Tag : social media marketing

Find the Right Social Platforms for Your Local Business

By Christopher Tompkins

Find the Right Social Platforms for Your Local Business

25Mar

Just about everyone is on social media. But that doesn’t mean they’re all on the same platforms! There are always exceptions, but different platforms tend to cater to different ages, genders, incomes, etc.

I’m here to help you find the social media platforms that your business should be marketing on. If you don’t want to waste months marketing on the wrong platform, then keep reading!

Facebook
Full disclosure: It is very, very rare that I advise a business to NOT market on Facebook.

What makes Facebook such a universal must-have for online marketing? Well, it’s got 1.74 billion active users, so you can be confident that whoever your target demographic is, they’re going to be on Facebook (unless you’re marketing to the Amish, in which case I really can’t help you).

Beyond that, Facebook has a sophisticated advertising system that too many local businesses miss out on. With this, you can target your ideal section of those 1.74 billion users and not worry about getting lost in the flood. It’s worth noting that organic reach is particularly hard to come by on Facebook, so think of an advertising budget as a necessity if you decide to go with this site.

LinkedIn
As the default professional social media platform, LinkedIn is a hotspot for online marketers, especially for those working with B2B organizations. Instead of traditional followers or friends, LinkedIn uses connections for users to track the people they’re interacting with. This name is entirely intentional: Think of LinkedIn as where you go to rub some virtual elbows, not to hang out with friends.

Beyond Professional pages (which can be advantageous if you use them to promote your business), there are Business pages where your organization can directly interact with its followers. These are good for building your brand identity and encouraging people in your industry to take you seriously, where personal profiles are better suited for showcasing your brand’s human side.

If your target audience is maybe a little older (think 50+), has a high income, and/or works in an office setting, then LinkedIn is probably where you want to be. LinkedIn can be valuable for your local business because you can search for new connections based on location, so you should seriously consider this platform if I just described your target audience.

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Instagram
No, it’s not just for teenagers and adults trying to be teenagers. With over 25 million business accounts and 200 million user visits to those pages every day, there’s a good chance that your local business can benefit from Instagram.

One of the big draws for local businesses? Instagram is one of the easiest sites for reaching people in your area. You can tag posts by location, and your hashtags should include a fair few pertaining to your store’s location (for example, if I owned a brewery in Columbus, Ohio, I might hashtag my posts with #Columbus, #ColumbusOH, #CbusOH, etc.).

This platform does tend to steer younger (mostly 18-34), but see who’s posting in your area before you rule out Instagram marketing!

Twitter
Like Facebook, Twitter appeals to a lot of different demographics, so it’s a safe platform for most local businesses. It does tend to be pretty fast-paced, so your posts will have a shorter shelf life than on other social networks. For that reason, I generally advise posting on Twitter more than once a day if at all possible. Users could blink and miss your post!

That fast-paced nature also makes it better oriented for sharing news and talking about current events. So if you’re running a beachfront restaurant, sharing news about local water quality, activities to do on the beach, etc. would be a safe bet for Twitter.

Another reason I usually recommend Twitter is that your users will use it to voice their complaints. Twitter is a popular platform for clients to engage with brands, and you don’t want to miss out on that! The age range of Twitter users is pretty evenly spread out, so most businesses should be on here if not for drawing in new sales, then at the very least for engaging with their audience!

Get Social
It’s always better to work smarter than harder, so don’t waste your time trying to reach an audience that doesn’t exist on your chosen platform. Use my advice above and I’m sure you’ll get your social media campaign off to a great start for your local business!

Are you still unsure of where your business should have social media profiles? I’ll give you some answers during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Shop Owners, Here’s How You Can Be Successful on Instagram

By Christopher Tompkins

Shop Owners, Here's How You Can Be Successful on Instagram

20Mar

Instagram, Social Media

Is Instagram right for your business? I tend to see a lot of uncertainty in local store owners with this question, but you should have some confidence! There are plenty of ways for local businesses to use Instagram, and small shops are no exception!

I’ve been at this a long time, and I’ve seen every kind of business you can imagine give Instagram a shot. And local shop owners have been some of the most successful! Here, I’ll give you the tips that helped them get tons of attention on Instagram!

Give Them a Tour
What does the inside of the store look like? What’s actually on the shelves? Is this somewhere I want to visit?

