In our experience as video production professionals, we’ve learned that one of the biggest factors in budgeting for a particular job is time.

• How much time will be required to conceptualize and script a video project?
• How much time will we need in-studio or on location?
• How many shooting days will be required?
• How much time will we need to put the whole video together and deliver a final product?

Of course there are other factors to consider as well, including the cost of on-camera talent, additional crew, equipment, travel, etc. However, a video’s budget will grow exponentially when a client needs additional days for shooting, post-production, etc. The budget for a five-day shoot will look very different from a budget for a half-day shoot.

Most projects we work on require multiple camera set-ups, which require the movement of camera, lights, people, additional gear, etc. All of those set-ups mean that we can only capture a certain amount of footage per day. However, one way to increase the amount that can be shot in one day is to use a 2nd unit camera.

From a budgeting stand point, it may seem like an unnecessary expense to use two camera packages and two camera operators for one job. However, employing the use of a 2nd camera unit may actually reduce the cost of the video, because you are accomplishing more in less time.

This strategy is the most effective when there is a long, complicated shot list with several different locations and a small window of time. Rather than have one camera unit spend four days shooting everything, why not invest in a second camera unit and get all of your shots completed in two days? The first camera unit can spend time at your main location, conducting interviews with your staff and shooting b-roll of your operation, while the 2nd camera unit shoots b-roll of satellite offices, off site installs, and conducts interviews with clients. And if your video calls for an on-camera panel discussion with two or more individuals, you can use both cameras to cross-shoot the scene and omit the need to reset one camera for multiple angles. It can be a very efficient way to tackle your project.

This just in – your customers matter. Sounds like a no-brainer. Sounds like a topic not really worthy of discussion. Everyone knows it. What more needs to be said? As simple as this concept sounds, it seems that some businesses aren’t heeding the advice. Consumers are angry over increased fees, changes in services, changes in the business model, changes with products… you name it. When consumers feel slighted, they immediately take to the Internet to voice their opinions. Unless businesses address these concerns, they can quickly become mired in a very sticky PR situation.

All one needs to do to see the effect of this consumer backlash is to look at Netflix, who quickly ditched their plans to spin off their DVD service into a separate company called Qwikster. Or consider the uproar that Bank of America caused when they decided to start charging customers a monthly fee for using their debit cards. According to this article from USA Today, they too have backed down in the face of public opinion and have decided not to charge a debit card fee. Conversely, consider how Domino’s Pizza responded to customer feedback in late 2009.

What does all this mean for marketers, advertisers, and PR professionals who work to build up brands?

• Decisions must be weighed carefully. Don’t rush into any decisions regarding marketing/advertising strategies unless you have done your homework and thoroughly understand your ideal consumer; his/her opinions, buying habits, likes/dislikes, etc.
• Don’t underestimate your consumer. With social media at their disposal, customers have a very loud voice and can stir up support for their cause quickly at the grassroots level.
• Difficulty awaits those who find themselves trying to rebuild trust among their consumer base. There are two items to note from the USA Today article referenced earlier. One is a quote from famed PR guru Howard Rubenstein, who said, “Every company is now sitting on electronic quicksand. It may look like solid ground, but one wrong move and you’re up to your chin.” The second is a statistic released from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The study states that “some $58 billion in transactions may be at risk from Americans who had a problem with a product or service purchased in the last year.”

Businesses can’t afford to aim wildly with their marketing, advertising, or PR decisions and just throw something at the wall to see what sticks. A company’s reputation (and its bottom line) is at stake. Well-crafted, well-executed, and well-targeted messages will always work best. Be communicative. Be consistent with who you are as a company. And remember who matters the most.

Related articles

• Debit Cards: Chase, Wells Fargo Cancel Plans to Impose Monthly Debit Fees (inquisitr.com)
• Tweet Revenge: Consumers Wage Cyber War on Companies (postamericana.wordpress.com)
• Customers Revolt, and Win? Banks Back Off New Fees (moneyland.time.com)

Now, more than ever, consumers want advertisers to speak WITH them, not AT them. A disconnect has formed between advertisers and consumers, because…

• consumers feel as though brands aren’t really listening to them
• that brands don’t really understand them
• that brands aren’t willing to adapt their products/services based on consumer feedback

So, the way in which companies approach commercials and marketing videos has to shift. This is illustrated well in a short video that we posted to this blog last year, entitled The Break Up. Based on this change in attitude and behaviors, marketers and video producers have to be more focused on providing viewers with an experience. Tell them a story. The old marketing strategy (shove your product front-and-center and brag about how awesome it is) isn’t effective in drawing viewers in. Don’t misunderstand: There’s still a place for showcasing all that a product or service can do for a consumer, but companies have to be a bit more creative in how that message is communicated.

