Drones have become more and more popular to the film production and video production company industry in recent years. A vast number of feature films are being shot using drones.
Drones And Filmmaking
In the film production and video production company industry, wherein filmmakers all over the world use them to capture awesome footage and images without having to get a cameraman on a helicopter and shoot it there. What’s even better is that, even with this gadget’s portable size, it is already able to shoot high resolution videos that are theater worthy.
Lightweight And Easy To Use
Its lightweight aerodynamic body makes it ideal for aerial shots. Choosing one with powerful motors and large props would ensure its stability while flying at significantly high altitudes. Controlling them only takes a few minutes to master, and they’re light and portable, not bulky and making them easy to travel with.
Advanced Features
Capturing high-quality aerial images is made possible by professional drones. With professional drones, flying time is longer so you can expect a video latency of 180 minutes or more making it ideal for filming. Quadcopter has a good maneuverability while flying so the driver would be able to get 360 degrees of still or moving, panned shots. Drones bring a flexibility to the table not many other cameras can. Let your imagination work unhindered, and use a drone to make your creative vision a reality.
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
At Modus Weddings, we believe that some of the same things that make a great wedding photographer are mirrored in a great wedding videographer. The difference between the two skill sets in the latter involves motion, which requires a dedicated approach to visual storytelling. A great wedding videographer will bring depth to your love story by integrating angles and scenery through a combination of artistry and technology. A great videographer operates with both poise and precision while simultaneously incorporating the details of cinematography, experience and passion. The complexity of capturing your wedding event in motion requires substantial talent as well as knowledge of how movement is recorded, and we have both. The wedding videographers, wedding filmmakers and wedding cinematographers at our video production company reveal what makes a good wedding videographer.
Cinematography Is So Much More Than Capturing Video Footage.
The wedding videographers, wedding filmmakers and wedding cinematographers at our video production company reveal what makes a good wedding videographer…
Cinematography can be described as the art of motion-picture photography and filming. It involves angles, framing, and movement techniques using multiple cameras, lenses, filters, and lights while making artistic and technical decisions in relation to the imagery. At Modus Film, we embrace all the onscreen visual elements related to your filming locations and apply them to your love story in the style that most successfully reflects your commitment to each other using a narrative that is as unique and beautiful as your relationship.
Experience Is Counted In More Than Years Behind the Lens.
Great wedding videographers should have more than a strong technical knowledge of camera equipment and a thorough understanding of filming techniques. They have an eye for detail in addition to a mind for fast invention. While skill and experience are of importance, so are the intangible qualities that allow our wedding videographers to stand apart. These consist of…
The wedding videographers, wedding filmmakers and wedding cinematographers at our video production company reveal what makes a good wedding videographer…
• Strong communication skills • Excellent listening ability • Vivid creativity and innovation • Formidable team management skills • Editing and post-production aptitude that flawlessly ties together each shot
We are inspired by each of our couples in distinctive ways, which begins with having real conversations that help us to bring our clients’ visions to life. You and your person are unique, and so are the things you want to incorporate into your wedding videography, from your wardrobe decisions, site selections, and how you want the brilliance of each of these captured. Truly partnering with our clients allows their wedding cinematography to reflect and celebrate their exclusive love story through a cinematic lens. By choosing our wedding package, you will receive exceptional service and attention to detail.
The wedding videographers, wedding filmmakers and wedding cinematographers at our video production company reveal what makes a good wedding videographer…
2022 saw weddings return with a boom – so our wedding videographers have compiled a list of the best wedding venues off 2022! The perfect wedding venue is the cornerstone to these happy days: the backdrop to your beautiful wedding photos, a place for you to gather with your loved ones, and somewhere you can go back to again in order to relive those wonderful memories. Whether you’re looking for a barn venue or not, there’s plenty of gorgeous wedding inspiration to find in this list.
The wedding videographers and wedding filmmakers at our wedding cinematography company have revealed the best wedding venues of 2022…
10 Most Popular Venues on Hitched 2022
1. Brinsop Court Manor House and Barn – Hereford, Herefordshire
Couples who’d like somewhere unique should look towards Brinsop Court Manor House and Barn. This historic estate features a 12th century moated manor house, with over 800 acres of ancient woodland, and a new, modern event barn. Inside the manor are three ceremony rooms, bursting with both character and history. The Banqueting Hall has a vaulted ceiling, oak floor as well as a large fireplace filled with candles to serve as the focal point for your ceremony. The Elizabethan Library is a room with a rich history for a heartfelt vow exchange, and the elegant Queen Anne Dining Room offers picturesque views across the Wordsworth lawn. During the day this venue can accommodate up to 180 guests, and at night this number increases to 250 for dancing and fun. If any guests have a little too much fun, the venue boasts some onsite glamping accommodation.
Their spectacular Atrium leads into the airy, 1920s Orangery – the absolute perfect place to exchange your vows. Then it’s time to wine, dine and dance in the rustic Oak Barn, an atmospheric oak-timbered barn with panoramic views over the gorgeous grounds and even beyond to the Malverns. You can reportedly see for up to 12 miles! This magical venue is made for year-round weddings, with the gardens and terraces and ideal spot for al-fresco drinks in summer, and the cosy Atrium and Orangery welcoming you in on those chillier days. Perfect for intimate weddings of up to 40 to grand celebrations of 180, this both friendly and enchanting barn venue is a wonderful spot for weddings. There’s on-site accommodation so you can even continue celebrations the next morning!
