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How To Drive More Sales With Strategic Marketing Videos

With the development of new platforms and communication channels over the years, user attention spans continue to shorten because they’re looking for content to keep them engaged. As new sources of information evolve, it’s important that you take advantage of marketing strategies that make your business’s content stand out from the sea of competitors. 

Strategic marketing videos are becoming one of the most effective ways to reach customers because they’re visually appealing and require little to no additional thinking. All the user has to do is watch the video and decide if it’s something they want to engage with. Marketing videos put consumers in the driver’s seat to determine what they want to do with the information you’ve given them.

As exciting as HVAC, solar, IT, or other niche industries may be to you and your business, it’s probably not as thrilling to people outside of the industry—even if it’s a crucial component to their everyday lives. Asking a target audience to sit down and read a well-thought-out blog is a big ask these days, especially if a user is unsure about their intentions or doesn’t have much interest in what you’re trying to convey to them.

While blog posts and social content are valuable components to your marketing strategy, it needs to go further than that. A short, attention-grabbing video brings that same content to target audiences in a quicker and more eye-catching manner. Sales-oriented videos encourage buyers to move through the sales cycle, increasing product sales and boosting client retention.

Throughout this blog, we’re going to touch on how businesses find success and significant returns on investment through video production services. Keep reading to learn:

  • How To Produce an Effective Video Marketing Strategy 
  • 5 Best Types of Sales-Focused Videos
  • Why Are Businesses Turning Toward More Sales Focused Videos?

How To Produce an Effective Video Marketing Strategy 

We all have smartphones now—how challenging can it be to make a short video, right? Answer: it’s not that simple. Video production is more than just putting clips together and posting them to your social media profile. Video production requires an elaborate marketing strategy and implementing best practices to get the most engagement from your target market. Here are some tips on how to produce an effective video marketing strategy: 

Make Videos Short and Concise

You have a lot to say about your company to convince potential customers that your business is the one they need to work with. However, it’s crucial to remember that you can say a lot by saying less. As mentioned previously, user attention spans are short, which means videos need to be brief and to the point while adding significant value. 

What makes your business different from the next? Address that in a one- to two-minute sales video. Videos should only contain the most vital information about your business in three to four key points. These points should pique the interest, wants, and needs of your target audience and stand out among competitors. 

Highlight Customer Pain Points

Customers rarely recognize when something is going well. They generally only have something to say when things are going poorly. Think about it—when was the last time you left a positive Yelp review for a local restaurant or a positive review on an Amazon purchase? Exactly. Users typically only have something to say when a product or service isn’t up to par.

Highlighting customer pain points is a crucial factor in your sales videos because it allows them to know that you hear their concerns and you want to eliminate their problems. Customer pain points are generally universal, so if one customer encounters a problem, many others are probably having similar issues. Touch on these pain points in your sales videos to express that you know these issues occur and you have a plan to overcome them. 

Have a Call to Action

So, you presented a viewer with what your company’s all about—now what? Having a call to action is one of the most crucial steps for increasing sales with video. This guides the viewer to take the next step, whatever it may be. This could be visiting the site, contacting your company for a consultation, and so on. Whatever you want your call to action to be, make sure you explain it at the end of the video so users know what you want them to do with the information provided. 

Be a Creative Storyteller

One of the best things about video marketing is the ability to express your company’s story. Videos allow viewers to put a face or a personality with your business and help them feel more connected even if they have no previous engagement with the company. Being a good storyteller is an effective way to create brand awareness, drive sales, and engage with current and future customers.

Today, marketing your business is more than just promoting your product or service. It’s about the relationships built with clients and how your company has positively impacted other businesses in the area. Storytelling is crucial because it allows your company to create a strong narrative and connects to viewers’ emotions.

Optimize Video Content

Did you know that you can optimize your marketing and sales videos to gain more search engine traction? Posting your video to YouTube and optimizing the video’s page is a great way to direct viewers looking for similar content. Optimizing video content on YouTube could include: 

  • Using keywords in the title and description
  • Tagging your video
  • Creating an engaging thumbnail 
  • And more

Optimizing video content on YouTube is a great way to increase viewer engagement and maximize your product and service sales. 

Understand the Wants and Needs of Your Target Market

Like any other marketing and sales strategy, understanding your target market is crucial. Creating a video that’s suited for anyone and everyone is impossible, which is why it’s necessary to make one that’s specific to a niche group of people. 

Buyer personas change from industry to industry. When developing and distributing a video, it’s vital to consider the following:

  • Who you’re communicating to 
  • What online platform they typically use most
  • What video platforms they use (YouTube, Brightcove, Qumu, Vimeo, etc.)
  • What problems they encounter frequently 

Creating videos just for the sake of creating videos is guesswork and more than likely leaves your hard work and marketing efforts in the dust. Don’t create videos just because everyone else is doing it; do it to reach your target market and increase profits. A deep understanding of your target audience enables you to make meaningful videos that provide value to existing and future customers. 

5 Best Types of Sales-Focused Videos

There are a variety of sales-focused videos to choose from, and it can be challenging to figure out which one is best for your business model. Here are the five best types of sales-focused videos that companies often use to maximize profit: 

TV Commercials

While many marketers believe that the world of TV advertisements is dead, we’re here to tell you that’s not true. TV commercials are a great way to reach a broad audience and establish local recognition. Most sales videos are easily adaptable for any platform, including TV commercials. This is a great market to reach, and there are many strategies your business can develop to increase profits. In addition to having them broadcasted across local stations, these videos can also be posted online and optimized for a more digital audience. 

Marketing Collateral

Marketing collateral videos provide a strong foundation to support the rest of your marketing strategy. These videos can be implemented into your website, social media platforms, and sent via an email marketing campaign. There are many ways to distribute marketing collateral videos and what you want to do with them is up to your discretion. 