These are all questions that your audience is going to have when they first stumble upon your Instagram account. So answer them with a video tour through your store! Take your viewers through the front door, guide them through the different sections, and overall do anything you can to convince them that your store is somewhere that they want to be.

Keep in mind that in no scenario is this a license for you to walk through your store and say “Here’s where we keep X. Here’s where we keep Y. Here’s where we…” You need to make it interesting. Talk to your viewers like they’re there in person. If you’d try to be friendly and charming with a customer in your store, then try especially hard for Instagram, because you’re potentially talking to hundreds of your customers!

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Offer Exclusive Deals
One of the best things you can do is give people a reason to follow your Instagram account. And what’s a better motivator than the chance to save money?

Try posting a code of the week that visitors to your store can use for a discount on their next visit! You can go cute and make the code your tag line or something relevant for your brand, or simple and just say “Mention this post to get a free gift with purchase!” Your customers are incentivized to follow your page, and you can guarantee they’ll be regularly checking your content if you’re sharing discounts!

I know a lot of small business owners will point out that weekly discounts might hurt their bottom line. But I promise you that (as long as you’re not offering 50% off) a successful Instagram marketing strategy will more than make up for any losses from modest deals to drive customers to your store.

If you’d consider running an ad for a special discount in your local paper but not on Instagram, then the problem is how you’re undervaluing social media, not the discount itself.

Highlight New Products
Rolling out something new? Tell your audience about it! Instagram is a visual platform, so share pictures of your new releases. If someone loves your store, they’re absolutely going to follow you to see what your next release is.

If you really want to make the most of this strategy, you might even want to share products on Instagram before they’re available in-store. That way your shoppers are encouraged to be loyal customers and check your Instagram regularly if they want to stay up to date with the newest products. And why not reward the people who are engaging with your brand online?

Post Away
If you’re seriously considering posting on Instagram, then it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and get started. Just because you’re a local business doesn’t mean that you can’t find huge success on social media. Use these tips and start sharing content that your local audience will get engaged with!

I’ve got even more tips to help your local business succeed! Let’s talk about them during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why and How to Use Branded Hashtags for Your Local Business

By Christopher Tompkins

Why and How to Use Branded Hashtags for Your Local Business

11Mar

One of the most common misconceptions I hear is that branded hashtags are only for national/multinational businesses. Untrue. Hashtags that are made by and for your local business can be great, provided you know what you’re doing.

If you’ll let me rant a little, I want to explain how you can make branded hashtags work for your local business. You don’t have to be Amazon to pull this off, people!

Why Do You Want Branded Hashtags?
Most of the time, getting your brand in front of new eyes is going to mean spending a healthy sum on advertisements. While that investment can be 100% worth it, wouldn’t it be nice to have a free alternative to supplement it?

That’s where branded hashtags come in. When you create a hashtag for your customers to share, you’re essentially having them advertise your business for free, directly to their friends and family. And personal referrals are effective! So for exactly $0, you get someone with a meaningful connection to other people in your target demographic to talk about how great your business is. Sounds like a good deal, right?

Beyond that, you’ve got a way to create a community around your brand. When people search your hashtag, they have the chance to see what other people love about your business. Then they can talk to your other customers, and bam, you’ve got local buzz going at no cost to you!

What makes this especially useful for local businesses? Bigger brands benefit from a wider audience, but the local proximity can work to your advantage, too. Think about it: people are a lot more likely to tell their friends about a local business than a huge corporation. Why would you rave on Twitter about how great Amazon is when everyone is already a fan of the company?

You’re much more likely to talk about that Thai place you found on accident, and that’s your advantage here. People want to show their friends new things, and when you make a branded hashtag, you make it easier for people to tell their friends all about how great your business is!

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How Do You Make Branded Hashtags Work for You?
When brainstorming ideas for a brand hashtag, keep it simple. You can go with your company name, but you might want to try for something a little more interesting. Short, easy-to-spell taglines are always good. KitKat’s hashtag #HaveABreak is a great example—it’s creative, it’s short, and it plays on their tagline.

Let’s say your Italian restaurant is called Gino’s Pizza; your hashtag might be #DinnerAtGinos or #GinosGrub. These are some basic ideas, but don’t be afraid to take a hard look at your brand and see what you have to play with!

