3 Crucial Tips For Working With A Video Production Company

There are so many factors that go into finding a video production company to create your marketing content. Whether it’s a corporate video, demo reel, branded documentary or your wedding, most people have a long list of things that they want delivered.

But, there are three crucial tips to prioritize when working with a video production company. If you feel overwhelmed with the amount of decisions you need to make, turn to these tips when planning, hiring and going through the production process. Doing so will make the overall process run more smoothly on both ends, and your overall finished product will be the best it can possibly be.

Have a clear vision

Having a distinct vision for your video, and communicating that vision clearly, might be the most vital task you have as a video project manager. When you initially speak with your production team, they will ask you a lot of questions. Knowing exactly what you want is very helpful, unlike vague input such as, “we want a three minute video.” A three minute video sounds great, but what else?

When you’re brainstorming ideas for your video content, you should have a clear vision of what you want and what you don’t want. That clear vision includes knowing your audience. What do you want your audience to gain from your video? Who do you want to connect with? What is your brand’s voice? Letting your video production company know these important details will set both of you up for success, as partners.

Be open to ideas, we know video!

Yes, having a clear vision is important, but it is just as important to be open to new ideas. Hopefully you hire a video production company that has some experience under their belt, so let them know what you want, but also be open to their suggestions since this isn’t their first go around. Every video production company should be happy to work with you if you aren’t exactly sure what you want in some areas. A successful creative partnership is the ultimate goal of a video production collaboration. They are in this with you, to help you, and guide you in the right direction. Your production team can help you brainstorm some of the best ideas and ways to implement them. They have most likely had countless experiences creating videos, so trust their experience and point of view.

Understand your video production budget and timeline

Two of the key factors in creating a successful video campaign are to understand your budget and timeline. Be familiar with what you’re working with! Unless you have a background in film or video production, the average person most likely has little knowledge on how video production budgets work and the details that go into the timeline. Here are a few helpful pointers: Give your video production company plenty of notice. The more time, the better.

Once you’ve done your research and found the seemingly perfect video production team, form your vision and go ahead and reach out to them. From the moment you reach out, they will be brainstorming the best ways to give you what you want. If you are dealing with short notice, you can’t expect as great of an outcome. Being rushed is never fun, so having plenty of time will ease the stress on both ends, and will allow the video team plenty of time to dive into their resources.

More costs more

This may sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised. A lot of the time, clients who are not as familiar with the video process will meet with a video company and throw out all of their grandiose, unrealistic ideas on the table. It’s great to dream big, but you have to be in touch with your budget. When you are making a video, everything costs money: the gas to get to the set, the equipment, the lighting, the props, the extra set of hands, etc. We can help you with this, but always be thinking about where your funds will be best spent. There are a lot of creative ways to twist your ideas around to make the most of your budget. This is where having a creative video production team is very beneficial. If they are familiar with your vision and budget, they will do their best to create what you want with your budget in mind.

Summary

We hope by reading this, your next video production endeavor is the best yet. The important points we covered are crucial and make a large difference on the overall process. Keeping the key points in mind will reduce stress and increase the value of your finished product. Once you have the finished product in your hands, it doesn’t stop there. Be sure to map out a marketing plan for the best publicity of your video. Put that video to it’s best use!

Updated January 24, 2020

Madison Edwards, Marketing and Communications at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

Why Video Marketing Is Essential In Today’s Marketing World

Have you been wondering how you can improve your video marketing plan? Are you searching for new ways to convey information to your audience? We have the solution for you.

If you aren’t yet using video in your marketing plan, you are missing out. Video and marketing mesh together like chips and salsa. Since TV’s big debut in the 1920’s, video has been a successful means of displaying information. With advances in technology and media, we now get to accomplish this through a wide range of platforms, in which creativity has no limit. It’s no secret that video has become a significant part of our everyday lives.

Video marketing provides marketers with a user friendly, versatile, shareable and fun way to reach their audience. Not only is it great for marketers, video is proven to be viewed, shared, and chosen over other ways of conveying information such as links, images or chunks of text.

According to Forbes, 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others.

If you’re still hesitant to include video in your marketing plan, take a look at the following statistics to see what you’re missing out on.

Why you should choose video:

People Choose Video Over Other Formats:

55% of people watch videos online every day
59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video (Insivia).

More and more companies are realizing that online consumers respond well to compelling video content. We live in a world of impatient people – and in a world where there’s a video for everything. It is a no brainer that we can expect consumers to watch a short informative video instead of read through a big block of text. Videos are simple, to the point and entertaining.

Video Is Reaching Young Audiences: Target Them Sooner Rather Than Later!

21.1 hours weekly of online video content is watched by consumers aged 13-24 (Variety).

Trust me, marketers, you want to be including Millennials and Generation Z in your target audience. It’s a well known fact that young people are changing their media consumption habits. Gone are the days of commercial breaks and Saturday morning cartoons – generation Z is watching Youtube, Snapchat and Instagram- and they know how to avoid ads. That means the best way to catch a young adult’s attention is through online video.

To reach your younger audience, think about creating an engaging Youtube series in partnership with a favorite influencer. Or, bring Gen Z behind the scenes of your operation with a Snapchat Story that makes them feel like a part of the action. Try to jump into social phenomenon: but do so with caution. Look to great brands like Wendy’s and Taco Bell for inspiration on this front.

Video Is Accessible And Shareable:

92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others. (Emarketer)
Videos are shared 1200% more that links and text combined. (Virtuets)

Social Media sites have been working for years to shape their structure around creating a “video friendly” application. The apps that were not originally video friendly quickly realized that it was necessary for survival. And, video is so easily shareable; with just the click of a button, you can post to a page or send through a message.

That means that video gets priority in the newsfeed and will quickly spread across the internet – if it’s hitting your target audience just right. An investment in a great social video will have a much bigger impact than a text post.

Video Is Diverse:

Every company has a story to tell. That’s why video marketing is popular in the hospitality, real estate, healthcare, education, sports and entertainment industries, just to name a few. Whether it’s a documentary, company overview, branded content, comedy, or product explainer, video is a great way to hold your viewer’s attention, raise awareness and see quantifiable results!

Make Sure Your Videos:

Are accessible and easy to find.
Have content that is relevant to your audience.
Tell a story and have a clear purpose.

Updated on February 7, 2020

Madison Edwards, Marketing and Communications at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

The 5 Active Generations and How to Market to Them

Updated on February 12, 2020.

