Options for Capturing Testimonial Videos During a Pandemic

As a result of Covid-19, many brands have had to reinvent how they create video content. But video is still the most powerful and cost-effective way for companies to generate new business.  In fact, with the cost of video advertising falling due to the pandemic, there’s never been a better time to invest in video.

Case study videos are one of the most effective ways for a business to harness the power of video to let prospects and customers know what their specialisms are, why they’re experts in their field and how they’ve helped their clients or provided a valuable service.  Hearing a testimonial from a delighted customer is powerful social proof that a brand delivers upon its promise.

However, the only stumbling block is getting the video made.  During lockdown it’s logistically difficult to send a large film crew to a place of business. Plus the fact that most people are working from home. So what are your options?

Well fear not, there are plenty of ways that you can capture testimonials from satisfied customers and use them to create high quality, entertaining and informative case study videos.

1. Bring to life a written statement

One way could be animating a written testimonial. This removes the need for any social contact, as everyone involved in the project can work from home. Creating an animated video from a written testimonial gives the animator a chance to be visually creative. Most voiceover actors have home recording studios too, meaning that a professionally sounding voiceover can also be captured whilst adhering to government guidelines. Although not seeing the speaker’s face could make the video feel less credible, this is a great option if you’re looking to create a testimonial video.

2. Record audio at home

The quality of audio recording on smart phones is good enough that it could be used as a voiceover to an animated video. Having the speaker’s voice would bring an authenticity to the testimonial. However, this does rely on the interviewee’s ability to record usable audio that isn’t too breathy and doesn’t have any “popping”. If this is of interest, we’d be able to guide your interviewees on how to record good quality audio on a mobile phone to ensure that the video sounds as good as possible.

3. Record a Zoom call

Video calling is an easy and accessible way for people to speak face-to-face. During lockdown, people became familiar with video calling software like Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams. It’s possible to record a video call and capture both the sound and the audio simultaneously, which makes this a suitable and cheap way of capturing video and audio content when people cannot be in the same room. The quality can be poor, so it’s worth considering whether this might have an impact on brand perception or if you think your audiences will be sympathetic.

4. Live stream

In general, recording a live stream will have better quality than recording a video call. There are apps that make it possible to record a live stream from someone’s phone, but these come at a cost. Although set up might be tricky, it’s a good option if you need material urgently.

5. Record at home

It would possible to provide an interviewee with the equipment to record their video at home and guide them through the filming process on a Zoom call.  Sending a gorilla pod means that they could support their phone on a desk, and a small LED light will help to make the shot look as flattering as possible. A small audio recorder might also be helpful to ensure the best possible sound quality. This would be relatively quick and easy to record and avoids human contact which is necessary during a pandemic like Covid-19. The only thing is that you’re reliant on the quality of the interviewee’s phone and their ability to frame and light the shot, however, if we’re present on a Zoom call we’d able to assist with set up. Unfortunately, the footage will always look like it’s been recorded on a phone, but this would be a good way to capture good video content and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

6. Send professional equipment

If you’re nervous about the film quality impacting your brand identity, we could courier one of our professional cameras and a laptop to your interviewee. This would guarantee high quality video and audio, especially as we can stream the feed directly from the camera so we can keep watch on the lighting, focus, framing and background. Being present on a video call would also be helpful to guide the interviewee through set up and filming. Although this might be a relatively expensive and time-consuming option, it does guarantee a high quality video that has longevity beyond the pandemic. If your interviewee doesn’t feel comfortable adlibbing, there is also the option to send an autocue that the person could insert their mobile phone into. This means they could easily read the script whilst maintaining eye contact with the camera lens. All equipment would also be sanitised to ensure the safety of all involved parties.

7. Hire a studio

It would be possible to hire a studio close to the interviewee and send a camera and camera operator there. We’d encourage all parties to drive or take taxis to avoid travelling on public transport. We’d also provide a full risk assessment and method statement prior to filming; check the ventilation system in the studio to ensure that it’s a safe environment; and provide recommended PPE for the camera person. Using a studio would be preferable to another inside location, as there is plenty of space to maintain social distancing. Recording in a studio is also beneficial as it would result in superb sound quality. However, hiring a studio can be expensive and does require travel. A studio background can also sometimes feel inauthentic, but a few props could make the background feel livelier. If the interviewee is happy to travel, this could be a good option to record high quality video content that can exist beyond the crisis.

8. Film at the interviewee’s home

Filming at the interviewee’s house would also be an option. Wearing recommended PPE, we could send a camera and a camera operator to their home with all the necessary equipment to capture high quality video and audio. They’d be able to direct the interviewee and give them any feedback to make sure that they deliver the performance you’re looking for.

We’d provide a full risk assessment and method statement prior to filming and sanitise all equipment to ensure a safe working environment. We’d also speak to the interviewee about ventilation in the property and whether or not windows can be open. Although please bear in mind this does run the risk of having outside noise creep into the recording, so the location of the property might need to be considered when deciding if an at-home recording is suitable.

If the interviewee would be happy with filming at their home, it would ensure that the video has an authentic background that is both visually interesting and has a personal touch that lasts the test of time.

