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What does this mean for you? If you’re a marketer and looking to build the best customer journey possible, it means that you can now find and engage prospects even easier on LinkedIn, especially B2B professionals. Integrating your native video directly in-feed engages viewers organically, so they don’t have to go off-site to find your content.

Here are some best practices and ideas to consider when making LinkedIn videos:

Make your social video short, snackable and shareable

The “sweet spot” for social video tends to be one minute. This gives enough time for you to share a complete concept without overwhelming your audience. If you find that your videos are always running long, either 1.) split them into subtopic videos, or 2.) consider sharing only the “need to know,” instead of the “nice to know.”

Yes, the art of Q&A still works

Write down a list of the top ten questions or hurdles you get from customers/clients and answer them. These can be anywhere from a talking head video, interviews with experts, or actually showing them how to use your product or how the process works.

Give your own prospective on industry news

It’s easy to share a link on social media, but if you can share a video of you analyzing and giving your unique prospective on what’s going on in the industry, then your content will feel less generic and you’ll establish your company as the thought-leader other businesses are looking for. Not sure where to start? Jot down a few areas that your company is considered an expert in (areas you differ from your competition) and a few areas your audience is always looking to know more about. Then take the cross section of those areas – expertise meets customer needs and come up with 1-minute clips of relevant content that your audience can take action on.

Establish an emotional connection

While LinkedIn is considered more of the professional network, keep in mind that professionals are still people. They want to: do a good job; be praised; please their boss; improve productivity; scale their career; increase their understanding of their industry, etc. Tell a story about how a coworker changed a product, or how your team comes together to make your process work.  This will foster an emotional connection with your company, which is the strongest connection you can make.

Feature a call to action

Every interaction with a customer/client/prospect should be helping guide them through a customer journey.  Let them decide where or what they want to do next, but give them an action.  It can be as simple as clicking on a link to learn more, signing up for monthly updates or following your LinkedIn Company Page.

These are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling. Start creating relevant content that your audience cares about and you’ll see engagement rates increase.  Ready to start brainstorming ideas, or have one already that you’re ready to storyboard out? Send us an email or call us.

Click here for advertising specifications on LinkedIn Sponsored Content.

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Here is some of the latest proof that video marketing is a vital part of any company’s strategy:

VIDEO CONTENT IS IN HIGH DEMAND

• Almost 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store (Google, 2016)
• 43% of people want to see more video content from marketers (HubSpot, 2017)
• One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. (Forrester Research)
• 55% of people consume video content thoroughly. (HubSpot, 2016)

MARKETERS LOVE VIDEO CONTENT

• 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI (HubSpot, 2017)
• 18 is the average number of videos published by businesses each month (Vidyard 2017)
• Businesses have an average of 293 videos in their library (Vidyard 2017)

SOCIAL MEDIA AND VIDEO CONTENT

• 46% of marketers plan to add Facebook video to their content strategy in the next year. (HubSpot, 2017)
• 100 million hours of video are watched every day on Facebook. (TechCrunch, 2016)
• 48% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy in the next year. (HubSpot, 2017)
• On mobile alone in an average week, YouTube reaches more 18+ year-olds during prime time TV hours than any cable TV network. (Google, 2016)
• Two-thirds of YouTube users watch YouTube on a second screen while watching TV at home. (Google, 2016)

Mastering video content can help with a number of marketing initiatives, from improving SEO to increasing engagement and retention. Not sure where to start, or is your current video content not working? Give us a call for a free consultation. We’ve helped Fortune 500 companies drive business results for over 30 years with video, and we’d love to help you too.