As a marketer, chances are you know ways to segment your target audience according to age, gender, education, household income, and home ownership demographics. These demographics can tell you the “who” about your target audience, but they fall short in giving insight to “what, how, and why” audiences react the way they do. Exploring the world of marketing psychographics will open you up to a deeper level of market analysis.

To keep up with a constantly changing society full of competitive marketers, the field of psychographics offers more valuable insights about interests, opinions, and activities of defined segments of people. Let’s get started with one of the easiest ways to gain these insights: generational profiling. Right now, the majority of your target audience will fall into one of the five active generations: Silent, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials or Generation Z. We have mapped out a fast reference on how to market to each generation:

Silent Generation

This generation was born from 1925 to 1946. Their psychographics indicate that they are cautious, conservative, and highly aware of others. They were children during America’s worst economic conditions: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. This upbringing taught them the value of hard work and diligent saving. The silent generation is not known to change the system, but to work within the system.

This generation had children younger than any other generation in American history. By the time the people of this generation finished their education, a booming economy was ready and waiting. The silent generation is small due to low birthrates during the war period. It is not recognized as a powerful, dominant generation, but one to go with the flow and follow the rules.

This generation is the only American generation to not occupy the White House. Some say the silent generation had it easy from the start: wars ended at a convenient time, bringing forth a high economy, making it easy to find a job and a good time to retire.

This generation is the healthiest, most educated and wealthiest generation of elders yet. The silents have become economic stabilizers for new generations, often having money saved in trust funds for their grandchildren or will typically fund family vacations.

What does this mean for marketers?

When marketing to the silent generation, you should work to earn their trust and to prove your value, which could take time. If you want to reach this generation, one way is through email and informative websites with more text than images. This generation may have social media, but that is a risky assumption. Most use a computer rather than a smartphone, according to PEW.

The silent generation is the most likely to consume print media. They also appreciate customer loyalty plans and coupons. They grew up on newspapers and are still likely to read them each week. When targeting to the silent generation through print media, it is important to be trustworthy, straightforward and use large, easy to read type.

The third option when targeting the silent generation is television. Statistics show that seniors are the most active TV watchers. This generation is most likely to see the commercials that younger generations skip over. There is a possibility that you can effectively reach this generation through the use of television ads.

Baby Boomers

Baby boomers, born between 1946-1960’s, make up a big portion of the North American population. As the largest generation that has an enormous impact on the economy, baby boomers are often highly targeted through ads and marketing campaigns.

The boomer era led families from large cities to the suburbs, purchasing more affordable homes in quieter areas. Psychographics tell us that the boomer generation is associated with the rejection or redefinition of traditional family values. Not only did this generation redefine city living, but also began to use new forms of currency to make transactions.

In Europe and North America boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of widespread government subsidies in post-war housing. This generation is among the wealthiest, most active, and most physically fit. They are also the generation to receive high levels of income, allowing them to make use of the benefits of abundant levels of food, apparel and leisure activities. This generation was viewed excessive by previous generations.

Marketing to a Baby Boomer

Baby boomers have caught on quickly to new technology. They consume large amounts of television and are active internet users. If you want to successfully target the baby boomer generation, focus on optimizing television ads, social media, and email marketing. In fact, ¾ of boomers use social media, six out of 10 read articles and blog posts, and 7 out of 10 watch online videos, according to DMN3.

When marketing to baby boomers, you want your content to be interesting, relevant and timely. Being such a large generation of various age groups, segmentation is key. Everyone has different ways to gather information so be sure to cater to your audience as specifically as possible.

Generation X

This generation includes individuals born between the 1960’s-1980’s. There are around 50 million Gen Xers who are referred to as “baby busters” as they follow baby boomers. Generation X was born during the single lowest birthrate period in American history. In the early 1960s, the birth control pill became widely available and in 1973 abortion was legalized. These factors have contributed to the generation’s low numbers.

Most Gen Xers are currently within the ages 50-30 and are referred to as the “sandwich generation,” as they are simultaneously caring for their aging parents and raising adolescents. In regards to X’s generational characteristics, they are known to be the most cynical and easily swayed generation, as they have adapted to the introduction of video games and social media.

This generation is less likely to put their trust in a large corporation or institution, due to events that took place during their up-bringing including the Watergate scandal and the layoffs of the 80’s. During Gen X’s time of college graduation, many struggled to find jobs.

Despite these hardships, Generation Xers are known to be the most hardworking generation. As referred to the “middle generation,” they bring to the table leadership, and an understanding of the multi-generational society. Generation X members have founded major corporations, including Google and Amazon. Generation X is typically educated, ethnically diverse, and unique.

The Breakdown

There are two types of Generation Xers. There are the people who were born earlier and hold true to characteristics of the baby boomer generation, and there are the others who were born on the later end of the Gen X spectrum. The latter group tends to side more closely to the millennial generation.

This split in the marketing psychographics of Gen X means that marketers need to be fairly neutral in tone if they want to grab the interest of this entire generation. To market this generation, you need to be authentic. These people look for safety and security, so be honest and upfront.

Many Generation Xers still have a knack for traditional mail. It is likely that these people still send handwritten notes, and receive direct mail. A paper or digital mailing list is a great tactic to reach the Xers.

This generation is thought as the first to take full advantage of available technology. Gen Xers appreciate a quality video marketing tactic or video company overview. Whether they have social media to monitor their children or for their own personal use, most gen Xers are media active by now. If you want a sure shot, Facebook is the number one social media platform among Gen X. Getting your true, authentic content out there is the most important when it comes to Generation X. Do not be bossy, but be informative and true.

Oh Millennials…

Millennials have become a catch-all for all young professionals and students. If you were born in the 80’s to 90’s, you are indeed a millennial! This generation believes in self expression and uniqueness more than any previous generation. This brings many new ideas and various types of personalities to the workforce. Social media is a big part of that self expression, with millennials around the world trying to stand out or prove themselves.

Millennials make up the most diverse generation yet, making them accepting of others. According to their psychographics, they are impatient and will usually take the easier alternative. This generation is full of creatives and multi-taskers. Getting to know millennials and how to make your brand millennial-friendly is very important. They account for a large majority of purchases made, and when they have families of their own, they will have the control over what their young children want and get.

Marketing to a Millennial

This generation is constantly coming up with new ideas and making them happen. Millennials are used to taking in large amounts of information at a time, so make sure your content is important enough to stand out and be remembered!

If your website or brand is not up to sync with the latest social media trends and platforms, you are less likely to interest a millennial. Millennials tend to be the least patient generation. They want their information quick.