9. Film the interviewee in their place of work

We’re still able to film in offices and other places of work so if the most convenient and authentic location for the interview is in the person’s workplace we can send a single camera person or a crew of two people to attend the shoot. They will wear full PPE and observe all safety guidelines. The major benefit of this approach is that we can also film cutaway shots to show the person going about their daily routine. This makes for a more engaging film than just a straight talking head.

So as you can see there are still plenty of options for capturing high quality case study films, even within these unprecedented times. We’re happy to work with you to determine the best solution for you and your interviewees in terms of safety and creativity. Please get in touch using the form below if you require assistance with your case study video creation.

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Film Funding Research

When looking for funding there are a few paths a filmmaker can take. Applying for government funding via a body such as the BFI can bring a large sum of money to a project. But a lot of small-scale films do not qualify for these grants. This is why crowdfunding has become a popular way to finance creative projects, giving filmmakers a chance to share their concept with the aim to find backers.

Government Funding

Most government funding opportunities are open to projects that contribute to society, whether through sustainability, social responsibility or diversity. Each grant has a specific criterion that they’re looking for, so it’s only worth applying for ones where your project is eligible.

If you do meet the criteria, make sure you spend time preparing your application. You’ll want to make sure that you effectively communicate all the ways in which your film would benefit from the grant and how it would contribute to the community.

Including biographies, examples of previous work, why you’re the right person to make the film, detailed descriptions of the synopsis, what your concept is, your budget and how the funding would be used will also help to make a strong application.

When looking to apply for a grant, spend time getting to know the organisation and what its mission is. What sort of projects have they supported in the past? Who are the judges and what is their taste? This will give you a sense of how to tailor your application.

Take time familiarising yourself with the legal procedures, rules and regulations. Understanding the legal jargon will help make your application and any future interviews airtight. It will also help to ensure that you hold onto your IP over the course of the process.

Crowdfunding

Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are two of the largest crowdfunding platforms in the world. Crowdfunding helps ventures secure a small amount of money from a large group of people. The general public can look at campaigns and donate to a cause/project/start-up that resonates with them. However, both sites work slightly differently.

Kickstarter has an “all-or-nothing” policy, where, if a campaign doesn’t reach its target within the timeframe, the venture won’t receive any funding at all. This works as a way to encourage start-ups and other projects to invest time and energy into the campaign and create realistic fundraising targets.

The possibility that you might lose all the money that’s been pledged by the public is certainly daunting. It means that filmmakers have to have enough belief in the project and be prepared to take the risk, but the “all-or-nothing” policy can help to motivate audience to donate, especially if the campaign is running out of time and is close to its target.

IndieGoGo, on the other hand, lets you keep the money that’s been raised, but will charge a larger commission if the campaign hasn’t reached its target. Although less risky, IndieGoGo’s policy also helps to encourage users to create realistic and detailed campaigns that are thoughtfully managed.

Both platforms are popular among creatives as it serves many purposes. Firstly, it offers the team a chance to consolidate their concept and learn how to pitch it. Once it’s published, a crowdfunding campaign can help to spread word of mouth about the project and create some buzz. Additionally, crowdfunding makes financing creative projects possible without the constraints of grant applications and lengthy regulations.

Other smaller crowdfunding platforms also exist such as GoGetFunding. Many creatives find GoGetFunding attractive as there are less projects competing for funding. GoGetFunding is unique as it offers help with the preparation of a campaign. But does using lesser-known fundraising sites hinder your ability to raise substantial funds or impact the public’s willingness to donate? It’s worth considering the pros and cons of each crowdfunding platform when you want to start a fundraising campaign.

Applying for Crowdfunding

Preparation

Decide what platform is right for your campaign. Make sure you understand all the guidelines and policies.

Think about how long you want your campaign to run. In general, you’ll need twice the run period to prepare the campaign.

Next, think about how you can get audiences excited about your project. Videos are always an effective way to communicate your message, but what other supporting material can you use?

Look into fundraising incentives, what can you offer to encourage donations? Some films include perks such as a credit, a day on shoot, tickets to a screening etc.

Budgeting

Deciding your budget is your next big step. This is important, as setting realistic targets over a realistic timeframe is essential to a successful campaign.

Make it more tangible by drawing up an estimate of the amount of people that you’ll need to reach. If you set the average donation £25, you’ll need to reach at least 400 people to collect £10,000. Creating estimates like will help you plan your campaign and set measurable goals.

When you’ve analysed this, you might have a better idea of whether crowdfunding could cover all or part of your costs. Either way, make it clear in your campaign whether you are raising funds for post-production, paying actors or whether it’s covering the entire budget etc. The more specific your campaign, the easier it will be to encourage donations from an audience that perhaps do not understand the financial workings of film.

It’s often beneficial to share your budget when crowdfunding, so the public know how their money will be spent.

When building your overall budget, don’t forget to make a contingency for any percentage that the platform will take from your campaign. This might impact certain financial decisions you’ll have to make when making your film.

Content Planning

Preparing your campaign will also involve designing your campaign, including artwork, videos, graphics and text.

