Category: Web Videos
A Few of the Best Video Production Examples We’ve Seen
Over the years we’ve seen our fair share of video productions. Everyone knows a bad video when they see one, but do you ever recognize a good one? Since we’re on a mission to rid the world of cheesy corporate videos, we thought it’d be a good idea to shine a light on great work that takes place outside the walls of 711 King St.
We chose the following video examples because they are simple, smart and authentic ways to connect with viewers. They do more than just cram a ton of information into a short window. They craft a compelling story around the product – not necessarily about the product itself.
Blue Apron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oya68j6KREM
Yes… they play a lot in Youtube pre-rolls, but these spots are extremely well put together. These do a fantastic job of humanizing today’s dining experiences. Often times meals are cooked after a long day’s work, or hastily thrown together. These spots encourage the viewer to slow down and savor the act of cooking… because Blue Apron makes it easy for you.
Here’s a few reasons why we dig these vids:
- Showcases food as a means to bring people together
- The whole campaign (days of the week) does an excellent job demonstrating the practical value of their product
- Cinematography and story makes the situations feel authentic, and makes the act of cooking an art.
Yeti
Yeti is pretty much an ideal branded content developer. They have cultivated and created an entire following that grew organically from their branded documentary series that crafts authentic stories about their target audience. Yeti’s videos don’t hit the viewer over the head with their product – they simply tell unique stories that resonates with them. Stories that focus on Yeti’s core values that ultimately connect with the viewer.
Here’s why we dig these:
- The purpose of the videos aren’t to sell products (at least not directly). Their purpose is to generate brand loyalty. Viewers see the values expressed in the videos as their own, and therefore for a bond with the brand.
- These stories are as authentic as it gets. Yeti cultivate stories from their loyal followers who express the same feelings that the company stands for. And it’s not by mistake that these individuals all happen to have hobbies or professions in visually stunning arenas.
Notes
A little older, but this is storytelling on another level. The Take Note team does a phenomenal job humanizing a product: stationary. The team expertly reminds the viewer that even in today’s digital world, handwritten notes are still essential in our day to day lives.
Here’s what we liked:
- I can’t think of a more creative way to tell a story using stationary as the driver. From first date recap to the end, the story draws you in.
- Simple, relatable life situations (plot points) that resonate with most viewers
- They are able to tell the story of a lifelong relationship without getting lost in any unnecessary details as far as the product is concerned, such as what they people look like, and where the events take place.
Purple Mattress
This video is about two years old, and 100% focuses on the product, but it recently resurfaced in our office Slack channel as a video that we love. It’s extremely difficult to humanize your brand while trying to sell the audience on the benefits of a product, but the team at Purple does just that. You may not watch the whole thing, but I mean… when was the last time you were interested in watching a 4-minute video about mattresses?
Here’s what else we liked:
- This video entertains while it informs. That script is dynomite.
- Using Goldilocks as the ‘spokesperson’ was a stroke of genius – it’s a character that everyone knows; she’s associated with sleep; demands thing to be ‘just right’; and opens the door to a world of comedic possibilities.
- Timing – from the tight script to the tight edits, the video is impeccably timed throughout.
These are just some examples of how you can tell a brand story. If you’re looking for more practical tips on creating videos that resonate with your audience, check out our ebook, The Fundamental Guide to B2B Video Marketing. It helps get your started on creating a video that speaks to your audience. If you don’t need something like that… then I wouldn’t download it. Then it would just clutter your desktop.
522 made the LIST
Have you ever had that feeling where you need to be pinched because life’s too good that you must be dreaming? That’s us right now!
Every year Inc. 5000 compiles a list to rank the country’s top 5000 fastest-growing private companies. The 2017 Inc. 5000 list was released, and guess what? We made the cut. That’s right, 522 Productions is one of fastest growing private companies in the country!
It truly is an honor to be included on this list, and we couldn’t have done it without our staff, network, and of course, our clients. Thanks to our clients we are able to do what we love every day. Being trusted to tell their stories through our lenses is an honor all in itself, but we aren’t finished growing yet. We want to help more companies utilize video and we believe every organization deserves great video. Whether it’s an about us video, product demonstration, corporate or anything else you can think of, let us create it with you.