3. Dodford Manor Barn Wedding Venue – Northampton, Northamptonshire
You’ll find Dodford Manor’s lovingly restored collection of country house barns among 20 acres of beautiful, rolling Northamptonshire countryside. If you’re searching for the perfect mix of a historic setting with bags of ambience and contemporary style and facilities, this is a wonderful choice. Your day will begin by getting ready in the Grain Store, their luxurious preparation room with large mirrors everywhere for you to get ready with your entourage. The historic Mortain Barn is the idyllic setting for your civil ceremony: a flagstone floored barn with soaring rustic wooden beams and flooded with natural light. They can change up the configuration for the room easily so it’s perfect for small weddings of approximately 30 to large parties of up to 170.
The wedding videographers and wedding filmmakers at our wedding cinematography company have revealed the best wedding venues of 2022…
4. Farnham Castle – Farnham, Surrey
With five acres of stunning architecture and gorgeous gardens, Farnham Castle is definitely Surrey’s all-day celebration hotspot. Start off in The Gatehouse or The Pembroke where the wedding party can enjoy the luxury of a private preparation space. The dreamy castle boasts unique locations to say I do – choose between the charming Lantern Room, Winchester Suite, Library, Great Hall, or the luscious gardens – as well as two on-site chapels for couples intending to hold a religious ceremony. The beautiful castle grounds are the perfect backdrop for your romantic wedding photos, before getting the party started in the Great Hall, which is ideal for 200 seated or 300 standing guests, or the Lantern Hall. The luxurious Honeymoon Suite is the cherry on top of a jam-packed wonderful day at this venue.
5. The Ashes Barns and Country House – Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire
Exclusive hire of a 50 acre estate means that you and your guests will be the absolute focus of everyone’s attention. Personalisation is key here – you’ll have the chance to decorate the venue in your own personal style, with the help of the attentive Estates Team and Event Manager, as well as tailor the menu to the desired tastes of you and your guests. Everything, from the beautiful grounds to the rustic exposed brick venue to the cosy accommodation to the inventive food bursting with flavour is tailor-made for the most perfect wedding ceremony you could imagine.
The wedding videographers and wedding filmmakers at our wedding cinematography company have revealed the best wedding venues of 2022…
6. The Mill Barns – Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Brought to you by the award-winning teams behind Staffordshire venues Pendrell Hall and The Ashes Barns, this stunning waterfront venue is formed of three magnificent oak-framed wedding barns. You’ll have exclusive use of all the barns and eight acres of gardens, giving you and your guests plenty of space to explore as well as celebrate. Licensed for up to 170 guests, you’ll begin your day in the ceremony barn, before moving outside or further inside for both drinks and photos. The day then flows onto the stunning wedding breakfast barn and then through to the evening entertainment area. Every detail has been thought through with great care.
In a digital age, we are exposed to social media video production every day. Whether for personal or business use, social media provides us with an opportunity to communicate and share content in real-time. This is what makes it so unique from a marketing perspective.
Facebook alone has 1.79 billion daily active users worldwide. Instagram boasts 1 billion monthly active users, LinkedIn sits at 675 million monthly active users, and Twitter reports 186 million daily active users. There are also over 2 billion logged-in monthly users reported worldwide on YouTube.
Having a presence on social media shows the world that your business is current and approachable. It also provides your customers with a unique way to learn more about your brand and forge a personal connection with you. This is precisely why social media branding needs to be a vital part of your marketing strategy.
Author and speaker Dave Willis says it well: “Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”
Social engagement
Social media engagement is some form of interaction between the customer and the brand, which takes place within social media networks.
Once you’ve clearly defined the essence of your brand, the next step is to focus on how you want to engage with your audience. Engagement should be an important part of your branding strategy. It allows you to measure whether the content you’re creating is resonating with your audience.
You know your brand’s personality best. So, when thinking about your target audience, consider what type of voice and content will resonate. When building your branding strategy as it relates to engagement, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:
Is your brand voice formal or familiar? This may depend on what type of company, products, and/or services you provide. Content Marketing Institute provides some great tips on how to find your brand voice.
How frequently do you plan to post and engage with your followers? This could vary based on the size of your team and bandwidth. A general rule of thumb is to post at least once per day on each social media platform, but 1-3 posts daily are ideal. There are many online resources that provide great research on the best times to post based on individual social networks. And it goes without saying that an UNUM account can assist in planning, prepping, and publishing your content across multiple platforms.
Will you respond as yourself or as the voice of the company? Will there be just one person posting on behalf of the brand or more? If you will be responding as a company, you will want to ensure that you have written social media guidelines and protocols in place.
The benefits
There are many benefits to creating a social media branding strategy. Taking the time to do this will only enhance your overall marketing efforts. Remember that your content should be driven by your target audience. Don’t be afraid to communicate with your customers to find out what’s working and what’s not. The more you understand their needs, the better your engagement rates will be.
The payoff? As you increase brand awareness, you will gain more followers. This will garnish more leads, conversion, sales, growth, and ultimately customer loyalty. Your success will be determined when your marketing strategy delivers against your business goals. So, make no mistake that social media branding is a crucial piece of the puzzle.