As a peer-oriented generation, Millennials constantly seek advice from those they admire. If their peers have something cool, they will probably end up wanting it as well. A lot of the time, those in their 30’s and 20’s will get other’s advice and opinions before making a purchase. This generation is full of go-getters that are not easily swayed.

Constantly bombarded with information, millennials are in a world with limitless options. They like a good sale, and will most likely compare prices in order to get the most bang for their buck. Millennials appreciate when someone is passionate or feels strongly about a topic. Whatever you are pushing, be confident, and be bold.

Generation Z

Generation Z is our most recent generation accounting for the people born from 1996 to the present day. Most Gen Zers are still children or adolescents, therefore their characteristics and habits are still forming. Some predict that they will be self-reliant, innovative and goal-oriented.

The main difference between Millennials and Generation Z is that Gen Z did not exist before smart phones and the mobile world existed. Generation Z is and will be highly educated due to abundant resources. As the world continues to change, each generation will bring a greater pool of diversity than the next. That makes Generation Z the most unique and diverse yet.

Marketing to Generation Z

Generation Z will be just as social media driven as most Millennials. However, the best way to reach Gen Z isn’t through Facebook. Studies show that middle aged Gen Zers are leaving Facebook because it is too “old school.” To reach Gen Z, try using Snapchat or Instagram instead.

Being so young, the best tactic is to target their older family members since parents still make financial decisions for Gen Z children and teens. Members of Gen Z are surrounded by social media and the digital world from birth, yet they seek the authenticity of trusted, personal interactions. They have little patience for things that do not grab their attention immediately. The best way to reach Generation Z is not only through the brand, but through a great product.

Market yourself in unique ways through multiple platforms. Generation Z is huge on multi-tasking, and seeing your information multiple times in various ways can’t hurt. “Behind the scenes” video clips or articles are a great, fun way to involve Generation Z as they enjoy forming relationships. If you have a website and it is not linked to a social media account, it is very likely Gen Z will never see your content.

Psychographic studies show that Gen Z is more likely than any previous generation to jump from brand to brand. This keeps marketers on their toes knowing they can have someone hooked, but can just as easily lose them to another brand in a short amount of time. The most important thing to know for marketing to Generation Z is to stay current on social media platforms and trends. You can never be too “social media” for generation Z!

Why All of This Matters

Generational marketing psychographics are very important in today’s world. We live in a world that is constantly innovating, growing and changing. People are slammed with countless ads and choices throughout the day. Knowing your brand or product is the most important thing when it comes to marketing to any generation. However, it is vital to be familiar with each generation and how they are changing not only the workforce, but the world. When you build this understanding, you can better market your brand to each generation through their preferred method of gathering information.

Madison Edwards, Marketing and Communication at Green Buzz Agency.

Emily Herman contributed to this post.

Short Video vs. Long Video: Optimizing Video Length

Updated on February 12, 2020.

Video marketers often have to ask themselves, “how long should our video be?” Everyone wants the answer to be simple and concise, but that’s just plain bad advice. Instead, the answer to this question depends heavily the content, viewing platform and purpose. In the end, these are just a few of the many factors contribute to the length of videos, which makes choosing between a short or long video challenging. Here, we’ve outlined the best times and places to use short vs. long video to ensure you get it just right.

Short Videos

Because 5% of viewers will stop watching videos after one minute and 60% of viewers drop off after two minutes, short videos can boost the amount of people who actually get to the end of your video. Short videos are ideal for social media, like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat because users are usually scrolling quickly and their time is at a premium. These videos have higher retention rates, making it more likely to capture the viewer’s attention – and for longer.

With at least 55% of videos viewed on mobile devices running under 5 minutes, short video is ideal for smartphone users. For instance, if you know that your intended audience – say, millennials – will most likely watch your video on their phone, you’ll want to keep your videos short so they’ll finish them. Use brief videos to relay a quick message, focusing concisely on just one or two concepts.

Shareable Content

Short videos are optimal for creating shareable content intended for social media engagement. According to Single Grain, 92% of mobile users share videos, so focus on producing pieces that are entertaining, relatable and interesting. Tease your audience with something that piques their curiosity, leaving them eager for more. This helps to help create brand awareness and encourages users to distribute your videos.

Android’s “Friends Furever” is an excellent example of shareable content in the form of a short video. In just one minute, Android hooks the viewer’s attention with adorable animal friends. The brand nailed it by creating shareable content that quickly went viral, receiving a staggering 29 million views on YouTube. Though the touching content is unrelated to technology, it flashes a short message and the Android logo at the end. This boosts brand awareness as it rockets across the Internet. Viewers were encouraged to share this video because it appeals to emotions all humans share and connect through.

Explainer Videos

Short videos work great for an easy-to-explain product or service. In this case, it is not necessary to drag an explainer out. Keeping explainer videos concise allows you to compete effectively for all those short attention spans.

This Visually video is a great short explainer. In under 90 seconds, the short animation uses aesthetically pleasing animated graphics to quickly capture the viewer’s attention, and keep it through the very end. It’s effective because is efficiently relays the purpose and goal of the company in an easy-to-understand format. A few descriptive words with big fonts effectively outline Visually services. You shouldn’t need more than 90 seconds to explain your product or service – any longer and you’ve lost your viewer.

How-To’s

A short video is ideal if you’re interested in creating How-To videos. The How-To format shows the viewer how to accomplish a task or reach some sort of goal.

Saveur Magazine’s “How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds” aptly accomplishes its mission in one quick minute. They use the title to immediately let the viewer know that it will be a short, concise video. The chef successfully offers a useful kitchen hack in a way that draws the viewer in. The point is to ask little of the viewer’s time to get them willing to invest in your content.

Product Demos

If you want to demonstrate your product in video form, short videos are your best bet. People’s time is valuable; these days, folks are looking for a quick learn. As a marketer, your challenge is to engage your viewer, spark their curiosity, and persuade them to make a purchase. By showcasing how your product would specifically benefit the customer, the decision to invest becomes clear. The faster this is achieved, the better. You want to impress and influence your audience in a snap.

Apple’s product demos always rise above the rest, often due to gorgeous video and captivating graphics. The product demo for the iPhone 7 is proof that effective demos can be comprehensive, yet intriguing in just over two minutes. The tech giant is able to convey a lot of information about the new product, while featuring iPhone users employing new features and its operating system. The demo is effective because viewers can “see” various tools, like the new camera. The video has over 24 million views on YouTube. Clearly, Apple hit a home run here, inciting curiosity and drawing in a wide audience primed to learn what the newcomer can do.

