For many of us, recording a video of ourselves is the distant cousin of public speaking. It can be a terrifying prospect. But it doesn’t have to be. In a world where we’re all trying to stay more connected and stand out amongst the noise on social media, it’s time to make friends with your front-facing camera. Here are our tips for creating social media videos that drive results, without the fear. What’s the ‘why’? So, you’re sat in front of your webcam or smartphone, ready to record. Why? The first step of creating your video is deciding on your objectives. What do you want people to do once they’ve watched it? Is the purpose of the video to drive traffic to a piece of content on your website, such as a blog? Or do you want the video to create engagement on social media? Once you know what action you want people to take after they’ve watched your video, what you’re going to say will become so much clearer. Practice makes perfect… but not too much Once you’ve decided on your objectives, write down the key points you’ll be making in your video. We’d advise against writing a full script for a quick social media video. A script becomes your comfort blanket, and it’ll be obvious you’re reading from it. You want to come across as natural and relaxed, rather than robotic. You’ll also be striving for perfection if you’re trying to stick to a script, meaning it’ll probably take you a lot longer to record a video you’re happy with. Instead, stick to a quick intro, three key points, and a sign-off with a call-to-action. Practice a few variations and watch them back to make sure you’ve achieved what you set out to. Don’t worry if you stumble over a couple of words; it’s human, and the likelihood is that no one else will notice. If you find it too excruciating to watch yourself, send a couple of variations to a colleague or friend that you trust to give you honest feedback. Someone else may pick up on something obvious that you might have missed. The right environment It may seem obvious, but recording your video in the right environment makes a big difference. Of course, recording a video at home throws up a number of challenges. Unless you live alone, there’ll be other people, maybe even little ones, getting in your way. Try and find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed or distracted, and let others in the house know that you’ll be recording. If you have less cooperative infant co-inhabitants, wait until they’re in bed! Make sure the space around you isn’t distracting and is comfortable, so you come across relaxed. And finally, double check there’s nothing around you that you wouldn’t want others seeing. You, quite literally, don’t want to air your dirty laundry.  Brand Your audience should instantly recognise your brand when they see your videos. After all, video is all over

The top concern when it comes to the coronavirus crisis is, of course, public safety, but as the coronavirus crisis is keeping us all in lockdown, digital marketing is a businesses best investment and defence against it. Most of us are staying indoors and everyone is online these days. Now more than ever a successful digital marketing strategy can really make a difference to your business. While planning your digital marketing strategy you need to think long-term as this whole situation will eventually come to an end and business will return back to normal, even if you do not think about investing your budget in digital marketing at the moment, you need to make sure that you are prepared for the long term when business is back to normal. Start planning and get ready to scale your digital marketing strategy accordingly. The key to a successful digital marketing strategy is simultaneously combining various digital marketing channels to promote your business to users on the internet. There are many ways and options to do this combining paid and free channels.  Free tools to market your business Social media networks tips Social media networks are a free tool to market your business and reach your existing audience, sharing useful insights and tips about the current situation that we are all experiencing is a useful way to attract your existing users to your social media networks and potentially to new users. The key takeaway is that businesses should continue to run their social media networks as before with a slight change in the messaging and content they are sharing to make them relevant for the current time. Invest your time in keeping that audience engaged and build a communication network with your followers which will help you bounce back quickly when business is back to normal.  Search engine optimisation tips Optimising your website for search engines gives you constant free traffic and potential new customers for your business. There are a variety of ways to make your website search engine friendly and your business on top of search engines results. Use your Google My Business profile and optimise it according to your industry in order to be eligible to appear in local search engines results. You should also produce relevant and useful content for your audience, this can have a massive impact on your website traffic and aid in acquiring new users that may turn to potential customers.    Paid tools to market your business  Paid tools such as PPC campaigns can have quite a quick turnaround on your marketing spend and the reason is that you can create extremely targeted campaigns to reach your target audience thus creating a quick turnaround in your investment. When talking of PPC campaigns a lot of people are only thinking of Google Ads, but there are many other networks to create PPC campaigns on. Social media platforms have their own tools to create paid social media campaigns with some really good targeting options. You can use