“It’s important to be where your audience of potential customers is today, and where they might be tomorrow. It’s better to be ahead of the curve than behind.” — Andrew Delaney, Social Media Marketing Manager at HubSpot
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
Have you ever wanted to create a promotional videos for business, company video or a creative video production? Video content, after all, can be used in so many ways, from social media posts and advertisements to emails and marketing sites. But how do you go from “wanting to create a video” to actually scripting and producing one? Seems complicated, right? It’s actually pretty simple!
Now, I’ve written million-dollar commercials for big clients like Samsung and Visa, and I’ve written scrappy videos for SaaS companies like StartupThreads and Amino.
And no matter the company, budget, or reason for the video, there’s a pretty basic format every video follows, from first idea to final cut.
Below I’ve outlined the 8 steps, which I hope will help to get your video idea out of your head and onto your audience’s screens!
Step 1: Identify your goal
Before you sit down to script out your video, you’ll want to take a step back and consider why you want to create a video in the first place.
Videos can be expensive to produce, so it’s important to get crystal clear on your goals before you start writing dialogue.
For example: perhaps you’re a new company and you want a video that introduces your brand/mission to web visitors. Or perhaps you have a new product line that needs further explanation to prospective buyers. Maybe you’re just running a sale and need a video that pushes people to take action.
Here are some common reasons many companies create promotional videos:
Brand awareness
Drive sales
Drive traffic
Increase customer engagement
Educate customers
One thing to note: if you have multiple goals, you may want to consider creating multiple videos. The more goals (or ideas) you try to cram into one video (especially a short one) the more likely you’ll complicate the script and confuse your audience.
If you have multiple goals, you may want to consider creating multiple videos for business.
Once you’ve identified why you want to create a video, it’s time to start looking at potential directions for how you could bring your video to life.
Step 2: Choose a direction
Now that you have your “why,” it should be a little bit easier to determine what makes sense in terms of direction.
For example, let’s say you’re a new company who wants to create an intro video for the homepage hero on your site; the goal of the video is to introduce the brand and get people to sign up.
In this case, you would likely go with a company video that’s more along the lines of “introductory” or “explanatory” in nature. You may even find that a combination of several directions makes sense.
For example, maybe you’re a new company, but you’re up against a lot of competition. Perhaps an “introductory” style video with a “problem/solution” angle would be ideal (showing the “old way” as the problem and the “new way” [meaning your company] as the solution).
To give you some ideas, here’s a list of possible directions you could go in:
Introductory: tell your audience who you are, explain your mission, etc.
Explanatory: explain how something works (like your product or a specific feature)
Problem/solution: show the old way/new way and how your product is the solution
Narrative: use story elements (like plot, conflict, resolution, etc) to subtly introduce or explain something
Drive action: get the audience to do something (i.e. — shop now)
Product-focused: introduce or showcase a specific product or feature
Testimonial: interviews, quotes, soundbytes, etc, with customers around a specific topic or theme
Endorsement: use of celebrity or influencer approval / likeness
Informative: educate your audience about something specific, tutorial-style, etc.
Entertainment: delight or inspire your audience using story, humor, etc.
Once you have your goal and direction finalized, it’s time to further refine your approach by setting the tone for your company videos for business.
Step 3: Set the tone
Tone is defined as “the general character or attitude” of something. But to make it simple, you can just think of it as how your video is going to make your audience feel.
For example, do you want to make your audience laugh or do you want them to be moved? Do you want them to feel informed, or do you want to tell them a story?
Keep in mind, the creative direction (chosen in Step 2) should play well with whatever tone you decide to go with. For example, if you decide to create an “introductory” style video for your homepage hero, it probably doesn’t make sense to use an “urgent” tone, as that’s best for things like a sale.
(Of course, pairing a particular creative direction with an unexpected tone isn’t necessarily a bad thing —
Step 4: Decide on duration
Will this be a 30-second video? 60-second? A minute plus? 5 minutes?
You may be thinking: “how can I know the length of the video until I script it out?”
And trust me, I hear ya! But the reality is, without using some type of time parameters, your video will likely end up too long and potentially unfocused.
Without using some type of time parameters, your video will likely end up too long and potentially unfocused.
Remember, your idea should only be as big as the time it has to unfold, so putting restrictions on your concept will only help to make it stronger and more effective.
This will also help you avoid frustrating situations, like forcing yourself to cut a two-minute script down to 30 seconds (which is like torture, btw).
Step 5: Choose a video style
By this point, you should have your goal, direction, tone, and duration figured out.
The next thing to consider will be the visual style of the video, meaning what it will look like.
The visual style of your video can come to life in many different ways, but here are some general ideas for how it can be done:
Animated — illustrated (or “cartoon-like”) in style and brought to life through animation (2D, 3D, etc).
Real people — as in actors who play out the characters you’ve created; this may or may not include dialogue (depends on your script).
B-roll —supplemental or alternative footage typically used in between “main shots” or used as background, action, or flashback-style scenes.
Stock — stock video you can purchase to create your story (usually used sparingly, versus the entire video being stock).
Live action — combining real-life footage with elements of animation or special effects.
Screencast — a digital recording of a computer screen often containing movement, audio, or some type of demonstration.
Whiteboard — this is similar to a screencast, except imagine a hand holding a marker as it writes on a whiteboard (it can be any type of writing instrument / writing medium). This is usually used to write out a message (leading the story with visual text), create drawings, etc.
Phone/tablet/app — again, this is sort of similar to screencast, but you’re showing something specific on the device (like a scrolling website, an action like clicking an icon, etc).
