Video Marketing

Online there are three main types of content you can offer your audience. Written content, photos & galleries and explanatory video make up the bulk of any content marketing campaign.

In Part 3 of our Content Marketing series we’ll take a look at video marketing, how to make your own videos, how to use them and where to post online.

Videos

If a picture says a thousand words then what is a video worth? In terms of content marketing a video is worth an awful lot.

Being able to show your audience something is always more effective than telling them. Comprehension and retention with video is much higher than with plain text.

Having relevant videos online increases the interactivity of your site visitors, makes you look professional and adds resources for your customers.

3 Ways to Make Videos

There are a lot of ways to capture or create videos to publish online. Here are three simple methods to launch your video marketing library:

Screen Capture: Walking people through processes step by step is a huge conversion tool. Sometimes all it takes is a screen captured video with narration. There are multiple screen capture softwares on the market that will record your on-screen navigation and record what you say while you do it. Simple how-to videos can be created in minutes.

Here’s a quick list of solutions:

• Camtasia
• Screenflow
• Jing

Live-Action: Sometimes a real live event warrants capturing. Keep your camera around during trade shows and special events and take a quick video. Publish it raw or edit the content and let your audience know what it was like in person.

Animated: Building an effective video from scratch isn’t always the best solution. Some information just needs a professional script and an animated short. This is hard to do yourself without the skills but there are many reasonably priced animation companies that can do it for you. We’d be happy to recommend some.

3 Places to Put Videos

Once you’ve gone to the trouble of crafting a video you’ll want to get the most out of it. Here are a few great places to post your video material so it gets noticed:

1. Your Website: This should always be the first place you think of when it’s time to post a video. Place your content on your own site first and then publish elsewhere.
2. Youtube: In terms of online video Youtube is the place to be. You can create your own channel and start building a list of videos. As the most used video site in the world it has a lot of traffic that you could benefit from. Users can share your videos with others, further increasing your reach. It’s like social media for video. Make sure your videos land here right after placing them on your site.
3. Social Medias: If you’ve got a following on social medias then show them what you’ve made. This could lead your audience to share the video to people you haven’t previously had contact with and if you’re lucky, it will go viral.

Be everywhere you can be with your content and lead people back to your site.

It’s a pretty simple equation. If you keep making new content your traffic will increase and your visitors will keep coming back for more.

Jump back to Part #1
Jump back to Part #2

If you want to further increase your online profile then check out these helpful blog posts below:

Generating Ideas: How-To Write Your Own Blog
Turn Your Info Into Downloadable Content
How to Increase Your Web Traffic
How To Keep Them Clicking: Reducing Bounce Rate

It’s simply the best way to engage an audience and that’s what Frame Rate Studios is all about. They produce, live-action video, film local events and create animated video productions in a wide variety of styles.

Frame Rate Video Production

Frame Rate Studios, based out of Collingwood, Ontario, uses a talented team of script writers, illustrators, animators and editors to realize your vision on screen. Frame Rate can conceptualize and construct nearly any type of video production, for business or for a personal event.

Partnered with The Mountain Goat Film Company, Frame Rate Studios also has the reach and industry connections to execute any scope of project.

Frame Rate Studios Video Services

Frame Rate Studios offers a full range of video recording and creation services including:

• Website video production
• Television broadcast production
• Film production
• Radio ads
• Virtual real estate tours

These services can be created in any video style:

• 3D Animation
• 2D Animation
• Motion Graphics
• Live action filming
• Whiteboards
• Claymation

Frame Rate Studios can build your concept or message into a top-notch promotional video that will help push your business to the next level.

Canopy Media delivers ‘great experience’

When Greg Yaniw of Frame Rate Studios came to us he needed a website that engages his prospects, drives traffic and showcases his body of work. That’s exactly what he got.

To make things easy for Frame Rate, we created a  WordPress content management system that allows them add/delete or edit any of their content. As Frame Rate establishes new clients and portfolio material the Frame Rate team can showcase their work in a matter of minutes.

We worked closely with Frame Rate Studios to hammer out a list of services that spoke to his target audience. Our effective and simple sitemap delivers helpful information that moves a curious customer towards that elusive final goal. Sales!