We’d like to thank the Inc. 5000 for including us on this year’s list among other notable companies, including Halo Top Creamery, Orangetheory Fitness, S’well, and Bitly. The Inc. 5000 list has included many amazing companies in the past that are now household names, such as Under Armour, GoPro, Microsoft, and Patagonia to name a few.
Take a look at the list for yourself to check out the other 4999 fastest growing private companies in the country.
Pricing a Video is like Buying a House
After 13 years in the video production industry, we know a few things about developing, creating, and managing video projects. However, we’ve come to find that some clients want more explanation when it comes to these processes. There’s no doubt if you’re new to the video industry, the jargon can be difficult to understand.
Here at 522, we want you to be knowledgeable about our industry so you can understand all the details of your project. With that in mind, we want to equip our current and potential clients with the basics of how we handle sales, creative and management throughout the course of a project.
How are you going to do that? Good question!
We’re going to do it the only way we know how: video. That’s right, we’re starting a vlog. No, we aren’t going to tell you about our day, where we went, or what we ate. What we are going to do is share some video production secrets, teach you about our process, and have fun while doing it.
So we thought we’d start at the beginning. Every project begins with pricing. However, pricing can be a difficult concept to understand. Why do certain aspects cost more than others? Where did the final video price come from? Don’t worry, we got Chris Croston, one of our Account Executives, to break it down for you, in under 90 seconds.
Check it out!
Hey guys… it’s Chris with 522. One of the most common questions I get from clients is: How much does a video typically cost? Pricing out a video project is kinda similar to buying a house. The price-range for a house can vary greatly. It depends on how big it is, how much land there is, where the house is, like – are we talking waterfront property, or under power lines next to the town dump? Same kinda principle applies to video – it really depends on what you need and how it gets done. That’s why we typically develop estimates on a project-to-project basis.
A variety of factors go into pricing out a video. The type and amount of content are usually the biggest determining factors. Other key factors are if you require concept development, the size of the crew, number of days filming, where we’re filming, number of deliverables… that kinda thing. Most corporate video projects typically fall somewhere between $5,000 and $50,000. But we’ve had plenty of outliers on both ends… definitely on the high end. Definitely…
Hope that helps! We do have a price-range budget breakdown doc we can share with you, so hit us up if you’d like to learn more! Or, if you’d like us to develop a video that answers any other questions you might have – hit us up here!
Why You Should Create Video For Social Platforms
It’s no secret that video content has found a home on social media platforms. With the nature of constant updates, your text information could easily fall victim to the endless scrolling timelines. Luckily, some companies have found a successful way to break through the clutter: Video.
Creating and offering video content is more important than ever. People are more likely to watch a video then read an article, and this is especially true for younger generations. In fact, one third of all online activity is spent watching videos. Aside from just watching video content, people are sharing the content too. That is where social media platforms become vital any content marketing strategy.
The sharing power of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms of their likeness is the peak of value for companies. Whether it’s a share, like, or retweet, this engagement has the ability to transform unknown brands into major trendsetters and thought leaders.
You might think that linking to your video on your social profiles and posts is enough; unfortunately, it isn’t. Videos on social media perform better when they are native to the platform, embedded in content, and curated for each platform’s time restrictions.
Videos that are native to the platform you post them on generate more views, likes and shares. According to Forbes, videos that originate on Facebook on average experience 110% more interactions and 478% more shares. It has become increasingly more common for the same video to have hundreds views on YouTube, and a hundred thousand views on Facebook. The autoplay and loop features on Twitter and Instagram also increase engagement from viewers.
Embedding videos into your social media is the most effective way to generate engagement. People are more inclined to watch a video that autoplays on their timeline than click a link to an external page, even if that page is another social media site like YouTube.
Additionally, your content needs to be generated specifically for each platform. This may involve cutdowns in post production. The maximum lengths for videos are as follows:
- Facebook: 120 minutes
- YouTube:15 minutes (or more depending on channel status)
- Twitter: 140 seconds
- Instagram: 60 seconds
- Snapchat: 10 seconds
The importance of sending the right messages is still prominent, but now it is time to take a more in depth look into what channels we use to send those messages. Next time, think before you hyperlink.
Now that your videos are social media ready, it’s time to see if video can also help your brand. Use this new guide to see how profitable video could be for your company.
6 things to remember when developing your next training video
Whether it’s safety training or a specific process that you want to relay to your employees, you have most likely put a lot of thought into your training video production needs. You probably even have your training information in order and you just need to start shooting your video. But, wait. There are some things you should consider about the video production first. Many training videos fall short because some important issues are not considered during production.