Many videos are a combination of some (or all) of these visual styles. For example, human actors who talk to animated characters (live action) or narrative-style videos that use a combination of main shots and b-roll footage.
The combinations are endless, really.
To decide what makes sense for your company video, think back to Steps 1–4 (your goal, creative direction, tone, and duration) as all of these factors should ultimately influence the visual style you go with.
Alright, at this point you’ve done a lot of the pre-planning work that will hopefully set you up for success. It’s now finally time to start mapping out your idea!
Step 6: Outline the idea
Assuming you have a loose idea for your video, it’s now time to start fleshing out the details.
To do it, I would suggest you start at a high level, then work backward from there.
For example, before I start laying out a script and all of the details, I usually write out a paragraph that essentially summarizes the idea from a high-level perspective. This paragraph should focus on the concept itself, so you always have something to refer back to when you begin building out the ideas (and the script inevitably gets a little murky).
To show you what I mean, I’m going to share with you an example of a fakescript I always wanted to write for the running app, RunKeeper (the concept would be “Running ties us together”:
From the beginning of time to the last New York Marathon, running has always been a part of who we are. While many see running as “just a hobby” we at Runkeeper know it’s so much more than that: it’s an insatiable urge, a primordial desire, an indescribable drive. Running is and always has been, necessary to life itself. Across the world, through the depths of the deepest forests, to the highest mountain peaks, and through the dustiest of trails, running runs through our veins. And like our DNA itself, running is the what ties us together, from ancient beast to modern man.
Now this “overview” is not perfect or complete, but it’s just there to make sure you (as in the person either writing the script or in charge of producing the video or videos for business), has a clear picture of what this video is all about (of course, if you could see the script unfolding in my head, this example write-up would make more sense, but oh well).
Now that you’ve got your high-level overview, it’s time to start thinking about the details of the story. For example:
Scenes
How many different scenes will there be? How many locations will be needed?
Characters
How many characters? Who are they? What is their storyline? What do they look like?
Audio / Voice over / text overlay
Will the video be set to the sound of someone’s voice? Can there be background music? Will any text need to appear on screen in order to get the message across?
Product
How does the product fit into the story? How many times will the product appear and when/how?
Props
Any major props needed to make your story work (i.e. — iPhone, car, bridge, elephant, etc)?
Final CTA
What’s the last message we leave the audience with? What do we want them to feel / do?
There’s really an endless number of details to consider here, and every answer you come up with will likely lead to another question.
The idea is to try and figure out as many details as you can, so when you go to write your script, all the pieces will start to fit together.
Speaking of which, it’s time to get out your pen and pencil — it’s script time, baby!
Step 7: Write the script
Every writer, creative director, director, etc, likely has their own way of writing scripts. There are also countless “script templates” for how to lay everything out (while these may seem pretentious, they actually are pretty helpful).
Regardless of what it looks like, the main things you want to make sure you have in your layout are:
The scene number (1st, 2nd, 3rd scene, etc)
The time stamp (down to the second, when is this moment happening?)
The audio, dialogue, or Voice Over (aka: what are we hearing in this moment?)
A description of the scene, list of characters, location, special props, expressions or movements, or any other details that’s needed for that particular moment
If nothing else, laying out your script will force you to put your idea into an executable format, which is kind of necessary when you’re involving other people (actors / directions), equipment (lighting, props), locations, etc.
It will also help you to cut anything that’s unnecessary and will hopefully act as a “safeguard” for making sure you’re getting whatever product shots, CTAs, etc in there without forgetting (because trust me, when you’re on set filming at 4AM because you have a “daybreak” scene, it’s easy to forget a lot of things).
Step 8: Storyboard
Okay, so you’ve written your script, you’re done now, right? Not exactly.
It’s now time to work with an artist, illustrator, or designer to create visuals that go with your script.
The idea is to work with a visual artist to help bring your script and ideas to life, making sure whatever you’re about to shoot is going to look good (and make sense) on film.
The type of artist you work with will depend on the medium you’re shooting within— for example, if you’re creating an animated video, you’ll probably want to work with an illustrator/animator (preferably the one who will create your final video) to put together the storyboard.
A storyboard is not only important for you and your team, but it’s also super important for the artists, actors, and directors, so they can get a good sense of the visuals they’re supposed to recreate. No one is saying the storyboard has to perfectly match what happens in the scene, but it should act as a guide.
Alright — you’ve got your script and your storyboard done. As you were wondering what the 8 steps to making promotional videos for business, company videoor a creative video production, well now you know.
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
Social media offers brands a huge pool of consumers ripe for brand communication targeted toward relevant interests––but consumers resent interruptions. This is particularly true when someone is trying to sell them something! And this is where social media analytics comes into play.
We’ll break down just what this crucial business tool is; what it isn’t; why you need to use it; and, how! We’ll cover these important topics:
What Is Social Media Analytics?
Why Social Media Analytics Are Important
Comparing Social Media Analytics vs Seemingly Similar Offerings
The Quid Social Difference in Social Media Analytics
How to Approach Analytics
Ten Tools to Empower Your Brand
First, social media analytics isn’t about brands. It’s about people sharing their lives with others they know based on common interests. Social media is a wonderful place for consumers and brands to connect, although they must remember one thing: social media may provide your brand’s first and last impression, so both consequently must be good ones. Many businesses adopt a brand-centric focus when starting out on their data analytics journey, and that can be dangerous. And it seems they are beginning to understand this: As of 2022, 92% of marketers in companies with more than 100 employees are expected to start using social analytics to better understand the landscape. Let’s explore!