More importantly, Canopy Media made some recommendations that will allow Frame Rate Studios to get started on a Search Engine Optimization program that with effort over time, will allow Frame Rate to begin the process of getting organic leads through their website.

Here’s what Frame Rate Studio’s Greg Yaniw had to say about our work:

“Canopy did a great job working on my site. The process between myself and Canopy to communicate our thoughts was straight forward and to the point. When I had a request it was taken care of and the end result is a site I feel will perform the way I need it to perform. Overall, I had a great experience…”

Thanks Greg! It was great working with your business and we look forward to cultivating a relationship for years to come.

If you need video services of any kind give Frame Rate Video Production try.

Image Marketing

Online there are three main types of content you can offer your audience. Written content, photos & galleries and explanatory video make up the bulk of any content marketing campaign.

In Part 2 of our Content Marketing series we’ll take a look at image marketing and how to use it on your website.

Photo Galleries

Using images throughout your content is a great way to break up your copy but photos aren’t always just supplementary material. Galleries are effective ways to show and tell your audience a story through pictures.

People like to see everything. Giving them every angle and visual possible will increase your total content and make your site more interactive for visitors. This will reduce your bounce rate and place you higher in search rankings.

3 Types of Galleries

You can use a photo gallery for almost anything but here are a few ideas to get you started:

Products: Creating galleries of your products pretty much goes without saying. Collect every colour, angle and in-use shot you can get your hands on and show your visitors everything you can. The more they can see the more likely they are to buy. And not to state the obvious, but use high quality images!

Events: Attending a tradeshow or industry event? Make sure you take your camera. Give your audience a window into a day in the life of your business. The more customers feel they know you, and can trust you personally, the easier it is for them to engage you in business.

The Grounds: A lot of people are curious about what you do and where you do it. Don’t leave them guessing. Take your camera around your business space and take some pictures. Showing your offices can humanize your team and allow customers to engage more easily.

3 Gallery Solutions for Your Site

A lot of websites don’t come with a gallery function built right in. Here’s a few solutions for building galleries right on your site:

*Note: WordPress solutions only*

1. WP NextGen Gallery
2. WP Photo Album
3. Lightbox Gallery

There are many more solutions on the market for WordPress, other content management systems and coded sites. The NextGen gallery is widely recognized as the best photo plugin for WordPress but each version has it’s own set of features which may better suit your needs.

Test them out until you find one that works for your image marketing campaign.

Be everywhere you can be with your content and lead people back to your site.

It’s a pretty simple equation. If you keep making new content your traffic will increase and your visitors will keep coming back for more.

Jump back to Content Marketing Part 1 or jump ahead to Content Marketing Part 3: Video Marketing

If you want to further increase your online profile then check out these helpful blog posts below:

Generating Ideas: How-To Write Your Own Blog
Turn Your Info Into Downloadable Content
How to Increase Your Web Traffic
How To Keep Them Clicking: Reducing Bounce Rate

Business, community and personal events all take a lot of planning to go smoothly from start to finish.

If you’re in Ontario, that’s where eVvVents comes in.

eVvVents Management Solutions

eVvVents is a full-service event management solution with the skills and experience to budget, program and manage every detail of your event.

Owner Victoria van Veen has been planning and managing special events and conferences for over ten years. eVvVents’ current client list includes heavy hitters like the Association of Municipalities Ontario and Peterborough Festival of Trees. In the past they’ve worked with Canadian Paraplegic Association of Ontario, Canadian Labour Congress, the National Student Commonwealth Forum and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.

With their ample experience and passion for event management, eVvVents guarantees the success of your conferences and fundraisers.

eVvVents list of services include:

• needs analysis
• project management – timelines and budgets
• venue selection and liaison services for all event needs
• programming (speaker suggestions and contact)
• program and advertising design
• exhibitors and sponsorship management
• abstract management
• signage tracking and sourcing
• Audio-Visual and staging advice and sourcing
• post-event evaluation

If you need help organizing or managing a special event take a look at the eVvVents website and see if their service set meets your needs. Or contact Victoria directly for more information.

