If you are hoping to create some quality contacts and long-term customers, online video marketing the way to go. More people are viewing videos online now than ever before, and companies that use video to market themselves are reaping the benefits. Here are just a few of the many ways you can benefit by adding online video to your marketing mix.

1: People are Using Videos as Search Engines

Recent surveys demonstrate that 78% of all internet users watch a video at least once per day, and more than half of them watch a video every day. People are using their YouTube channels like social media feeds, and stopping to view online videos is becoming part of the online routine. If you ignore online videos, you are essentially turning your back on a resource used by billions of people every day.

Video is already an important tool for marketing, and that has translated through to online marketing. In the UK we consume over 280 million hours each month and that figure is still growing. For the SME, I believe that strong video can give any business the upper hand in attracting more sales and brand awareness. There are still many, many, SMEs who are yet to take the plunge into online video, and this represents a huge opportunity for those that do to get ahead of the competition.

From a search marketing point of view, YouTube is the second largest search engine out there, second only to it’s owner, Google. YouTube can be a much more achievable route to getting to those top ranking positions on Google simply because there is less competition, yet they share the same search results. It’s a massive opportunity to those who take the initiative.

 - Alex Minchin is the Managing Director of Zest Digital Ltd, a leading digital marketing agency based in Oxfordshire. Zest are specialists at creating online market leaders out of ambitious SMEs, to help them generate more business from the Internet.

2: Video Hosting Services have become Search Engines

YouTube is the second most popular place for online searches as of 2013. It is only supplanted by Google, which bought YouTube a short while ago and has fully integrated that video service into its own features. When people perform online searches, they aren’t going to alternatives to Google – they are going directly to video services such as YouTube and Vimeo. If you want to tell people about your products and services, you need to have a presence there so people will find you on their searches.

3: Video and Social Media are Easily Integrated

Online video marketing these days is made easier by the fact that video hosting services allow users to easily share what they have seen. Google has fully integrated YouTube into its search results, and every popular video service has a way to quickly and easily share individual videos with friends on any of the major social networks. Furthermore, social network feeds allow videos to play right from the status update, meaning that your online video marketing can reach anybody anywhere.

4: Your Creativity can Come Through

While larger businesses do definitely have an advantage in online video marketing due to more resources and high production values, small-scale videos go viral every day by just presenting something clever, unusual, or funny. If you are a creative person or work with a good team of marketers, you should be able to produce something that will not only compete with larger businesses, but may catch wildfire on the Internet and turn you into an overnight success story.

5: You can Establish your Identity

Text and graphics can only go so far, and online video marketing allows you to move beyond those limitations. When you produce an online video, you can set the personality of your business, your customers, and your employees. Through careful production, you can determine exactly how you and your products or services are perceived by others. This allows you to establish a brand identity more easily than ever before.

Never before has there been a better time to use Video for your business. As our lives get busier – video offers a fast route to the information your customers are looking for. Instead of trawling through paragraphs of text you can now very easily include your information within a dynamic video – available 24 hours a day throughout the world. Produced correctly – your video will help your identity stand out from your competitors, providing your customers with a more personal experience.

- Clark Wiseman is a Director at Studio8 Video and Photography, Oxford.

6: Fast and Effective Feedback

Once you have posted a video, it’s very easy to determine whether it can be considered a success or not. All of the mainstream video sharing services have the equivalent of YouTube’s thumbs up/thumbs down buttons that determine whether somebody liked what you produced. Additionally, it is very easy to leave a comment, meaning that you can get feedback directly from your customers without having to rely on marketing surveys or other vague analytics.

7: You can Monetize your Marketing

Hosting services offer different ways to monetize your video, with options including on-screen banners or ad rolls before and after a video. You can take this opportunity to link your product with other services that users might be interested in, making money through your monetization options as well as your online video marketing techniques. This can also help establish a stronger brand identity for your company.

8: You can Link your Video to your Products

Online video marketing allows you to post links directly to your product page, either in the description section or as an on-screen blurb. You can even give your customers choices of where to go next at the end of a video. This allows you to maximize the chance that your customers will make an impulse buy and once again gives you an opportunity to customize the buying experience, turning your online store into something memorable.