When people think of marketing, they tend to think of PR or advertising, and while these are both important tools to use in a holistic marketing campaign, it’s important not to forget content marketing. Now, more than ever, when faced with the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, content is king, and one of the best tools at your disposal for getting key information to your current and future customers. In this blog, we’ll talk about what content marketing is, and how you can make the most out of it for your business. What is content marketing anyway? It’s okay not to know! In simple terms, ‘content’ in the context of marketing is anything that you create that you can host yourselves – usually on your website, or on social media platforms. This could be anything from blogs to whitepapers, videos and podcasts.  In a time where people are having to make cuts, this might sound like a lot of work and something you might not want to dedicate time towards. However, using content can be one of the best ways to reach your audience, and use your business expertise to impart the information that matters the most.  So what content should I produce? No matter what your business might be, you’ll have a message. We’ve spoken before about how to communicate during a crisis, and you can read more about that in Nikki’s blog here. Let’s dig a little deeper into two of the most useful ways of producing and delivering your content.  Blogs Having a blog on your website is a great way to get information to your target audience. Blogs can cover just about anything that matters to you, and this is especially important right now when what matters most is fluid and changing day by day.  By utilising a blog, you can produce pieces of content not restricted by length or format, tailored to your audience and delivering the key messages of the moment. This could range from helpful tips and advice (just like the blog you’re reading now), business updates, resource links, and special interest pieces that would be relevant to your audience. Videos Using video gives you access to a different audience that might not engage so readily with written content. Video also has the added benefit of ranking higher on social media platforms when used, as visual content is favoured over text on most social media platforms. With people going outside less, and engaging with people in a different way, video is a welcome connection for people to feel closer to others, and engage in a way that feels more personal and direct. How can content work for me? Right now, the way people operate is different. With people not going out, usage of online resources is at an all time high. People are finding new ways to engage with the world around them, and there has been an understandable spike in engagement with online resources. People want to feel connected and

As the corona crisis continues, so do its effects on all kinds of businesses. Many companies have had no option but to temporarily close as an immediate response to government restrictions and the rest have been forced to change their ways of operating rapidly. However, as discussed in our recent video, this shouldn’t mean that all marketing efforts should be halted, but rather amended to suit target audiences who will want to hear from the companies they care about while they have more available time to connect. Not only this but social media, in particular, will be a go-to source for users striving to keep in contact with the outside world and keep up to date with the latest news and opinions. When things return to normal, the last thing a brand wants is to be forgotten because their media presence wasn’t strong enough to prevail.  Therefore, in order to stay at the forefront of customer’s minds while on hiatus, or whilst enduring a period of transition, companies should maintain a valuable social media presence. Remember to remain relevant, keep dedicated followers informed and spread positivity during an uncertain time.  Here are some tips on how to use social media platforms wisely during this critical period.  Adapt your messaging to reflect the climate  The unparalleled success of social media is largely down to its ability to give everyone a voice, no matter how big or small; resulting in users sharing thoughts with like-minded segments of the community. Therefore, it isn’t difficult to see why companies that are amazing at keeping their content relatable and sustaining meaningful connections tend to thrive on such platforms.   The situation we currently find ourselves in is likely to be the biggest challenge of a generation. Understandably, at a time like this, many people will be worried about their future, and most will be saddened by the suffering they see across the world. Therefore, given its vast importance, your consumers will be looking to you to address the subject. Make sure you do so in a careful manner. Use social media pages to dispel uncertainty; discuss company news and changes, spread positive messages and invoke conversation within your virtual community. Bring people together while they’re apart. This doesn’t mean avoiding humour if this is a common practice on your socials. However, ensure your jokes don’t offend and stick to light subjects. Be dynamic and utilise your social media pages to keep in constant contact with followers as news changes quickly; and ensure that in all of your latest live streams, videos and images you’re adhering to government guidelines – keep your distance! Your followers will want to see your company leading by example.  Focus on user-generated content to involve your customers We already know that user-generated content plays a significant part in many a seasoned company’s social media strategy. Mainly due to its ability to act as a bridge of trust between a business and its everyday consumer. And, although a company already using this method