Before you begin, don’t forget to consider these elements when producing your training video:
- Assess Existing Training Materials
Assessing your employees’ training needs is usually the first step when developing a training video. Just because you’re developing a brand new video, doesn’t necessarily mean that the existing material should be thrown away. Before getting too far with concepting and script development, it’s important to do an analysis of the existing training materials. During the review, determine what is and is not useful. - Relate to Your Audience
One of the most important things about video is the ability to relate to your audience. And, for the most part, your audience is never a single person. So, don’t assume that your audience has limited knowledge. On the hand, don’t gloss over topics that may require explanation either. Overall, you should consider presenting your information in a way that is applicable to slightly different knowledge levels. If you find a large gap in the awareness levels of the audience, then you may want to develop different types of videos. - Avoid Focusing on the Negative
If people remember seeing someone doing something dangerous, then that’s what they will remember. This point can be crucial when producing a safety video. When improper techniques are presented at all, they should be followed by a clear explanation of what should be done instead. You want to emphasize the right way to do things, rather than what not to do. - Cast Your Presenter or Speaker….Carefully
Actors, narrators, and presenters can provide another dimension to your video and keep the information interesting. They can instruct employees on what to do and say, especially if you have a business involving regular face-to-face interaction with customers. Using actors is also helpful for safety training and for demonstrating interpersonal relations skills. At the end of the day, it is important to find a presenter or speaker who relates to the audience (see point #2 above). - Use a Mix of Visual Elements
Let’s face it. Training content isn’t always the most exciting material to cover. In addition, the audience normally expects a traditional approach. So, in order to keep the audience engaged, it can be helpful to integrate a variety of visual elements. Keep the video interesting by switching between text, graphics, on-camera talent, etc. Training material can be delivered effectively with a balance of contextual information, people interacting, and relevant graphics and statistics. - Encourage a Conversation
Don’t let everyone run out of the room as soon as the video ends. After a training video is finished, it’s important to follow-up with a conversation. An engaged audience has more to offer after an effective training video. Encourage viewers to share their own experiences and insights. If the training video is distributed online, then build a forum or share a blog post to enable comments.
Summary
So, that outlines some key considerations for beginning a training video. And, if you’re wondering how to get started with any type of video production, we’ve got you covered there too.
Now that you’re ready to make an effective training video, be sure to download our guide to B2B Marketing. This guide explores helpful tactics to take your business marketing to the next level.
Why You Need Video Testimonials
Testimonials are a key ingredient for building social proof for your organization’s service or product. Instead of a brand simply insisting that customers love their product or service, customer testimonials give the apprehensive customer a different (and less intimidating) perspective. For businesses, this influence leads to increased trust, reduced skepticism, and higher conversion rates. Let’s take a look at the best way to incorporate video testimonials into your website.
Video Testimonials Increase Conversions
A study by EyeView reported that branded landing pages containing videos experienced an 80% increase in conversion rates. Creating video testimonials allows brands to promote their product or service while building trust with their audience. Unlike traditional advertising, video testimonials enable customers to overcome skepticism without taking a sales-driven approach to advertising. In order to increase the effectiveness of customer testimonials, there are five must-have qualities companies should incorporate into each video.
5 Qualities of a Good Video Testimonial
Video testimonials are a great way to fortify the brand-customer relationship and help customers visualize your brand’s solution to a problem. An effective video testimonial should motivate your viewer to think, “Hey, this person is just like me and this brand’s product/service helped them.” Let’s take a look at the necessary ingredients.
- Genuine. Above all else, video testimonials need to be genuine. With increased skepticism, brands must start off on the right foot. Companies using phony video testimonials jeopardize their relationship with customers. And, once this trust is broken, it’s difficult to get back.
- Familiar. In order to be effective, video testimonials need to portray brand advocates that potential clients can relate with on a personal level. In this scenario, think about your customer personas and what attributes are most common. Do your clients typically have large corporate offices? Or, are they more involved in a smaller business setting? Whatever the case may be, make sure to think about these attributes before capturing video testimonials.
- Comparative. When creating a video testimonial, it’s helpful if your brand advocate compares your product or service to another he or she has tried (and given up for your brand). This process presents the customer’s true experience and provides some context for the viewer.
