Jack Simpson says, “Each month we publish a round-up of the best branded Instagram videos we’ve seen in the past 30 days or so.  These posts always seem to go down well, so I thought I’d put together a list of all the things I’ve learnt about Instagram branded videos from the countless hours I’ve spent trawling the site for examples. So, read on to find out more, and don’t neglect to read our other posts on 20+ Instagram stats marketers need to know and why Instagram should be the channel of choice for marketers. Bring out the visual appeal of your brand This one is not limited... [...]

Rebekah Iliff says, “In the past decade, perhaps the biggest shift in Internet technology has been the rise of video content. From commercially produced material to the explosion of self-directed content via smartphones, video is everywhere. New technology will continue to drive this further, both in terms of accessibility to quality video hardware and software as well as bandwidth to upload and download content. What’s more, according to leading digital-asset company, WebDAM,“visual IQ” is rising faster than any other form of IQ as human behavior adjusts to process and make sense... [...]

Martin Beck says, “No one likes filling out forms on mobile devices. But Facebook is aiming to make that clunky process easier — and more likely to help businesses pull in the customer information they crave — with a new ad product that automatically fills out forms based on Facebook user data. Called “lead ads” and in testing since June, the ad unit is now available to all advertisers, Facebook said today in a blog post. The basic idea is this: When someone clicks on your lead ad, a form opens with the person’s contact information automatically populated, based on the information... [...]

Brad Jefferson says, “Marketers want to reach Generation Y, and for a good reason. This demographic, born between 1980 and 2000 and now known as “millennials,” will collectively spend more than $200 billion annually beginning in 2017, which comes out to $10 trillion over the course of their lifetimes. How can businesses connect with this purchasing powerhouse? Millennials aren’t as responsive to the TV commercials and print advertisements that worked for older generations. Instead, they want engagement. The good news is that they’re highly engaged with video. Here... [...]

Jami Oetting says, “You’ve spent months perfecting the script, storyboarding, finding the right talent, shooting, and editing. The end result? A blockbuster brand or product video for your client. With all that time invested, you can’t stop at just embedding the video on a homepage or sharing it on Facebook and hoping that someone watches. While great content is bound to be found, it’s also important to be proactive about gaining the attention of and educating prospects and those unfamiliar with your brand. Running a series of YouTube ads is one way to make sure more of... [...]

Gary Lipkowitz says, “Are you considering allocatingbudget to video? Whether it’s a one-time production in the tens of thousands or a long-term capital investment that may reach hundreds of thousands, video investments are often hard to evaluate and approve because they rarely generate a direct response. Your video project is likely top or middle of the funnel activity, meaning ROI is hard to prove. No matter how enthusiastic your team is about video or how much you hear in digital media circles that video is the next great tactic, you need some plain talk about what type of videos to... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “360-degree video has arrived on Facebook. The social network is beginning to add the immersive videos to the News Feed, the company announced Wednesday. The videos will be viewable from the web and from Facebook’s iOS and Android apps. The videos, first announced at Facebook’s F8 developer conference, are filmed with a special camera setup that captures q full 360-degree view of the scene. Much like the 360-degree videos on YouTube, you can change your view of the video by dragging you finger (or cursor, if you’re on a browser) around the screen or... [...]

Adam Toren says, “Social video marketing plays on the most important aspects of basic human nature: the art of storytelling. Where viral videos are all about numbers, social videos are all about connections and conversations. Here are three ways social video marketing can be good for your business. 1. Emotional connections drive brand loyalty. It has been scientifically proven that emotional connections build loyalty and influence purchasing decisions. Psychology Today reported that functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, neuro-imagery showed areas of the brain light up in scans... [...]

Verónica Maria Jarski says, “Keep track of social networks’ standards, formats, lengths, and sizes for video by using this all-in-one social video infographic from Italian company Communic Animation. Facebook, for example, requires videos to be smaller than 1.75GB and no longer than 45 minutes. The social network also allows for autoplay and frames up to 30 fps. Twitter allows native video mobile only, and lengths no greater than 30 seconds, according to Communic Animation. Google lets you connect your YouTube account to upload videos. To find out more about the standards of video... [...]

Simon Crofts says, “So you already have your content. Hopefully it was well researched and will have an amazing effect on your audience when they see it. But you aren’t happy just to wait for some magical social or viral result though, you want to give it a push, get it out there and see results now. Paid for placement is probably the way to go for this and in this short article I will introduce you to one of the options, which happens to be one of my favourites: pre-roll on YouTube. You might be thinking “I always skip those” but you might be surprised to hear that the view rate can... [...]