85% more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video and spend 100% more time on pages with Videos.

9: Video Lasts Indefinitely

Purchasing print ads or online banners costs a set amount of money over a set period of time. Online video marketing, on the other hand, will last for as long as the hosting service you are using. Given the success of platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, this is effectively indefinite. That means that new customers will be able to see your marketing for years on end. And the more views your video gets, the higher your video will rank in searches.

3 of the key metrics we look at when analysing a website for visitor improvement and engagement are:
Behaviour engagement ( engagement profile )
Visitor flow ( the engagement thru the site )
Time on site ( for core periods 60 – 181 seconds and 181 – 600 seconds)
the purpose of any website is to engage the visitor and get them to form a connection with your business or service
and with greater depth and time of engagement the more likely a visitor will then turn into client.

Visual imagery on website should include:
Strong images
Videos
Employee pics and profiles
and as a result a significant engagement factor of up to 30% for improvement in engagement and conversion to a client.

Think about the BBC website although heavily content lead, each page has a strong image (57% of the time a face) and then as a second phase element a video (typically 30 seconds – 2 min 40 seconds in length) to to reinforce the written content.

Visual marketing is without doubt a key element of businesses digital world.

Chris Jones is the Owner of Glooo Web Analytics and Monitoring services.

10: Video is Cost Effective

You can set an online video marketing presence for yourself with a few simple clicks. Accounts on popular hosting sites cost nothing to set up and are very inexpensive when it comes to advanced options. You can reach people on computers, tablets, and smartphones with the only real cost being whatever your production budget is. And since props, costumes, and sets can be reused, your costs will go down over time while your views will go up.

These are just a few of the many reasons to use online video marketing to establish your company’s presence. No other option today offers as easy a way to establish your identity, reach millions of potential customers, and keep your costs at a minimum.

If you are interested in working with Studio8 on your next Video Production, please get in touch or call us on +44  01865 842525

A brief guide to composing images using the Rule of Thirds

We’ve all happened across that perfect moment where everything just fits together. We capture the moment and move on. But on looking back at the image we find ourselves feeling somewhat deflated as the scene we photographed lacks the impact that made us take the photo in the first instance, it lacks good composition. Composition is a vital component to creating a visually interesting image and the rule of thirds is one of it’s tools. You don’t have to own an expensive DSLR; whatever camera you use, the rule of thirds can be applied to any image you take.

The rule of thirds is a guideline which many photographers use as an effective way of placing subject elements in the frame. It is a simple process to use and soon after applying it you will find that you automatically frame your images this way. For the rule of thirds to work we must visualise the diagram below in the frame/image.

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This grid will help you place your subject and frame it within the image resulting in a pleasing photograph. You should place your subject where the lines intersect, more commonly on the right hand side, but you don’t have to live by it. You will often see, if a close up portrait is taken using a landscape format that the subject will intersect on on these lines and usually the eyes will be arranged on one of the intersections. Visually this looks better and if there is an interesting background behind the subject, this can be captured as well.

Landscape photographers will often use the rule of thirds. When composing an image of a landscape scene you should refrain from always framing the shot with the horizon line in the middle, this makes for a bog-standard image that can be quickly forgotten – of course there are exceptions. It is better to shoot using the rule of thirds and place the horizon on one of the imaginary horizontal lines, you’ll either have two thirds sky and one third land – which works well when shooting a particularly colourful sky – or two thirds land – use this if the sky lacks depth or when the land has very interesting subject matter.

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Rather than being an exact science to taking great images, it is a guideline that we should use to make us think about how we compose our images. When using the rule of thirds, we stop and take in the scene, we compose with the rule of thirds, if it works then great. But if you feel the subject would be better centred then go for it. You have considered the options and used the composition you think works best rather than just pointing our camera and pressing click.

5  family photography tips

We’ve all been there where we’ve taken photos of our family in the park, only to discover afterwards that the images didn’t turn out as we would’ve hoped. Here are some helpful tips and ideas on how to capture the best family portraits we can.

• Location, location, location!

Outdoors is always best as you can make use of the natural light available. Your garden, parks and beaches are great places to take photos. The expansive area can give you a lot of interesting settings and props to work with.