Testimonials

With testimonials, the proof is in the pudding. Customer testimonial videos are a great way to reach the emotions of potential customers because it allows them to visualize themselves in the shoes of current customers. If your business produces tremendous success for clients, why wouldn’t you do the same for their business? 

Testimonials are also great for industries looking to recruit new team members. Company culture and having a supportive workplace play a significant factor for people looking to take on a new job. These videos can broadcast how your business supports the individual and their personal and professional growth and display how much your company values its team members. 

Animated Demonstrations

Some industries require further explanation of their process, making showing more efficient than telling—and animated demonstration videos are just the product for that. If your company wants to demonstrate a program, process, or platform, animated videos show viewers how your product or service works. 

When you need further instruction on how to do something, where’s the first place you look? YouTube tutorial videos, right? YouTube is a great place to discover “How To” videos to gain further insight into products and services. These are ideal for new customers and even existing customers who need additional information. This also reduces the number of calls coming in to your support and sales reps to ask how to achieve a task or capability. 

Lastly, animated demonstration videos are efficient for onboarding new clients. The onboarding process for any job is extensive, and animated videos allow new hires to learn at a speed that makes sense for them. Rather than going in and explaining a process multiple times, animated demonstrations allow new hires to learn more effectively. In return, this allows them to learn quicker and promote your business to customers more efficiently. 

Sizzle Reels

Sizzle reels—also known as highlight reels, promo videos, teasers, and demo reels—are promotional videos that showcase your business’s product, service, or company. These videos focus more on catching the eye of viewers than supplying informational content. Many businesses often implement sizzle reels in their B2B sales process because they can pitch their credibility, experience, products, and services in an engaging way.

Why Are Businesses Leaning Toward More Sales-Focused Videos?

More companies are progressing toward sales-focused videos because they’re more than a trend—they’re effective. Today, businesses feel more pressed than ever before to be different and stand out among other companies in similar industries. Here are some reasons why companies implement more sales-focused videos into their marketing strategy: 

Attract More Potential Customers

Sales videos are versatile and customizable, making them a powerful marketing tool for expanding your reach. By using a video to tell your story and visualize your company creatively, viewers are much more likely to take additional actions. 

Targeting your ideal customer requires an in-depth strategy, extensive research, and high-quality content. While not all organizations are the same in their long-term goals and values, it’s important to use video to showcase your company and what it stands for. Strategic marketing videos are so effective that they not only boost sales but also enhance current customer retention. 

Build Brand Recognition

When used correctly, strategic marketing videos provide opportunities to build brand awareness. As your company looks for new infrastructure services or individuals look for a new job opportunity, sales videos increase the likelihood of them remembering your business. Since strategic marketing videos are so visually appealing and eye-catching, they stand out and make your business different from the rest. 

Use for a Variety of Channels

One of the biggest advantages of sales videos is that they can be embedded and shared across multiple channels, from TV to your website to social media platforms. However, it’s important to remember that picking a channel to share your video content depends on your marketing strategy’s goals and resources. Once materials are developed and published, the link is shareable to achieve a higher audience reach. This increases video accessibility and the opportunity to drive sales.

Close Sales

Lastly, and maybe even most importantly, strategic marketing videos close sales. If a prospect is on the fence about partnering with your company, a sizzle reel or a testimonial can be that deciding factor on whether or not they want to sign on the dotted line. Sales videos close sales and turn that on-the-fence prospect into a loyal customer. 

Why Use Video for Business With Abstrakt Studios?

At Abstrakt Studios, we help Midwest businesses like yours reach their marketing goals. Whether you’re looking to drive more sales or optimize your company onboarding, Abstrakt Studios helps develop video content to share your company story. 

We believe every piece of video content has a purpose. Our team is here to help you create successful sales videos and develop long-term sustainable revenue for your business. Abstrakt Studios obtains the passion, tools, experience, and knowledge to help your business grow in ways that you didn’t even know were possible. 

Ready to take on new growth opportunities? We are too. Contact us today to learn how we can be your partner in driving sales through strategic marketing videos!

Why Abstrakt Studios Isn’t Your Average St. Louis Video Production Company

When you start thinking of ways to use video to tell your story, generate business leads, or integrate video into your marketing collateral toolkit, you don’t have the goal of creating something average. So why settle for hiring an average video production company to spread your message? Abstrakt Studios is a St Louis production house that has set itself and our partners apart by producing engaging, creative videos that deliver your message and keep your audience’s attention.

It’s one thing to have a studio designed by a multi-Grammy-winning artist filled with cutting-edge technology (which we do), but we also go above and beyond by staffing it with a team of visionaries dedicated to highlighting what sets you apart. At Abstrakt Studios, we believe an award-winning production team armed with the finest equipment and a proven process ensures each project we take on is a success.

Continue reading this blog to learn why Abstrakt Studios has everything you’ve been looking for in a video production house, including:

  • A State-of-the-Art Audio/Video Studio
  • A Proven Production Process
  • Cutting-Edge Technology and the Know-How To Use It

A State-of-the-Art Audio/Video Studio

Located in the heart of downtown St. Louis on Laclede’s Landing, Abstrakt Studios is home to a soundproof live room that is second to none. Not only does our dedicated studio space have the most advanced equipment available, but it can also accommodate almost any setup imaginable.

Our flexible space is the ideal location for professional video production and audio recording and is the perfect setting for client testimonial videos. What helps set us apart from other production companies is the studio itself and our proven video production process. Our process combines production value with creativity and strategy.

A Team of Video Visionaries

The most advanced studio space, highest-quality equipment, and tried-and-true process all go to waste without a creative, imaginative, and dedicated team to turn your ideas into compelling videos. The team of visionaries at Abstrakt Studios truly cares about creating a strategic partnership with businesses that share our growth-focused mindset.