Once you have a hashtag, start using it! If you’re not sharing content with the tag, nobody else will, either. But when it becomes a staple in your social media updates, people are much more likely to take notice and use it themselves.

This is not something you want to put in place and forget about. Track the tag, especially as it starts becoming more popular in your community! You can set up a Google keyword tracker or just make checking the hashtag part of your daily site work on each platform.

Respond to customers (whether they’re praising or ranting about you) and take this opportunity to guide the conversation about your brand. People are going to talk about your business no matter what, so you may as well make sure the conversation is favoring you!

Try This New Strategy
I find that a lot of local businesses have stagnant social media strategies, and you don’t want that! Keep things fresh by trying out a branded hashtag and see what you’ve been missing out on. Branded hashtags offer you unique benefits as a local business—make the most of them!

Are you still feeling a little lost on how to use a branded hashtag for your business? Let’s talk about it over your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How to Advertise Your Local Business on Facebook

By Christopher Tompkins

_How to Advertise Your Local Business on Facebook

6Mar

You know more about Facebook ads than the average social media marketing bear, but how do you bring all of that together? After all, just knowing what an engagement ad does isn’t enough to get major attention on your posts!

Don’t worry, I’m here to explain what you need to do to have a successful Facebook ad campaign for your local business. Ready? Let’s work out how you’re going to grow your business with Facebook ads!

Set Goals
The mantra you’ll always hear in marketing is that your goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. What does that mean in real people speak?

You need to have a firm goal (e.g. a cost-per-click of $0.75), it needs to be something you can track, related to your business and its needs (if you’re trying to get people to visit your website, don’t waste money trying to get comments on your posts), something you can reasonably achieve, and it needs a set deadline. Of course you’ll get 100 clicks on your posts eventually, but it’s only a SMART goal if there’s a reasonable deadline attached to it.

Take a look at what you want to achieve with your ads. Do you want to talk to customers, drive traffic to your website, or something else? Whatever it is, identify exactly what results you’re after before you even think about creating an ad.

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Look Nearby
I’m sure your business is great, but very, very few people are going to drive 30 miles to go to a business they’ve never heard of before. You’re a local business, so market locally!

When you’re establishing the audience for your Facebook ad, try putting in specific zip codes or only sending the ad out to people within 15 miles of your store’s location. Yes, you’re reducing the number of people who are going to see your ad, but why would you want your money to go to putting an ad in front of someone who’s too far away to ever purchase from your visit? The beauty of social media advertising is that you can get specific and make the most of your investment, so put that to work with your Facebook ads!

Optimize Timing
Thanks to Facebook’s “Insights” tab, you can track when your followers are online. Those are the times you should be posting! If your target audience works in an office, then posting your ad while they’re working is probably a bad move. But running your ad right after they get off or when they’re on their lunch breaks has a much higher chance of being effective.

Because you’re a local business, this is especially important. There might not be that many people in your immediate area who fit your target audience, so it’s vital that you reach as many of them as possible!

Don’t limit it to specific times, either. What about days? Have you noticed a drop in social media engagement on Tuesdays? Then don’t have your ad run on those days! When I say you can (and should) customize these ads, I mean it. Don’t be so obsessed with appealing to every single person on Facebook that people who might actually like your store never see your ads.

Start Testing
You won’t get your first ad 100% right. That just isn’t a realistic expectation for somebody who’s new to Facebook advertising. But you can use this advice to skip a lot of pitfalls and make your first ad a worthy investment in your business’ future. So put a lot of thought into it, follow my advice here, and be prepared to record your results so you can make your following Facebook ad even better!

Could you use a hand with your Facebook advertising? Get started with a free consultation from The Go! Agency!

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A Guide to Facebook Ads for Your Local Business

By Christopher Tompkins

A Guide to Facebook Ads for Your Local Business

4Mar

Advertising, Facebook, Social Media

You don’t know enough about Facebook ads.

It doesn’t mean that you’re not a great business owner, but I’ve spoken to enough local businesses to know that there’s a lot of confusion out there about what exactly Facebook ads are good for. No, you don’t just put “Buy from my business!” over a stock image of your logo and no, Facebook ads are not one-size-fits-all.