•  Use props

Almost anything from toys to benches can be used as props. If you are outside, trees and swings are great props. Stairs and sofas are good choices if you are taking photos in your home. Making use of props is a excellent way of making your family feel comfortable in front of the camera and creates a natural image.

• Brave the weather

Its very easy for us to look outside and think “Oh it’s too cold, let’s just stay inside”. Wrap up warm, dress everyone up in their hats and scarfs and out you go. On a cold, cloudy day the light is perfect for portraiture as the sun is diffused by the clouds. Don’t stay out too long if it’s really cold!

• Get in close

Close up portraits of your kids can give great impact to an image. Full length shots can show action but if the light is good than get in close. Do this when you are taking the photos – there is a huge difference between photographing a close up and cropping the image afterwards. And you don’t always have to concentrate of faces either!

• Have fun

One of the most important things to remember, have fun while you’re capturing these special moments of your family. Let the kids play and fool around and get involved. This makes it more fun for everyone, you don’t want it to become a chore for everyone as your family won’t enjoy it and neither will you.

We’ve got some great Easter Offers for you plus a lovely competition.

Win a Family Photo shoot this Easter

We’ve hidden a Golden Egg on the site – all you need to do is find it and tell us the secret code word written on it for your chance to win. Enter here.

10% off wedding prices until 1st May

We think having amazing wedding photographs is essential and we’re offering 10% off all our wedding photography packages this Easter – book now for weddings in 2013 / 2014. See prices

Location Family Portraits

As well as our popular studio shoots, we also offer a service where we come to your home or favourite location. Using natural light – this style of photography is stunning in the spring and summer.  Why not plan your shoot today . If you would like to have a chat about the best way to approach this, contact Hannah, Adam or Clark. Check out our location photography page.

DSLR cameras

2013. Photography is now more accessible to the general consumer than ever before. The digital SLR market is so competitive that many entry level cameras start as low as £250. The term ‘weekend photographer’ has grown from an inappropriate name for budding photographers to a worldwide epidemic.

All DSLR cameras will have the standard functions of Auto, Manual, Shutter priority and Aperture priority, as will most Bridge cameras. We all know the auto function; it does what we want the camera to do – most of the time – judge the scene, expose and then capture.

But we are not in control. It’s time to turn the dial from auto to something a little more challenging.

Education

Training in photography is vital to becoming a better photographer. Whether it’s a full time course at university, a 1 day course at the weekend or from watching tutorials online, there is something for everyone. There is no point in spending all that money on a DSLR to have it constantly set on auto.

If you can’t take a year off to study at a university, short photography courses are the next best thing. Full time education can be very time consuming and expensive, short photography courses offered by many companies around the UKare cost effective, reasonable on your time and most importantly they can be tailored to suit your photography requirements. Online tutorials can often be the easy route to take but you cannot ask questions if you do not understand something and they may not show you everything you need to know.

What course to take

Whether you are an absolute beginner or you just need to brush up on your compositional skills there is a course for you. Here is a brief sample of some of the course available to you.

• Introduction to photography or beginner’s photography are the most popular courses due to the amount of DSLR’s purchased. Getting to know your camera is first step to taking great photos. Learn about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Participation in these courses are usually kept to low numbers.
• Some introduction to photography courses will delve into other subjects like composition and lighting. While these may be more intense they will be better value for money and you can come away with a lot of new knowledge.
• 1-to-1 courses normally include all of the beginner’s course information, but you get the tutor all to yourself. You will get to ask any questions you have and work on any particular areas you like with the tutor’s full attention.
• Street photography courses are quite a popular option once you have mastered your basic camera skills. Learn how to capture that special moment before it disappears, you have to see the photograph before it happens. Important areas like composition and lighting are covered in a city environment.
• After you’ve taken your images they are often left sat on your computer never to be seen again. A lot our images may need a little bit of work to brighten them up or change the image to black and white, etc. With a digital workflow course, these topics and many more are covered. It’s important to know what you can do with your images after they’ve left your camera.

Be inspired

Whilst taking these courses will better your photography skills, what may be more important is the opportunity to find inspiration. Talking with professionals and fellow budding photographers can be all that you need to get your creative juices flowing. Armed with a better knowledge of how your camera works – now your mind is not hindered by trying to think of what shutter speed or f stop you need to be using – you’re free to concentrate on the more artistic side of photography.