Our team believes the most incredible storytelling comes from the smallest ideas. That’s why we bring a collaborative approach to video production. A casual comment or funny anecdote from a client can lead to a commercial or collateral video that resonates with your target audience.

Award-Winning Results

The most rewarding part of video production is delivering a product that we are proud of and helps our clients grow. We don’t make videos to win awards; we make them to help you spread your message to the world. However, when you combine our expertise, top-of-the-line studio, and creative storytelling, you’re bound to get noticed.

Since 2018 we’ve been honored with 16 awards, including six to date in 2021 alone. Thanks to the trust our clients put in us, we’ve won some of the most distinguished awards in the industry, including:

Backed by the Largest Marketing Firm in St. Louis

When you choose Abstrakt Studios, you have a partner backed by the nation’s most recognized B2B lead generation company, Abstrakt Marketing Group. Abstrakt is an industry-leading appointment-setting firm that uses strategic processes and proven sales techniques to build predictable sales pipelines that turn prospects into clients.

Our video production services are just one of the several marketing services we use to grow your business. The team of marketing experts at Abstrakt knows precisely how to use your video on a website strategically developed with SEO in mind or as marketing collateral to bring your company more recognition and a greater return on investment.

Video and Messaging Versatility

There’s no doubting the value of video marketing, but how you plan to use your video determines much of our production strategy. The objective of a TV commercial is likely to be much different than a corporate video. That’s why we conceptualize custom videos based on your needs, goals, and desires.

Corporate Videos

Corporate videos are an ideal way to profile your culture, vision, and services. Whether it’s a “Why Us” video or testimonial, Abstrakt Studios ensures your message is highlighted in an appealing way that drives interest from potential clients or prospective employees.

TV Commercials

Whether you have a big sale to announce or want to build brand recognition, TV commercials remain one of the best options available. We have the experience and industry knowledge required to determine the optimal visual and audible messaging and strategy to reach your targets.

B2B Sales Video Collateral

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been forced to sit through some excruciatingly boring collateral videos. Abstrakt Studios has the creativity, messaging expertise, and production skills to create videos that show off your services and products in a way that excites viewers. Set yourself apart from competitors with videos that balance story, strategy, and vision.

In-House Animated Video Production

Using animation is an incredibly effective way to make complex information easily digestible for audiences. When you’re looking to demonstrate how your company solves problems, explain the customer journey, illustrate proprietary processes, or tell your story, animation just makes sense. Abstrakt Studios’ in-house team of animators uses animation to bring real-life messaging to customers’ screens.

A Proven Production Process

Our five-step process was developed through years of experimentation and learning what did and didn’t connect with audiences while creating videos that captured our company vision and culture. Once we mastered our own messaging, we knew it was time to use our process to help our clients grow their businesses.

Creative Discovery

Every video starts as an idea. The steps you take to flesh those ideas out play a vital role in determining the success of your video. The Abstrakt Studios team works with you to learn your backstory and crucial information to align our capabilities with your expectations. During the first step, we determine how you plan to use your video, how long it should be, who you’re trying to reach, messaging, and the end goal of your production. Once we have a clear understanding, we brainstorm creative ways to bring your ideas to life.

Preproduction and Planning

After determining the creative aspects of your project, the next step is to begin making those ideas a reality. Our team tackles a wide range of activities, including:

  • Budgeting
  • Scheduling
  • Casting
  • Scripting
  • Storyboarding
  • Location scouting
  • And much more

Production

Once all the planning elements are accounted for and ready to shoot, it’s time to get your story on camera. Whether you choose to shoot in our studio or on location, our comprehensive production team captures visual and audio recordings with professional direction, lighting, voiceover, and animation services.

Whether you have a big sale to announce or want to build brand recognition, TV commercials remain one of the best options available. We have the experience and industry knowledge required to determine the optimal visual and audible messaging and strategy to reach your targets.

Post-Production

Once shooting has ended, it’s time to turn raw footage into an eye-catching, informative, and engaging video. Some clients love to take a hands-on approach during this step, while others trust us to turn their vision into video. The Abstrakt Studios team offers supervised and unsupervised post-production reviews, allowing you to be as involved in the process as you want to be. 

During post-production, our team handles:

  • Editing
  • Color correction
  • Grading
  • Music
  • Sound effects

Reveal and Repeat

Never has the phrase “save the best for last” been more accurate. The final step of our video creation process is revealing your new corporate video, TV commercial, collateral, or custom video to you. Abstrakt Studios also handles any media encoding, cloud-based file delivery, and YouTube channel management required to help spread your video to the world.

We’re confident that you’ll be like many of our other clients who are so thrilled with their new video that they’re eager to start shooting the next one. That’s why we’ve worked so hard to create a reliable, repeatable process.

Cutting-Edge Technology and the Know-How To Use It

It takes a lot more than creativity and engaging content to create a compelling video. You need to work with industry-leading tools for the refined, professional look and feel of a well-produced video. Abstrakt Studios provides access to state-of-the-art gear to ensure your video looks and sounds incredible.

Some of the tools we use include:

On-Location Availability

There’s no better way to showcase your business and operations than to give people a glimpse of your facilities. Abstrakt Studios has full capabilities to shoot your video anywhere, including from high above with our drones. Whether you’re a car dealership wanting to advertise a big sale or a portable debris dump box company looking to show off the advantages of your product, we have the know-how and tools to bring your ideas to life on the small screen.

Break Away From the Average by Going Abstrakt

Look no further than Abstrakt Studios if you’re ready to take your marketing efforts to the small screen. Our award-winning video production studio has helped clients in St. Louis and throughout the country reach more targets through our creativity, proven process, and one-of-a-kind studio space. Contact us today to learn more about our studio, process, and services, or take the first step in transforming your ideas into reality with a discovery meeting.