- Credible. Unfortunately, generic video testimonials simply don’t do the trick. If your video testimonial features “Customer X from Company ABC,” the viewer will think you’ve made it up. As we discussed earlier, this only serves to harm your brand and reputation. One credible brand advocate will always represent your brand better than 20 nameless faces.
- Professional. The quality of your video testimonial will also speak to your brand’s level of professionalism. Poorly planned or non-responsive video testimonials result in sloppy production. Unfortunately, many customers may feel like this is a reflection of your brand. To maximize conversion rates, make sure you carefully plan the entire production and involve your client in the process.
Video Testimonials in 2016
Though many video testimonials consist of a simple question and answer interview, there’s more than one way businesses can effectively use this content. Companies can use video testimonials to promote special products, target different audiences, and even capture a customer’s real-time response to receiving a product or service. Incorporating the five qualities above will help your brand transform uncommitted customers into loyal brand advocates.
Do you plan to use video testimonials in 2016?
Long vs Short Video: 8 Reasons to Keep Your Videos Short
With the explosive rise of websites like Vine and Instagram, there’s something to be said about keeping videos short. Brands are discovering that keeping videos “short and sweet” is often more effective than investing time and money into a complicated production. Though some statistics indicate that videos shorter than 3.5 minutes are preferred by viewers, others state that video completion rates drop significantly after 30 seconds. Even some folks say that we have a shorter attention span than a goldfish…yes, a goldfish. So, let’s take a look at six good reasons to keep your video content short. Continue reading “Long vs Short Video: 8 Reasons to Keep Your Videos Short”
4 Tips for Creating a Successful Video Marketing Campaign
As video evolves as the future of marketing, businesses that don’t use video are at an increasing risk of being left behind. But without a properly planned video marketing campaign, you may be destined to spend time and money without getting results. To create a successful video marketing campaign, consider these four crucial elements first: Continue reading “4 Tips for Creating a Successful Video Marketing Campaign”
5 Benefits for Using Animation in Your Brand’s Video Content
Video can come in many different forms and there are a variety of ways to connect with your brand’s audience. In today’s world, one of the popular ways for marketers to tell a story is through animation. Animated videos are very effective now because they have become more affordable and also circumvent some of the challenges with live action video (finding actors, scheduling interviews, identifying locations, etc.). When used correctly, animated video content can make a significant impact on the viewer. For brands, animation offers five unique benefits: Continue reading “5 Benefits for Using Animation in Your Brand’s Video Content”
The Importance of Video at an Event or Conference
The world is becoming more digital by the second. You can become friends with someone before ever being in the same room. Linkedin is great for networking, and Twitter is fabulous for reaching your peers, but as awesome as these tools are, they’re also saturated. Everybody’s using them….and therein lies the problem…they no longer make you unique. So, as a professional, how do you continue to stand out?
Attend a conference! Sometimes cutting through the noise and fostering face-to-face relationships with fellow professionals can be the best way to network and get yourself out there. Social tools are quick and easy to use, but they can’t replace the memories and impressions made face-to-face.
If you’re hosting a conference, you already recognize these benefits. For you, the question is: how do I get people there? How do I convince them it’s worth their time, energy and (often) money? How do I get them excited about the event, carry that excitement through the conference, and then leave them talking about the conference and sharing it with potential attendees for weeks to come?
The answer: video. Research has already shown that video is one of the most effective ways to market to your audience. How can video be used to enhance your event? Here are some of our thoughts:
Video Generates Excitement Before an Event
One of the best ways to increase the effectiveness of pre-event outreach is to develop a video. Events require active promotions to ensure that the attendance is as high as possible. Video is interactive and quickly demonstrates what an event offers – it also provides a peek into the personal interactions that an attendee can expect. Use video to attract all types of leads to your event. Include a call to action and make sure that it’s easy for viewers to navigate from your video to the sign-up page for the event or conference.
Video Increases Interaction at an Event
The interactions that occur at a conference or event are one of the most powerful benefits to attending. Video can be a great way to bring life to event presentations and various product-oriented displays. Encouraging attendees to live upload photos and video with a pre-selected (and advertised) hashtag can add social exposure to your event. This helps to increase the buzz around your event and can inspire new people to sign up for next year’s meet up. The immediate feedback also gives your social media managers a chance to engage attendees online while they’re at the event.