Canopy Media Delivers

With ten years of success, a growing list of clients and a passion for event management, Victoria needed a website that reflected her business. After a quick Needs Analysis and a few discussions, we zeroed in on a website that works for Victoria and eVvVents. Our 5-week process allowed us to launch a Website That Works on time and on budget.

Here’s what Victoria had to say about Canopy Media’s services.

“Canopy Media took an intimidating project and made it both accessible and enjoyable. They guided me through the process with patience and skill. The end result: a website that, as a  client said, ‘captured a good sense of [my] professionalism along with [my] character and personality’”.

Victoria’s new website gives her potential clients a quick rundown of everything they can expect with eVvVents while managing their conferences and special events. With the website drawing new leads from different locations Victoria can focus on growing her business instead of cold calls and referrals. New business means growth and growth means success.

Content Marketing

Online there are three main types of content you can offer your audience. Written content, photos & galleries and explanatory video make up the bulk of any content marketing campaign.

Let’s take a look at each type of content and how to use it to market your website.

Blogging

Once a website is completely built, there’s not much else to say unless you run a blog.

Generally businesses use their blogs to inform their audience about events and announcements, industry innovations, new products and information about their services.

A blog gives you the freedom to create new content on a regular basis, giving your visitors something new and your site new opportunities to optimize for related keywords.

And there’s an added bonus.

Search engines take notice when new material is delivered on a regular basis. Fresh content along with good search engine optimization adds to your online authority, placing all your keyphrases higher in search engine results pages.

3 Tips for Managing a Successful Blog

Variety: Telling the same old story over and over again makes people tune out. Make sure you add some variety to your blog by covering different topics. Intermix your products coverage with helpful information for your readers.

Consistency: You expect your newspaper and magazine subscriptions to arrive on time. That’s exactly how your readers feel about your blog. Once you have captured an audience make sure you keep them interested. Draft a calendar with targeted publishing dates and stick to those deadlines.

Usefulness: The information you deliver to your audience needs to be helpful. Your customers are buying your products, the least we can do is deliver useful information. Generally, those who help the public the most, collects the most in sales.

Topics for Your Blog

Getting a blog going and creating variety doesn’t always come easy. Here are simple topics and ideas for blog posts you can write:

1. Product Information: new products or additional details for existing products are always great blog post ideas.
2. Industry Knowledge: show your audience that you are a leader in your industry. Give away knowledge that aids and informs your customers making you an authority.
3. Events: let people know in advance about special dates. Trade shows, open houses, sales and special events in the community related to your business all need promoting.
4. How-to Guides: chances are you know things that the general public doesn’t. Tell them how to do it themselves and you’ll become trusted.
5. Personal: every once in a while it’s a good idea to spice things up. New staff members, business birthdays and so on are all good announcements that allow you to relate to your audience. Give them a window into the background of your business.

Be everywhere you can be with your content and lead people back to your site.

It’s a pretty simple equation. If you keep making new content your traffic will increase and your visitors will keep coming back for more.

Jump ahead to the next instalments in our series, Content Marketing Part 2: Image Marketing, or Content Marketing Part 3: Video Marketing and learn more about effective online content.

If you want to further increase your online profile then check out these helpful blog posts below:

Generating Ideas: How-To Write Your Own Blog
Turn Your Info Into Downloadable Content
How to Increase Your Web Traffic
How To Keep Them Clicking: Reducing Bounce Rate

As you fill out your Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin accounts search engines start to take notice, listing those pages directly under your website in Google searches, but there’s always more you can do to increase your reach.

If it’s done right there’s no such thing as too much online presence.

Maximizing Your Web Presence

There are a lot of obvious ways to increase your online presence, but there are a few places on the web you should be that you might not have thought about.

Pinterest

According to recent reports Pinterest has vaulted itself into third place for users among social medias, just behind Facebook and Twitter respectively.

Pinterest allows users to select pictures of their own or images found on the Internet and Pin them on their personal pages. Comments can be posted to any pinned image on the site while you connect to others with similar tastes.

Keeping an active account with lots of Pins keeps people following and linking to your materials, which in turn increase your online presence.