A lot of creators launch their actual with a video where the producer or director introduces the project, the goal, the deadline and why they need funding. Other useful material includes cast shots, production team biographies, uploading parts of storyboards, actors performing a scene etc. Including content like this will help you gain the trust of your audience and give them a sense of your concept.

Other content that has proven to be successfully received are information about characters, costume renderings, location photography and insights into the project such as behind-the-scenes footage.

Launching Your Campaign

When you first launch a campaign, the early drive often results in a peak of donations. Typically, campaigns will achieve 30% of their target within the first few days.

Sharing the campaign with your network will help to trigger early support and generate word of mouth.

The second peak often appears just a couple of days before the deadline, where videos of appreciation and asking for help encourage audiences to donate in the final stages of a campaign.

These two peaks are the pillar of your campaign, but it’s important not to let the momentum drop over the course of the campaign’s timeline.

It’s helpful to create a post schedule, so you can release content methodically over the course of the campaign.

Sharing content on social media, getting bloggers and influencers to talk about it and finding platforms to speak about your project and promote your crowdfunding campaign will help to keep your campaign active in the time between the two peaks.

Keeping your campaign up to date is essential to sustain audience engagement. It also helps to ensure that your campaign seems urgent, important and valued.

Responding to supporters will help encourage an inclusivity in your campaign which might help to encourage people to share your campaign with their network.

Key Elements

1. Humanise Your Campaign

Appointing one person to be the face of the campaign is a great way to personalise your campaign without the confusion of multiple voices. If the face of the campaign is a creative involved in the project, it can help to make it feel more relatable and passionate. If the same person is used consistently over the course of a campaign, it will build a relationship of trust with the viewer as the campaign highlights the human story and why it’s important.

2. Award Your Audience

Another important factor when building a campaign is the rewards you offer. Offering an incentive will help to leverage audience interest. Make sure you’re clear about what you’re offering and manage expectation. Successful incentives range from name in credits, a free copy of the film, tickets to a screening, meeting the creatives etc. Just make sure that you don’t give donors access to your IP rights.

3. Don’t pressure

In the early stages, don’t ask for money. Pressuring audience early on will only put them off donating to your project. Save this for the latter half of your campaign when time is running out and you need to reach tour goals.

Let your audience know that every donation is helpful, however small. Even £1 can help you reach your target.

4. Be Serious

Treat your campaign as a full-time commitment. Having good communication with donors, answering questions and keeping content fresh is key to the success of your campaign and the goodwill it fosters. The more time you spend on your campaign, the more it will be reflected in donations. People notice how regularly content is posted and will be more likely to see this as a real opportunity and something to trust.

5. Use Your Network

Start by sharing your campaign with your network. They might help by donating, sharing with their friends and offering some tips on how to improve your campaign. Asking friends and family to share your campaign on their social media channels will help to increase your reach early on.

Most donors to crowdfunding campaigns are family and friends of the cast, crew and production team, so use this to your advantage and get their support early on.

6. Use Your Socials

As the majority of the donors will be the people that you know, your personal social media channels will be an important asset throughout the campaign.

7. Tell a Story

Setting up and monitoring a successful campaign is all about your ability to tell a story. Share personal success stories or challenges to give the viewer some insight into why this project is important to you and how it can benefit the wider community. Present your campaign like a quest, with you as the hero. You’re on a mission to reach your targets and you need your audience to help you make it. A transparent narrative will help you gain the trust and support of the general public.

Use POV videos to regularly share updates on your progress. Make the journey exciting by making your audience feel like they’re part of the adventure and that they’re in control of the happy ending!

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How to Increase Audience Engagement: faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust

Engagement. It’s one of those holistic and glorified terms that every marketer bombard you with. Audience engagement has been proved to significantly raise your ROI. But what is it and how can it be used? This article will demystify the magic of its true meaning and how it can be boosted to optimise the ROI of your marketing videos.

Firstly, within a marketing context “engagement” means nothing more than attracting your audience’s attention and having them respond to your content. It’s about getting them interested in who you are and what you do. So how do you accomplish this? With faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust.

All jokes aside, we’ve summarised how to increase audience engagement in five easy steps!

1. Personalise with Insights

A great first step to increase the engagement with your audience is through detailed segmentation based on demographics, behaviour and needs. The more specific the analytics, the better you can target posts and tailor content to your audience’s interests. This will not only optimise direct engagement but also trigger indirect conversations and sales.

So, get to know your audience! Find out where to reach them, what social media platforms they use, how to talk to them and what images and culture will tap into their emotions. Being specific in your tone will only help you build your audience and sustain engagement. The effectiveness of your reach can only be improved by understanding your target audience better.

2. Search for Topics

Once you’ve decided how to reach your audience, you need to determine what to reach them with. Carefully monitor analytics on your posts and see which ones are the most successful in terms of reach, likes, comments and views. Try to emulate similar posts to keep engagement high. Deepen research on your audience behaviour by looking out for their interests or hobbies. Use metrics to find out whether people have been talking about you, sharing your content etc. See who your audience are following and analyse your competitors. See what they’re posting, how often their posting and track their level of engagement. This data will only help to influence your social media campaign.

