Making Your Marketing Move

When I was in college years ago, I had the opportunity to take some classes in Animation.  Now I say "opportunity," because I had hoped to take a different course of classes but had to settle that year for some other "related" classes.  What I didn't realize at the time was how valuable and enjoyable understanding the fundamentals of Animation would be.

Recently, we had the opportunity to animate some promotional images for the Olympia Film Festival and create a couple of promotional videos.  Check out the video, and then look below for some tips on things to consider when looking to create an animated video from 2D images.



Tips for 2D Aminated Videos -

1. Think of your materials in layers. Is there a background image, foreground image, and character image(s) that can be animated?

2. Sound sells the motion. Make sure to use music and sound effects to add reality to the motion.

3. Animation works on a scientific principal called persistence of vision. You are tricking the eye and the brain by moving objects just a small bit per frame, and letting your brain fill in the gaps. So like Ellie's dad says in Contact "Small moves".

4. HD video is created at 72dpi (dpi is a graphics term) and varies from 1280x720 to 1920x1080 frame size. You will need rather large images to move things around on an HD animated screen.

5. Don't feel like you are married to the constraints of the originally marketing piece. As long as you honor the style and theme of the print materials you should be able to create a creative video that your clients and viewers will enjoy.

If you would like some help producing your next animated video, call Pardiman Productions at 360-259-6672 or email us at info@pardimanproductions.com to set up a free consultation.

6 Steps to Great Video Production

Check out this article from Video Maker

6 Steps to Great Video Production

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Video Marketing Tips

from socialmediaexaminer.com

29 Tips to Make Your Video Marketing Easy

Video marketing tips from social media pros: learn how to get started creating videos and improve how you market your videos for your business.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

This is a great article from Social Media Examiner

8 Ways to Maximize Your YouTube Marketing Results

Shows just how you can get the most out of your YouTube account.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Marketing With Video - Email Tip

For a couple of years now I've been talking about the benefits of using in in email.

Some of the articles include:

Video in Email - A Powerful Sales Tool

 

Video In Email Can Increase Web Traffic

If you are using an e-newsletter program like Constant Contact or Mail Chimp sharing video in your emails is very simple to do.

But what if you just want to share a video to a few clients, and send out a small direct email blast from your inbox?  Many email such as Yahoo Mail and others don't allow you to directly embed video into an email.

One workaround for doing this is through YouTube.

Once you have a video hosted on YouTube, there is an option on the videos page to share it via an email.  If you email the video to yourself then you can use the video image and link that YouTube sends you to share the video to others.

Just click to forward this email, and then delete the portion of YouTube's email that you don't want others to see.  Then you can save this to your draft email bin, and when you want to send it out just and the rest of your email message, subject and send it like you would any other email.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

When You Post Your Video Makes a Difference

Recent stats posted on eMarketer show that there is a 27% higher Clickthrough Rate on Wednesdays than on a Sunday.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Video Tips - Getting Good Audio

Online viewers will be forgiving of low quality video most of the time, but they expect good sound. Outside of a quite office, you really can't rely on the internal microphone on your camera to do the job.  When looking for a video camera, even a Flip style, look for one that allows you to use an external microphone.

If the option isn't there to plug in an external microphone, you can still use a separate inexpensive audio recorder and mic, and sync the two audio tracks together in post.  In a conference or seminar situation, place this mic on a podium or plug it into the house sound system to get clearer quality audio.

Always monitor your audio through headphones to make sure it is recording at the proper level, and there is no noise that you might not hear with the naked ear.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Add Value To Your Website With FAQ Videos

How many times a day do you answer the same questions?

Do you get bogged down by explaining basic procedures, pricing structure, or simple policies to customer after customer?



Your website or print material may already cover frequently asked questions that your customers have, but you can be even more effective on your website or in emails with FAQ videos.  A short series of simple videos answering questions that every customer has, or explaining and demonstrating what the customer will experience, will go a long ways in making sure that new customers are ready to speak with you about meeting their needs.

These videos can be as simple as you talking directly to the camera, or can include other experts in your office or demonstrations.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Swimwear Company Uses Video in Marketing Mix

Check out this article from Author: Kelly Hushin of The eTail Blog

"Video: One of Marketing’s Newest Fastest Growing Distribution Channels"

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Increase Your Blogs Activity With Facebook Video

Embedding video from your Facebook page is a great way to increase your blogs traffic and make your posts more social.



For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Top Frustrations of Online Video Watchers

According to emarketer.com 35% of online video watchers are frustrated with poor video quality.

Where does your video stack up?

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

What Makes Videos Go Viral?

Check out this video about Viral Video from Social Media Examiner


from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Video Marketing in 90 Seconds or Less

As printed in the April 2011 Thurston County Chamber VOICE.

There are many great opportunities for you to promote yourself and your business by taking advantage of low cost video.  One of the keys to being effective and getting everyone to hear your story is to deliver your message in 90 seconds or less.

So how can you be effective in just 90 seconds or less?  While there are many types of successful short videos out there, my suggestion is to Be Real, Be Concise, and Be Engaging.

While it's not easy for most people to speak comfortably in front of the camera, the worst thing you can try to do is read off a script word for word.  If you truly want to connect and build trust with customers, they have to know that what you are saying is genuine.  A great way to solve this problem is by having someone ask you questions off camera, and just use your responses in the video.

Many customers want to stuff all of their marketing messages in to one video.  What happens, though, is you end up with a 4-5 minute video that bores most viewers.  Studies show that viewership drops off significantly after the first 90 seconds.  What I recommend is that you choose one message per video, and then make that video as effective as possible.