That’s why I’m stepping in to clear things up for you. I’m going to talk about the different types of Facebook ads and why they’re really a must-have if you want to grow your business online!

1. Engagement Ads
Have things gone a little silent on Facebook? For better or worse, Facebook’s algorithm highly prioritizes paid content from businesses, and the landscape is very much “pay to play.” For you, that means that if you want to spark the conversation with your customers, you need to run an engagement ad and encourage people to like, comment, or share your ad!

2. Page Likes Ads
If you’re newer to Facebook, it probably won’t be long until your page likes run into a wall. You start off and they’re climbing up, up, up…and then they stagnate.

It’s normal, and investing in some page likes ads is your best bet if you’re hoping to grow your Facebook following. These ads will go to people who aren’t following your page but may be interested, based on the demographics you target (I’ll get into this in my next blog).

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3. Check-In Ads
While not its own explicit ad category, check-in ads are perfect if you’re trying to get some more people into your brick and mortar store. How do you do it?

When creating your ad, you’ll go under the “conversion” category and choose the “store visits” option. From there, your copy should incentivize viewers to check-in at your store, maybe by offering a promotional code to anyone who checks in. This way you’re increasing your sales and getting more check-ins/reviews on your page, which will in turn drive customers to your business.

4. Event Responses
Do you have an event coming up? Run an event response ad to make sure you’ve got a full house! These ads make it easier for people in your area to learn about your event, and they show responses from the people you’ve already invited. This way people see your event, see that people are looking forward to it, and are much more likely to make the effort to go!

5. Traffic Ads
If most of your business happens online or you just want to get more people on your website, a traffic ad is right up your alley. You can encourage people to visit a specific page on your website, usually to a contact or reservations page. From there, you’re more likely to see an uptick in your site traffic. If you make the ad using industry standards and target it toward your audience, this is a great way to create conversions!

Join the 21st Century
As you can see, there’s not exactly a shortage of Facebook ad options. You don’t need to run all of these at once, but take a look and see which ad is going to work for your goals. Don’t run ads optimized for page likes if what you want is engagement, be sure to create visuals and copy according to digital marketing best practices, and you’ll see why Facebook ads are a staple in social media marketing!

Are you still a little fuzzy on the nitty gritty of Facebook ads? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why You Need a Social Media Scheduler and How to Find One

By Christopher Tompkins

Why You Need a Social Media Scheduler and How to Find One

27Feb

Like everyone else marketing on social media, you’re probably looking for a way to simplify the process. If you’re not already using a scheduler, then you’re making the entire process of social media marketing so much harder on yourself.

I hate to see people wasting their time like this, so keep reading for a total explanation of why you need one of these tools and how to find the right one for your needs!

Why You Should Already Have a Social Media Scheduler
It’s a Huge Time Saver
Consistency is a must-have if you want your business to build a loyal following. And while sure, maybe you’re free at 3:00pm (or whenever) to regularly share your posts, you then have to remember this every single day on top of keeping your schedule clear for such a simple task. All in all, it’s a colossal waste of time and energy.

Using a scheduler allows you to write all of your content at once, add the visual elements, then schedule it for posting. So you’re doing the same amount of work, but blocking out a specific amount of time to handle social media content each week is infinitely easier than keeping a time slot open every day for posting.

It Makes Your Content Better
Beyond the simple fact that it’s faster, a scheduling tool can help you produce better content. How? When you’re looking at everything laid out on a calendar, it’s easier to identify the trends in your updates. You can look at the big picture to see if you’re sticking to your planned content mix!

It also helps make sure you’re not repeating anything too often. If you’re writing a new update every day, it’s probably going to be challenging to remember what services you have and haven’t covered this week. But a scheduler makes it easy to line up content so that it’s varied and interesting for your audience!

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Popular Social Media Schedulers
1. Onlypult: If you’re looking for a great Instagram scheduling tool, you can stop the search. Onlypult will post automatically so you don’t have to worry about it and, even more impressively, it stores your hashtags! Copying and pasting hashtags is a huge pain, so there’s a reason this tool is so popular. Add in some analytic capabilities, and it’s no surprise that Onlypult is one of the leading Instagram schedulers!

2. Later: Another great Instagram scheduler, Later features analytics tools to help you track the success of your social media posts. It also offers nominal support for Facebook and Twitter, so it might serve you well if you’re not doing anything particularly fancy on those sites. But for Later, their Instagram scheduling is definitely the main attraction!