At Studio8 we offer a range of courses designed for all levels. Please give me a call or drop me a line for more information.

Adam Flynn

Although many people think that having a regularly updated website is enough to ensure online success, they would be mistaken in thinking so. This is because video production has not only become popular; it has become an essential facet for those who want to ensure any form of online success. When it comes to video production, it is important to ensure that you give your visitors top quality content that is engaging as well as informative.

Why Video Production Has Become Important in 2013
Because many readers don’t have the time to read lengthy articles, they usually prefer to watch a video that is short and gets to the point as quickly as possible. While video production is extremely important for your website or other online marketing ventures, it is important to ensure that you spend sufficient time tweaking your video production content to ensure that the content is high quality. This is because there is already an overabundance on poor-quality content online. Once website visitors have seen that your video content is of a high quality, they are more likely to become repeat visitors to your website, which usually results in repeat sales and profits.

Benefits of Online Video Production
When it comes to placing videos on your website, you can be sure that you will encourage visitors to spend more time there, thus reducing your website’s bounce rate. This is because the video will hold their interest for far longer as opposed to just being bombarded with pages and pages of plain text when they land on your site. By optimizing your videos with the relevant titles and descriptions, your video production efforts will pay off because they will cause your website to rank higher than others in the same niche. In some cases, video clips have even been known to go viral online when they are high quality and the correct marketing techniques have been used to promote them.

Increase the Credibility of Your Brand
By engaging in high quality video production for your website, you will be able to increase your brand’s level of credibility. This is because website visitors will feel more at ease when they can see someone explaining the various aspects of the website and its content to them. Although not many businesses have realized the potential of video production as a marketing tool yet, more of them are becoming aware of how beneficial this can be to their online marketing careers. Although there may be a bit of a learning curve involved with video production, it will be well worthwhile. Another option would be to hire someone with experience in video production to do the job if you can’t.

Recreating an In-Store Experience
In the case of online shopping websites, those who are willing to incorporate videos into their site content will be able to recreate the in-store shopping experience for customers who are not able to physically shop in-store. In many instances, customers will be more likely to purchase an item if they are able to see for themselves how it works and how durable it is. Instead of customers having to wade through endless paragraphs of text, they will be able to watch a short video and learn about your latest product within a few minutes. This means that they will be more eager to purchase your products than those of your competitors, which will result in increased sales and profits for your company.

Tips to Help You Create High Quality Videos
While creating video content is important for your website, there are also a few tips and tricks that will ensure that your video production stands head and shoulders above that of your competition. Videos should always be in high resolution so that people can see what is being sold. The sound quality should be as high as possible in order for potential clients to be able to hear what you are trying to say. It is also important to ensure that your video background is as uncluttered as possible so that website visitors are not distracted from your content by irrelevant objects.

Once you have mastered the art of quality video production and implemented it on your website, you will begin to see a significant improvement in the amount of visitors that your website receives.

If you would like to speak to a member of our Video Production team, please call us on 01865 842525 or contact us here.

Getting The Best Christmas Photos

Even if your camera doesn’t come out for months on end, it’s practically guaranteed to be used over the Festive period – who knows you might even be lucky enough to get a new camera for Christmas!

It’s the one time of year when friends and family come together to eat, drink and be merry, and having a photographic record of the special times helps keep the memories alive. With Christmas fast approaching and to avoid disappointment over poor quality photographs, follow these tips.

Think Out Of The Box
Nearly everyone has hundreds of pictures of the kids opening presents on Christmas morning, and when they’re absorbed in a new toy or ripping off paper, they are not going to stop and pose for photographs. Think about capturing other aspects of your Christmas celebration such as decorating the tree, posting letters to Father Christmas or the board games after Christmas lunch rather than focusing just on the present frenzy.

Get on Their Level
As adults, many of us take pictures of our children without really thinking about how high we are in comparison, so we get lots of pictures of the top of their heads or with their face obscured. Sit or kneel down, or lie on the floor if you have to in order to get down to their level and capture those special Christmas moments in all of their beauty.