Your video can be more than just a talking head.  Using pictures, video of your product or service in motion, graphics, and even customer testimonials can help make your video as entertaining as possible.

Video is one of the most effective ways to increase traffic to your website, improve sales, and gain new prospective customers.  Just keep your message short, simple, and engaging and you will see great results.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Adding Video to Your Linkedin Profile

Linkedin has recently made it easier for you to add video to your Linkedin profile.  Check out this article which explains the process.

You can check out my profile and video here.

You can also add video to your companies product and service listings on Linkedin.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Can Video Help Your Retail Business?

Curious if video can help your retail business?

Check out this recent article from emarketer.com.

How Retailers Can Make Video Efforts More Effective


For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Blog Gets New Name - Clearer Focus

As part of my 2011 New Years Resolutions for Pardiman Productions I wanted to be more consistent in my efforts to make this blog useful and engaging for customers.

Having been fairly consistent with posting in January I wanted to start off February with refocusing and re-branding the blog.

For some time now the focus of the blog has been to offer any tips I can on marketing video, social media, and networking.  "Promotional Media News" was too vague and old fashioned of a title.  (And it really did help in the whole SEO game.)  So...Welcome to "Pardiman Small Business Marketing Tips"

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Web Video - Overcome Your Fears

The number one reason most people don't produce a video for their website or social media, is because of the fear of being in front of the camera.  Even more than the fear of public speaking, the fear of the camera seems to make people weak in the knees, and can turn the most eloquent speaker into a stumbling apologizer.

In order to help you overcome your potential fear of being in front of the camera, let's look at the 3 most common fears that people have.

• Fear of how they look
• Fear of how they sound
• Fear of what they'll say

For most people how they look on, and off camera is very important to them.  Everyone is concerned about the camera adding extra weight, or a wrinkle or crease that they would like to erase.  One of the great ways to remove the fear of the camera is to remove the camera from the equation.  At Pardiman Producitons we often use an interview style for shooting videos that focuses the on camera clients attention to an interviewer, and not on looking into the camera.

Some people feel compelled to deliver from a script verbatim, either off a teleprompter, or cue cards, or from memory to try overcoming the fear of how they sound on camera or what they'll say.  However, for people who aren’t experienced being in front of a camera, this can make them sound very unnatural, and will still often mess them up to the point of being very dissatisfied with their performance.  You don't have to memorize everything that you want to say in a video. In fact memorizing ISN’T a great idea.  It's good to be prepared, and have a bullet list of things you want to talk about, but even the best of actor's don't deliver their lines exactly as written.

If you're going to have us edit your video at a later time, we can easily record each of your points and then pause.  This gives you time to think about what you want to say next, and then we record your next thoughts. We almost always go through the material from at least two different angles so we can edit out any mistakes and give the viewer the most interesting video possible.

For the most self consious of business owners we can create a video where you let your customers do the talking, or we can shoot an on camera introduction and then use your voice over other images to illustrate your message.

Video is a very effective way to attract new clients, generate traffic to your website, and increase the likelyness of being found on search engines.  Don't let the fear be paralyzing.  Let Pardiman Productions - "Put motion in your promotion."

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Writing A Better Profile Script

Ever wonder why no one is watching your profile video?

The profile video is unique among promotional videos.  This is typically the first video a customer will see introducing them to you or your company.  It's like a "Digital Elevator Speech" as Jeffrey Hayzlett calls it, or you might know it as a 30 second introduction if you belong to a leads group.

Customers might find it as a link on your email, or while searching YouTube, or looking at your social media profile.   What you put in the video, however, is vitally important in catching their attention and getting them to take action.  The following outline will help you to create a better script to use on video or at a networking event.


Step 1 - The Bait
This is where you grab the viewer's attention.  This isn't where you introduce yourself, talk about your accomplishments, or list what your business does.  This is where you spend 10-15 seconds painting a mental picture of how you can solve the customers known or unknown problem.  This is where you offer a solution to what ales them.

Step 2 - The Taste
Here is where you introduce who you are, and what you do.  Don't just list your name and services.  This is where you spend 15-30 seconds talking about your knowledge and passion for what you do.  Don't waste time name dropping, let them hear about who you are.

Step 3 - The Tug
Spend another 5-15 seconds describing your uniqueness in your industry, and why you're the best choice to solve this particular problem for the customer.

Step 4 - Reel 'Em In
The last 10-30 seconds should be your call to action.  Your audience needs to know what to do next, or they will move on and forget about you.  Be specific and instruct them to call your phone number today, click on a particular link on your web page, or direct them to a web page designed to move them through to the next buying process.  This is the most important part, and often forgotten, part of your script.

Forgetting to include the call to action is like cutting your line, and letting the fish swim away.  They're probably not going to bite again.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Optimal Video Ad Length

*from Online Video Report 2010 by TubeMogul.com

When length is factored in, medium length (1:00 – 1:30) video ads outperform both longer and shorter videos in terms of completion rates, regardless of production format, length or industry category. This sample includes 100 major brand video ad campaigns, spanning 19,759,430 streams.

In short, when making content custom for the Web, one minute to 1:30 is the sweet spot in terms of length -- longer or shorter loses viewers faster.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

How to Integrate Video Into Your Social Media Marketing

Courtesy of the Social Media Examiner



If you would like to learn more about how you can use video in your social media marketing.

Give Pardiman Productions a call at 360-259-6672 or check us out at www.pardimanproductions.com