Video Hosting

Ok. I’ll own up. This blog is not going to tell you where to host your corporate video. Or any other video content you produce for your business. What is actually more important is where NOT to host your videos. I’m a passionate believer that it is not the shooting of the video that leads to more business, it is the viewing of it by the target audience. In fact, it stands to reason. That doesn’t mean that the way a video is shot, its ‘quality’, its message, its running time etc. are not important. What I mean is that the most well-crafted piece in the world is a marketing cost until it generates ROI, when it then becomes an investment. read more

Ranking Video in Google

A recently acquired new client has proven to be an excellent illustration that it is not simply the production of content that delivers results, it is the keyword optimisation that counts. I’m not going to name and shame, especially as they are on the road to recovery now that they have me on board! However, this is a global brand selling an iconic product. They have over 60 videos on their YouTube channel. Their key product represents a unique keyword phrase. They have a huge fanbase. They have a marketing team. I typed their keyword phrase into Google and then into YouTube. None of their videos appeared on Page 1 of the search results in either case. read more

More Than A Videographer

I’ve written four novels. No, really. Haven’t seen or heard of them? I’m not surprised. The things I’ve created – with blood, sweat and tears – haven’t yet found an audience. Because I haven’t tried to seek it out, to effectively launch the content into the world. Creating video content is a darn sight easier than writing a book. Getting it out in front of an audience is a darn sight easier – no editor, no agent, no publisher, no stream of rejection letters (yes, I know all about rejection letters). read more

Keeping Google and YouTube Accounts in harmony

Keeping up with the pace of change on online & social platforms can be challenging for the busy business owner. Recent examples within the realm of my video projects have shown the importance of having a guiding hand when it comes to a business' presence on google. There have also been learning points for me too, which proves the need for diligence and ongoing training. These bumps in the road that my clients and I have jointly come acroacre down to happen at the end of the video project, when the time has come to get the finished video online. That said, the end should be in mind at the start, and understanding the end goal is something I espouse. The difference now is that the devil can really be in the detail. The Upload button is seldom the end of the journey for any business that has had a video produced, whether by a professional, an amateur, or in-house. read more

YouTube Results

This week I allowed myself a little fist pump when I saw how well a client's YouTube channel was performing. This was of course no accident; it was the result of many hours of planning and implementation. I think it's not exaggerating to say that, even though we've created over 100 videos, the total time for the shooting and editing is not much more than the time spent on the often-overlooked content planning and keywording phases. read more

Professional Video

On the surface, the case for using video in your business is compelling. I could use up all the space in this article quoting the latest statistics, but you can readily find those online. When you are talking about the dramatic impact on Google rankings, the ease of conveying information, the preference for consumers to watch video rather than read text, the marked improvement in converting visitors into leads, and the growing trend for the adoption of video by businesses of all sizes, the case makes itself. Social media platforms are even giving greater priority to video in their newsfeeds. We live in a visual world – TV, Skype, FaceTime, YouTube - even the growing trend for business networking as a marketing strategy – so the question should be, “Given that we all thrive on a visual and personal connection, why is video marketing NOT the norm?” read more

Creative videographer

How many of us, when young, know for sure what they want to be when they grow up? By which I mean, how many of those youthful - and often changing - notions turn out to have been right in hindsight? I suspect few. In contrast, looking back, how many seeds of what you do now can be seen? Is there a sense of "You know what, it feels logical to have ended up here"? I don't mean subjects you studied at school, but the other stuff. read more

Video marketing pillars of success

Having started work with a new client on implementing video marketing, lots of questions and considerations have been thrown up which shine a spotlight on the importance of tying the disparate elements together. Apart from a couple of 'welcome' videos for the website homepage, the driver for our working relationship is to create a programme of videos that replaces the 200-odd topic-based informational web pages. With the client being in a relatively specialised field, and dealing with very specific medical conditions in these 'blogs', the SEO opportunities are excellent and that is one of the drivers for the approach. Groups of keywords are very niche for each video, and competition is likely to be low ( as opposed for a term like "business coach" ). With a properly implemented video content strategy in a niche area, the end aim is that the website and YouTube channels become a destination in the subject area. Brand awareness and value increases, and hence drive greater client volumes. Agreed, this may not be a revelation, but it is so frequently a missed opportunity due to the lack of shared knowledge between the client and the video producer. The results? 30,000 Views in just 8 months. But what are the key pillars for success? read more

Video Production Highlights

  As I turn 8 this month, but with a further 6 years in the video production industry before that, I thought I'd look back on some of the interesting moments over that period: - Taking a camera and tripod up a ladder onto the roof of a domestic garage to film an interview. It was so that we could get a good view of the installation of solar panels in the background. I get vertigo, so that was interesting. - Taking a camera up in a construction lift on the outside of a partially built tower block, to film on one of the upper storeys which had no walls. See above. - Attaching a rear-fading GoPro camera to the boot of my car and then leading horsebox down a Hampshire lane to get a tracking shot. - Filming from the copilot seat of a helicopter during a treasure hunt. Internal shots of the client behind meant filming backwards over my head, using the monitor screen like a periscope. read more

Corporate Video production - the life

Here at London Corporate Media, there rarely a time when there aren't a host of video production balls in the air, and a huge variety in the workload. As an insight into the type of things we get up to, here's a fairly typical week. read more