Youtube

Youtube is an excellent place to post videos about your products to maximize your online presence. If you already have a Google account for any of their online products then all you have to do is sign in and activate.

Videos posted to your account can be viewed, commented on, liked and disliked by the online community. It’s almost like social media.

The more videos and activity there is on your page the larger your online presence grows.

Google+

Although Google+ isn’t gaining popularity as fast as other social medias it does have some really useful tools. Again, just like Youtube, if you have an existing Google account signing in and activating is a breeze.

Once you’re signed up take notice of the nearby feature. Besides increasing your online presence with one more high-profile social media account, Google+ will allow you to see posts and comments from people who are geographically close to your location. Connect to all of them.

This is a great way to build a local audience and inform them of sales and special events.

Google Places

Another Google product that increases your web and local presence is Google Places. Filling out your listing requires a real address where you receive mail. Google wants proof that you exist in the location specified in your account.

After getting your Google postcard and verification pin number your account goes live, allowing people to find you locally and increasing your total reach across the net.

Pretty much anything that lets people find you and your business online is a good idea. Put the work in, manage your accounts and the web traffic will flow.

Still hungry for more optimization knowledge? Take a look at these juicy tidbits and blanket the Internet with your content.

Just What is Pay Per Click or PPC?
WPO: Optimize Your Web Presence
SMO Tools: How To Use SMO Techniques
Search Engine Optimization: The Importance of Content in SEO

How fast your pages load will affect two things.

1) How high your website can reach in search rankings.

2) How quickly the visitors you actually get will bounce off your pages.

There are many factors that determine how fast your pages load. Well built pages will be less than 1 megabyte in total size on average. Fortunately you can optimize these factors and maximize your Google search rankings and overall website conversions.

Page Load Time Factors

There are a lot of factors that affect web Page Load Time. Here’s a quick list:

Photo File Size

Having photos of a large size can slow down your website’s load time faster than almost anything. In most photo editing applications you can optimize an image for the web. Photoshop calls this ‘save for web and devices’. This strips unneeded visual information from the file while leaving the highest possible visual quality.

Generally speaking it’s a good idea to make your photos as small as possible. The smaller the file the faster the Page Load Time.

Website Comments

Links and personal comment icons can get in the way of page load time. Manage your comments closely and delete the spam. Generic messages and links to e-commerce sites aren’t genuine comments. Questions about your content and requests for follow up material are examples of valid comments.

Filter out the garbage and keep the real comments intact to keep your Page Load Time down.

Videos

Videos placed on your website have a similar effect as large photos. If there is too much information to load, your user will have to wait for their content. Even linked and embedded videos (i.e. from Wistia, Vimeo or Youtube) can put a strain on Page Load Time.

Too many videos of high quality will ruin your page load speeds if they are hosted locally. If you’re streaming video from your server, keep your videos short and sweet.

Too Many Widgets and Plugins

Having extra features and functions on your CMS website improves the experience for your visitors but not if it slows your Page Load Times to a crawl. Make sure you choose your plugins and widgets carefully. Although some extensions seem like a good idea don’t install anything unnecessary. Only add the features you need.

Keep your selections streamlined and your pages will load like lightning.

Website Code

Website code can be tricky. That’s why Canopy Media uses content management systems for most projects. Many websites utilize coded elements which can affect total load times. Messy code or pages called from many separate documents can take longer to load than their clean coded counterparts.

Keep coding simple and clean for fast load times.

Pop-Ups

Ads and social media pop-ups alike can bog down the load time of your website, especially if it pops up on a page that’s already high in content. Having an ad or social media prompt on every page might boost your follows but not your web traffic.

Choose your pop-up pages wisely and try not to bombard your visitors. Too many requests for action and your users will tune out entirely.

Redirects

Having redirection assistance in place is a big help online. Sometimes a web page gets misplaced or removed from the sitemap. If all the links to that content aren’t deleted or removed then eventually someone will try and access a page that no longer exists. The more redirects you have, the longer it takes to get to the page a visitor is requesting. Try to keep redirects to a minimum.

Dedicated IP address

Most websites today are sharing their server space with a boatload of other websites. The more websites that are hosted on the same server and IP address as your site means less bandwidth and total capacity available for your business. Paying for a dedicated IP address will be slightly more expensive than normal but the load time improvements and improved search results a worth it.