3. Hootsuite: If your business is on a lot of social media channels, Hootsuite is the place to be. They’ve got support for every site you could want to be on, along with a nice little analytics package. The add-ons can put a bit of a strain on your wallet, but if you’ve got the budget and want a one-stop-shop for scheduling social media posts, Hootsuite is a serious contender.

4. Buffer: Buffer is a bit friendlier to smaller budgets and still offers support for just about every site you could think of. That said, some users report that Buffer isn’t always optimal for visual platforms like Pinterest or Instagram. And while you will get the occasional complaint of lagging, on the whole this scheduler is simple, easy-to-use, and doesn’t break the bank!

5. Sprout Social: One of its best features is Sprout Social’s smart inbox, which allows you to respond to comments and messages from one central hub. While the main site offers a nice analytics suite, it’s worth noting that these features aren’t available from the app. If you want to create and manage your social media campaigns in one place, Sprout Social is worth looking into!

Find a Match for You
There isn’t an objective “best” scheduling tool—that’s going to depend on your budget, what sites your business is on, and what sort of analytical support your campaign needs. Consider each of these tools and see what makes the most sense for your business. Once you do, you’ll be amazed at how much simpler everything becomes!

Would you like a little extra guidance on managing your social media pages? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How to Make a Blog That People Will Actually Read

By Christopher Tompkins

How to Make a Blog That People Will Actually Read

25Feb

Contrary to popular belief, more goes into writing a blog than banging on a keyboard for 45 minutes every couple of days. It’s a lot of work and effort, but these are mandatory sacrifices for having a quality blog that your audience enjoys!

I’ve never been a fan of vague advice, so I’m going to walk you through the specific things and people you’ll need to have a great blog. Let’s get started!

1. Research
Nobody is interested in your surface-level analysis. If you’re not doing real research on your topic, then your audience has probably heard the same tired take a thousand times before. Really dive in! That extra effort will pay off when you’re able to offer nuanced perspectives that are actually valuable to your audience!

It’s also going to save you time in the long run since it’ll be easier to write once you have a lot of ideas floating around in your head. You can’t bleed a stone, and you can’t write a blog if you don’t have a comprehensive understanding of the topic!

2. Edit
When you’ve gotten the first draft of the blog written, it’s tempting to breathe a sigh of relief and step away from the keyboard. And that’s fine, provided you come back to the draft with a critical eye. No matter how well-written or well-researched you think the blog is, there are certainly going to be edits that need to be made.

I always suggest giving yourself a minute to breathe then going back and editing the draft yourself. Consider whether or not the information is presented in the most logical order, make sure there aren’t any awkward sentences, and overall just polish it as much as you can.

Then hand it over to an editor.

No matter how well you think you’ve edited your draft, I promise you you’ve missed something. And it’s not your fault! You wrote the draft, so it’s naturally harder to notice issues because your brain fills in the gaps that you might have forgotten to write down. Having another editor ensures that the blog makes sense to more people than just you, so I’d strongly advise you to never publish anything that hasn’t gone through editing (preferably multiple rounds)!

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3. Visuals
A good blog goes beyond just having great text. Without visuals, your blog isn’t going to be half as appealing. After all, who’s inspired to learn more by a wall of text? Nobody! I recommend having at least one image at the top of each blog post; something related to the topic that clues your reader into what you’ll be talking about while making the page more aesthetically pleasing.

If you plan on sharing your blog on social media (which you absolutely should), you’ll need visuals to accompany the post! Plain text is less likely to get clicks, so having an accompanying visual for your post is key to getting people reading your blog.

Where do you find these images? There are several free sites with stock photos, and some of my favorites are Pixabay, Unsplash, and Pexels. These are all great resources for finding visuals, but if you want to make them unique to your brand, they’re going to need some editing. I highly recommend that you delegate that task to a graphic designer who will be able to match your brand’s style!

Blog Away
Creating a blog is a pretty big deal, but now you know everything you need to be successful with it. If you want your audience to take you seriously, a blog is a must-have. Use this advice to make sure your new blog is successful and adds value for both your business and your audience!

Do you still have questions about how you can get a blog up and running? Schedule your consultation with The Go! Agency and we’ll talk about it!

