Insights

Today’s consumer relies on digital media now more than ever for information and marketers need to take notice of the growing fascination for video to tell their story. Video use has grown substantially as the preferred method for many companies to engage consumers and market their services through a visual medium. One of the most popular digital platforms used is Youtube. Youtube Press recently did a study and found that over 6 billion hours of videos are watched each month on YouTube (that's almost an hour for every person on Earth). Additionally, they found that 80% of this traffic comes from outside the US.

According to Forbes, 59% of executives would watch a video instead of a text summary of the same information. It is clear that video is an important marketing strategy to implement in an overall plan. Not only do videos allow for an easy and accessible way to relay information, but it also allows for greater global marketing overcoming many cultural barriers.

Planning and production of a video are exceedingly important considerations as Bulldog Report reports. The following are essential steps to creating the most effective corporate video including important takeaways.

1. Pack With Content - It is fundamental that you include as much key and interesting information as possible.
2. Video Length Is Everything - A study done by SingleGrain found that the longer a video drags on, the lower its retention. It also found that videos under 1 minute enjoy 80% viewer retention up to the 30-second mark, while videos 2-3 minutes in length still enjoy 60% retention. In essence, keep your video short to gain the optimum number of viewers.
3. Quality Over Quantity - A video’s sound and visuals keep your audience engaged, so make sure they are done well. There are plenty of online tools available that can be used to create videos on a limited budget, such as: http://www.wevideo.com, http://www.clipcanvas.com/videoeditor/create and http://www.loopster.com. Or you can use an expert digital agency to create more elaborate and customized videos for trade shows, product training, promotions and campaigns.
4. Location - This tip goes hand in hand with the last point. When filming any video, it is always important to keep in mind the location whether or not the goal of the video warrants location at all. Many videos can be produced using illustration, renderings, and stock images without ever leaving your office.
5. On-camera Talent - When utilizing on-camera talent, the talent should always be dressed appropriately based on the content and messaging. Generally speaking, in terms of dress, neutral colors are better so as not to distract from the message. In terms of demeanor and preparedness, the talent should rehearse their lines and prompt cards can be used if necessary to help the talent appear natural on screen. The bottom line, the talent should reflect your company.
6. Strategic Marketing - Use press releases. This gives your audience reliable information on the success of your company. Make sure you also include the logo of your company in the video (the end is a suitable place because it leaves a lasting impression).
7. SEO Strategy/Title - Use keywords in your title which will help increase traffic to your website after viewing the video.
8. Interactive Media - Embed your video onto your website in addition placing it on Youtube or another platform. Include a comment and share box for your video.

If you need a helping hand in developing a Digital Media Strategy or creating video content for your business, contact our Atlanta advertising agency today.

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If your company is just now getting on the corporate blogging train, you’re already falling behind. Blogging is an essential part of developing an online strategy that seamlessly integrates with other digital and traditional marketing efforts. Now, blogs are no longer the only “content” component in a healthy inbound marketing strategy. The scope of “content” is deep and wide, which gives businesses lots of opportunities in developing fresh and unique consumer-driven information. The easy part in participating in this content evolution is idea creation – the hard part is actually producing it. Business 2 Community outlined a seven-step program to building a content machine that will allow your company to create large amounts of content on a regular basis.

1. Plan

Any strategic effort cannot exist without a plan. What you’ll need to do more specifically in the planning stage of developing content is define personas. Who are you developing this content for? What type of consumers are you trying to attract to your website? What information are they looking for that you can provide? This step is really about looking at your strategy from the consumer’s perspective.

2. Team

You really have to think about developing content like an editor thinks about publishing. The editor alone cannot develop, create, disseminate, track and analyze content. There must be a dedicated team developed to each of these efforts with assigned and clearly defined roles and responsibilities. In this “content machine” situation, those assigned to the tasks cannot be a part of each phase, but the team as a whole needs to understand how each individual section operates so the process can be efficiently and seamlessly refined.

