The Business of Video

It’s never just a potato chip – A marketing story

I'm a sucker for anything new, especially in the CPG (consumer packaged goods) category. My 12-year-old son opened this container of Wavy Pringles and took some out. He handed one to me and I just stared at it for a minute, until I started smiling. You see a potato chip with ridges. I see a whole story. A young man is new to the Pringles production line, just starting his first full-time job. His job is repetitive and his mind wanders over the course of the day - planning the weekend, thinking about the love of his life, dreaming about the new car

5 PRODUCTION TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR VIDEO ALIGNS WITH YOUR BRAND

Whether or not you have entered into the world of creating video for your business, there are some steps you can take that will ensure every video you produce going forward aligns with your brand styling. You need to squash down that desire to just get some video done and throw it out into the world. Video needs to be done with purpose, intent and professionalism, even if you have a restrictive budget. Whatever road you take with video, pro or do-it-yourself, its role is to elevate your brand. Logo Your logo is like a famous brand of hot sauce and yes,

March 11, 2019 In The Business of Video By DigitalShoebox

How voice search will impact video marketing and your SEO

As voice search becomes more commonplace, your video needs to be easily found. I had an epiphany last year when we added Google home to the appliances cluttering our kitchen counter. I never wanted the device in my house. I did not see the purpose of it. Sure, it could play music and podcasts, but so could my phone. It could tell me the weather and give me a rundown of the news headlines, but so could the morning news I watched every day as I sipped my coffee. To me, Google home was just another piece of technology that could listen

February 22, 2019 In The Business of Video By DigitalShoebox

How to a leverage a speaker reel, even if you never take the mic again

A speaker reel is an important part of any marketing plan, even if you have zero aspirations of being in the spotlight. Over the last couple of years, I've watched business owners take their first trepidatious steps to the microphone, swallow back their fear, force out a breath of anxiety and just go. They've told their stories, spread their philosophies, and shared their knowledge. I'm no stranger to the microphone myself, especially since I turned my camera lens on myself more than 7 years ago. It was an uncomfortable experience, but after the first half dozen or so, it just stopped

February 1, 2019 In The Business of Video, Video Marketing Tips By DigitalShoebox

Finding royalty-free stock footage

Is something missing from your video? Are you not fully satisfied with your footage? Did you create a voiceover but are unsure where to find the images to accompany that? How about music? Even the best videographers occasionally have to turn to other sources to find appropriate footage. I've needed to find footage of the perfect sunset from a Hawaiian beach and my client certainly was not going to fly me out there to get a 40-second clip. Would have been nice though. Royalty-free stock footage sites are popping up like weeds. A lot of savvy videographers and photographers have realized that

December 11, 2018 In The Business of Video By DigitalShoebox

Tailoring your video to Google trends

I’ve been geeking out on Google Trends for the last 6 months or so. I devour almost every article that lands in my inbox. I take screenshots, run tests, and unpack what I learn so that I can teach or apply the information to my clients’ success. If you haven’t yet investigated or played around with Google Trends, be prepared to go down a very deep, but deeply satisfying rabbit hole. Trends is like Pinterest, but for data lovers. I’ll admit, this part of my personality caught me by surprise, but clearly the left half of my brain is enjoying diving

July 31, 2018 In The Business of Video By DigitalShoebox

The value of Google My Business

Have you been using Google My Business? If not, you are missing out on the power of this valuable - and free - resource. I'll admit it, I was slow to the game with Google My Business, but mostly because I was still stinging from the wasted effort I put into Google +. I wanted to wait a while, see what would happen, how the platform would develop, and whether mapping a service-based business would bring people in the door, so to speak. The game changed when Google Maps updated to allow videos to be added to a Google Listing. I created a

April 9, 2018 In The Business of Video, Video Marketing Tips By DigitalShoebox

How to leverage your media appearances

I hear this question often: I was on the news, now what? When you - or your business - is featured on the news, it is a very big deal. VERY BIG. If you are like most humans, getting the call or the email asking you to appear on television, speak on the radio, or be featured in print sent you into a tizzy of emotions. You were over-the-moon excited and wanted to tell everyone you know about this news. Then you moved into anxiety over what to wear, whether or not to have makeup professionally done and what you would say.

September 21, 2017 In The Business of Video, Video Marketing Tips By DigitalShoebox

Making sense of YouTube analytics

Maybe it's just me, but I can get lost in analytics like a scrapbooker gets lost in Pinterest. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I am a numbers geek. I get easily overwhelmed by too much information, especially when I can drill down into minutiae and play with parameters. I could easily spend hours trying to navigate through Google analytics and still only know what my most popular blog was last month. But it's a whole different story when it comes to YouTube analytics. The video-sharing platform makes is so simple to discover who is watching your videos, where they

June 19, 2017 In The Business of Video, Video Marketing Tips By DigitalShoebox

How video marketing can be like the best frozen yogurt

Are you ever really satisfied with just plain froyo? Probably not, and with video marketing, more toppings means a more fulfilling experience. Plain Run of the mill, one flavour only. Boring. If you only ever create one video, don't anticipate much action. That's like having vanilla frozen yogurt every single time you go the shop. Mix it up a bit. If you can't afford a double scoop, add some flavour with live or DIY video. Plain with Chocolate Sauce Saucy, but safe. You can sweeten your one video by running it through an editor. If possible, add another layer of interest to your video with some