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Why You Need a Blog

By Christopher Tompkins

Why You Need a Blog

20Feb

If you’re reading this, then you already know that blogs are great! They spread useful information and act as industry-specific news sources. Just because you like blogs, though, doesn’t mean you understand why your business needs one, specifically.

That’s why I’m here! I personally know how great a blog can be for a business, so I’ll explain some of the advantages of blogging that you’re missing out on!

Establishes Expertise
A blog is a platform in which you can show your audience how much you know. Sure, I can go on Twitter and tell you that I’m a great marketer, but why would you believe me without some proof?

Hence, a blog! I delve into topics related to my industry and get to show my audience that I know what I’m talking about. This way, it’s harder to write me off as another internet blowhard, and you’re more likely to take me seriously.

This isn’t exclusive to me, though—virtually every business’ blog works this way. If you’re going to claim to be an expert in your field, you’ll need to show some industry know-how and insight! A blog is the perfect platform, since you can tailor it to your business’ unique interests and voice!

Gives You Content to Share
If you’re really trying to promote your business, you might not want to link to outside sources like news articles. After all, you worked hard for those clicks, and you want them to go to your site. If this sounds familiar, setting up a blog is a great idea!

Your audience gets the news they need, and you get to keep them on your website. This makes it more likely that they’ll look around your website, which in turn means better odds of converting your visitors into customers! You’ll find that this strategy is far more preferable than just inundating your audience with endless promotions!

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Keeps Your Readers Engaged
Whatever your online marketing strategy is, it can’t be entirely comprised of promotions for your business. Your audience needs something to keep their interest, and blogs are a great tool for that. Since you’re presumably marketing to people who are interested in relevant topics in your industry, writing timely blogs is a great way to create value for your audience by offering them your unique insight on these issues!

Balancing out your promotions with valuable blog posts is a great way to make sure your audience isn’t just tuning out your posts. And on sites like Facebook, the more attention they’re giving to your interesting blogs, the more likely they are to have your promotions appear organically on their newsfeeds!

Helps You Stick With Your Marketing Schedule
As a professional marketer, you should have a set marketing schedule. For example, what you share in April should build on what you shared during March, and all of it should come together to make a cohesive buyer’s journey for your audience.

Blogging is a great way to develop topics for your schedule! When your social media updates and blog content are all presenting a cohesive message, it makes it much easier to get your point across to your readers. Having more places for your audience to see the message of your content marketing strategy is never a bad thing!

It’s Worth the Time
I hear a lot that people are too busy to blog, and I can’t help but wonder how busy you’d have to be to give your digital marketing strategy less than 100%. If you want to have digital marketing support your business’ goals, then having a blog really is non-negotiable. Blogs are a lot of time and work, sure, but there’s no denying that they’ll help your business!

Are you interested in discussing how a blog can help your business? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How to Create Quality Online Videos

By Christopher Tompkins

How to Create Quality Online Videos

18Feb

It’s hard to deny that video production is the future of online marketing. Once you’ve accepted that, though, what steps can you take to get your business working with this exciting new medium?

The good news is that there’s a pretty simple list of what you need to be successful! I’ll walk you through the kind of equipment and setup you’ll need to create videos that give you a good return on your investment!

Buy a Good Microphone and Camera
You need reliable, high quality shooting material to make a good video. It should go without saying, but I’ve seen enough static-y, grainy videos in my life to know that it doesn’t. I can respect pinching a penny or two, but only up until it affects the quality of the product.

Plain and simple: If your audience can’t hear you, you’ve failed. So don’t skimp on a microphone! You don’t need to buy a gold-plated recording device made for people like Adele, but you also probably shouldn’t go for the $20 camera on Amazon with two reviews.

Set Up Good Lighting
The hottest camera on the market isn’t going to make up for you sitting under a single, half-dead lightbulb. You need to make sure that you’re being illuminated from the front, and the light is being diffused so there isn’t a single beam of white on your face and nowhere else. Just make sure to check the video before you start recording so you’re not too dim or getting washed out!

Dress the Set
If you’re making this video for a medical supply company, it’s probably safe to say that the area should look clean and professional. Alternatively, a brewery might go with a more relaxed and less corporate setting for their video. It’s not about having a sterile environment; it’s more about matching your brand’s image.