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Production Craft expands to better meet clients' needs

• 22’ ceiling for large product and equipment demos, overhead and 360 views, interesting angles
• Small sets and table top
• Interviews and live shots
• Blocks from the United Center for sports and event coverage
• Production offices and staging area
• Production equipment and facilities
• Drive-in door for car and truck access
• Ample power and access panel to equipment core
• Kitchen prep area
• Ample storage for client projects
• Multiple edit suites with Adobe creative cloud for multi-media content producing
• IP security tunnels for media distribution to financial and business clients
• Robust fiber circuits providing fast and seamless interconnectivity between clients and Production Craft servers

Minutes from I-290, and plenty of parking

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#1 Drive more prospects to your new website organically

SEO: By simply having a video on your site, you are improving your search optimization.  In an eye-mapping study of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), video results commanded more attention than other listings,³  and about 75% of executives watch work related videos on business oriented websites, at least once a week.⁴

YouTube: As you know from your over 1,000 hits on YouTube, consumers are actively looking for video content. Every month, YouTube processes more than 3 billion searches, making it the number two search engine in the world, “signifying the rising demand for video content by information seekers rather than information in text format.” ⁴

#2 Keep prospects engaged on your site longer and with other marketing initiatives

 Website: Viewers spend 100% more time on pages with video on them, and 80% of online visitors will watch a video in its entirety, while only 20% will read content all the way through.⁵

Other marketing initiatives: Produce a general marketing video for your main page, and then repurpose the contents for other parts of your site or other marketing initiatives, like blog posts or tradeshows.

3. Help prospects understand your breadth of services

 Intrigue: The majority of visitors spend 15 seconds on your website, that’s not enough time to click through and see all you have to offer.  If they don’t find the information they are looking for fast enough, they are gone.  But with a short video you can grab their attention within that 15 seconds to get them to stay longer.⁴

Increase understanding: You can distill lots of information in a short amount of time in an engaging and creative way with video.  Perhaps that’s why video increases consumers’ understanding of a company’s product or service by 74%.²

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Conventions, tradeshows and meetings serve as an epicenter for quality content. They can be one of the most efficient means for creating video because everyone is in the same place. But before you start recording, make sure you know the union requirements for both the venue and the projects you want to execute. Or partner with an organization that understands union guidelines, like Production Craft, that can help maximize your spend.

Often times different rules apply for union labor which can dramatically affect cost and timing. For example, union crews work eight hour days versus ten, and overtime rates vary depending on day and time of day.  In addition, there are no half-day rates for union crews.

Don’t get caught off guard, find out more about working with venues in Chicago and how to ensure your projects run smoothly. We’ve highlighted a few key points to get you started:

Chicago Event Venues

Below is a list of major locations in Chicago considered union venues – that is, most times you “plug-in,” you’ll need to work with a union crew in one form or another.

– Chicago Hilton and Towers

– Chicago Marriott Mag Mile*

– Drake Hotel

– Hilton O’Hare

– Hyatt McCormick Place

– Hyatt Regency Chicago

– Hyatt Regency O’Hare

– JW Marriott*

– Loew’s Hotel*

– McCormick Place

– Navy Pier

– Palmer House Hilton

– Rosemont/Stephens Convention Center

– Sheraton Grand Chicago

– Swissotel*

– Westin Michigan Avenue

*Some, but not all labor may be union.

Chicago Unions

Below is a list of Chicago Unions specializing in Video, Film and Event Production.

– IBEW Local 1220

– IATSE Locals 2, 600, 110, 476

– NABET-CWA Local 41

– SAG-AFTRA

 

Chicago is a beautiful city and acts as a wonderful backdrop for creating video. Just make sure you know how to comply with union rules before you start your masterpiece, or, give Production Craft a call 312-829-0272.