A dedicated IP address = much better load times.

GZIP Compression

Reducing file sizes as much as possible is a great practice to increasing the speed of load times. Many web hosts use GZIP compression to reduce the total file size by as much as 70%. You can check with your provider to see if this is already being done to your website.

If not make a request and see if you can have it done to your pages. The smaller the better for files sizes and load times.

It’s sometimes difficult to follows all of these guidelines but the more rules you adhere to the faster your Page Load Time and higher your Google SERP results will be.

There’s a lot more to a successful website than load times. Take a look at these helpful posts and increase your online presence.

Content Management Systems vs Coded Websites
Show & Tell: Using Product Videos to Increase Sales
Turn Your Info Into Downloadable Content
Generating Ideas: How-To Write Your Own Blog
How To Keep Them Clicking: Reducing Bounce Rate

Programming a website from scratch with coding languages such as HTML, CSS and PHP has long been the go-to solution for website creation but that method of building is being overtaken by Content Management Systems.

The Advantage of Content Management Systems

Content Management Systems may be simple to install and easy to use but they are also highly customizable. Here’s what makes a CMS so great:

Uploading Materials

CMS: Building and adding files, photos and movie clips to your website is incredibly simple with a CMS. Media files can be placed directly on a new web page or post directly in the content creation panel or uploaded and stored in the media section of your CMS dashboard.

Code: Websites built with code have the same storage capacity as a CMS but downloading, uploading and storage is a bit more complicated. Files must be entered through a File Transfer Protocol like Filezilla and placed directly into your database. Since this process isn’t automated you have to manually choose a storage folder. Choose the wrong folder and your material won’t display on your site or worse yet, knock some part of it offline.

Updating, Editing and Creating

CMS: Creating new content, editing and making updates to older material is an easy affair. Each piece of content is stored right inside your CMS dashboard making them easy to access and modify all in the same panel. Automatic publishing is also possible with the on-board scheduling system.

Content Management Systems allow you to publish fresh content, even when you’re away from your computer.

Code: Similarly to a CMS, every file and document that builds your website can be updated and edited but the process is much more complicated. Again, using an FTP client allows you to access your files. In order to edit them you have to download the file in question, edit the content and then upload it back into the same folder. This method is much more time consuming and the manual aspect makes it ripe for human error.

Additional Features

CMS: As your business and your website grows you will definitely want to add some features. Facebook like boxes, automatic backups and email notifications for user comments are all good examples of value-added features. All of these additions and more are pre-built in small code packets known as Plugins.

Pretty much any feature you could want already exists and can be downloaded, installed and activated in short order. No hassle, no expense.

Code: Adding those same features to a coded website is a little more difficult. In most cases the code snippets are already written for you but you must copy and install them through FTP all by yourself. Knowing where to put something and how to connect it to your existing code takes expertise and knowledge.

If you don’t have the requisite skills it can take hours of research to find the right solution or paying a webmaster exorbitant prices to get the job done.

Automatic Updates

CMS: Ultimately a Content Management System is a piece of coded software just like anything else. Over time it evolves and requires updates as code patches and additional features are integrated into the system.

Everything from the theme you choose to the plugins you install can be updated to the most recent version with one click of the mouse. CMS’s automatically notify you when something on your website isn’t up to date.

Code: Almost nothing inside a specifically coded website is automatic, unless you build it that way. Keeping your website fresh and current is a constant struggle with code. Every new feature and innovation that hits the market must be dissected and manually updated or installed to keep you up to date and often compatibility becomes an issue, making rewrites necessary.

Easy Comment Management

CMS: If you’ve done your job right then your web traffic will increase incrementally over time. Some of these site visitors want to comment on what you do. Most CMS’s have a comment system built right into the admin panel. Managing contacts and answering customer questions is quick and easy with a CMS

Code: All the same features are possible with code but they must be written from scratch or purchased and installed separately. These added comment systems are regularly updated and modified as well meaning you have to reinstall new versions. Sometimes these prepared features have compatibility issues which leads to some first-hand coding to get it right.