3. Go Interactive

In a world where customers are seeking immersive experiences, interactive content is key. Generate content that will allow the audience to respond or reply. This helps create a more inclusive social media presence that will boost engagement. Getting your audience to generate content is also a fantastic way of increasing your reach. 85 percent of consumers indicate that watching user-generated content has more influence on their purchase than brand-created content. The reason for this is reliability. It comes full circle, the more you show that you value your audience’s opinion, the more that the audience will value yours. So, go for draggable 360-degree video, polls, quizzes and include user-generated content to create a really dynamic presence. But don’t forget to provide them with a clear call to action, so your customers know what you expect from them.

4. Increase Your Accessibility

As we’re living in a “content-flooded” society, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd and pop up when being searched for. Therefore, video accessibility matters. Reinforce your message with a voice-over that carefully explains what is happening on the screen and use captions, subtitles and other (motion) graphics to increase the accessibility of your videos. The latter will not only affect the accessibility of your video but also significantly contribute to your SEO. The more material Google can scan the more likely your videos will be found and consumed!

5. Think Events

Want to give your audience that immersive experience? Invite them to your event video. Event videos, if done well, are one of the quickest assets to turn your local reach into global brand awareness. Think about all the events you couldn’t attend – maybe they’re sold out, too expensive or too far away. Now think of all the events, performances and speeches you’ve watched online. Even just short clips. It’s a lot, right? Content like this is a sure-fire way to boost reach and engagement. So, what are you waiting for? Next time you have an event, don’t worry about multi-camera set up and editing crews, just place your tripods and lights strategically and get sharing!

Engaging videos start with having great content. But understanding your audience will only help to boost your reach and meet your targets. Spend some time getting to know your audience, find out what they want to see, what they’ve been engaging with and what they haven’t. Data like this will be invaluable as you increase your video content. It will be trial and error, but over time this combination of strategies will help you achieve the “unachievable” and reach your ROI goals for 2020.

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Promote Your Properties! – A Guide to Why and How Social Media Marketing Can be Vital for Advertising Real Estate

Social media marketing: it’s nothing new. Yet it seems like this trend has only recently reached the real estate industry, but better late than never! More than half of internet users aged 25 to 34 use social media as a product-research tool and this key age demographic makes up 66% of homebuyers in the UK. This article explains why social media can be an impactful platform to promote real estate listings and how agents can use it to their advantage to boost reach and build connections of trust.

Why?
Specific Targeting
Social media platforms have access to a massive amount of data about their users: from household income, to spending habits and relationship statuses. Marketing on social media lets you identify your target audience and tailor your promotional efforts to their specific interests and needs. This allows you to access a wider reach and optimises the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing campaign.

Optimising Interaction
Social media marketing allows you to interact with your audience in their “natural habitat”. With millennials spending on average 2 to 3 hours a day on social media, it offers fruitful channels for direct communication. The possibility to instantly connect with your audience through commenting, posting and internal chats enables you to have a dynamic presence online and communicate with your audience more frequently. Being able to answer prospective buyers’ questions in a timelier fashion will contribute to high-quality customer service and will strengthen the relationship with existing clients.

Saves Time
Although having an active social media channel can be time-consuming, it will hugely benefit your business and will save you time in the long run. With access to comprehensive and relevant data on your clients and prospects, it is not always necessary to have initial in-person meetings to determine price ranges and needs. With direct messaging capabilities, you will save time answering enquiries and sending links to possible properties. Promoting listings on social media can also save you money on print and expensive advertising. Uploading videos and livestreaming property viewings can also help to broaden your potential buyer market, as it removes to need to be there physically, and busy prospective clients can look “on the go”.

Enhances Credibility
Buying a property is expensive. Therefore, people who are interested in such an investment need transparency and comprehensiveness. Social media marketing can help you to establish an image and enhance your brand credibility. Posting regular content and building camaraderie with clients through commenting and liking posts, can build a positive online environment for prospective clients. This is also important as it can be used to provide relevant information and advice to your audience. Posting content frequently allows you to attain the image of topical authority and shows that you’re an active player in the industry.

Improves Visibility 
Social media is a major lead generator. Regular posts that link to your webpage and feature SEO friendly terminology will encourage more traffic to your page and boost your searchability on the internet. Moreover, social media marketing provides you the option to streamline content on different platforms which does not only enable you to extend your reach, but also enables you to interact with the same audience in different places. This helps to reinforce your message and visibility of your brand.

Builds a Network
Building a wider network will help you drive indirect sales. Posting relevant and informative content such as ‘How to Find the Best Mortgage Broker’ might prompt your followers to share it with their network and as a result, increase your visibility beyond your current audience. In addition, using social media platforms as part of your marketing strategy enables you to build a strong community with stakeholders other than just your consumer. It offers you the opportunity to connect with fellow real estate agents to gain insights on your competitors, see how they market their products, exchange ideas and get into collaborations.

How?
In short, social media marketing is a gold-mine ready to be exploited, but before you start crafting your marketing strategy, here’s a view tips on what content might help you optimise your efforts.