Why Social Media Analytics Are Important
There are many avenues to be explored via social analytics insights. It’s like peeling back an orange to discover the segmented fruit within.
In fact, the insights found through social media analytics can inform every part of brand operations. Here are six examples:
Increase Customer Acquisition
Your customers are your brand’s lifeblood. Carefully managing their journey from early awareness to established customer through social media analytics is vital for retention, and for your brand’s long-term health.
Consistently engaging with your consumers is critical, as well as developing a track record of being there for them with fresh innovation when new needs arise.
Case in point, Activision has seen their brand grow by delivering what they know their audience wanted. Their Overwatch League netted more than 10M views in its first week, and more than 200K per session.
And during COVID, when Amtrak saw opportunity during the pandemic to make sweeping changes, it delivered tools and experiences to make their customers feel safe as they traveled the rails.
Protect Brand Health
A brand is the collective whole of all the touchpoints and interactions consumers have with a brand, and this includes the messaging coming directly from the company.
Ultimately, the consumer holds the keys to brand perception with brands constantly striving to influence positive consumer sentiment. Brand perception affects many things, with the biggest impact being your balance sheet.
Smart brands focus on keeping consumers happy.
Like when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Chick-fil-A responded immediately by donating $10.8 million to coronavirus relief efforts. And when social unrest broke out earlier this year, they were quick to reach out on social media to their customers, letting them know they care.
It’s quick and focused action like this that captures consumer love every time.
Lower Customer Care Costs
Customer care takes dedicated attention, and these days customer care is an ‘always on’ situation. Consumers have no hesitation reaching out to brands when issues arise, they also expect answers.
In fact, consumers know that brands have data on them, and they expect that companies will use it to build and deepen relationships.
Consistent social media analytics monitoring helps brands put the puzzle pieces of consumer needs together to inform innovations to address frequent issues in the most cost-effective manner.
For example, The Westin circumvented fitness amenity complaints by answering consumer “wishes.” They provided “well-being” experts to guide their fitness experiences while staying at the hotel. They also signed a deal with Peloton to offer virtual group cycling to their guests.
Maximise Product Launches
Social media analytics helps brands get in on emerging trends by informing them about products and services that consumers want. Additionally, the actionable insights produced help pinpoint market opportunities thereby minimising risks to ensure your product launch is a success.
For instance, check out how Ugg for Men made the most of their new line by gifting some slippers to the right influencers, reaching more than 3 million consumers.
Boost Campaign Performance
Social media analytics allows brands to learn what their audience cares about and what influences their purchasing decisions.
These insights allow marketing departments to craft more personalised and relevant experiences. The opportunities here for brands are enormous with the additional benefit of real-time feedback allowing for adjustment mid-campaign.
The ways in which brands put their social media analytics intel to work are only limited by creativity. For example, by smartly using influencers, iHeartRadio generated huge engagement for the iHeartRadio Awards and nominated artists.
By creating thoughtful and engaging marketing initiatives, brands can build the emotional customer connections that boost campaign performance – just ask the city of Las Vegas.
Improve Crisis Management
The insight social media analytics offers brands when crisis hits is worth the price of admission alone because it saves both cost and reputational damage from speed of reaction.
An unhappy customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. With everyone online these days, that 9-15 people can turn into hundreds and thousands in a very short time.
The severity of the crisis and the length of time that it languishes unmitigated, or worse unseen, can bring critical consequences to brands that can linger for years. Their sudden nature points to the necessity of social media analytics in helping to round out your crisis management response protocols.
In 2020, when Zion Williamson blew out one of his Nike’s in the Duke-UNC game on national television. It stood to shake up Nike if they didn’t get ahead of the online narrative fast. Everybody saw it in real-time and they took to social media like wildfire. Luckily, Nike got in front of it quickly, and successfully steered the conversation.
Also, check out how James Madison University uses Social Monitoring to understand public misperception and gauge when, if and how to respond to potential crises – amongst other things.
Having a social media analytics tool is great, just be sure to vet your provider carefully. Sometimes tools are labeled similarly and are leading you to believe that they’re a social media analytics tool but in fact they aren’t.
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
The better you understand your target market, the more you’ll be able to focus your ads and reach the audience most likely to convert into customers.
Your target market sets the tone for your entire marketing strategy — from how you develop and name your products or services right through to the marketing channels you use to promote them.
Here’s a hint before we dig in: Your target market is not “everyone” (unless you’re Google). Your task in defining your target market is to identify and understand a smaller, relevant niche so you can dominate it. It’s all about narrowing your focus while expanding your reach.
In this guide, we’ll help you learn who’s already interacting with your business and your competitors, then use that information to develop a clear target market as you build your brand.
What is a target market?
A target market is the specific group of people you want to reach with your marketing message. They are the people who are most likely to buy your products or services, and they are united by some common characteristics, like demographics and behaviors.
The more clearly you define your target market, the better you can understand how and where to reach your ideal potential customers. You can start with broad categories like millennials or single dads, but you need to get much more detailed than that to achieve the best possible conversion rates.
Don’t be afraid to get highly specific. This is all about targeting your marketing efforts effectively, not stopping people from buying your product.
People who are not included in your targeted marketing can still buy from you—they’re just not your top focus when crafting your marketing strategy. You can’t target everyone, but you can sell to everyone.
