MarketingOC Studios

Today's Marketing Nugget comes in the form of a video from one of our favorite partner companies: Google (also the name of my dog!)

 

In an nutshell, there are lots of ways to monetize video, but first, you have to create your video. So, when you are ready to create your video give us a call, we will help you monetize - and so will Google.

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You probably don't factor in the cost of what it takes to make a rich and gooey chocolate chip cookie when you sit down with a plate of cookies and a tall cold glass of milk. You just enjoy the delightful experience of eating those cookies.

Enjoying video is a lot like enjoying your chocolate chip cookies and milk. You watch and enjoy, and you probably don't think to much about the ingredients that went into creating the video production. And while cookies are most always round, a video production should never be cookie cutter.

Of course, when it comes to your business, you are concerned with the ingredients, as it is the ingredients that help to determine cost.

So what are the ingredients (cost factors) that go into a MarketingOC Studios Orange County video production?

Here's a peak at what cost drivers we consider for each new video production and marketing production.

1. Project and production management: The overall planning and execution of the video production. While our video productions services are cutting edge, our client services are decidedly simple - you can call or email us at anytime with your ideas, needs and concerns, and we are ready to address.

2. Script Development: Every video must have a script. Often clients will write a basic outline, and we turn that outline into an engaging story. Even if it is just a 30 second commercial spot, there is a need for a story to engage viewers and motivate them to action.

3. Storyboard Development: Pairing the script to visuals is key to a smooth video production. It helps in preproduction planning, on set and in post production.

4. Talent: Getting the right talent is essential for connecting the on screen talent with the audience. So, we need to consider:

• Casting
• On-screen Actor(s)
• Voice over artist
• Extras
• Customers (Release form required)

5. Video Assets: A video production is often made of both custom and stock assets. Sometimes, it is less expensive to use stock footage, but that often comes with some trade offs such as the stock photo not being exactly how you may have envisioned, but yet, it is good enough.

• Images needed
• Stock photos (Royalty free)
• Licensed photos
• Custom photography
• Video
• Stock video (Royalty free)
• Licensed video
• Illustrations/3d elements

6. Special Effects/Animations: Motion graphics and special effects can help to create more impact by presenting text and concepts in an intriguing manner.

7. Location: The decision to shoot in our Orange County green screen video production studio or our Los Angeles video production studio or on location depends on the goals of the video production. But the basics we consider are:

• Studio rental
• Fees and permits
• Local or travel
• Building rental
• Sets
• Props

8. Music: Music adds a lot to any video and there are lots of options from stock to custom music that we consider:

• Stock music (Royalty free)
• Custom score

9. Crew: Having a strong team to executes your vision is essential. The video producition crew MarketingOC Studios may bring to your production can include:

• Director
• Director of Photography
• Camera operator(s)
• Lighting
• Sound
• Grip
• Production Assistants

10. Video Editing and Output: Bringing all the elements of the production together happens in post production where the final video is assembled.

11. Overhead: It is important to keep the lights on at MarketingOC Studios. So, we need to ensure that we provide the best equipment and operational management to serve our clients. These factors include:

• Equipment (Cameras, Lights, Sound, Studio, Computers, Software)
• Insurance (Liability and Workers Compensation)
• Rent

12. Distribution and Marketing: A video will only begin to serve its purpose if it is viewed by your target audience. MarketingOC Studios helps you to reach your audience.

• video distribution
• video marketing
• video seo
• video sem

This should give you some idea of the script to screen video production costs and services that goes into the final number you receive in a video production and marketing proposal from MarketingOC Studios.

An upcoming post will take a more streamlined approach to video production if your needs are more simple.

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I can tell you - if there is any band that could motivate me to do anything - it's U2.  Even after watching this commercial, I was left wondering:  Is the Blackberry cool? Is it for me?

I assure you it is not - I just love my Iphone, but what I can tell you is that I watched the ad. Not only that, I am sharing it with you here. So, while U2 won't convert me to a Blackberry, I will give Blackberry kudos for grabbing my attention and capturing my time to write this post to share it with you.

 

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At one point in time, the search phrase "video production" drove the largest share of search engine traffic to our web site. Today, this search phrase has been replaced with "video marketing" as a traffic draw to our Orange County video production and video marketing services. Why? More businesses are realizing that video is not just a marketing gimmick, but a lead generation strategy that does a number of powerful things for you.

#1 - Video helps to brand you and your business as an authority.

#2 - Video builds relationships and encourages conversation - just look at the cooments on any YouTube video.

#3 - Video enables you to inform, instruct and teach mor effectively than words alone.

#4 - Video can be become viral - allowing your business to benefit from nearly free user generated marketing.

#5 - Video offers effective lead generation - there are plenty of ways to encourage viewers to provide their email address and/or phone for follow up.

#6 - Video can be optimized for search engine traffic. In fact, you can expect that video will be showing up more and more in Google's search results.

#7 - Video can sell your products, business opportunities, and services - better than your static web site alone.

#8 - Online video is easier and more affordable than ever to produce - it doesn't take a Hollywood crew to produce your video - in fact, there is a very real danger in overproducing your video.

With every dollar needing to be stretched further than ever, it's no wonder we are seeing more traffic resulting from the term "video marketing." How will your business use video marketing?

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Online video is the one marketing tool that local businesses need to be using if 2009 is going to be a year of business growth, or at least minimal loss.  Here's a report from Daisy Whitney's New Media Minute to give you the facts:

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A very clear reality when we produce corporate video productions or small business video productions for our clients, is that many of our clients do not feel comfortable talking on camera. It doesn't matter where a person is in an organization, they could be the CEO of a Fortune 500 or the owner of a Fortune 1,000,000 small business, place the person in front of the camera, they just clam up. This fear should never stop a business from considering a video to promote their business.

