to be concentrating on what you’re saying rather than the shadows under your eyes! Use a 3-point lighting set up for best results.

If you’re making your own videos then just these few tips will have you on the right path; many Brisbane video production companies will know all the above – but the best ones will be able to help not only in making the videos but with selling your business through them too; that means scriptwriting, marketing and distribution.

Online video production can improve your business in multiple ways and that’s part of the beauty of it; it’s a broad ranging solution that can have you firing on fronts that you only dreamed of before.

Below are 10 of the best ways your Brisbane business – whatever it is – can be utilising video:

1.     Answer Questions Efficiently

FAQ pages are all well and good but they can be long-winded and who really reads them? FAQ videos, indexed well, help your web visitors find answers to their burning questions, not just by telling – but by showing.

2.     Position yourself as the Expert

Web video allows you to demonstrate your expertise in your business area. How-to videos are great for this. Decide on the top 10 things your customers want to know how to do and then create a series of videos showing them. How good does that make you look? How many of your competitors are doing that?

3.     Prove that your Product or Service Works

Get your best customers to vouch for how good your product or service is; the word of a few others creates more proof and impact than your words could ever do, so start using this great resource – a great video is just a question away!

4.     Tell your Story to your Audience

Your story is how you connect – everyone has some interesting and engaging story about how they got where they are today. Making this resonate with your target audience will be the key to your video “working”. Find your story, script it well and deliver it to the camera by talking to your audience.

5.     Engage and Entertain

10 Ways To Employ Online Video Production In Your Brisbane Business

People love to be entertained; if you have some good ideas for making people laugh, for example, then why not put them out there? It worked well for the likes of Old Spice Man didn’t it? If you’re no comedian, don’t worry – focus on engaging your audience with content that will interest and inform them.

6.     Reduce Travel Costs

Online video conferencing is a great way to be able to talk to other branches of your business or to meet customers or suppliers without travelling to the other side of the country. A lot of business is done over Skype these days – and that can cost nothing at all!

7.     Say More In Less Words

You can also record web video to send messages to customers or suppliers rather than sending emails. With video you can say more in less words – some people just communicate better via video message and don’t like writing long-winded and complicated emails. Video message programs like “Jing” make it easy and save time too.

8.     Brand Your Product

Online video can be a great way to build your brand, with a YouTube channel and social media pages supplementing your website; video can be embedded into blog posts and you can really get your message out there across many platforms, working for you.

9.     Advertise

Of course, online video advertising is becoming huge too; this can be very cost-effective compared to advertising on traditional media and is an area that will see a lot of growth this year, according to most industry experts.

10.   SEO

Last but not least, video can help you dominate search engine listings; it is increasingly featuring in search engine results which is not surprising, since Google and YouTube are one and the same! Your business should be taking advantage of the SEO aspects of video to boost your rankings.

If you are a Brisbane business with video production questions, contact Michael Hanson:michael@videolabs.com.au.

As online video production starts to become an integral part of most Brisbane businesses’ marketing strategies, you may be asked by the “money men” about ROI.

Financial controllers are obsessed with ROI so how do you have the answers ready for them, so that they can get to sleep at night and rest easy?

How exactly can you measure whether your video strategy is earning its corn?

First Question: Is Your Video Achieving Its Objectives?

You should be able to develop a fair idea of whether your video is hitting the right notes, be it on your YouTube channel, embedded into your website or blog or distributed around your social media sites.

Different videos have different objectives of course – how-to video are for educating your audience and demonstrating expertise, testimonial videos are for providing credibility for your business, FAQ videos demonstrate your expert status, storyline videos can connect to your audience through telling your personal/business story…and so on.

You need to define the business objective of the video before planning and recording it…and certainly before you hope to measure its success. Is it simply to boost sales, improve branding, demonstrate expertise or credibility, save costs or some other goal?

Ultimately, whatever the objective is, you want your target audience watching them all the way through to the end – this firstly means that they have been able to find them and secondly, that the content is engaging enough to maintain their attention. Therefore you are doing something right and your chance of a good ROI improves.

Video Analytics

As with all marketing campaigns, it’s important to be able to assess a bit more analytically how your videos are doing – it’s not enough to be quoting general trends in video watching around the globe. How many are watching YOUR videos and are they converting to sales?

There are tools to help you with this.

Simple free tools can measure how many people are watching, how long they are watching for, at what point they are clicking the stop button, where the people who are watching are from and whether they share it with others.

Slightly more complex calculations allow you to work out a value for each visitor, based upon the numbers that watch the video and then take a desired action…. this can provide a dollar figure but remember ROI can be measured in advantages to the business other than instant dollar values.

Measuring and adjusting is an important way to improve ROI of videos, because you learn what works and what doesn’t.

Improve Your Chances of ROI

You will improve your chances of getting the ROI that the money men will like, by partnering with a professional video production company that understands your objectives and not only knows how to shoot videos but how to plan, script, edit and distribute your videos for maximum marketing bang for your buck.

In Brisbane, for professional video production speak to Michael Hanson on 0447 610 823.