Jason Moore says, “Crafting a really great video starts with really great brainstorming. Without it, you could end up creating a lot of really rough drafts of scripts and doing a lot of takes to try to get your video just right. To make a basic analogy – brainstorming is like sketching out the initial concepts of a house that you want to build. Can you build one without that step? Sure. But it won’t be easy. Brainstorming doesn’t necessarily have to be in a group, either; if you’re a team of one, you still need to get your ideas out of your head and on paper (or your computer screen,... [...]

Heather Baker says, “Video is one of the most discussed marketing tools around, and certainly one of the most hyped. Cisco estimates that it will comprise 82% of all web traffic by 2020. And as the head of an inbound marketing agency with an in-house video department, I’ve seen first-hand the power of video. Our clients have used it to raise millions in funding, reduce homepage bounce rates by around 80%, and generate more leads than they know what to do with. I’ve also seen companies foul it up beyond all recognition, wasting time, money, and effort on something that was never, ever... [...]

Stephen Key says, “If you have an idea you want to bring to life, you’ll have to convince others it has merit — quickly. In today’s world, the best way of doing that is with video. Hands-down. Video dominates our news feeds. It captivates our attention. Simply put, we love to watch it. I mean, who wouldn’t rather click play? For years, I relied on physical sell sheets to license my ideas for new products. Sell sheets are straightforward, like billboards: On a single sheet of paper, I’d focus on highlighting the major benefit of my idea. I’d also include an image, name, my... [...]

Monica Montesa says, “By now you should already know that if you’re not creating video, you’re missing out on some serious audience engagement and revenue growth (if you don’t feel like clicking the link, here’s a taste of the stats you’re missing out on: 64 percent of users are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video… including video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80 percent… 75 percent of online video viewers have interacted with an online video ad this month… is your jaw dropping yet?). But I understand why you might not be ready to dive... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “The percentage of consumers who watch 10 or more hours of online video each week is steadily increasing, according to recent research from Limelight Networks. The State of Online Video Report was based on data from a survey fielded in May 2016 of 1,086 consumers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Some 18% of respondents say they watch 10+ hours of video each week, up from 12% who said the same in 2015. Half of the consumers surveyed say they watch between one and four hours of online video each week”. The State of Online Video in 2016 MarketingProfsne... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “Video is the future of the internet, and it’s reshaping even the most popular social platforms that launched without a video focus. In fact, Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s VP for EMEA, has predicted that the world’s largest social network would “probably” be “all video” in the next five years. Consumers love video and advertisers can’t get enough video ad inventory. As a result, publishers and media companies are increasingly doing whatever they can to embrace video. Historically, video production has been a costly undertaking.... [...]

Rachel Lindteigen says, “Something I see clients struggle with regularly is the question, “Who should I trust to create our content?” I get it. It’s hard to know who should speak for your brand. Do you want it to be the marketing team, your agency, a freelancer, a dedicated writer or another option altogether? There are many options, and often, different departments have varying goals and agendas. Sometimes brand teams speak about their brand completely differently from the way the e-com team speaks about it. Let’s look at the options: Marketing team The marketing team is likely a... [...]

Penny C. Sansevieri says, “These days, it’s hard to miss the fact that video — especially livestreaming — is a big and powerful way to deliver your message. In fact, livestreaming apps are already dominating social media conversation and will continue to do so as more people start using them. Now with new opportunities like Periscope, Blab and Facebook Live Video, it’s tempting to jump onto the video livestreaming bandwagon. But which channel makes the most sense for you? First, let’s look at some of the more popular ones. Facebook Livestreaming In the past few months many... [...]

Sanjay Dholakia says, “If your company doesn’t yet have a digital hub, it won’t be long before your CEO demands to know why not. What is a digital hub, you ask? That’s an excellent question. A digital hub is the central nervous system behind all of a company’s marketing activities. But it doesn’t just stop with marketing; a true digital hub will communicate and integrate with other systems, too, from sales to content management and beyond. The old model is changing. Organizations have historically existed with single-process systems like the ones I just mentioned that each had their... [...]

Barry Levine says, “Video analytics service Visible Measures is out today with a new tool that allows brands to see the future of competitive video campaigns and plan accordingly. The new Industry Forecaster is available in the premium version of its True Reach video benchmarking and planning platform, which tracks viewings, shares and other performance measures of video content or video ads released by more than 7000 brands in 240 industry verticals on the web or in apps. The company said the new capability is the “first predictive video analytics tool for media planning.” It extrapolates... [...]