Even before YouTube, BMW was already buying into this strategy by creating a series of short films, starring Clive Owen as The Driver. Each episode featured Clive Owen driving a BMW vehicle, but the car wasn’t the focus of the story. The car was simply IN the story. If you had taken the BMW out and put any other car in, each episode still would have worked. There’s a reason why ancient philosophers, prophets, and teachers used parables to instruct; it’s because people learn and retain information best through stories. Think about how you can utilize storytelling techniques in your own videos to market your company, products, and services.

Opinions matter. They help us to make decisions about where to eat, what products to buy, and whose services to use. They help us to see certain issues from various perspectives so we can get a better understanding of cultural, societal, political, and world events. They can also help us to refine and improve our marketing and advertising messages, so that the products and services we offer can gain the most traction among our target audience. But after we gather and sort all of these various opinions, there comes a moment when we must formulate our own ideas and opinions about what direction to take.

When producing a marketing, sales, or promotional video, there are many different approaches one can take in terms of concept, script, tone, and visual style. Some might know instinctively how they want their video to look, while others may need to conduct extensive research and talk to others to uncover what they like. Some don’t need to show their video to anyone during the post-production process. Others may feel the need to pass the rough cuts around to various contacts to get initial feedback and suggestions for revisions.

If you are working with a video production company on a video project, don’t feel bad if you would like to show the rough cut to people you trust in order to get their opinions. After all, video production is a collaborative effort. Talk to your friends/colleagues about the video. Find out what they respond to. What worked for them? What didn’t? How can the video be improved? Also, talk to the video’s producer and director. Find out why he/she made certain aesthetic, or editing choices. Understanding the motivation(s) behind such decisions will help you gain a better understanding of the editing process.*

Take time to listen to the opinions received from friends and colleagues. Weigh those against the insights and professional experiences of the video producer/director. From that information, you can formulate your own opinion about how you want to revise the edit. Remember, when you start showing the video to different people, you will get a wide range of opinions. It won’t be possible to please everyone. You might make one revision to the edit that’s based on one friend’s opinion, only to disappoint another friend who wanted it done a different way. Changing the edit in an attempt to please everyone will only leave you (and the video’s editor) frustrated. Throughout the video production process, remember that this is your video. You hired a video production company because you value their experience and trust their capabilities to create a professional presentation for you. Ultimately, the purpose of the video is to market/advertise/promote you, your company, your people, your services and your products. Opinions do matter, but in the end, it’s your opinion that carries the most weight.

*Remember, I’m talking specifically about post-production; the point at which the final structure of the video is formed. Any changes to the concept, the script, or the way certain scenes were shot will almost certainly require re-writes and re-shoots.

Image via CrunchBase

SEO firms and marketers agree that placing videos on your website will not only encourage visitors to stay longer and interact more with your website, but it will help boost your site’s SEO. And if you also upload those same videos to various video hosting sites (and optimize those videos by naming and tagging them appropriately), you can drastically increase your content’s search rankings. Consider this quote from SEO guru Bruce Clay, of Bruce Clay, Inc.

…In the case of video, we believe that as one of the more important engagement objects, google has actually started to build it into the algorithm.  To us, that means if your website has engagement objects on it,  video or mp3…  it is going to be received by the algorithm better and your site will actually have an opportunity to rank better.

*Source: Engagement Objects – Without Video, Your Website will NOT Rank in Google http://www.reelseo.com/engagement-objects-seo/#ixzz1WcQ54nuo

And this quote was taken from an article written in 2009, so consider the advancements Google made in their search algorithms over the past two years. Each day, those algorithms are more capable of crawling and indexing video content. Videos are now showing up more and more prominently in search results. In fact, videos may rank higher than your actual website. And you can take advantage of that by linking back to your website on every video you upload.

So, if you are interested in distilling information about yourself, your company, your team, your products, or your services, and you want to rank higher in Google search results, consider using video to increase your online visibility. You may want to start off with something simple, like a testimonial video from your clients/customers, or a stand-up, elevator-pitch-style video that introduces yourself to viewers. From there you can continue to build your video collection.

Related articles

• Google Plus +1 Button Now Lets You Share Video Content With Your Circles (reelseo.com)
• Googles latest algorithms command new SEO techniques (greenmanconsulting.org)
• How Google Constantly Changes its Search Algorithms for the Better [Video] (hubspot.com)
• How to rank highly in YouTube searches (econsultancy.com)