Long Videos

Since “long” is a relative term, we’ll define long videos as exceeding three minutes. For the average, busy individual, videos longer than three minutes are a small investment of time. You need to make clear that your video is worth taking the time to watch in full. Ask yourself, what would guarantee that my audience will find my video important and interesting enough to watch all the way through? For long videos, you want to lock in your viewers’ attention and hold it.

Since it is more difficult to retain your viewer’s attention for longer videos, it is critical that you focus on the content of the video. You should create long videos for complex ideas that need a lot of explaining. If you want to provide a lot of information with the intent to entertain or persuade, consider lengthening your video. This will allow you to go more in depth with your topic and explain with attention to detail.

Inspirational Content and Emotional Storytelling

Extending the length of your video is smart when it comes to producing inspirational content and emotional stories. For this type of video, you want to flesh out the background and story to create a full understanding of the situation. With more time, you can build the content and really pull at your audience’s heartstrings, making them emotionally attached to your idea. If your intention is to inspire, you can utilize added minutes to expand on your story to enhance the experience and connect to viewers.

Green Buzz Agency’s “Ocean’s Call” serves as an excellent example of longer inspirational content. In twelve minutes, the video fully explains Claire’s background and story. The length is effective because the video was shown at an event, where people were seated and attentive. The viewer is able to move through a background story and a turning point in Claire’s life. The video shows passion, love, and generosity. These are strong cues that are developed throughout the video and encourages the viewer to feel inspired by Claire’s will and strength.

Documentary Videos

The best documentaries have some length. This is because they are nonfictional stories that are usually told in full. They often are created to share a story, educate, and persuade. Good documentaries feel real, intimate and are well composed. It takes time to fully develop a story that includes all the important details and facts. Documentaries can range from a few minutes, to a few hours, to a few episodes. Determine your documentary length by assessing what is important to include and how long to expand on each detail. Don’t rush through your story, but don’t drag it out to unnecessary lengths. Find that sweet spot of length that adequately covers all your information.

Square’s documentary “Yassin Falafel” tells a moving story in just over eight minutes. The content is socially relevant – a Syrian refugee pursuing the American dream – and follows the entrepreneur’s life in the U.S. This Webby award winning documentary would have felt rushed if it was any shorter, or it may have been forced to exclude crucial details.

Data-Heavy Video

Videos that are data-driven should usually be a bit longer. When making claims, especially scientific ones, it is important that they are supported by quantitative facts. Viewers who are uneducated about your topic benefit from in-depth explanations that make your points clear and give you credibility.

“Network Earth” exemplifies a longer video that is data-heavy and fact driven. It describes some of Earth’s environmental networks and the effect of climate change on those networks and species across the globe. The video visualizes the very real, massive consequences of climate change. At five minutes in length, the video displays research in a manner that is easy to understand by a general audience.

Summary

When creating videos, it is important to take length into consideration to optimize quality and effective storytelling. Determine length by categorizing the video and paying attention to your target audience and context of distribution. A video’s length affects its impact, so be sure to get the most out of your minutes.

Emily Herman contributed to this post.

360 Video: A Round View For A Round World

360-video is rapidly evolving and gaining popularity. A video technique that gives the viewer an in-action feel, 360-video is great for real estate showings, travel content, documentaries, concerts, professional sports and more.

At its simplest form, 360-video allows brands to insert their viewers into an experience. It gives you the feeling that you are right there, or looking over the shoulder of the scene as it unfolds. Anyone can learn the technique to make a 360-video, but not everyone uses the format most effectively.

Core Message

Before deciding to make a 360-video for your brand or company, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Why am I using 360-video format? Do you want to increase viewer engagement, message retention, or expand your creation possibilities? Then 360-video might be a good marketing strategy. However, keep in mind that the technique is fairly new and will take longer to film, edit, and master.

2. What’s the desired impact? Whether it is to showcase products, promote destinations, or otherwise bring your audience into your world, 360-video is a great way to make your audience feel inspired and ready to take action.

3. What visuals do I want? 360-video gives the viewer the sense they are really in the world of the video. That means you’ll want to use the format to take your viewer on an experience. For example, if you are going to show a promotional video for an African safari, a 360-video could be a great option to immerse your audience in the experience.

Target Audience

As far as video production, marketing, advertising, or writing goes, you need to know your target market. Take the time to really consider if 360-video is a logical method to successfully reach them. Keep in mind that the format has not been around long, relative to other videography techniques, so you have a higher chance of catching the attention of a trendy, tech savvy young adult. It is important to be familiar with your different social media platforms to ensure that your audience is there. Outside of social media, conferences are a great place to debut a 360-video. Conference attendees are open to out-of-the-box experiences, and may be more willing to explore new media.

This REI campaign exemplifies a successful use of 360 video. Their campaign was aimed to target multicultural millennials. What better way to catch millennials’ attention than to use hip 360-video? REI documented eight artists working on installations in the three cities with the goal of making the outdoors more accessible to young urbanites. The 360-video format allows the viewer to experience the art first hand, over the shoulders of the artists at work. Viewers also have the ability to scroll to view different angles of the project, which they wouldn’t have access to with the traditional narrative of video marketing content.

Visual Strengths

Before diving into a 360-video project, you should know the format’s visual strengths. If your content will not meet the needs of the 360-video, it is likely that you will produce a lifeless, anti-climatic, video campaign that is more effort than it’s worth. Yes, it will be a 360-video, but will it deliver the message effectively?

If there is a singular point of action and no reason to explore other angles, it is probably not suited for 360-video. If your content will require a lot of movement and a lot of cuts, it will probably not make a good 360-video. However, if you want to give people the feeling that they’re there and let them see the whole scene, that is good 360-video potential.

Let’s take a look at another effective example. Expedia created a 360-video to entice viewers to vacation to Australia. The monologue and the scenery of the video work well with the 360-video style that brings the viewer the action, adventure, and the “in the moment” feeling. See how Expedia successfully uses 360-video to engage their audience and excite them about a trip to the land down under:

The world is constantly finding new ways to engage consumers. 360-video is a current technique that can pave the way for a memorable brand experience, and keep your message at the top of the consumer’s mind. The format can ultimately increase your viewer’s engagement, click through rate, and shareability of your content. While 360-video is certainly not for every brand, it can produce significant results when used optimally.