Be Comprehensive, Not Exhaustive
Your content must radiate confidence, so don’t be shy to post regularly and on multiple platforms to show your company milestones and list your properties. Consistent posting across different socials are noticed by algorithms as valuable information and helps to improves your SEO. Having an up-to-date feed full of your listings, and keeping on top of industry trends and providing tips and tricks on overcoming the struggles that come along with the purchase of property, reflects your expertise and know-how. However, the key is not to oversell! Use your social media to create an interesting and exciting presence that’s passionate about the real estate industry, rather than just use it a sales tool.

Be Part of The Community
Post about the neighbourhood! Share relevant content from locals, announce events in the area and feature neighbourhood walkthroughs to show the perks of the property and, thus, increase its value to your potential audience. Posting content like this radiates transparency and integrity and can be used to tap into the emotions of the audience and get them excited about their future home.

Engage Your Audience
Drive engagement by replying to comments, using and reposting user-generated content and inviting your audience to participate in contests. Try to keep content across different social media channels varied, so you’re not posting the same thing everywhere. Featuring success stories and customer testimonials will show audiences that you value their opinion and prioritise their happiness. This works extremely well with millennials as they are highly receptive to values of peers. Like and share buyer’s posts about their new property, and upload behind-the-scenes videos to give your audience a sneak peek into your properties and your business, triggering their curiosity and making them feel special.

Go Beyond Pictures
Posting high-resolution property photos prompts likes and engagement from people even outside your target audience, this is good as it helps to enlarge your reach and drive indirect sales. However, to optimise engagement you’ll need to post more than just head-turning pictures. In general, infographics and videos work well on social media as they represent information in a comprehensive yet digestible way and are often a striking way to catch your audience’s attention! Video content on most social media platforms play without the user needing to hit the play button, which is great for increasing audience engagement.  Don’t forgot to sprinkle posts with hashtags, as these stimulate engagement and facilitate potential customers in the discovery of your brand.

Humanise Your Brand
Star in your own videos and let your personality shine through your social presence. Live-steaming and answering Q&A’s in a video will connect your brand to who you are, increasing your brand’s humanity, credibility and emotional value. As buying a house can be stressful, so a relatable and reassuring face can help strengthen the emotional connection between your brand and your (potential) consumer.

Optimise Your Profile
Make sure that your social media features complete and up-to-date information about your location, email address, phone number and website etc in order to drive (direct) leads. This also works the other way around. Feature your social media pages on your website, email signature and business cards to increase your searchability and improve your SEO. This will direct more traffic to your webpages and, thus, completes this circle.

Wrap Up
Social media marketing helps you find and engage with your target audience, optimises interaction with your potential clients, saves you time, enhances your brand credibility, visibility and searchability, and extends your network – which is vital in promoting your real estate listings!

If you have any questions or would like to talk to us about how Bold Content can create some impactful videos for your social media channels, please do not hesitate to give us a call. We love helping brands achieve dynamic and efficient marketing strategies.

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Repurposing Your Content – Stretching Your Creativity Instead of Your Budget

As a marketer you might have experienced it; creating compelling and relevant content on a regular basis is a daunting process. 80% of your efforts will translate in 20% of your footage. Only for it to disappear into the clutter within one, maximum two days. It sounds rather depressing. However, there is a way to extend the lifespan of your content and get more out of that 80%. It’s called: repurposing.

What?
Repurposing, also referred to as ‘repackaging’ your content allows you to alter content that you’ve already published and give it a new look. The latter allows you to repost it on another or even the same platform, increasing your return on investment. Moreover, it improves your SEO, increases your views, extends your reach and improves the efficiency of your audience targeting. In order to reap those benefits, the following article will look into several ways that your videos can be repurposed.

How?
Audio Podcast
Extracting the audio track from your video to mould it into a Podcast. The latter might sound far-fetched but it allows you to create two different media products from the same content and, thus, diversify your reach. Moreover, audio is easier to consume as it does not require the full attention of your audience. The consumer can listen to a podcast while doing other things at the same time. This is harder when watching videos.

Transcriptions
Likewise, your video can be transcribed and translated into written pieces. Transcription can be used for multiple purposes. Transcriptions of interviews and talking heads provide great content for a Q&A and FAQ on your webpage whereas transcriptions of explainer videos will do well for a “How It Works” page on your website. Other than that, quotes from your CEO, other inspiring leaders or even your customers can be extracted and used as references on your webpage. Finally, transcriptions can be used as the basis of a blog post. Self-evidently, the latter involves a bit more effort but allows you to reach consumers who prefer reading over watching and listening. However you decide to use your transcriptions, they will boost your SEO as Google indexes captions but not visuals.

Multiple Shorter Videos
You can also decide to stick to the medium but alter the product by cutting it into multiple shorter videos. The latter is especially fruitful when you want to distribute your content on your socials. Short and concise videos work better on social media platforms and, thus, you may be able to cut and recreate several videos from the original video that you’ve created for you e.g. your website. Examples are short six-second vine camera videos, looping boomerang videos, time-lapse videos, etcetera, etcetera. No matter what form you decide to mould your original video into, short videos make your content easier to digest and are more likely to be consumed completely. The latter increases audience engagement. Besides that, you could make a trailer or social media stories out of your original video to spark the viewer’s curiosity and, thus, leading them from your socials back to your website or video channels.