Your target market should be based on research, not a gut feeling. You need to go after the people who really want to buy from you, even if they’re not the customers you originally set out to reach.
What is target market segmentation?
Target market segmentation is the process of dividing your target market into smaller, more specific groups. It allows you to create a more relevant marketing message for each group.
Remember — you can’t be all things to all people. But you can be different things to different groups of people.
For example, as a vegetarian, I’ve eaten plenty of Impossible Burgers. I’m definitely a target customer. But vegetarians are a surprisingly small target market segment for Impossible Foods: only 10% of their customer base.
That’s why Impossible Foods’ first national advertising campaign was definitely not targeted at me:
The target market segment for this ad campaign was “meat eaters who haven’t yet tried Impossible products.”
Vegetarians and meat eaters have different reasons for eating plant-based burgers and want different things from the experience. Target market segmentation ensures the company reaches the right audience with the right message.
How to define your target market
Step 1. Compile data on your current customers
A great first step in figuring out who most wants to buy from you is to identify who is already using your products or services. Once you understand the defining characteristics of your existing customer base, you can go after more people like that.
Depending on how someone connects with your business, you might have only a little information about them, or a lot.
This doesn’t mean you should add a lot of questions to your order or opt-in process just for audience research purposes — this can annoy customers and result in abandoned shopping carts.
But do be sure to use the information you naturally acquire to understand trends and averages.
Your CRM is a goldmine here. UTM parameters combined with Google Analytics can also provide useful information about your customers.
Some data points you might want to consider are:
Location (and time zone): Where in the world do your existing customers live? In addition to understanding which geographic areas to target, this helps you figure out what hours are most important for your customer service and sales reps to be online, and what time you should schedule your social ads and posts to ensure best visibility.
Language: Don’t assume your customers speak the same language you do. And don’t assume they speak the dominant language of their (or your) current physical location.
Spending power and patterns: How much money do your current customers have to spend? How do they approach purchases in your price category?
Interests: What do your customers like to do, besides using your products or services? What TV shows do they watch? What other businesses do they interact with?
Challenges: What pain points are your customers facing? Do you understand how your product or service helps them address those challenges?
Step 2. Incorporate social data
Social media analytics can be a great way of filling out the picture of your target market. They help you understand who’s interacting with your social accounts, even if those people are not yet customers.
These people are interested in your brand. Social analytics can provide a lot of information that might help you understand why. You’ll also learn about potential market segments you may not have thought to target before.
You can also use social listening to help identify the people who are talking about you and your product on social media, even if they don’t follow you.
If you want to reach your target market with social ads, lookalike audiences are an easy way to reach more people who share characteristics with your best customers.
Step 3. Check out the competition
Now that you know who’s already interacting with your business and buying your products or services, it’s time to see who’s engaging with the competition.
Knowing what your competitors are up to can help you answer some key questions:
Are your competitors going after the same target market segments as you are?
Are they reaching segments you hadn’t thought to consider?
How are they positioning themselves?
Our guide on how to do competitor research on social media walks you through the best ways to use social tools to gather competitor insights.
You won’t be able to get detailed audience information about the people interacting with your competitors, but you’ll be able to get a general sense of the approach they’re taking and whether it’s allowing them to create engagement online.
This analysis will help you understand which markets competitors are targeting and whether their efforts appear to be effective for those segments.
Step 4. Clarify the value of your product or service
This comes down to the key distinction all marketers must understand between features and benefits. You can list the features of your product all day long, but no one will be convinced to buy from you unless you can explain the benefits.
Features are what your product is or does. The benefits are the results. How does your product make someone’s life easier, or better, or just more interesting?
If you don’t already have a clear list of the benefits of your product, it’s time to start brainstorming now. As you create your benefit statements, you’ll also by default be stating some basic information about your target audience.
For example, if your service helps people find someone to look after their pets while they’re away, you can be pretty confident that your market will have two main segments: (1) pet owners and (2) existing or potential pet-sitters.
If you’re not sure exactly how customers benefit from using your products, why not ask them in a survey, or even a social media poll?
You might find that people use your products or services for purposes you haven’t even thought of. That might, in turn, change how you perceive your target market for future sales.
Step 5. Create a target market statement
Now it’s time to boil everything you’ve discovered so far into one simple statement that defines your target market. This is actually the first step in creating a brand positioning statement, but that’s a project for another day. For now, let’s stick to creating a statement that clearly defines your target market.
For example, here’s Zipcar’s brand positioning statement, as cited in the classic marketing text Kellogg on Marketing. We’re interested in the first part of the statement, which defines the target market:
“To urban-dwelling, educated, techno-savvy consumers who worry about the environment that future generations will inherit, Zipcar is the car-sharing service that lets you save money and reduce your carbon footprint, making you feel you’ve made a smart, responsible choice that demonstrates your commitment to protecting the environment.”
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
I’d like to replace the “content” in this particular saying so it reads “CONSISTENCY is king.” Why? Because consistency is what makes your content relevant in the first place. And there’s no denying that consistency is something we all strive for in every area of our lives from business to exercising. Consistency builds momentum and posting regularly builds trust with your audience. When it comes to your content, being consistent on social media is the key to growing an engaged community and strong brand awareness.
At this point, you’re probably saying “I get it! Consistency is important… but how do I stay consistent on social media?”