Updated on February 10, 2020.

Madison Edwards, Marketing and Communications at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

3 Video Styles to Bring to Your Marketing Plan

Did you know that 59% of executives agree that users are more likely to engage with video than text on a topic of their interest? Or that 52% of marketers believe that video is effective for brand awareness? Needless to say, the opportunities in video marketing are booming. If you aren’t already considering a video marketing plan for your business, now is the time to start.

But where should you begin when planning your video marketing strategy? Explore these themes in your organization, which are proven to make an impact on your consumer:

1. Success stories

2. Tutorials and Explanations

3. User-Generated Content

Success Stories

One of the best ways to promote your business, product, or whatever it may be is through telling your success stories. You can use a paragraph of words to explain why your business is the best, but a video brings the content to life and holds the viewer’s attention more than a written summary. People also tend to value and trust other customer’s opinions more than the brand’s written words.

A great example of this is from Airbnb, a company that has a full video marketing campaign on Youtube. Airbnb’s Youtube channel focuses on showing real stories of people highlighting their trips and stays in Airbnb accommodations. This is a great strategy to reel in someone who is looking to use Airbnb for the first time. Seeing all of the success stories Airbnb has produced will give the viewers the confidence in the brand to turn to them for the next adventure.

Tutorials and Explainers

Another great way to implement video into your marketing plan is to explain or show the “how to” aspect of a product or a new feature using a video tutorial. A quality example of this format comes from Apple, demonstrating what their new iPad Pro has to offer.

Apple presented viewers with an informative text exploring the new iPad Pro and supplemented the text with videos. These videos come to life and highlight the features of the new iPad technology as the viewer scrolls down the page. The videos are intriguing, showing the iPad’s variety of uses to demonstrate the product’s flexibility. People often prefer to learn by being shown how to do something, instead of reading a manual. For that reason, this marketing campaign would not be nearly as efficient without the videos alongside the text.

User-Generated Video Content

User-generated content is beneficial because it helps to develop a brand community by giving customers a platform to share their stories. A customer will feel more connected to the brand if they feel as if they can contribute to the company’s message.

For a great example, check out Target’s video marketing integration. Target curated user-generated content to raise awareness for their corporate responsibility. The company created a video marketing plan to reach out to high school seniors, encouraging them to share videos receiving their college acceptance letters. Target then compiled video content with the best reactions, pulling on America’s heartstrings.

The video ends with this statement: “Every kid deserves this moment. Great schools can get them here.” Not only did Target forge an emotional connection with its customers, but it was also able to subtly advertise its advocacy for accessible education and its donations to K-12 school systems. This video marketing plan contributed to Target’s goal of donating one billion dollars to education by 2015.

Video has become the way people build connection. Whether it is to promote your business, newest campaign, or recent invention, videos are a great tool to implement into your marketing plan. Videos are easier to follow, draw more attention to your page, and pull the viewer in more than a chunk of text.

Video brings curiosity, trust and confidence to your viewer like no other form of advertisement. While video is convenient and efficient for the consumer, video marketing plans also provide marketers with an attractive, versatile and shareable medium to reach their audiences. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get filming.

Updated on February 7, 2020

Madison Edwards, Marketing and Communication at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

The Psychology Behind Video Consumers

The average attention span for consumers is only 8.25 seconds of video, according to Adage. If you want an effective video, that means you need to capitalize on this brief time span. To hook your viewers instantly, first understand the psychology behind video consumers. Then, you can implement strategies that capture and intrigue.

Read on to learn how marketers apply knowledge of consumer psychology to video marketing with techniques that lead consumers to identify with ideas, provoke emotion and drive attitudes and behavior.

Psychology Principles In Marketing

There are a number of psychology principles that will aid in your understanding of how the minds of consumers operate. Here are two effective examples with easy-to-implement strategies.

The Verbatim Effect

The verbatim effect conveys that people tend to primarily remember the general essence of what you publish as opposed to distinct facts or specifics. Therefore, you shouldn’t obsess over a detailed script that overloads your viewer with information. Instead, focus on perfecting video headlines, titles, captions, descriptions and opening/closing shots. Include as much information in these labels as possible, while still being concise. You want to ensure that the takeaway from your video is clear and that the main message is memorable.

Facebook does a good job at emphasizing a clear takeaway in a video about groups. The title for the video is intriguing and summarizes the video while prompting action. The narration is simple but relatable. The opening and closing shots are bookend titles and questions that are succinct but effective. Though viewers might not remember the specific groups that characters in the video joined, the message is memorable: use Facebook to find others with common interests and to find groups to share these with.

The Principle of Social Proof

The principle of social proof occurs when consumers follow actions of those that they like, admire or trust. On blogs and articles, social sharing and follow buttons are key to encouraging individuals to influence their network. A display of an accurate number of shares, comments and views may cause site visitors to follow suit, promoting distribution and further discussion. You may want to consider showcasing your video on a platform where these metrics are visible.

Facebook is also a great platform to encourage your viewers to share photos with their followers. This makes it easier for content to go viral. For example, The Late Late Show with James Corden shares episodes on their Facebook page, which shows the number of likes, comments and shares. Adele’s Carpool Karaoke has currently been shared over 31,000 times and has over 17,000 comments on Facebook. These large numbers make the video appear popular and well-liked, making it more likely for other viewers to watch and share a laugh with friends.

Find What Makes People Tick

Because videos are useful for producing emotional cues—even more so than photos—video marketers should tell a story in a way that reaches consumers’ hearts and minds. Tell stories that are comprehensive and appeal to a broad range of senses.

For some people, your advertisements are persuasive through their presentation of logical, easy to follow facts. But for many other consumers, videos are more powerful when they trigger subliminal cues and evoke particular emotional reactions. Make your video more memorable by utilizing features like locations, audio, and lighting that will appeal to the target audience. Adjust the factors of the video to fit your customer’s needs and wants, such as design, technical aspects, colors, etc.

Other than the design of the video, your overarching narrative themes will produce emotional responses. Pay attention to detail to ensure that certain feelings are internalized after watching your video.

A successful example of persuading through peripheral route is Buzzfeed and Purina’s Puppyhood video which uses cues that appeal to the average dog owner. The video’s backgrounds are familiar to the target audience, as the owner is seen in his home and at locations that other dog owners may frequent, including the pet shop and the park. Viewers can relate to a normal home life with a dog accompanying an owner’s typical daily tasks. Typical puppy mishaps, like destroying household items and making a mess, will resonate with dog owners. The video evokes empathy using relatable comedy.