One Long Video
With various pieces extracted from different videos, you can create a completely new video. Take for example the customer testimonials from your old footage and create a case study out of it. Or, collect footage from your old corporate video(s) to showcase different elements of your company culture to create a behind-the-scenes, a founder film or a recruitment video. Similarly, you can stitch together footage to create an overview of the company’s highlights from previous years for both internal and external usage or combine quotes from experienced employees into an interesting thought-leadership piece.

Behind The Scenes Video
Behind the scenes videos are thriving nowadays as they provide the viewer an exclusive look into the production process. They engage with and educate the viewer and, at the same time, offer them transparency, integrity and intimacy. This strengthens the connection between your brand and your customer. A behind the scenes video can be created by extracting footage from the respective marketing video or compiling footage from different videos which were shot in the past. The same can be done to create a compilation of funny moments such as the bloopers shown at the end of a film. Such videos help to make your brand more human and relatable. Whether you opt for a BTS video or comedy piece, both will significantly improve your engagement with the audience.

Images
Most of the videos are shot at 30 frames per second. This means you can extract a lot of stills from them. The images taken from your video can be used on your socials or website to either give this an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look or lead traffic to your video.

Update Footage
Never delete old footage! “Old footage” does not necessarily mean that it is outdated and when it is, there are often easy ways to update or modernise it. Firstly, the outdated parts could be replaced. For instance, the statistics in your animated explainer videos can be replaced by the newest data. Or, an interview with your former CEO can be replaced by a new interview snippet. Secondly, old footage can function as a silent clip on the background of your website, to give visitors a first impression on who you are and what you do. Finally, old footage might look outdated but it may still contain relevant information. To solve this, the video can be modernised by adding 3D animated elements such as motion graphics or the edit can be redone by subjecting the footage to a different piece of music, colour grading or more creative cuts and transitions. Thus, old footage is extremely valuable for re-usage!

Why?
There are more different and creative ways to repurpose your content but the message must be clear by now; Repurposing your video does not only extend the shelf-life of your video but also uses your marketing budget, time and effort more efficiently to increase your traffic, extend your reach and improve your audience engagement. Why start from scratch every time your boss wants a new marketing video if you have content available that has proven to perform well? Creativity is not coming up with something new every time but it is about finding ways to keep your content fresh and build on what you’ve published in the past by simply repacking it!

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PRODUCING UNDER THE PANDEMIC

Now that the UK government has confirmed that film production in England is allowed to restart if guidelines are followed, at Bold Content we are readying ourselves in order to get back to filming for you right away. 

We would like to stress though, that we will closely follow and continually monitor the latest government advice, and along with the rest of the country we will still spend a majority of our time working from home. However should a camera need to be picked up and any filming be done, you can rest assured that we are now able to set ourselves up for filming in a covid-19 safe way that will ensure the safety of all on set. Health and safety on set has always been our paramount consideration with any production, but it certainly is so even more now than ever. 

With more rigorous, but necessary, H&S precautions in place we have come up with a number of clever workarounds that ensure the quality of the production will not be compromised. 

As a result, we have outlined a number of measures and precautions which we will be adhering to, both on and off set, to allow your production, scripted or non-scripted, to be up and running soon. We have undertaken extensive research from industry peers and leading bodies within the film industry (inc. The Advertising Producers Association Shooting Guidelines available here), to make sure that no stone is unturned and that all facets of production are considered now that we can get back to doing what we love: shooting films. 

To give you greater confidence that we can take on the scope of your project, our first step before anything else, will be to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment so that you know we will be taking on the project in a way that is both safe and practical to deliver you a film of the highest quality. 

Minimising risk during pre-production:

• Directors, Producers, PM’s, PA’s will all continue to work from home and conduct virtual meetings for all pre-production aspects
• Location scouting to be undertaken virtually or by sourcing multiple still images of the location from previous shoots
• Casting and callbacks all done virtually 
• Casting excludes anybody at increased risk of severe illness following infection owing to underlying health conditions until health authorities indicate risk of infection is negligible
• All production equipment will be deep cleaned before and after a shoot
• Use of in-house equipment as much as possible and minimise external kit hire (N.B. if external kit hire is required, all kit will also be deep cleaned before and after a shoot)
• All documents, contracts, release forms etc are signed digitally  
• All crew and talent to travel to location in either their personal car or taxi and dissuaded from using public transport if at all possible

Minimising risk during production:

1. Minimising the number of people on set:

• No more than 1 person present on-set per 4m2 of unfurnished set.
• Crew numbers to be kept as minimal as possible and only vital crew members on set
• Where possible and when necessary a live-stream of the filming or a remote video village can be setup for remote direction and / or client viewing in order for communication to be given to on set crew and talent 
• Call times will be staggered so that each department is given access at timed intervals, to prevent crowding on arrival to set – all actors / talent will only be given call times that mean they will be arriving on set once it is fully setup for turnover of filming