Here's a solution for producing a video with a camera shy business owner - professional video voice over.

Our Orange County video production crew will come to your business and shoot the live footage of your business in action. We capture the essence of your business operations and the people that make it all possible. Instead of recording you talking, we capture you in action. We then take the footage you captured, and create your video production based on the script and storyboard. We will then have one of our professional voice over artists provide the narrated story that conveys your marketing message.

So if you are camera shy, or just don't want to take the time to prepare for your video "acting" debut, let MarketingOC Studios professional voice over artists add the voice to your corporate or small business marketing video!

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It is no secret, this holiday season is going to be a major bummer for U.S. retail stores. Retailers are going to need to pull out all the marketing strategies and tactics to get consumers to walk through their door, but what should retailers be doing to increase sales once their customer is in their store? In store video advertising of course!

According to Information Week, consumers make 75% of all of their spending decisions in stores, but stores account for only 7.5% of marketing dollars.

This means there is a lot of opportunity to reach shoppers in the store. Here are some reasons why your retail business needs to consider in store video advertising this holiday season:

 1. Video has the power to motivate: The most important place for buying decisions is in the store - so that is where that buying decision should be encouraged. 

2. Video Creates Impulse: Visuals, sound and the message can be combined to encourage the impluse  to buy. A retail shopper having gone into your store for that drill can be encouraged through video to also buy the electric saw.

3. Video Adjusts to Demand: The power to instantly change a video stream is now in the hands of every retailer. It is not difficult to change the video that is playing by time a day, or by the traffic patterns of the retail store. This can be accomplished either by streaming over the Internet, internal network or even on a DVD.

 4. Consumers Are Reading Less: Chances are, most of the signage goes un noticed in your retail store. Very simply, consumers are flooded with marketing messages. The beauty of video, is that shoppers don't have to watch your video, they can also benefit from hearing the video. The audio message is the extra bang for your buck!

There are many other benefits to in store video marketing and these benefits will continue to increase as the cost of video displays continues to decline and the ease of distributing video in your store becomes even more effective than it is today.

Discover how MarketingOC Studios can help your Orange County retail business leverage video marketing to grow your holiday sales in 2008, by contacting us today! 

 

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YouTube has released a new video marketing service that is similar to their Adwords PPC advertising service - similar in that it puts you, the advertiser in complete control of your advertising campaign, from when it is displayed and how much you want to spend.

I have to say, this is a major innovation for video marketing. We are constantly asked how to get our client's videos to stand out on YouTube. We have lots of experience and many tactics at our disposal, but this new approach by YouTube has the potential to be a great opportunity for businesses to reach more of their traget audience. 

How?

Just like in Adwords, we can now bid on key search terms and have them apply to your video. Say you sell bicycles. We can now bid on the key word "bicycle" and  when a YouTube visitor searches the site with the word "bicycle" your video would have the opportunity to appear highighted on the results page.

We are very excited to help our existing clients and our soon to be clients leverage this service as part of our video production and marketing solutions. 

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The holiday online shopping season is nearly upon us - how prepared is your site to sell?

Video is quickly becoming an important sales and marketing tool on retail web sites, and with the economy heading in a downward spiral, any steps you can take to increase sales are the right steps to take.

Adding online video to you web site can increase on site conversions - actions on your site that result in a sale. (A conversion could also be a visit to a certain page or other action such as completing a contact form, but in this post, we focus on conversions that lead to sales.) With video on your web site, you can:

• Show rather than just "tell" about the product or service
• Enhance your site visitors potential connection with the product by creating a video that speaks directly to their needs
• Keep site visitors engaged on your site, keeping them from clicking to another site to compare or buy the product.
• Appeal to different senses. You may be surprised the impact voice and background music have on viewers.

It is important to always keep in mind that all videos need to have a goal. If the goal is a sales conversion, then the video needs to be produced with that specific intent in mind. That means, that you must not only focus on the features and benefits of your product, you must also focus on the needs of the audience who is viewing your video and is the intended buyer of the product you are highlighting in your video.

Keep your video focused, keep your video short and clearly support your conversion goal by appealing to the viewers needs.

It also means, this is not a do it yourself project. A professional online video starts with a professional video production. MarketingOC Studios offers the Orange County video production services to help market your products, reach new customers and grow your business this holiday season.

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As a producer / director, I don't often get the chance to enjoy the amenities of the green room. This area is typically the domain of actors or special guests of our video productions, where they wait to be called on set.
Today, I visited the green room to write this blog post. I noticed that this area is meant to provide a place of comfort and relaxation in what can sometimes be the boring and tedious process of video production. It is a place in which we try to ensure that guests feel special during a video production in appreciation of what they may endure:

• Hot lights
• Lots of waiting 
• Caked on make up
• Retakes
• You know...all the fun stuff that goes with the glamour of video production!

The green room is that special place to get away from all this. It's also a place where our corporate video production clients find a place to relax and regroup. We are lucky to be able to have access to such a place when we film in the studio.

Wouldn't it be nice if all businesses had a green room for their guests and superstars?

The Googleplex certainly has its share of amenities, but most businesses green room is the waiting room as clients walk in the front door. 

Maybe all businesses need a green room. Whether it is an actual room, or just a sense that when an employee or a customer walks through the doors of your business they are treated special, made to feel comfortable, as they go about the sometimes tedious business of the day.

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