How To Use Drones for Video Marketing

Ever since videos became one of the hottest trends in digital marketing, companies have been looking for new and innovative ways to elevate their content. Some have turned to animation and whiteboard explainer videos to create standout content; others have focused on finding ways to make their live videos more engaging.

Professional drone footage is the perfect solution if you’re looking for a simple and affordable way to take your corporate videos to the next level. Drone shots capture unique, eye-catching visuals that can turn unremarkable videos into a memorable experience and give you an edge against your competitors.

Are you new to the art of using drones for video marketing? Keep reading to learn the benefits of using drone footage, the top methods for capturing high-quality videos, and how to integrate drone shots into your video marketing strategy.

Drone Camera Benefits

There are many reasons why drone footage has become so popular for video marketers. Here are some of the biggest benefits of using drone footage in your marketing videos:

  • Originality: Because drones are small and agile, they capture scenes that traditional cameras can’t. From bird’s-eye views to fast-paced action shots, drone footage can add an original perspective to your videos.
  • Quality: There are plenty of commercial drones available that record the same crisp, high-quality footage as the best cameras on the market. You can adjust your shutter speed, change your frame rate, and shoot videos in 4k with a drone, just like you can on the ground.
  • Convenience: Drones are easy to transport, and you don’t have to hold or adjust them. Instead, you use a remote to control your drone’s movements as it records footage. Additionally, drones are less distracting than standard cameras—you can film an entire scene without anyone noticing.
  • Affordability: You had to send a film crew up in a helicopter to capture aerial shots in the past, which was too expensive for most businesses to afford. Now, drones have made aerial footage accessible to anyone.

How To Take Good Drone Videos

Adding drone footage to your videos can be an excellent way to impress viewers and improve your production value, with one caveat—it needs to be good. Shaky, blurry drone footage won’t add the professional touch you’re looking for, and it can reflect poorly on your business.

Here are a few steps you can take to record high-quality drone footage:

  • Know where you can and can’t film: Before you start making grand plans to record footage across your city, you need to know your restrictions. Various entities can designate areas as “no-fly zones,” including the Federal Aviation Administration and your local and state government. Additionally, you may have to apply for permits to film in certain locations.
  • Adjust your settings: You should adjust your camera settings to get the type of shot you want before recording footage. The right settings can make your footage look worthy of a film festival.
  • Focus on lighting: Lighting can change the tone and feel of your video footage, and it can also affect your process. Direct sunlight can make your video cheery and bright, but it might be challenging to get a clear shot. Determine the tone you’re trying to capture, and plan your recording time accordingly.
  • Plan your shot: Pre-production is a crucial step in the drone video production process. You need to know when, where, and how you plan to capture your footage, as well as what you’re going to film. If you develop a clear, actionable plan and account for potential hurdles, the production process will go smoothly.

If you want studio-quality footage and you don’t want to worry about no-fly zones and drone licensing, consider partnering with a video production company. Experienced drone pilots know how to get the best footage possible, obtain the proper permits, and steer clear of restricted zones.

Things To Film With a Drone

Drones can capture various types of footage that work perfectly in company profiles, sizzle reels, product explainer videos, TV commercials, and more. These are some of the things you can film with your drone.

Aerial Footage

When most people envision drone footage, they think of aerial videos. This is because drones can fly high into the air and capture a bird’s-eye view or moving shot of a building, event, or landscape, which traditional cameras can’t do without a plane or helicopter. Aerial footage is perfect for showcasing large events or objects that you can’t fully capture from the ground.

Tracking Shots

Tracking shots are your classic “action shot”—you follow someone or something as it moves. Your tracking shot can follow movement on the same level as its subject or capture an aerial view. Drones are perfect for tracking shots because they can follow moving subjects seamlessly, unlike a cameraman on foot. Plus, the drone pilot can stay in one place while they fly their drone, making the process quick and easy.

Reveal Shots

The reveal shot is a dramatic way to introduce something to the viewer. For example, your drone could lift from the ground to slowly reveal a scene or zoom in from far away to get a close-up view of a person or object. Reveal shots allow you to build up suspense while you wait to show the viewer something important.

How To Use Your Drone Footage

Once you capture the perfect aerial, tracking, or reveal shot, it’s time to use your footage to promote your brand. Drone footage is a versatile marketing tool with multiple uses, including websites, TV commercials, and various corporate videos.

Drone Footage for Website Design

Your website is a digital representation of your brand. It’s often the first introduction to your business that potential customers see. High-quality drone footage can elevate your website, and a good company website can have a substantial impact on your sales.

There are many ways to incorporate drone footage into your site. You can first include it in company videos and then post those videos on relevant pages. Additionally, you can use drone footage as a design element across your site by adding it as a background or looping header on your homepage, “About Us” page, and product pages. Site visitors will see your footage first thing when they land on your website, which will immediately set your business apart from others in your industry.

Drone Footage for TV Commercials

Your target audience sees countless commercials every day. It’s not easy to create a commercial that catches their eye, keeps their attention, and leaves a lasting impression. If you want to make your TV commercial memorable, drone footage can help.

Drone footage is often found in car commercials, but it’s useful across industries. Tracking shots keep your storyline moving, and aerial footage can showcase large-scale projects, such as home renovations or new state-of-the-art facilities. The reveal shot is ideal for TV commercials because it helps you build anticipation before revealing an innovative new product or service offering.

Drone Footage for Corporate Videos

Corporate videos can help you attract new employees and generate leads for your business. Additionally, corporate videos can help you build trust with leads during the sales process and convince them to move into the next stage of the buying process. Adding drone footage can make your corporate videos even more effective than before.