Video Extends the Life of an Event
The content captured during the event can be used for several purposes. For example, here are just a few ways video can have a lasting impact after it is over:
- Provides access to keynotes – Conferences spend quite a bit of resources to ensure a keynote has an impact. By capturing the presentation on video, attendees and others can view the content online after the event is over.
- Archives panel discussions – One of the more engaging parts of a conference are the panel discussions. These discussions often feature conflicting points of view and encourage audience participation. Video, especially when there are multiple angles, can capture the most interesting moments of panel discussions. When uploading these videos, you invite the conversation to continue online.
- CCaptures feedback and testimonials – One of the best ways to start marketing next year’s event is to use testimonials from this year. With a video production crew on-site, you can capture testimonials from participants and use the footage to develop a promotional piece. Creating a sizzle reel from last year can be a great marketing tool for next year’s event.
Ultimately, video is a great way to enhance the impact of an event. It provides the ability to capture the most interesting parts of a conference and extend conversations online.
10 Effective Marketing Videos Created by Startups
When it comes to raising awareness for your brand, video is a prime option. It can provide added flexibility and creative opportunity, often with an impact far beyond words alone. Video is one of the most engaging ways a brand can reach it’s audience; it’s quick, easy to consume and visually appealing.
Video is at the heart of our business and what we do — so it’s no surprise that we’re inspired by the way today’s brightest startups are using creative freedom to showcase their brands through video.
When it comes to startups, it can be difficult to thoroughly explain your company’s purpose and goals in an easy-to-understand “snackable” blog post; after all, especially if your product is based on a complex piece of technology. The more interesting you can make the product, the better. That’s where the power of the video comes in.
Why Video?
Here are some fast facts about video marketing, provided by Inc., to help explain why video marketing is a critical tool for 2016:
- An estimated 84% of communication will be visually-oriented by 2018.
- An estimated 79% of internet traffic will be comprised of video content by 2018.
- Consumers are 85% more likely to buy a product after viewing a product video.
- Posts with videos attract 3X more clicks on links than text-only posts.
Clearly, video marketing is an important and effective component of a marketing campaign. It can increase engagement and keep your brand current.
But not just any ol’ video will do! Here are a few startups that are making an effective imprint using video marketing:
June Intelligent Oven
First of all, the product really does speak for itself, I mean how cool is this thing? June did a fantastic job of showing a long list of their product’s functionalities in just over a minute – which is super tough. In video, not only is less usually more, but it can be the hardest thing to execute in a video project, and June executes it really well.
Zugata
Great use of animation to quickly explain their product. Better yet, the video is completely cohesive with the rest of Zugata’s brand if you check out their website. Also note that, just like June, their video is just over a minute long – short and sweet!
Fiscal Note
I have to give some love to our “local D.C.” startups. Fiscal Note does a great job of condensing a complex piece of technology into an easy to follow video. I love how, right at 1:30, they sneak in “the best part of Prophecy is that it’s on the Fiscal Note platform,” this gives them the perfect transition to touch on why their proprietary technology is the best out there and give more details on their company.
Luxe
With this video, Luxe showcases how it humanizes your parking experience. I love the touch of humor at the end with the confused man on the sidewalk. Notice again that the video length is under two minutes.
InVision App
The InVision App uses a documentary style video series about “design disruptors” to pull you in. It’s a non-traditional approach that definitely leaves me interested in watching their full documentary and learning more about who they are (and how they got to interview so many influencers!). InVision took a risk here, but it paid off. Rather than focusing on their product, they are focusing on the experience of their audience. My favorite quote from this video? “Design is human.”
Headspace
Shameless plug – I actually use, and love, Headspace. Not only are the animations cute and the color scheme pleasing, but the voice over script is really effective and to the point. I also love the ending: “Who knows? Maybe if you treat your head right, the rest will follow.”
Eero
A great, short little video with humorous overtones. Eero uses a simple approach that communicates what their product is all about.
MOOV
Great action video that leaves you inspired to get up and get active (while using their product!). MOOV does a great job of showing why their product is differentiated in the market.
Nest
A product demo/explainer video for their third generation Nest. Best line? “Programs itself, then pays for itself.”
TripCase
A snazzy video from TripCase. This video personifies the purpose of their app perfectly: to keep you calm, cool and collected through the stresses of travel.