That said, no video should look messy or disorganized unless you’re working it into a bit for the video. Even a relaxed, casual-feeling business should clear away clutter before shooting. Nobody wants to see carpet stains or messy desks while you tell them to buy from you!

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Invest in Video Editing Programs
When shooting any sort of video, you are going to mess up. A lot. And that’s fine, provided you have a way to edit the footage so there aren’t obnoxious, jarring cuts every 15 seconds.

Anyone who makes videos professionally will tell you that editing is by far the most time-consuming part of the process. There isn’t much to be done about that, but you can cut down on editing time by choosing reliable, intuitive editing programs. I’ve found that iMovie and Adobe After Effects both work well for our clients!

Write Out a Script
I cannot stress this enough—NEVER go in front of a camera without an idea of what you want to say. Even if it’s a pre-recorded video, that’s just going to make it harder to edit down the line and lower the overall production value of your video.

How much you need to prepare depends entirely on you. I’ve found that I work best when I have a written plan of the areas I want to discuss, but not necessarily a word-for-word dictation of what I need to say. That said, I’ve known plenty of successful people who need that specific script, and that’s fine. Play with it a little, see what works for you, and never go in under-prepared!

Make the Investment
It seldom feels good to spend this kind of money, but if you put the effort into producing quality videos, you’ll find that it’s well worth the investment. You don’t have to buy all of these today, but start researching so you can make an informed choice and release great video content!

Do you have any lingering questions about producing video content? Set up your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why You Need Video Production in Online Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

Why You Need Video Production in Online Marketing

13Feb

The future of marketing is video! It’s a claim you’ve probably heard before, but what are you doing to get ready for that future? If you’re not working video production into your online marketing strategy, you’re falling behind!

Before we get too far into this, let’s clear out the air of skepticism. 82% of Twitter users are watching video content, 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week, and 87% of online marketers use video content. Are we all on the same page? Great.

Now, I’m going to show you exactly why you need to start pumping out video content if you want to stay relevant in digital marketing!

Video Grows Brand Recognition and Trust
Trust is the foundation of all good marketing. If your audience doesn’t trust you, there’s no way they’re going to work with you. Video can place a human face on your brand’s message, which makes you infinitely easier for your audience to relate to and find common ground with.

It’s why popular YouTubers are now celebrities in every meaningful sense of the word, and news outlets are emphasizing video content. Even promotional content, which consumers fear above all else, is 57% more likely to result in a sale when presented as a video!

Video Content Increases Sales
Don’t just think of videos as online ads, though—consider how they can directly make an interested user buy your products or services. Oftentimes, the thing that holds back a potential customer is uncertainty with what they’re getting.

Sharing a product video on your landing page or releasing how-to content that shows viewers exactly what they can get from your business, which makes them more likely to buy from you. For businesses working in the electronics or jewelry industries, these tactics are particularly effective since you’re selling higher-price items!

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Video Can Improve Your SEO Ranking
SEO is a complicated and ever-changing creature, but there are a few constants among the algorithm changes, one of which is that video content consistently boosts rankings. Why? The longer that visitors stay on your page, the higher your SEO ranking, and a video guarantees that they’ll be on your page for at least the length of the video (provided it’s well-made)!

Of course, quality does play a role in how much a video boosts your SEO. But if you have an interesting title and description and link back to your website, you’re in good shape to improve your ranking with video content!

Video Makes Explanations Simpler
Are changes underway at your company, or are you offering a new product/service? Then video offers you a unique way to share information with your audience in a way that’s conversational and easy for them to understand. 98% of users have watched explanation videos to learn about new offerings from a business!

If you’re trying to inform your audience about an issue in your industry, producing a video is your best bet. Complicated ideas can be easily muddled via text, but they’re much easier to understand when presented in natural-sounding conversation. So rather than write a 2,000-word blog about your complicated topic of choice, make a five-minute video that people will actually watch!

Start Recording
There’s really no question about whether or not video is essential for good marketing; the only question is whether or not your business will use this tool. Text and photos have their place in online marketing too, but skipping video simply isn’t an option anymore! You’ve got plenty of information and statistics here, so there’s no excuse not to join the 21st century in marketing!

Would you like to talk about what video can do for your business? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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