Additional useful links include: Chicago Permits for Filming, Illinois Film Office, Chicago Federation of Labor, IBEW Local 1220

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We understand that the cost of video production can be a deciding factor in your search but there is more to consider for your next project.  Here are five key factors to look for in a video production company:

1) Compare Apples To Apples

Today, almost anyone can record a video.  Cameras, camcorders, and other video production equipment and software are more affordable today than they were in the past.  However, this allows many startups to present themselves as experienced video production professionals.  If you are shopping video production rates find out what exactly is being included in your package so that that you can compare across the board.  This includes:

• Quality and type of equipment. Experienced video production companies will offer a variety of cameras and equipment for different mediums (i.e. web, TV) and shots (e.g. wide-angle, fixed focal length, movement, lighting, etc.)
• Production crews will vary depending on the project.  Check your quote to see how many people will work on your project and what skills they possess.
• How much time is budgeted for each service? How much time is being spent in the 3 video production steps (i.e. pre production, production, and post production)?  Does your video production company offer full and half day rates for production?
• Extra costs will add to your budget.  What’s included in your equipment package?  This can be as simple as finding out if wireless mics are charged separately. Bottom line: dig a little deeper in your packaged quote.

2) Skill and Experience

A great finished product typically stems from the skill and experience of your team.  Find out who will really be working on your next video production project.  Recently awarded two Communicator Awards, we pride ourselves on hard work and experience.  These factors will provide an invaluable return on your investment.

3) Video Project Management

Production planning is essential no matter how big or small the job may be.   What objectives are you trying to achieve with your video?  How will this video achieve that? Asking the right questions about your project contributes to smart planning and effective results.

4) Value-Added Opportunities

After reviewing your project details, we routinely suggest ways to better schedule production to save time and money for our clients, your video production company should too. For instance an hour or two of crew overtime is less expensive than another half or full day.  Sometimes it’s also possible to combine several half days into full days.  Video production experts will understand how to schedule shooting to increase productivity and keep you within your budget.

5) Customer Service / Professionalism

Aside from skill, experience, equipment, and planning, how will your video production company service you? Energetic attitudes, quick response times, and attention to detail for unparalleled quality control are just a few of the elements that go into great customer service. This factor is often overlooked while trying to compare rates or packages, but customer service is an intangible benefit that should not be forgotten.

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– put the most important parts of your message at the beginning of your video content

– try to intertwine personal experiences with your main message

– shorter online videos (2 minutes or less) show the best engagement between 0-60 seconds

– longer online videos (2 minutes or more) have pretty consistent engagement percentages, in the 2 to 10 minute range

– 1 out of every 6 visitors who loads a page with an online video watches it

– 30% of prospective customers watch home page videos

– understanding your audience and their motives is key to increasing video viewership

How to create online video content that rocks

See the full article here:

How To Increase Your Video Viewership

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Check out this string of clips from a meeting of the Digital Cinema Society in Hollywood last week.

It’s the first volley of info about a new camera that we have been waiting for.

The camera is the Panasonic VariCam 35. Panasonic is finally delivering it’s first large imager production camera, and it really looks like it’s not just a “ME TOO” version of Sony, RED or Canon.

The VariCam 35 extends on the capability that makes shooting 4k so great. The native Ultra Resolution allows you to re-frame, reposition, and to re-purpose footage for new uses including print advertising.

The Panasonic VariCam 35 can record 3 different simultaneous files of multiple resolutions. That’s a first! This includes an ultimate quality RAW file that will benefit the high end finishing, while a PROXY file recorded to an SD type card can be used to create quick web resolution compatible promo versions for YouTube or other video sharing sites. Clients won’t need to wait for the production team to deliver the media for their use or to wait for time consuming re-compression.

Also, this new camera can shoot at extremely low light levels while still providing outstanding image quality. Look for this to motive a whole new style of shooting in commercials and web movies. The sample footage shot at 5000 ISO using a lonely ONE FOOT CANDLE of light caused an audience of DPs, image technicians and production experts to gasp. Not bad for a jaded crowd.

Bring on the night and write a check for $55K, that’s without a lens, by the way!

Check out a side-by-side comparison chart of 4K cameras:

http://www.studiodaily.com/2014/11/4k-cameras-whats-state-art-2014/

The new VariCams from Panasonic:

http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/varicam-models.asp#[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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