Furthermore, build direct and personal relationships with your audience. Add an emotional human touch to effectively appeal to pathos (emotions) and logos (logic), turning viewers into paying customers.

RELATED: How To Make A Video

Target emotional soft spots for your viewers. For example, cute animal videos tend to be successful even if they have nothing to do with the product. A heart-warming Green Buzz video that targets emotions is the Love Has No Labels campaign for Ad Council, spreading acceptance and cherishing love in all forms.

Dove’s Real Beauty campaign is another example of persuasion by appealing to ethics and emotional connection. Dove presents stories about embracing natural beauty and encouraging confidence among women. This campaign successfully revived the brand by altering perceptions and the definition of beauty.

Summary

Incorporating knowledge of the psychology behind consumers into video marketing is a foolproof way to reach the target market and increase ROI. Determine what makes people tick, be authentic, and appeal to emotions.

Updated on February 12, 2020.

Sophia Gribbs, Marketing at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

What Is An Instagram Video View?

Video on Instagram is more important now than ever. Instagram rolled out features like Stories, live video, and direct video messaging all within a few months. Instagram’s total base amasses over 1 billion users, as of January 2020. And, as of 2020, 500 million people use Instagram Stories every single day.

With all of this success, the company has continued to expand its video capabilities. So, how are people using Instagram video? And, more importantly, how can marketers weave Instagram video into their marketing plans?

Instagram And Video

Instagram video was first introduced in 2013. The original videos were capped at 15-seconds, but the videos have since been lengthened to 60-seconds. In 2016 especially, Instagram video innovation took off. Most of its newest innovations are similar to Snapchat’s content sharing features.

Instagram Stories were released in 2016. The Stories feature allows users to capture as many images and videos as they want to share with their followers. The photos or videos are then uploaded and stored in an icon at the top of the users’ feeds. Story content remains in the user’s Story for 24-hours until it is deleted. Sounds like Snapchat, doesn’t it?

Instagram Stories from Kelly Brogan MD on Vimeo.

The app is integrating its own — albeit similar — Story effects. Stickers and text can be applied to recorded or captured content that users can personalize. Instagram is further embracing the Snapchat model by integrating “Geostickers” into its Story sticker collection.

Measuring Instagram Video

Marketers are noticing the pull of audiences to Instagram video and are investing time — and money –– in paid video ads to reach them. Funneling this effort in isn’t cheap, so how can you determine the campaign’s payoff?

Video views are often the most reliable way of measuring online engagement. This form of measurement has been made much easier for marketers following the release of the video views feature. For a video to get a view, a user has to watch the video for at least three seconds. You can get multiple views from the same user as long as each time your video loops, they watch at least three seconds of it. In fact, watching your own Instagram video for longer than three seconds counts as a view, too.

In order to get video views, the video has to be watched on the Instagram app. Any views on posts outside of the app, such as videos embedded into blog posts or shared on other social media platforms, do not apply to your video view count.

“View counts have provided an ideal means for brand marketers for improvement.” (TG Daily)

Video view counts go beyond the number of watches, though. You can tap on the number of video views underneath a post, where the likes would normally be. After you tap, you can see who liked the post listed below. Though you’re given the number of times viewed and who liked the post, there still isn’t an exact science to determine how many times specific a user viewed the video, or who the viewers who didn’t like the post are.

This all changes with Instagram Stories. Instagram Stories allow you to see how many times your video was viewed and who watched it. Marketers can get a better idea of their interacting audience by having a more precise understanding of their viewers.

Executing A Successful Instagram Video Campaign

Using Instagram Stories is always a good method to consider in developing an execution strategy for your marketing plan. Where Instagram posts are often staged and edited with thorough attention, Instagram Stories have a more natural and authentic feel. The casual, off-the-cuff vibe Instagram Stories exude can make your brand more relatable to your audience. Younger generations are distrusting of advertising, so using the imperfect Story format can improve their trust levels with you. Use Instagram Stories to showcase your realness.

When creating an Instagram video — or Instagram post of any kind, for that matter — you need to think about hashtags. Hashtags can be extremely beneficial tools in crafting your video post. On average, hashtags increase chance of engagement by over 12 percent. Consider creating your own branded hashtags as well. In fact, 70 percent of the most popular Instagram hashtags are branded.

Hashtags, and tagging in general, can be a great way to check in with influencers and reach out to their followers. Using influencer marketing can often be a great way to get your brand out there. Influencers’ followers are extremely loyal and trusting of the influencer. If an influencer says they trust a product, the followers may perceive it as trustworthy as well.

“The visual-centric platform is known for its high engagement, and social videos are just as important here as they are on other platforms.” (Agorapulse)

There are also certain post logistics you should take into consideration. The best times to post on Instagram are Mondays and Thursdays, between 8-9am. Other best times include 5pm and any hour from 9pm to 8am. Around 7pm on Wednesdays can also be successful. But, generally posts that are published at 9pm get, on average, 34 percent more engagements. Sunday is usually a day of lowest engagement on Instagram, and posting any day between 3-4PM is not recommended. This isn’t always the case, though. Different brands mean different audiences. Each audience is unique, so what works for them may not work for you.

If you’re not getting the desired results, you can always consider paying for an Instagram ad. They may not be free, but that doesn’t mean they won’t pay off. Instagram ads can lead to getting more views more quickly than posting on your own page alone. Ads can open up to new audiences who may not already be following your page.

Summary

The most important thing in creating your Instagram video is remembering who you are. The key to creating a successful campaign and capturing an audience is in knowing your brand, regardless of your advertising outlet. Audiences can see right through hollow, pandering ads. Make sure your content reflects who you really are.

Updated on December 10, 2020

Katie Murray, Marketing and Communications at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

Marketing For Startups: What We Learned At Collision Conference

After attending Collision Conference in 2017, not only did we learn more about robots to live video, but we also got to talk with startups about their marketing strategies. We learned what they found challenging, what was successful, and what advice they have for other startups struggling with their marketing plans.

Here’s what they had to say.

Tips From Travis Murdock, Atlas Informatics

Travis, CMO at Atlas Informatics, finds credibility in third-party testimonials. Coverage from media relations with journalists and trusted influencers has been the best marketing tool for the company.

In addition, search engine optimization (SEO) and social visibility are crucial to marketing success. SEO is critical in determining your place in promoted search options, especially as a startup with a limited digital footprint. All messages are carefully crafted and targeted, especially through search engines and on Facebook. Specialized content is what drives engagement, along with tagging third-party influencers, which leads to more inbound linking.