Here are a few videos that can benefit from the addition of drone footage:

  • Company profile videos: Profile videos often act as an introduction to your company, and your first impression can shape the rest of the buying journey. Using drone footage in your company video is a great way to impress viewers and give them a broad view of your facilities and employee base.
  • Product and service videos: Potential customers want to know what they’re getting before they buy a product or sign up for a service, and videos can help them feel confident in their decision. You can incorporate drone footage that follows your employees as they demonstrate a product or perform a service. Drone footage can also highlight a large-scale product, like a new roof, a solar panel installation, or a commercial building.
  • Case studies: Sharing past successes helps you build trust with future customers, and case studies are one of the best ways to share those stories. Recording drone footage of a project can help you demonstrate your progress and show how you turned a blank slate into a finished project.

No matter what type of corporate video you make, drone footage can play an essential role. Drones allow you to come up with creative and innovative ways to build your brand image and tell your story.

Need Drone Videography Services in St. Louis?

It doesn’t take much effort to add visual intrigue to your company video—all you have to do is collect some creative drone footage. Expertly filmed, high-quality drone footage can elevate your visual marketing strategy and directly impact sales. However, if you’re not an experienced drone pilot with extensive knowledge of no-fly zones, permits, camera settings, and video production, you might need some outside help to record Hollywood-caliber footage.

Whether you need aerial shots of your company campus for a corporate video or a custom TV commercial that highlights your products, Abstrakt Studios is your source for video production in St. Louis. Our licensed pilots use high-quality drones to film one-of-a-kind videos for companies across the region. No matter how ambitious your drone footage idea is, we can bring it to life. Don’t believe us? Check out our testimonials to see what our clients have to say about Abstrakt Studios’ unrivaled video services.

Get in touch today to learn more about our drone video services.

How To Integrate Video Into Your Marketing Collateral Toolkit

If you’ve kept up with marketing trends in recent years, you’ve probably heard that more and more companies are turning to video—and for good reason. Videos are highly engaging, convenient to consume, and visually compelling. Plus, videos are everywhere; they plaster our social media feeds, pop up on our most visited websites, and play on a loop in our favorite businesses. Consumers like videos, and marketers are responding to their enthusiasm.

If you’re new to the world of video marketing, one of the best places to start is integrating video into your marketing collateral strategy. By breathing new life into your sales materials and converting some of your written documents into video, you can boost your lead generation efforts and support your overall sales strategy.

Keep reading to learn how you can leverage video as collateral in your B2B lead generation program.

What Is Marketing Collateral?

Marketing collateral is any piece of media used to support your sales or marketing strategy. Traditionally, this included paper brochures and sell sheets that salespeople distributed during in-person meetings. Now, marketing collateral is often digital, making it easily distributable and accessible to a much larger audience. Additionally, marketing collateral has expanded beyond static documents with words and graphics to include one of the most powerful forms of content: video.

No matter what B2B lead generation method you use, marketing collateral can provide extra support. You can weave marketing collateral into your website to increase conversions or use it when nurturing outbound leads. Though collateral may not play the starring role in lead generation, it’s still an integral element of your sales strategy. With an expansive collection of marketing collateral options at your disposal, you can customize your lead generation efforts and give your business a competitive edge.

4 Ways To Use Video as Marketing Collateral

Whether you’re building a marketing collateral toolkit from scratch or looking to improve what you already have, video is an excellent investment. Here are four ways you can use video to enhance your marketing collateral strategy.

1. Use a Company Profile Video To Introduce Yourself

Businesses don’t want to enter into a contract with another business they know nothing about. Before you can sell your products or services to your ideal customers, you need to introduce your company and explain why you’re the right choice for their project. If your first impression leaves something to be desired, you risk losing potential customers after your first conversation.

While company brochures are an excellent way to introduce your business, a company profile video can be even more effective. Instead of spending a few minutes reading through written information about your company, your leads can watch a short, impactful video. Plus, videos aren’t just convenient for your leads—they benefit your sales team as well. Viewers retain 95% of the information they learn from videos, which means that you can get your point across without spending ten minutes on the phone trying to summarize your company history. If you want to make a memorable impression, video is the way to go.

In addition to sending your company profile video to new outbound leads, you can embed the video in your website’s “About Us” page, add it to your YouTube channel, or share it on various social media platforms. The more you share your video, the more opportunities you’ll have to increase awareness of your company. When people know and recognize your company, they’re more likely to seek out your services.

When creating a new company profile video, you can include a wide range of information, including:

  • Important dates, such as when you opened your doors or accomplished a memorable milestone
  • Your mission and values
  • A brief explanation of your products and services
  • What sets you apart from competitors

With a professionally produced company profile video, you can reel leads into your sales pipeline and pique their interest in your business. From there, you can use product and service videos to guide them through the buyer’s journey.

2. Highlight Your Products and Services

During the first steps of your B2B lead generation program, you want to convince leads that your company is a reputable, trustworthy partner. Once you draw their attention, it’s time to start sharing information about specific products or services they might need. If you can convince them that your products are worth purchasing, you increase your chances of signing a contract in the future.

Many marketers use one-page sell sheets to highlight their top products or services. Sell sheets are ideal when you can easily describe your offerings using words and visuals. However, video is a better alternative if you want to bring extra attention to a product and add visual context to your claims.

For example, let’s say you just released a new cutting-edge software system for accounting automation. You can describe the process of opening your application, signing in, and entering data points into your system, but potential customers won’t truly understand how your software works until they see it in action. With a software highlight video, you can demonstrate how innovative and user-friendly your new product is.

