Explosion in growth in video on social media channels opens up opportunity

As US tech giants spend millions to expand their video streaming services in a battle to grab and retain consumer’s attention, the good news for Kiwi’s businesses who also want their content seen and heard is they don’t need massive budgets. 

A third of all online activity is spent watching video which has resulted in an explosion of growth in video online opening up an exciting opportunity for New Zealand businesses’ keen to create their own visual content that is vital in a very competitive social media landscape.  

“Ninety percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual and video is by far the most engaging way to communicate online,” John McKenzie from media & events company enthuse says. “In the instant world we live in now video is more engaging, more memorable and is more popular than any other type of content.”

But McKenzie says many small to medium sized company’s think they can’t afford good video content, not realising how simple it is to use a smart phone to create short, professional looking videos for their business or even personal use.

“It’s exciting we have this technology at our fingertips that can help a business tell its own stories and easily and efficiently showcase its staff, products and services in a way that will create more trust that will  result in more engagement which will ultimately mean more business.”

McKenzie is running a series of seminars throughout the South Island in May aimed at unlocking the power of an iPhone to save money and make great video content to grow business’s online presence which results in more profile and sales. 

“It’s clear the majority of people much prefer video content to reading, so the IPhone seminars are all about finding out how easy it is to make videos on an iPhone. It’s a great opportunity to create your own visual content for your own online channels without having to invest heavily in production or hiring an external supplier.”

McKenzie says the media landscape has dramatically changed which means businesses can own their own media channels and content to reach their audiences more effectively than ever before.

“You do need a plan though,” he says. “You can’t just produce one video and say I’m done, it needs to be part of a planned content strategy that rolls out over time. It’s all about building an audience that knows you and trusts you and then staying in front of that audience with good engaging content.”

He is quick to point out a good social media strategy is about adding value and not just trying to push sales. “It’s so important your content isn’t just about selling. Your audience needs to get to know you so they can trust you and you need to be focused on content that does add some sort of value before you start looking for sales.”

The seminars cover planning, filming techniques, basic editing and design techniques and leveraging social media with video.

“There is practical time to apply what we cover and a chance to gain confidence with interview techniques and learn how to present on camera and interview others,” McKenzie says.

The iPhone video making seminars are aimed at anyone wanting to use video in their business to reach more people and increase sales, and that includes small business owners, marketing professionals, communication and PR consultants and event organisers.

Seminars are being held in May in Invercargill, Queenstown, Dunedin, Christchurch, Oamaru, Timaru, Ashburton, Greymouth, Blenheim and Nelson.

“The best video content tells stories that connects with an audience,” McKenzie says. “By avoiding just selling and by focusing on telling stories your audience is going to understand what you can offer and what it can do for them so much better, and making these videos with a IPhone is so much easier than what most people think.”

 Bookings via Eventbrite

John talking about the IPhone seminar launch