“Around 90 percent of web sessions start with a search.” (Travis, Atlas Informatics)

They also see extreme value in video. The explainer video on the Atlas Informatics home page is the most clicked link on the site. The video is compelling and gets straight to the point, without bogging users down with information overload. A brief breakdown of the product keeps viewers engaged without boring them.

Introducing Atlas Recall: Your searchable index of everything you see across all your devices and apps. pic.twitter.com/pJDou4WoEz

— Atlas Informatics (@discoveratlas) November 2, 2016

You can find Atlas Informatics on Twitter and Facebook.

Tips From Cecilia Haynes, Help Scout

Cecilia from Help Scout says her marketing strategy lives up to the “help scout” name. She emphasizes the importance of investing time into your customers and providing the best service possible. Better service and a stronger customer relationship leads to greater revenue. She has also found that word-of-mouth does well in fostering that customer loyalty as well.

Cecilia believes that video can be an effective marketing tool. It helps draw attention to your brand, helping you elevate yourself with the details. It’s visually appealing and compelling, which helps startups and small businesses attract more attention. Not only can you convey a lot through video, but you can also get a large amount of content through it.

Just one video post can lead to write-ups, reviews, transcript, blog posts, infographics, and the list continues. Video provides you will so much material to brand your startup, and gives you flexibility in shaping that material to match certain formats.

Cecilia finds the greatest success in continuing to strengthen relationships with customers, through social media and video. You can find Help Scout on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Tips From Rachel Koretsky, Upace

Rachel, founder of Upace, stressed the importance of having knowledge about your market and product when building your startup. She found that having a fully developed product and greater understanding of the market made her marketing strategy more successful. Startups need to understand their brand and purpose before entering the market. Knowing your brand ensures that you can find members that believe in your product and create a loyal customer base.

Word-of-mouth is incredibly effective. Creating a conversation builds user loyalty. Rather than simply pushing her product, Rachel showed users the benefits, proving how it can actually help them in their everyday lives.

Rachel also found success in content marketing on different social media platforms. She provides content for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. The most important aspect of this kind of marketing though? Specializing the content.

The most successful strategy is in personalizing the content for each outlet. She doesn’t post the same media on all accounts. Most of her Instagram posts are videos of users exercising, while her Facebook posts are more content oriented, like blogs and infographics. This content is always specialized to what her followers want to see, whether its recipes or workout tips.

Personalization is the backbone of a successful social media marketing strategy.

You can find Upace on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Tips From Obi Omile & Kush Patel, theCut

Obi and Kush from theCut — an app that connects barbers to clients — had similar advice to Rachel’s. They agreed that having a good product is necessary before you begin marketing your startup. You need to be solving a real need that appeals to your potential users.

“Connecting the best barbers with clients who need them.” (theCut)

They found that one of their most successful marketing strategies was through word-of-mouth. They were able to spread through word-of-mouth because of their shareable and interactive social media strategy. Obi and Kush use Instagram to repost creative styling they see on the social media platform. This creates a two-way conversation that opens up an opportunity to connect with both clients and barbers.

Reaching out online — through Instagram — was what really pushed their marketing strategy to success. You can find theCut on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Tips From Vince Crisler, Dark Cubed

Vince, founder of Dark Cubed, believes that building a community is crucial for startups. A strong community leads to word-of-mouth awareness and results in user growth. Sharing thoughts with your community, whether through blogs or social media interaction, can also help strengthen that bond. Vince actively uses Twitter as one of his outreach platforms. He is able to communicate quickly and efficiently with his audience in an engaging way.

The Dark Cubed marketing strategy isn’t confined to the online world. Vince often capitalizes on press and public relations events, like Collision Conference. Meeting people on the floor gives the brand a face, a person users can feel comfortable communicating with.

“What would happen if we thought about cyber security as a resource problem instead of a technology problem?” https://t.co/2CHu6U4jTS

— Dark Cubed (@DarkCubedCyber) May 5, 2017

Like Atlas Informatics, Vince agrees that having an explainer video has been helpful in marketing his product. Being able to clearly outline product features and capabilities through video helps increase engagement among users.

You can find Dark Cubed on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

TLDR:

1. Do not underestimate the power of word-of-mouth for startups.

2. Have a finished product before you start marketing.

3. Know your market and audience.

4. Use explainer videos to build brand awareness.

5. Build your community.

Updated on February 7, 2020

Katie Murray, Marketing and Communications at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.

Video Marketing With Snapchat

It’s fun. It’s quirky. It disappears. And, the kids love it! Snapchat has been a popular app since its release in 2011. The app has evolved significantly over the years, adding features like video, filters, Stories, and Lenses. During Snapchat’s growing success, advertisers have taken it under their wings as a new marketing tool, an effort to reach the elusive Generation Z market.

But, does it really work? How can you successfully market within a limited 24-hour video window? Snapchat’s continually expanding features have made that possible.

Geofilters

Geofilters are one of the fundamental forms of marketing you can use on the app. The magic of marketing with Geofilters is that they are concentrated within a specific region — like a city, national park, or university campus — inside of a Geofence. This helps marketers, because it allows for more direct targeting among potential consumers based on location.

The price of your Geofilter is based on the size of your Geofence. Depending on how large your Geofence is, your Geofilter could cost as little as $5.00. Geofilters are a great tool for small businesses. They’re affordable, easy to make, and locally based. Geofilters can also help raise audience awareness of your location. If a Snapchat user is swiping through the filters and happens to see yours, they now know that your business is somewhere within their general area, and it must have some social significance.

“For events or companies that operate on a smaller scale (and budget) on-demand geofilters are an effective way to try and leverage some of Snapchat’s growth.” – Gabriel Shaoolian (Forbes)

There are two types of Geofilters: Community and On-Demand. Community Geofilters are cost-free, but logo-free. They’re used for general community spaces, like city landmarks and colleges. Community Geofilters make it almost impossible for branded advertisement, so On-Demand Geofilters are a much better option.

With On-Demand Geofilters, you can create your own filter to promote your business, specials, or events. Non-corporate users sometimes create On-Demand Geofilters for weddings, parties, or birthdays as a fun way for attendees to interact with social media. For businesses, it can be used creatively to display logos and graphics that promote your brand. The artistic element to creating a Geofilter is a great way to show off your brand’s personality and technical capabilities as well.