3. Turn Your Written Case Study Into a Visual Experience

Before you buy an expensive new product, what do you do? If you’re like most buyers, you spend time scrolling through product reviews to learn how other customers feel about the product. With so much information at our fingertips, it doesn’t make sense to buy a product or service without at least a little preliminary research.

Your B2B buyers are no different from other consumers; they also want to hear from current customers before they choose to purchase from your business. By sending them a case study, you can show leads that you have experience serving companies similar to theirs and position yourself as a credible business.

Like sell sheets and company brochures, you can take your case studies to the next level by turning them into videos. Testimonial videos allow satisfied customers to share their firsthand experience with your business, which shows future customers that you produce real, noticeable results. Additionally, a good testimonial video tells a compelling story and appeals to viewers’ emotions.

No matter how great your products or services are, your leads need to feel like they can trust your business before making a large purchase. When leads see that other customers trust you and appreciate your services enough to share their experience in a testimonial video, they feel more comfortable buying from your business.

If you want to create the best testimonial video for your business, you should include the following elements:

  • A clear problem and solution: Hearing someone say “X company helped my business” is far less impactful than hearing, “I was spending thousands on energy bills before X company installed LED lighting in my facilities, and now my monthly bill is now half of what it used to be.” Clearly outline a relatable problem and demonstrate how your services addressed it.
  • Authenticity: If you want to build trust with future customers, your testimonial videos must be believable. Testimonial videos that seem overproduced and disingenuous won’t get you the results you’re looking for.
  • An emotional appeal: Your leads will connect more with your testimonial video if they can relate emotionally. You’re not trying to sell a product with your testimonial video; you’re trying to forge a relationship and tell a story.

With a few professionally produced testimonials in your marketing collateral toolbox, you can appeal to a broad audience and captivate your audience.

4. Demonstrate Key Differentiators With a “Why Us?” Video

Your company profile video may briefly touch on your surface-level differentiators, but if you want future clients to see what really makes you stand out, you need a “Why Us?” video. These videos are especially helpful if you’re in a saturated industry and offer the same products and services as your direct competitors.

You can use a “Why Us?” video during various points in your B2B lead generation program. If a lead wants to learn more about your company after viewing your company profile video, your video can provide the extra information they need. You can also play your footage during a sales meeting with a potential customer to provide the extra push they need to sign a contract. Additionally, just like company brochures, you can share your “Why Us?” video on your website and various social media platforms to attract inbound leads.

Having a professional “Why Us?” video is a differentiator in and of itself. Investing in video collateral shows future customers that you care about your business and reputation. If you have a video and your top competitor doesn’t, you have a good chance of coming out ahead.

Step Up Your Collateral Game With Video

Marketing collateral is an essential component of any successful B2B lead generation program, and many marketers believe that video is the future of content marketing. Why not combine the two and develop captivating videos that help turn leads into customers for your business?

If you need some outside help adding videos to your marketing collateral strategy, you’re in the right place. At Abstrakt Studios, we use our strategic approach to create consistent, high-quality video collateral for every client partner. From writing an engaging script to filming and editing your one-of-a-kind collateral video, we handle it all.

Want more from your marketing collateral? Schedule a discovery meeting today to get the custom video collateral process started.

How Do We Create TV Commercials for Our Local Partners?

Advertising may be a constantly changing medium, but there is one marketing method that has remained relevant since its first appearance 80 years ago—the TV commercial. The internet may have surpassed TV as the most profitable advertising space in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean traditional commercials aren’t incredibly effective. As of 2020, companies could reach approximately 78% of households nationwide through connected TV programming.

If you’re trying to increase brand recognition, boost sales for a new product or service, or enter a new market, TV commercials are an excellent way to do so. With the right video production company, you can create an ad that resonates with your audience and substantially impacts your sales.

Want to know how Abstrakt Studios creates one-of-a-kind TV commercials for our neighbors in and around St. Louis? Keep reading to learn about each step of our B2B video creation process.

Our Commercial Creation Process

Creating a TV commercial isn’t that different from creating any other type of B2B video, such as a corporate highlight video or marketing collateral piece. However, we add a few extra steps to our process to ensure your commercial gets the results you’re looking for. These additional steps include:

  • Conducting a market analysis: If you don’t know how your specific industry or niche fares when it comes to TV advertisements, you might make a misstep that costs you your return on investment. Before we start diving into the production process, we identify any concerns or trends to keep in mind for your commercial.
  • Completing a competitive analysis: Once we analyze your market, we scope out the competition. By seeing how similar companies approach their TV advertisements, we can identify opportunities for improvement and help you determine your key differentiators.
  • Determining your unique selling proposition: Why should potential customers choose you over a competitor? The answer to that question reveals your selling proposition. Our team uses your proposition to craft a commercial that converts for your business.

After our team completes the above steps, we jump into step one of our proven video production process: creative discovery.

1. Creative Discovery

Before we launch into the logistics of video production, we spend time brainstorming ideas for your commercial. This preparation stage enables us to create a commercial that not only fits your expectations but also catches the eye of your ideal customer. Our team collaborates with your business to determine:

  • Your target audience: Who should your commercial speak to? The answer depends on what you’re trying to sell. You can narrow down your target audience by age, gender, socioeconomic status, location, and more. Simply determine who you want your commercial to resonate with and plan your content accordingly.
  • Time restrictions: Do you want to purchase a short, 10-second ad slot, a 30-second commercial, or a full minute of airtime? The longer your commercial, the more expensive your investment. However, you can spend more time highlighting your selling proposition during longer commercials, which might make the steep upfront investment worth it.
  • Tone and voice: Think of the commercials that left a lasting impression on you in the past. Why did they stick with you for so long? Most likely, they evoked emotion, whether that was joy, sadness, or fear. Depending on the reaction you want from your target audience, you can determine the tone of your commercial and the voice you want to use.
  • Overall goals: What action do you want viewers to take after watching your commercial? Maybe you want them to visit your business and shop your inventory. Alternatively, your goal may be to get viewers to visit your website, learn more about your services, and ultimately submit their information. In some cases, your objective might be to increase awareness of your brand instead of invoking a particular action. Your overall goal shapes the entire video production process.