So let’s dive right into my first tip…
Set Clear Content Goals
Before we can work on consistency, you need to gain clarity on your content goals. Ask yourself: what types of posts are you creating and why? Instagram has several features alone — are you posting carousel infographics? What about IGTV and stories? And with the rise of Instagram Reels, how is short-form video playing a part in your content goals and overall strategies?
Setting clear content goals will help you determine what to post on social media. In 2021, I’ve heard through the grapevine that Instagram recommends posting…
A Reel 4 to 7 times per week
An in-feed photo 3 to 5 times per week
A set of stories 8 to 10 times per week
An IGTV and go live at least once per week
Know the Difference Between Consistency and Frequency
Once your goals are established, the next step is knowing the difference between consistency and frequency. This is a huge mistake I see amongst newer influencers way too often. Not knowing the difference between consistency and frequency can severely affect your ability to show up in the first place. To simply put…
Frequency is how often you choose to show up
Consistency is sticking to the frequency you’ve chosen over an extended period of time
For instance, if you’re working a 9 to 5 job or have obligations that are non-negotiable, you might not be able to post every single day. Instead, posting 3 to 4 times and showing up on stories 5 days a week might be more feasible for you.
Audit your time and make a list of all your non-negotiable tasks and find a posting frequency that makes sense for you. This will help you lay the groundwork for creating consistency. Knowing how frequently you can show up will set you up for success in the long run.
Plan Ahead
Do you ever feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to creating content? Coming up with your content topic and caption the day you post it is hindering your ability to show up consistently. Not only are you putting immense pressure on yourself to create content on the spot, but you’re not using your time wisely.
Instead, I recommend planning at least a month ahead. I know this sounds intimidating but getting clear on your content goals and content pillars will streamline the planning process. Keep a running Google Doc with all your content ideas and make a point to add to it each week. When it comes time to plan your content for the month, you’ll have a list of ideas that you can pull from immediately.
This is the same technique I use to build a strategic content calendar, ensuring that all my posts align with my niche, are tailored specifically for my audience, and deliver as much value as possible.
Dedicate a Day for Content Creation
Task switching is one of the best ways to waste precious time. Instead of creating content on a daily basis before hopping onto the next unrelated task, dedicate a day entirely for creating content. Doing so will save you a lot of time. And better yet, having a day entirely for content creation will encourage you to get into a state of flow.
If you’re working a 9 to 5 job, set Saturdays or Sundays aside to batch your content. And since you have a running list of content topics and ideas on a Google Doc, all you have to do is shoot the necessary photos or videos, and write captions.
Use a Scheduling Tool
Now that you’ve successfully batched your content, streamline the posting process by using a scheduling tool like later or planoly. This seems pretty simple and self-explanatory, but it’s still worth mentioning. Batching your content is only half the battle. If you’re posting it onto your grid without scheduling it, you’re running the risk of task switching throughout your day. This gives you more of an opportunity to forgo consistency if you don’t feel up to posting that day.
Learn from Your Audience
Coming up with fresh content ideas can be pretty exhausting. What’s worse? Fresh content ideas run the risk of underperforming. I’m a huge advocate for letting your audience and analytics choose the content you post. Say, for example, you’ve posted about a topic that really resonated with your audience. Read through the comments.
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
LinkedIn is no longer optional for growing and managing your network effectively. In fact, we’re to the point where it’s hard to separate someone’s network and their Linkedln connections. For most, it’s one in the same.
That’s why it’s important to constantly grow and nurture our network, especially using the access that Linkedln gives us. When it comes to connecting, I’ll always choose quality over quantity. Fortunately, LinkedIn’s technology has allowed us to have both: We can make meaningful connections and do it quickly and efficiently.
These are the nine most effective ways I’ve found to grow your Linkedln network. I’ve also included a few tips on what to do once you connect.
How to Make More Connections on LinkedIn
Start with the address book import to see who you already know on LinkedIn, but STOP before sending a mass invite! Instead, use the list to write down the people you want to connect with and send them each a personal message.
Check out the “people you may know” box for possible connections each time you login to LinkedIn. Also, don’t forget to check the suggestions LinkedIn gives you after you connect with someone new.
Search for old acquaintances and people you may have lost touch with. Start by looking for previous connections from schools, locations, churches, clubs, groups, industries, previous companies, etc.
Don’t bother sending invites to people who aren’t on LinkedIn. It’s not worth your time and it’s annoying to the recipient. LinkedIn is just using you as a way to advertise to them.
Put your public LinkedIn URL where people can find it. Add it to your email signature, your website’s about section, business cards, stationery, and Facebook page.
After meeting a new business contact, always follow up with them on LinkedIn in addition to email. You can even let them know in your follow up email you’ll be connecting with them on Linkedln to stay in touch.
Connect with peers and prospects through LinkedIn Groups. You can browse to meet new people or search groups for specific members by clicking “Members” → “Search.” Most people don’t know you can also message anyone in the same group for free. It doesn’t require inMail and it doesn’t matter if they’re a first, second or 50th degree connection!
Connect with people who view your profile. This is a great excuse to connect with someone who might be a prospect checking you out. Send them an invitation or message letting them know you’d like to connect as well.
Connect with people who comment and like your LinkedIn posts. I started publishing on Linkedln exactly a year ago and it’s been an incredible way to connect with people who read my content and reach out to me or like my posts. If you aren’t publishing on Linkedln, I strongly suggest it for boosting thought leadership and lead generation.