Don’t Say Cheese
The temptation is always to get everyone to line up or in a very fixed pose, then to look at the camera and smile. The problem with this sort of shot is that you’re not really capturing the essence of the day and there will be no particular memories associated with the photographs. Keep your camera to hand to capture the most important moments such as everyone sitting round the table having dinner, or Dad falling asleep after one mince pie too many. Don’t get people to pose or even to look into the lens; keep it natural.

Light
There’s no need to get overly technical about the light, and many of the modern digital cameras will do most of the hard work for you. Before starting to take photographs, take a couple of test shots to see what the lighting levels are like in the room. Try to avoid situations where your subject is standing right in front of bright lights, or against a very dark background. Take some times to play with your manual settings on your camera to see how the different shutter speeds and settings effect the end photograph.

Take Lots of Pictures
The joy of digital photography is that you can take thousands of pictures and if some are no good, they can simply be deleted. Take four or five shots of everything you are trying to capture, and keep on shooting throughout the day. The more pictures you take, the higher the chances of capturing that special moment. Remember though that you have to enjoy Christmas too, and not just record the events. Know when to put the camera down and when enough is enough, especially with young children.

Have a very Merry Christmas this year and capture the memories with some great photography.

Studio8 also have a wide selection of Photography Shoots available for you and your family in our Portrait Photography Gift Store.

At Studio8 we have a selection of great portrait photography shoots.  Which is the best one for you?

Standard Session

Of all the packages we offer, our Standard Session is by far the most popular. If you are having photos taken as part of a larger family group, or if you have younger children, this is the best package for you. The hour long photo shoot gives us plenty of opportunity to capture everyone in natural, relaxed poses and once the photo shoot is complete you can view your pictures online and choose prints, frames and canvas displays from our wide choice.

Standard Session Plus

If you’ve decided to have a photo shoot done so that you can use the photographs as gifts for friends and family, then the Standard Plus package is the one to go for. The standard plus package still gives you the one hour photo shoot, but in addition you get six prints to keep or give away as gifts. You can also buy additional prints and canvasses if you like.

Mini Session 

As the name suggests, the mini session is shorter than the standard at 30 minutes, so is more appropriate for couples, individuals or small families. If you’re having photos done to celebrate the birth of a child or an engagement, the mini session is the ideal solution. You have the flexibility to buy as many prints as you wish after the session is complete, and we’ll give you a framed print included in the price.

Location Session

If you’ve already got some studio family portraits done, or just want something a little bit different, we are happy to work on location. Pictures taken at home can be more relaxed and informal, and using natural light outside can make for stunning pictures of all the family. We can suggest locations which make good settings for a shoot or are happy to work in your garden or local park. Marking a special event such as a birthday, baptism or wedding with a location shoot means you’ll have beautiful pictures to link with your memories for many years to come.

Party Session

What better way to remember your hen party, graduation or a child’s birthday party than with a party photo shoot? The emphasis in a party session is firmly on fun and informality, so if you are looking for photographs with a group of friends, this is perfect. We can work around themes you have chosen or fancy dress, and we can accommodate groups of up to 15. Once we’ve put your photos online, you can even share them with your friends via our Facebook page.

Buy any of our shoots as a gift voucher in our Portrait Photography Gift Shop or choose vouchers towards any of our shoots.

We create many Videos here at Studio8 for a large mix of different businesses. One thing these businesses share in common is that they understand how important video is to each of us as our online world becomes faster and more visual.

Here’s an Info graphic we put together providing 8 reasons why its good for a business to have an online video these days . . .

Studio8 TV is our Oxfordshire Web Channel dedicated to helping showcase local businesses and promote videos within Oxford.

As a Video Production Company based in Oxford we are focused on creating high quality film and video for businesses in the area and feel having an online channel, where our videos and business videos can be viewed, works great in providing an environment to discover more.

How to get added to the channel

If you are someone from Oxford with a business or story to tell, we would love to hear from you. You can either suggest your existing videos for us to add, request a video crew visit you to create a brand new video or register your interest in having a featured interview by our team.

Get in touch

Online Video is the fastest growing ad format in 2012 with nearly 55% growth – eMarketer

Look out for more updates soon.