Ultimately Content Management Systems do have some limitations. Some or most of the visual layout is frozen in place but there are quick and easy fixes for these problems as well. With literally thousands of pre-packaged themes available to install on your CMS virtually any layout is within your grasp and can be installed in minutes.

A Content Mangement System makes your website easy to edit and let’s you do it all by yourself.

For all these reasons and more Canopy Media works exclusively with Content Management Systems.

For a little more info on website choices and creation take a look at these helpful articles below:

Generating Ideas: How-To Write Your Own Blog
How To Keep Them Clicking: Reducing Bounce Rate
How to Increase Your Web Traffic

It’s a simple philosophy for buying local goods and services whenever possible to reduce the ecological footprint of the things we consume. That’s what The Market Meaford is based on.

Situated on Highway 26 just outside of Meaford, Ontario, The Market Meaford sells local products, food and vegetables in an effort to support local producers and the environment.

Regional farmers, gardeners, canners, bakers, cheesemakers, apiarists and producers of all kinds have pooled their local products into a one-stop shop!

Working together with that community of producers, The Market Meaford plans to provide all their customers with nutritious, great tasting food while also helping the immediate community thrive. They’re always looking for support or feedback. Stop by or drop them a line anytime.

The Market Meaford: Needs Analysed

As usual Canopy media dove right into the project, sitting down with owner/operator Kara Wildeman to properly assess what was required. After a face-to-face meeting and an online Needs Analysis we were off to the races.

Kara and The Market Meaford needed a simple website that delivered good information to the local community as well as facilitating online purchases. Canopy Media made sure The Market Meaford got exactly what they needed to succeed.

A full listing of suppliers, some helpful recipes, solid contact info and, of course, an online store for electronic shoppers to make their local food purchases from the comfort of their own home.

Take a look at The Market Meaford website and we think you’ll agree The Market Meaford got a website that works. Contact Kara directly for some one-on-one information about the business.

Canopy Media builds websites that work. If you need a new website or an aging one reworked contact us today for your free Needs Analysis.

Or take a look at some of our other successful projects below:

Quench Buggy: A Website That Works
Blue Mountain Fitness and Yoga Launch Their Website

Blue Mountain Fitness and Yoga offers a full range of exercise and training courses including:

• Yoga
• Circuit Training
• Power Walking
• Cycling
• And Wellness Retreats

Honing body and mind towards a balanced life is what Blue Mountain Yoga & Fitness is all about.

What Blue Mountain Fitness and Yoga Needed

When Jessica came to us she was just starting her new business so she needed a brand new website built from scratch that she could edit herself without too much effort and training. After a quick Needs Analysis we knew exactly how to deliver.

Using the WordPress content management system we were able to deliver. Canopy Media has built a website that will allow Blue Mountain Fitness and Yoga to quickly establish itself as a leader in local fitness and training. The professionally designed website has all the bells and whistles she needs to be successful.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we created and installed:

Sitemapping and Layout: We sat down with Jessica and discovered exactly what she needed in terms of content for her website. The next step was organizing that information into a clean and easy-to-use layout called a sitemap. Her services, programs, schedules, contact info and even downloadable content is all right there for Jessica and her clients.

Content Editing & Installation: We walked Jessica through the content creation process, letting her know what elements we needed to build an effective site. After a quick edit, installation and some publishing all of her photos and text content was up on the web ready to go live.

Feedback and Review: At Canopy Media we understand that a website is a constantly evolving organism. Things change during the creative process so we kept Jessica in the loop every step of the way to ensure she got exactly what she wanted.

We also added features to help her clients stay organized, such as the calendar system to show when various fitness programs were scheduled. Canopy Media works with our clients from start to finish.

The Finished Product

Hey, there’s no need to take our word for it. Why don’t you pop on over to Blue Mountain Fitness and Yoga’s website and see how we did. At Canopy Media quality and customer satisfaction are our hallmarks.

Visit Blue Mountain Fitness and Yoga and let us know what you think.

Our experience, quality web design and attention to detail makes our customers happy every time. If you need an immediate solution or just want to talk some shop, drop us a line. We’re here to help!