3. Ideas

In introducing the steps to building a content machine, it was said that idea creation is the easiest part of this process. That can certainly be the case, but sometimes it might be difficult to get started. Feelings of writer’s block will inevitably arise, but doing a lot of the legwork upfront can help break down the content dam and let the ideas flow. Before diving into the actual production process, take the time to have a very focused brainstorming session with the team to create a bank of ideas, to which you can continue to add. Ideally, this bank should keep your content machine moving for at least six months. Imagining ideas for content can be sparked by keeping a close watch on what your competitors are doing (or not doing that you can take advantage of), answering your consumer’s top 10 questions or taking your own niche spin on what might be happening in your industry.

4. Production

This is the fun part – seeing your content come to life. Production is also the most critical part in properly executing a content strategy. The saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but we all do it – it’s human nature. If something looks intriguing, we are more willing to spend the extra time delving in a bit further to learn more. Think about how the content will be best received and deliver it that way. Is this content best suited for a blog article? How about a YouTube video or SlideShare presentation? Can we create an infographic? Is it a white paper? Decide what might be most enticing, but make sure the medium is relevant to the content.

5. Audience Development

You don’t want to invest all of this time and effort in developing content and then only be able to share it with a handful of people. Think about how you can expand the range of your audience and how best to engage those users. Popular ways to build a following would be through social sharing, syndicating your content on other website, paid search campaigns or even guest blogging.

6. Conversion

Your content will speak for itself in this phase. If you’re producing great content on a regular basis, consumers are going to want to come back for more – increasing the number of people subscribing to receive the content when it is published. Build relationships with these engaged users to turn them from admirer to client. Create touch points that keep them intrigued and know that you value their participation. Email marketing is a great way to nurture these leads.

7. Measure & Optimize

How are you going to measure the success of your content? This is a question that must be answered before the content is even developed. Different metrics apply to different types of content based on topic, target audience, goal result and the medium by which it is distributed. If you answer that question first, then you can focus in on what analytics are most important. Based on that, you can make changes for the next piece developed that address the pros and cons of your results.

If you need a helping hand in developing an integrated marketing strategy or building a content machine for your business, contact our Atlanta advertising agency today.

Learn more about the author here.

As consumers, we use our mobile phones for everything. We make the obvious phone calls, send text messages and emails, listen to music, surf the Web, play games, track our caloric intake all on our smartphones. We can even manage our finances with our phones as seen by Bank of America’s mobile app that allows us to track our spending and even deposit a check with an image scan. The beauty of it all is that four-letter word that resounds in consumers’ minds – FREE. We surf Safari for free, download apps for free and listen to music on Pandora for free. The paradox at hand is what exactly makes all this free – and that, friends, is digital media advertisements.

Imagine trying to quickly look up a recipe on Safari, switch to the next song or look for an address and then be interrupted by an ad that completely gets in the way. Without these ads, that four-letter word would be lost. So are ads annoying or tolerable considering the price?

Advertising and marketing agencies know that these free amenities have to be paid for somehow and that consumers are more than willing to download apps onto their mobile devices simply because they are free. It’s kind of a vicious cycle. Marketers pay for what consumers love to have but consumers hate how marketers pay for it – ad revenue.

It’s the classic case of wanting to have your cake and eat it too. We want to know what you think. Are ads on free mobile apps annoying or tolerable?

Tell us how much you value the convenience of having the world at your finger tips at no cost with ads versus the amount you might pay to remove advertisements when you’re in the middle of searching the Web, listening to music or checking your bank statement?

Comment below and contact our Atlanta advertising agency today about your digital strategy questions.

infinitee, a full-service, strategic marketing agency in Atlanta, GA received two Silver Awards of Distinction from the 20th  annual Communicator Awards for its work with King’s Ridge Christian School. KRCS is a multi-denominational, college preparatory Pre-K-12th fully-accredited education that supports the development of the whole child through strong academics, technology, and community service initiatives.

infinitee’s design of the 2013 King’s Ridge Christian School Annual Report won in the categories of Annual Report: Educational Collateral and Overall Design, recognizing infinitee’s unique design expertise and dedication to providing clients with creative solutions.

The Communicator Awards is the leading international annual awards program honoring creative excellence for communication professionals. Over 6,000 entries were judged and overseen by the International Academy of Visual Arts (IAVA), an organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of Visual Arts. “We are proud to accept these awards for the 2013 King’s Ridge Christian School Annual Report. Our team has worked closely with the school to bring to life its vision and mission for the institution,” said Barbara McGraw, CMO and founder of infinitee.

infinitee specializes in real estate, with over 25 years of experience in shopping center, mixed-use, commercial, multi-family and residential development, but also works with other businesses and organizations that desire a unique point of difference and exceptional retail design flair. King’s Ridge Christian School has returned to infinitee year after year for innovative marketing solutions that set them apart from the highly competitive college preparatory school system.