To review, a Washington, D.C. filter is a Community Geofilter, while a Smithsonian filter is an On-Demand Geofilter. Just remember, Community is unbranded, and On-Demand is branded.

You can make Geofilters using Snapchat templates. The Snapchat design webpage provides Photoshop and Illustrator formats to guide you in the design process. But, if Photoshop and Illustrator aren’t your style, there are other programs available to help you create your designs.

Pepper Filters has templates you can use as a foundation and then add graphics and text, but each design costs $4.99 to download. If you’re looking for a free program, Picmonkey is always a great graphic design tool. It’s easy to use and offers step-by-step guides on how to make your own Geofilter with their platform.

After creating and submitting your Geofilter, you then draw your Geofence. When drawing a Geofence, it’s important to remember who you want your ad to target. Draw your fence too wide, and you’re wasting money. Geofilters can be as wide as 5,000,000 square feet, but have to be at least 20,000 square feet.

Lenses

One of Snapchat’s hottest features is its Lenses. Snapchat Lenses have been available on the app since September 2015. Lenses are an augmented reality (AR) based program that uses facial recognition to apply animated filters to users’ faces. Lenses have become extremely popular, turning users into dogs or putting their faces on the Mona Lisa. The possibilities with Lenses are endless.

“Since [the launch of Lenses], we’ve become puppies, puked rainbows, face-swapped with our best friends — and begun to explore how Lenses can change the world around us.” (Snap, Inc.)

The success of Lenses has led to a rise in Sponsored Lenses. Companies from a variety of sectors have submitted their own animations to be used as a marketing tool. Companies like Starbucks, MAC Cosmetics, FOX, Taco Bell, and Michael Kors have sponsored Lenses on the app, turning users into tacos and giving them makeovers.

Sponsored Lenses are expensive, which is why most are bought by large-scale companies. The cost of Lenses can range from $300,000 to $750,000 a day, depending on which days of the week the Lens runs through, how long the Lens will run, and if the Lens is around any sort of holiday or big event.

Snapchat Lenses continue to grow, providing more opportunity for businesses to use it as a marketing platform. In April 2017, Snapchat announced the introduction of World Lenses. World Lenses are a form of AR technology. Where the original Lenses relied mostly on the front-facing camera and facial recognition, World Lenses are used with the rear-facing camera and animate the user’s environment without the need of facial recognition.

The introduction of World Lenses brings with it opportunities for expansions on Sponsored Lenses. World Lenses could become a new format for marketers — especially big name business marketers — to use, possibly within as soon as a few weeks or months. Just imagine, Sponsored Lenses for superhero movies with animated explosions. Sponsored Lenses for the Super Bowl with footballs being tossed across the screen. Only time will tell how advertisers integrate Sponsored World Lenses into their marketing plans.

Stories

Stories are ways for Snapchat users to communicate with each other without cluttering their followers’ direct messages. Stories are a collection of a user’s videos or pictures that are shared on a feed page. Marketers have been sharing content on their own Stories through either their own accounts, or through Discover Stories.

Discover Stories have their own feed on the Snapchat app. Most of the Discover Stories advertisers are a constant fixture on the page. Companies like Mashable, Cosmopolitan Magazine, CNN, and Daily Mail update their Discover Stories consistently and often. These types of Stories can be very successful for big company marketing strategies, too. Rather than showing a minute long spot, advertisers can break down the ad into six 10-second consecutive clips that viewers can click through to view the content. This type of messaging is referred to as sequential messaging. The ad may be split up, but the narrative remains fully intact.

“With Facebook mobile, you’re still scrolling up and down through a feed, whereas with Snapchat, yes, you are still scrolling, but it’s a little more real estate, and it’s a little more of a controlled experience.” – Lisa Cucinotta (Adweek)

There are different types of Discover Stories ads. Each option includes 10-second videos, but there are four interactive elements a marketer can choose from.

Article: These are mostly text heavy, but can also include images or image galleries.
App Install: This form is used to entice viewers to download an app, but does not leave the Snapchat platform.
Long-Form Video: The Long-Form Video includes longer video content played back all at once.
Web View: Web View redirects viewers to a “pre-selected, pre-loaded mobile webpage.”

One way of measuring the success of these videos is by measuring the number of times a user “swipes up” to view the sponsored content.

Snap Spectacles

Snap Spectacles are fairly new to the market. They look like sunglasses, but have cameras in the corners of the glasses frames. The cameras can record Snapchat videos in real time and instantly add them to the viewer’s Snapchat Story.

Spectacles can be a great tool for influencer marketing, even if they are relatively expensive for the average user. Since the glasses are worn and recorded from a first-person perspective, they can provide a Story watcher an immersive experience. Watchers can feel as though they are there, witnessing the recorded video in person.

The first-person perspective can also help marketers in creating an inside look at the company. Viewers can see for themselves what a company is really all about. It creates a sense of complete transparency, which can help build brand trust.

How To Use It

Snapchat is real, raw, and unscripted. That’s why it appeals to younger audiences. Younger demographics have a deep distrust of advertising. Through a casual app like Snapchat, you can position yourself as a relatable user. Snapchat even allows for influencer marketing. By working with a popular Snapchat user, you can increase your brand recognition amongst their followers.

But, how do we measure the campaign success of Snapchat marketing?

Snapchat has recently introduced a program called Snap to Store. Snap to Store is an app that marketers can access that measures the success of their campaigns in relation to location. The app is Geofilter driven, based solely on actual brick-and-mortar location visits. Snap to Store allows marketers to assess whether or not they are bringing consumers to their physical store, or driving them away.

The app works like this: a company purchases a Sponsored Filter or Lens. A Snapchat user applies the Sponsored Filter or Lens on-location and shares the Snap via direct message or through Stories. Snap to Store tracks the followers who viewed the Snap. Then, Snap to Store determines whether or not followers who viewed the Snap visited the location as well.

Because Snap to Store only measures visits to a physical location, the measurements aren’t perfect. It also doesn’t take much consideration into the breadth of the Geofilter. Someone who used the Sponsored Filter or Lens may not be at the store at all. They could be in a nearby location, where the range of the Geofilter reaches.

Summary

Overall, Snapchat is an innovative medium for video marketing that is constantly evolving. Sponsored features are sure to emerge as new user features do. Snapchat, along with other social media apps, is expected to continue experimenting with different types of virtual and augmented reality to strengthen the app’s brand as a tech-forward platform.

Updated on February 14, 2020.

Katie Murray, Marketing and Communication at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.