2. Ensuring social distancing is met on set:

• Implementation of visual tricks such as shooting long focal lengths, or over the shoulder, to give the impression the actors / talent are closer together than they actually are
• Each person present on set requires a minimum of 4m2 for unfurnished space and 6m2 for furnished space so 2 metres of distance can be kept to at all times
• Every crew member is responsible for bringing his/her own food on set and breaks will be taken separately 
• Every talent needs to take care of their own make-up, hair and wardrobe and will be guided and advised on the specific style requirements for this in pre-production by the director and the producer

3. Minimising risk of infection on set:

• All people present on set and their partners will be asked to declare 8 hours before production starts to the producer that they have been symptom free for the two weeks in advance of filming – latest government advice outlines a dry cough, fever, muscle pain, sore throat and loss of sense of smell all as symptoms of COVID-19
• Nobody allowed on set who has travelled to the UK from abroad within two weeks of filming
• All people in the risk zone (over 70 years old and with underlying health conditions) are not permitted to be on set
• We will prioritise ventilation of all interior spaces either by means of open windows or mechanical ventilation
• All filming to take place at a single location on any given day to avoid unit moves
• Sound to be captured on boom microphones. Should a lavalier microphone be needed then the talent will be instructed on how to put it on from on an on-set member of the sound department

4. Promoting hygiene on/off set:

• Hand washing stations in the form of hand sanitiser will be available on set at all times 
• Although not mandated at this time, we will provide masks and gloves (instructions for usage) for all crew on set and we strongly recommend their use for interior spaces, where social distancing can be difficult to maintain consistently
• Any prop on set is marked for a single actor’s use only and this will be planned out in advance of the shoot
• In the event that physical contact is required by a scene, participating actors are required to sanitise hands before and after
• Contact surfaces including door handles, surfaces, bathroom fixtures, and any equipment handled by more than one person will be cleaned frequently during the shoot
• Any equipment or workstation used by more than one person needs to be cleaned between each user coming into contact
• All operators of camera, lighting and sound equipment to only use their allocated kit on set and not to share or assist one another with each others kit setup
• On wrapping a day of filming the premises and equipment should be deep-cleaned

Minimising risk during post-production:

• All editing will be conducted remotely
• Amendments will be made digitally and via online consultations and conversations

The above guidelines are things we will consider for all productions for the foreseeable future. However, we do know that taking a one-size fits all approach will not be best practice. Each production will have different requirements and we are constantly reading and learning of new innovative ways to shoot content that are being trialled and experimented with around the world to adhere to social distancing measures. 

As a London based production company a majority of our shoots are in the capital city and therefore keeping crew sizes small and casting local talent is something that we will enforce for the time being in order to avoid unnecessary movement of people. Though London based, we have a number of partners further afield around the UK and the globe so if filming is required at alternative locations we can plug into our production partners in order to carry out filming for you and will ensure the above standards and practices are kept to. 

We are keen to get filming again and get back to doing what we love as quickly as we can, so we are ready to talk about your next project and to help you get an awesome video made. 

Photo by Branimir Balogović on Unsplash

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Recession Marketing: To Spend or Not To Spend?

With more than a third of the world’s population in lockdown, the global economy has been subjected to one of the steepest downturns since the Great Depression. Stock markets have been crashing, unemployment has been staggering, consumers have lost their confidence and businesses have become desperate. Consequently, companies have started to slash costs dramatically in order to ensure short-term revenue rather than generating income for the long-run.  This would seem perfectly logical in the same way as if you were attacked by a shark during your surfing holiday you would focus on how to get back to the beach as soon as possible rather than thinking about what to wear during next week’s work meeting. When the economy faces a downturn, cutting costs seems to be the most logical response to ensure your company’s survival. However, the opposite seems to be true. This article will illustrate how maintaining your marketing in times of a recession will lead to long-term success.

Increase to Succeed

A great deal of research has proven that, even though it opposes our primal response, companies should be increasing their spending in times of an economic downturn. Self-evidently, not on every cost area, but cutting costs in one area allows spending a little more in others,  with the marketing department being one of those areas of the business that should benefit from reallocating costs. Therefore, cutting costs should be decided strategically. It is said that increasing your marketing expenditure in a recession leads to long-term profitability. Cutting your marketing costs will mitigate short-term losses and result in (misleading) short-term profitability while it unnoticeably endangers long-term profitability. The brand image and brand usage are damaged significantly when a company quits its marketing from one day to the other as it gives off a perception of failure. It takes those businesses twice as long to get back to normal profit than businesses who cut half of their marketing expenditure. Moreover, businesses which maintain their marketing budgets or even increase them will be more likely to experience long-term success in terms of increasing their market share and return on investment at lower costs than in times of prosperity. The reason for this is that in times of uncertainty, when customers lose their confidence and get more cautious on their expenditure, the right marketing can capture the consumers’ attention and redirect them towards your brand. Thus, brands should focus on maintaining their share of voice in times of a depression rather than on share of market as a powerful brand image and strong brand awareness will ensure future profitability.