Once our brainstorm session is over, we nail down an idea and set our TV commercial plan in motion.

2. Planning

There’s a lot that goes into making a TV commercial. You can’t just come up with an idea, grab your equipment, and start filming—you need to prepare for every element of the filming process. With a clear plan in place, you’re able to stay on schedule, reduce unexpected expenses, and end up with your envisioned finished product.

Depending on the type of commercial you want, the preproduction process can be pretty involved. We create a budget breakdown for your video to ensure we can meet your financial needs. Then, we collaborate with you to determine a project timeline. If you need actors for your commercial idea, we handle the casting and location scouting process on your behalf. While our project managers oversee the technical tasks, our creative team finds the best way to tell your story.

During the creative process, our video production team puts together a storyboard and shot list, and our writers craft a compelling script for your video. Once you sign off on our initial decisions, we progress to the fun part of your TV commercial creation process: production.

3. Production

Our production process looks different for every TV ad we produce, but these are some of the tasks we typically tackle during this stage:

  • Voiceover recordings: If your commercial includes a voiceover, we can hire actors or bring your team to our studio in downtown St. Louis for a recording session. We record the lines our writers wrote during the planning process until we get the best take possible.
  • Location shoots: Whether you want to capture video of your office or film in a third-party location, we can pack up our filming equipment and bring the studio to you. Our video production experts tweak the lighting and composition before each shot to ensure our footage is of the highest quality. From there, we direct your team or actors to keep everything on track while we film.
  • Animation: Live actors aren’t your only option for a custom TV commercial; we also offer animation services. If you choose to take the second route, our talented animation artists spend the production phase molding your vision into art.
  • Additional audio recordings: Want a custom soundtrack for your commercial? We have a professional music recording facility at Abstrakt Studios, which means we can produce a unique sound just for your business.

Because we carefully plan each video shoot before we press “record,” our production stage is typically quick and stress-free. You get to watch your vision become a reality, and we get to do what we enjoy most—film the best commercials possible for our partners in St. Louis and throughout the country.

4. Post-Production

Once we have the raw footage for your commercial, it’s time to bring each element together into a cohesive video. Our expert editors pull the best clips from our video recording session, overlay voiceovers and music, and add extra features to the footage, including text and graphics. We also tweak your footage to ensure it looks great on any screen using color correction and grading.

Depending on how involved you want to be, we offer both unsupervised and supervised editing sessions with our clients. We leverage cutting-edge video review tools to ensure we quickly address feedback and questions.

5. The Reveal

Once we get the final approval for your TV commercial, we deliver the final cut in the form of your choice via Vimeo. From there, we share the ad with your TV station of choice and start turning your business into a household name around St. Louis. Additionally, if you decide to release your commercial on your company’s YouTube channel, you can enlist our team to handle the upload and publishing process.

After experiencing the results our state-of-the-art equipment, award-winning staff, and creative prowess provide, it’s hard to stop at just one commercial. Many of our clients start brainstorming for round two before their first commercial appears on screens throughout the area.

Want a TV commercial for your St. Louis business that looks like it was created for one of the nation’s most recognizable brands? Think Abstrakt Studios.

Let's Get the Process Started

Need a Professional TV Commercial for Your St. Louis Business?

Despite what many digital advertisers want you to believe, TV commercials can be just as powerful today as they were decades ago—but only if you follow a proven process and do your research. A lackluster commercial isn’t worth your investment, but a custom video from Abstrakt Studios is. We’ve spent years mastering the video production process and honing our commercial skills, enabling us to create one-of-a-kind ads you can’t get from other video producers in St. Louis.

Whether you’re a new business trying to get your name out there, an established company that needs a sales boost, or you’re somewhere in between, Abstrakt Studios will help you reach your goals. Our experienced team of video producers, editors, animators, and writers can take any vision and bring it to TV screens across your target area. Don’t believe us? Explore our testimonials and see what our current customers have to say about Abstrakt Studios.

Ready to create a memorable TV commercial that gets results for your business? Get in touch with Abstrakt Studios today to learn more about our custom video creation process.

What To Look for in a Video Production House in St. Louis

While you can record decent audio and video on an iPhone in your office or basement, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. Maximizing your marketing investments and bringing your visions to life through video requires state-of-the-art technology, experienced production specialists, and creative storytelling.

There are several video production houses in St. Louis to choose from, ranging from independent basement production areas to large-scale studios. Regardless of the size and capabilities of the production company, one thing should set the videos that deliver your message apart from the generic, boring, and cookie-cutter—collaboration.

Finding a studio team that can deliver on all of your technical and visual requirements shouldn’t be tricky. The ideal video partner takes the time to learn your corporate culture, your goals, and your messaging and encapsulates them into compelling visual messaging.

Continue reading to learn more about the elements that help set apart a great video production house that enables you to stand out in a crowded industry from the ones that are happy to charge you to get lost somewhere in the middle.

They’ve Developed a Proven, Reliable Process

No matter where you are in the creative journey, from brainstorming to fully scripted, you want to find a partner that develops an easy-to-follow process that helps flesh out all of your ideas and make them a reality.

A studio with a reliable, repeatable process also allows you to join them during any part of your video undertaking. Whether you’re coming to them with just a kernel of an idea or a detailed outline, they should be able to join your team seamlessly and offer their expertise to refine and enhance your videos.