About infinitee

infinitee is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that understands how to improve brands, communications and customer experiences. With a focus in real estate, its strategic and creative solutions build brand equity and drive sales for companies across the country. infinitee’s expertise has proven invaluable to national and southeast regional brands wishing to strengthen and grow their bottom line, including: Oliver McMillan, Cousins Properties, Parkway Properties, PM Realty Group, Tanger Outlets, Craig Realty Group, Lennar Commercial Investments and Banyan Street Capital. Through all facets of advertising, collateral, digital media, and brand strategy, infinitee creates award-winning marketing and innovative communications.

It's no news that consumer demographics in America are changing rapidly. In order to maintain the competitive edge, retailers are scrambling to catch up by modifying their marketing strategies and adopting innovative new technologies. According to a recent McKinsey study, the three groups retailers should be targeting are the Baby Boomers, Hispanics and millennials. A recent article from Business Insider provides the following reasons why.

Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers are defined as those 55 and older and control approximately 70% of disposable income in the United States. The leading online retailer, Amazon created a website especially for these consumers; highlighting products like vaitamins and easy-to-use electronics. Another big brand, Dos Equis has also seen phenominal success with their "Most Interesting Man In The World" campaign.

Hispanics

McKinsey predicts that Hispanics will double retail spending in the next two years, reporting that they'll spend over $1.5 trillion on United States goods and services before 2015. Retailers are securing hispanic spokesmen and women and taking note of cultural fashions and trends in order to garner the attention of this demographic. Target, a leading national retailer even claims to be adding Mexican groceries to its shelves in the near future.

Millennials

These are arguably the most important demographic of our time and will account for nearly one-third of retail spending by 2020. These consumers are defined as those 24-37 and are extremely active online and on social media. Mobile devices are a large part of millennial shopping habits, making targeting them a little tougher.

Below is an infographic depicting the importance of each of these target audiences.

To further discuss the future of retail marketing, contact our Atlanta ad agency today, or learn more by downloading our newest white paper, Emerging Retail Trends - Part 2: How to Reach and Engage Today's Consumers.

Learn more about the author here.

infinitee, a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Atlanta, received five honors at the 20th annual Communicator Awards. Infinitee received two Awards of Distinction in Integrated Campaigns, one Award of Excellence in Print, one Award of Distinction in Overall Design and one Award of Distinction in Annual Reports. The awards honor the firm’s continued dedication to providing clients with award-winning creative solutions.

The Communicator Awards receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, nationally and internationally, making it one of the largest awards of its kind. The Awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 600+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the communication and visual arts dedicated to embracing exceptional creative execution that catapults the standard of work to a new level.

“This year’s class of entries is a true reflection of the progressive and innovative nature of marketing and communications,” noted Linda Day, executive director of the Academy Interactive and Visual Arts. Barbara McGraw, CMO of infinitee commented, “We are thrilled to have been recognized for the work we do for our clients and grateful to receive this recognition.”

For more information about infinitee, call 404-231-3481 to speak with Managing Partner, Jocelyn Smith, visit www.www.infinitee.com or find us on Facebook.

About The Communicator Awards

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for communication professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best in advertising; corporate communication’s, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive and audio. This year’s Communicator Awards received thousands of entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world. Please visit www.communicatorawards.com for more information.

About infinitee

infinitee is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that understands how to improve brands, communications and customer experiences. With a focus on real estate, B2B, education and financial services, its strategic and creative solutions build brand equity and drive sales for companies across all industries. infinitee’s expertise has proven invaluable to national brands wishing to strengthen and grow their customer base, including: Tanger Outlet Centers, Cousins Properties, Parkway Properties, PM Realty Group, King’s Ridge Christian School, and DiversiTech.

Contact: Jocelyn Smith Founder, CEO infinitee, Inc. 3400 Peachtree Rd., Suite 921 Atlanta, GA 30326 404-231-3481