Maximise Marketing Effectiveness

However, solely reallocating budget from one cost area of your business to your marketing department does not provide you with the solution to survival. In order to maximise the effectiveness of your profitability, you have to ensure that you maximise your marketing effectiveness. The following will take you step by step through optimising your marketing in times of a recession.

Map your Customers

First and foremost, take stock of your customer’s wants and needs in times of recession in order to ensure that your messages tap into their current emotions and thus have a more effective reach. In general, customers value more durable and reliable goods and tend to negotiate harder in tough economic times. They are willing to trade down, buy less and buy later. Yesterday’s necessity goods belong to today’s luxury items. Consumption becomes irregular and unpredictable. In times like these, attaining loyal customers are key. However, loyalty needs time to develop as it depends on promises being kept and customers’ expectations being met. Right now trusted brands and goods are thriving whereas new ones are having a hard time to penetrate the market. Another way of ensuring consumer loyalty is by connecting with your customer on deeper emotional levels. Here’s where on-point marketing steps in. It is said that in times of trouble, marketing should focus less on visually-pleasing content and more on it’s reassuring and informing ability to tap upon your customers’ need for certainty, safety, connectivity and unity. The latter stimulates a more deeply embedded connection and will be more likely to ensure your customer’s long-term engagement.

Kill your Darlings

Secondly, don’t go spreading your scarce resources amongst all your different brands or products, but focus them on your most profitable and viable ones. Customer behaviour changes and so does the demand for your products and services. Based on the current needs of your customers, forecast which of your products or services will thrive during the recession and let products which currently provide less value swim or sink.

Reprioritise your Channels

Thirdly, reconstruct your marketing tactics and reprioritise your media channels within your overall strategy. Your customers look for value for their money and so should you! Look at the costs and effectiveness of each of your marketing channels and trade down which one you want to focus on. Channels that seem to thrive in economic downturns are point-of-sales marketing also known as in-store marketing (especially point of sale displays with video) and readily measured media also known as digital media (including digital video). Broadcast media, on the other hand, seems to lose popularity. Therefore, the costs for marketing on online platforms usually increases.

However, marketing on social media, when unpaid, is often ineffective as very little of the impressions are high enough quality that they will contribute to building your brand. On the contrary, these channels might inspire people to damage your brand with negative comments. Therefore, it is said that there is little to gain and potentially more to lose from maintaining your organic socials in times of a recession. Now is the time to take stock of the cost and effectiveness of all your channels and reallocate your marketing budget accordingly.

Increase your Creative

Fourthly, set the bar high on the creativity of your marketing content. According to a meta-analysis of econometric sales modelling published in Admap (2006), creative marketing content can double your profit. Thus, leverage your media budget as effectively as possible, now more than ever.

Anticipate your Competitors 

Finally, whatever you decide; to cut or not to cut, you should not forget to keep your finger on the competitive pulse. Especially in time of recession, the moves of your competitors might have a significant influence on your company’s survival and vice versa. Therefore, you should never cut or increase costs without having anticipated your competitors’ response to your actions.

Reinforce your Values 

Most importantly, do not abandon your current marketing strategies but adapt it to focus on your strengths! Focus your marketing efforts on reinforcing what made your brand successful in the first place. The reason for this is that most consumers find security in buying an established and trusted brand. Therefore, you need to stick to and emphasise core brand values. If you deliver premium-priced products don’t go price promoting in order to retain a price-sensitive customer. Usually, premium-priced products offer a rational or emotional advantage over competitive products and the people who purchase these will return as soon as the economy is recovering. Cutting prices does not only lower your margin in the short term but also risks losing the premium status of your product and trains your loyal customers to expect lower prices in the long-run.

Moreover, don’t go cutting quality to save costs as the reason for your customers to return is your brand’s exceptional performance and experience. Instead, you should make your brand more accessible through reframing your brand’s core values. For low-price brands they should definitely emphasise their low pricing aggressively So, whatever you decide to do, do not renounce your original brand values!

In the Long-Run

Running a business all comes down to generating profitable sales. As marketing encompasses everything that brings money into the business, maximising marketing effectiveness should, in theory, maximise the effectiveness of profit generation. That is why an increasing amount of companies start looking at marketing from a more strategic perspective, yet marketing is often still separated from other departments in the organisation such as the sales. Many marketers argue that in order to optimise profit, businesses should implement full-funnel marketing. This means aligning your marketing with all the different specialities inside your organisation such as finance, operations, etcetera, to create an entirely measured marketing communication network or so-called funnel in which information is transparent, measurable and accountable. A recession is the time to reinforce the fundamentals of your company by setting up the practice of full-funnel marketing. Therefore, today is the day to start investing in your marketing, identifying the life-time value of a customer, locating the most profitable customers and determining how to target them. In other words, to warrant profitability in the long-run.

Wrap Up

During recessions, consumers and businesses alike must make the best of a bad situation. Those companies that decide to slash costs in the short term will find themselves in more trouble in the long-run than those companies who maintain or increase their expenditure. Being able to maintain your share of voice in tough economic times like these gives you a competitive advantage when the good times return.

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