Creative Discovery

While you can’t harness the creative process, you can trace steps that have proven fruitful in the past. During the creative discovery phase, the ideal partner should ensure that you are both working toward the same goal and that your ideas are realistic for your budget and timeline and effective toward reaching your goals.

  • Collaboration helps define vital elements of your project, such as:
    What is the goal of your project, and how do you plan to use your video?
    Are you trying to build awareness of your brand? Are you looking to sell the culture of your organization to potential clients or employees? Do you believe in the creed “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” and want to get people talking? This is vital information to gather as early as possible.
  • Who is your target audience, and what tone are you looking to set?
    Purple space dinosaurs shooting fireballs might not be the most effective visuals for a funeral home but might click with other demographics. Successful videos not only reach your targets but also speak to them on a personal level. Work with a production studio that helps you set a tone that connects you to your audience.
  • How are you planning to use the video?
    TV commercials and collateral videos often take drastically different approaches and have varying lengths. The right production staff ensures your video fits your needs and time requirements.

Preproduction and Planning

Once you’ve settled on the creative direction of your video production, you need to plan how you’ll execute your ideas. Preproduction and planning go far beyond the video itself. High-quality production houses in St. Louis can guide you through several tasks, including:

  • Budgeting
  • Scheduling
  • Casting
  • Prop, equipment, and wardrobe procurement
  • Location scouting
  • Scripting and storyboarding
  • Video design and development

Production

After completing the prep work and cameras are ready to roll, your production studio staff should take care of your video production. Whether it’s voiceover work, lighting, capturing audio or video, direction, or animation, all you should have to do is enjoy the process.

Post-Production

If production is unwrapping and opening your favorite new toy on your birthday, post-production is the “some assembly required” phase your parents went through for you. Once production is complete, the studio team takes all the footage and audio and crafts your custom video. A studio that sets itself apart from the competition allows you to collaborate and take a hands-on approach during this step if you want to. If you prefer to take a back seat, the studio should also accommodate that.

Watch and Share

After all the collaboration, hard work, and editing is done, all that’s left to do is enjoy your video and present it to the world. A comprehensive studio has the capabilities to encode your video for various media forms, deliver your video in a variety of formats, and publish it on YouTube and other social media outlets.

Offer a Variety of Video Production Services and Capabilities

When you’re searching for a video production house in St. Louis, consider the type of services and videos they offer. Even if your plan is for a one-off video, a successful production experience may inspire you to create more. Working with a partner that provides a wide range of video styles keeps your options open and helps you avoid going through the searching process again.

With more and more B2B lead generation and sales efforts moving online, you want to have flexibility in your video services to reach as many potential customers as possible. Partnering with an accomplished video studio that offers various customizable video services allows you to take marketing campaigns from the internet to television or any other platform you choose.

Corporate Videos

You want the values and culture of your business to shine through in a corporate video, no matter what purpose it’s meant to serve. Whether you’re trying to draw the interest of potential employees or feature an essential service or product, the video needs to showcase your company. Look for a studio that offers a range of corporate video options, such as:

  • Company or employee profiles
  • Product and service features
  • “Why us?” videos
  • Case studies
  • Client testimonials

TV Commercials

TV commercials require more than stimulating visuals and engaging copy. Working with a studio that has the knowledge to perform market and competitive analysis to create a unique selling proposition for your spot is invaluable.

When a studio team combines creativity, research, and strategy into their process, you end up with a commercial that conveys your message clearly and effectively. Engaging commercials reach your targets and present new business opportunities for your sales team to convert into closed deals.

Collateral

Video marketing requires two specific elements: creativity and strategy. No matter how great the products or services you’re highlighting are, a poorly executed B2B sales video won’t inspire sales. Combining the right strategy and tone with a creative presentation helps ensure you reach the right audience and encourage them to move along in the sales cycle.

Specialized Services in and out of the Studio

Regardless of how small or grand your video idea is initially, the creative process can lead you anywhere. Just like you want to run with a great idea wherever it takes you, you need a studio that can follow you on the journey.

On-Location Shooting

Look for a video production house that is willing to meet your needs anywhere, any time. If you know in your heart an on-location spot is perfect for your video, don’t let a team’s inability to meet you there keep you from seeing your idea through.

Drone Footage

Want to highlight your company’s new facilities? Maybe you’re looking to show off a construction project your firm recently completed? Whatever the reason you wish to use awe-inspiring aerial footage may be, look for a production team with the capabilities and experience to successfully deliver overhead shots for your video.

Animation

One of the things people love about animated videos is their ability to bring to life things that humans simply can’t do in the real world. They create a fun, lighthearted environment that can help make complex processes and highly detailed content more digestible for viewers.

A production house with in-house animators provides significant time and money savings compared to bringing in a third-party source. If you want to showcase the ideal customer journey or put an in-house process in the spotlight, 2D and 3D animation videos are the perfect solutions to inform and engage viewers without the risk of losing their attention.

Equipment

State-of-the-art technology helps create state-of-the-art videos. Studios that use industry-leading video tools ultimately deliver a superior look and production value. When you’re looking for the optimal studio experience in St. Louis, look for a team that uses top-of-the-line:

  • Audio equipment
  • Cameras
  • Gimbals
  • Pro Tools
  • Instruments and musicians for original scores and music

Ready To Bring Your Visions to Video With a State-of-the-Art Studio in St. Louis? Welcome to Abstrakt Studios

For unmatched service levels, production, creativity, and strategy for marketing videos, Abstrakt Studios is your one-stop production house. We’ve helped our valued clients grow their business and achieve greater reach following our proven process to deliver the highest-quality marketing videos available.

Whether you’re looking for a partner that delivers award-winning TV commercials or custom recruitment videos, we take the time to learn your goals to produce videos that inspire employees, clients, and potential clientele. Schedule a discovery meeting today.