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
Video marketing agency Kent, Film production company.
The five key benefits of Instagram advertising that make it a lucrative channel for many businesses are as follows:
Ever-increasing opportunities.
Build a following for your brand.
Easily create ads.
Showcase your brand through Stories.
Leverage higher engagement rates.
1. Ever-increasing opportunities
Sure, there are many people on Instagram as we aforementioned, but what can we expect for actual growth? Let’s take the United States as an example. 140 million users in the United States, Instagram saw an 8% increase in users in one quarter. Advertising in Western Europe? That region’s usage grew 17% in 2020. It’s consistently growing and it’s safe to say that Instagram has a ways to go before getting saturated or outdated. There is plenty of opportunities left for businesses to get in front of their target audience, to expand their visibility.
2. Build a following for your brand
While people go to social networks to connect with their family, friends, or to see what their favourite celebrities’ are up to. Millions of people check out what brands are sharing. It’s not every platform that users actively do that. In fact, 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile each day. 81% of Instagram users also use the platform to research products and services. In addition, now that Instagram recently made shopping more prominent on the platform. 130 million users tap on shopping posts every month.
This is your cue to step in and show off what you’re offering in a captivating, visual manner. If done right, brands can build a significant following and drive business from the platform, so don’t hold back. Develop a strategy for the platform on its own but also consider how it will play in your holistic marketing and advertising strategy. Develop and use visually appealing and compelling content. Then see how Instagram fairs for your brand and the products or services you provide.
3. Easily create ads
If you’ve used Facebook for your business’s organic and paid growth through ads. Then it’s easy to further expand your reach and efforts to their sister platform. As they are connected through Facebook Ads Manager. With Instagram Ads being integrated with Facebook Ads Manager. You can now reap the rewards of most campaign objectives, optimisation selections, and targeting options. Simply connect your Instagram account in your Facebook Business Manager business settings, then in Ads Manager, add Instagram to your ad placement targeting at the ad set level, if you haven’t done so yet and see how Instagram’s three ad placements—Feed, Stories, and Explore tab—can work for you. While IGTV doesn’t have ad placements on it, I believe we can expect to see one becoming available in the near future – so keep an eye out for that. Facebook has stretched into a variety of placements across its ecosystem from within itself to Messenger, Audience Network, and Instagram.
This might be your first foray into Instagram Ads, you can easily use creatives that work on Facebook, however, be mindful of specs so that you can make your ads look native to the platform and fit within certain video length limits, as they do vary across platforms and placements. If you don’t yet have images or videos that may be more Stories-centric, in that they are vertical and take up the full screen, you can edit your creatives in the ad level and crop them to fit the various placements until you do have more sizes of images and videos.
If you don’t yet have video ads but want to make a more significant impact by capturing the attention of your target audience on Instagram, take advantage of the free built-in tools that Facebook has to offer. In the ad level, upload or select your still image and then use the Video Creation Kit for templates, special effects, and overlay text to give your images an edge by adding some motion to them. Most features available within Facebook Ads Manager work on Instagram ad placements, too.
4. Showcase your brand through Stories
Snapchat may have been the first with ephemeral content, but it’s not the last. Instagram developed its own version after Snapchat declined Facebook’s acquisition offer and quickly surpassed Snapchat’s userbase. While Instagram Stories isn’t new, more brands continue getting into this popular placement and seeing great success. Currently, a half billion people are watching Stories every day, thus further emphasizing why it’s important to add Stories into your organic and paid advertising strategy. While it’s true across Facebook’s advertising ecosystem, it carries over into Instagram as well, that you can easily connect with target audiences that may not know you exist and that you could add value into their lives. By showing up in front of them, you can quickly captivate using Stories given the brevity of the content and then get people into your funnel. With more than half of users saying they become more interested in a product or service after they see it in Stories, you might as well bet on yourself and see what kind of results Instagram Ads can bring you and your business.
5. Leverage higher engagement rates
From what we’ve seen in our client accounts and from what we’ve heard around the industry grapevine, engagement rates are typically higher than on other social platforms. While that is the case, make sure your product images and videos are visually engaging and on-brand so they can help drive more purchases. One social media team reported that engagement rates are highest for photo posts, followed by carousels, then videos—which of course, will vary by the content promoted, your industry, and audience targeting.
Ecommerce marketing platform Yotpo reported that people are 58 times more likely to engage with branded content on Instagram than on Facebook and 120 times more likely than Twitter. While engagement rates have changed since Yotpo reported those Instagram statistics in 2018, we have seen them slightly decrease over the years as more people join and upload content. Even if that may be the case for others, user engagement rates on Instagram posts and ads are still exceptionally high compared to other platforms.
To begin with strong engagement rates or to boost your existing efforts, leverage user-generated content, or UGC. Ask questions in your posts and then put some advertising budget behind them to expand their visibility to new audiences. Reach out to smaller influencers and develop a partnership program. Once you have UGC content, reshare it on your account, whether it is someone wearing or using a product of yours, a review or testimonial, or anything else that people might share that relates to your brand. While the possibilities are endless, showcase your product or service in use so that prospective customers and avid fans can better have their expectations managed, as well as be more likely to convert for the first time or again.
As video marketing experts we are specialists in all forms of video marketing. Here at Modus Film, we have completed many projects for our clients that have required us to define a digital strategy with really great results. If you want to speak to a specialist email hello@modusfilm.com or call us on 01233 273 273.
