eTown Videos Blog

Why restaurants would benefit from a video tour to attract more customers

In a soft economy, many consumers are cutting back on things such as shopping, movies, and dining out. But cutting back does not mean consumers have chosen to abandon an evening out on the town completely. However, consumers have become more selective when deciding where to spend their money and where they would like to dine.

With perhaps fewer consumers eating out, how do restaurants differentiate themselves from other fine dining establishments in the area?

During our research, we have observed that some have added slide shows to their restaurant website.  While the pictures are beautifully shot, I notice that many of the restaurants show an empty establishment.  Perhaps not the best choice of images when introducing your restaurant to new customers or reminding existing customers to stop in again.

I feel you want to highlight your restaurant with a web video while the restaurant is busy with customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Using animation and 3D graphics to create an immediate impact with a 60 second promotional web video

Here is an outline of the points which I address in the video blog:

1. Industries which may be difficult to visualize need a different approach in video production
2. Benefits of video animation and graphic design in web video
3. Identify your target audience during script and storyboard development
4. Outline your unique selling propositions
5. Focus on clarification and specificity
6. Use images and messages that worked well for you in past online marketing campaigns
7. Integrating an attention grabbing video with graphic animation and your corporate identity

How does eTown Videos  process pricing requests?

How much does a video production cost? It’s probably one of the most frequently asked questions we receive here at eTown Videos.  I thought I address the question with this video blog.

Please enjoy this  brief video blog post and feel free to comment or contact me with any questions.

Earlier in the year, I had posted 8 Questions You Should Ask When Selecting a Video Production Company, this is the video blog (or vblog) which accompanies the video. As a video production company, we are of course fully aware of the fact that many visitors prefer video over text based websites which why we’ve begun adding video blogs to the eTown Videos Blog website.

Below, I outline the points which I convey in the video, however, to receive the complete message please view the video blog. This is the first video blog or vblog (I’ll be using those terms interchangeably). Please visit the eTown Videos Blog for future video blogs.

Video blog outline: Read the rest of this entry »

The iPad and corporate video communications is a great match

As an enthusiastic Apple iPad user, I was indeed curious to hear and see what Steve Jobs had in store for us during the iPad 2 announcement yesterday, there certainly was no shortage of media coverage about the event. Is there ever any media coverage shortage when Apple announces a new product?   In a nutshell, I like the new design, faster chip, and the addition of FaceTime. Although I was hoping for a retina display on the iPad 2, just like the iPhone 4. We’ll have to wait for the iPad 3. Read the rest of this entry »

Can a small business benefit from web video marketing without a website?

If you are considering having a professional web video produced for your business then it is not necessary for you to have your own website. I am not suggesting that you don’t get a website at all, but if you currently do not have a website for your video or if you are currently upgrading your website, that should not be an obstacle to getting a promotional or marketing video produced. An obvious question arises. How do you promote your products and services with your web video when you do not have a website? Your video can be uploaded or hosted by several free online hosting companies. YouTube is probably the best known video hosting platform, but there are several other venues such Google Places, Yahoo Video, MetaCafe, Viddler, Blip.TV, or Vimeo that will host your business web video for free. At the same time, it is recommended that you optimize your video for search engines so that you are found when  people are looking for your products and services. When selecting a video production company you may want to inquire if they have experience with SEO (search engine optimization).  This is of particular importance for businesses who currently do not have a website or a website that is temporarily down for an upgrade. These video hosting  companies also have plenty of bandwidth, and there are several advantages versus hosting the video on your own website if you chose to go that route.

What does SEO actually do for your web video? Read the rest of this entry »

We would like to congratulate Lisa Bruno, the winner of our “funniest winter story” contest.

Thank you to all who participated, it was fun reading your stories on eTown Videos’ Facebook page .
Here is a photo of our lovely winner, a photo of the actual event,  and her story. Here’s her story:
“I have a story! 2 years ago we had a state of emergency ice storm. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s take a look at return on investment (ROI) and online video

Most of us accept the notion that online video has an engaging and persuasive  effect on its viewer audience. In fact, I blogged about viewing habits of senior executives a few days ago. In that blog post I reviewed a study by Forbes Insights and Google, and how business related web videos effect the purchasing decisions of senior executives. However, we do get asked by business managers how ROI on web video should be measured.

Establish your goals and objectives

What do you want your online video marketing campaign to achieve? Who is your target audience and what message do you need to deliver? Read the rest of this entry »

Executives indicate they are willing to take purchasing action after watching business web videos

The web continues to be in the middle of a video make-over and more senior executives are open to taking action after having watched a business related video. Forbes Insights, in association with Google, released a report entitled “Video in the C-Suite: Executives Embrace the Non-Text Web”, and the report finds that web video continues to make gains as important business information sources for senior executives.

Online video is clearly increasing among business users, according to the study, 83% of C-level executives are now watching more video than they did just one year ago. I thought it was particularly noteworthy to mention a shift in different age groups as it pertains to their viewing habits of online video. For example, in 2009, only 41% of executives age 50 or older said they watched web videos on websites which are related to their business activities, and only 11% viewed web videos related to business on a daily basis.  However, in 2010, 66% of executives age 50 or older viewed business related online video while 15% did so daily. There was also an increase from 40% to 52% of business executive who go to YouTube for their business video consumption.

Business related videos influence the purchasing decision of senior executives Read the rest of this entry »

30 second impact videos for technology companies

Certain industries are sometimes difficult to visualize such as software developers or  IT companies. Producing a web video for technology companies may require a slightly different approach and a little more creativity. If your business is looking to make an immediate impact at a trade show or on your company website then your web video production would benefit from animation, graphics, music, and professional voice over talents.  As the title of this post suggests, your video should be relatively short to maximize the immediate impact of the video. The video may be as short as 15 seconds although a 30 second clip would be more likely. Read the rest of this entry »