Posts Tagged ‘Videography’

By Tim Coulon, Vice President Creative, Coles Marketing Communications

When it comes to shooting photos for business purposes, pictures often really are worth a thousand words. But based on the quality of photographs encountered in newsletters, brochures and even advertisements, many companies are speaking to their customers in tongues.

Professional photographers produce the finest pictures, but there isn’t always the time and budget to hire one. Point-and-shoot cameras can often fill the void for simple day-to-day business purposes, and more people are carrying smartphones that can take high-resolution photos.

The problem is the business people wielding these cameras make many common mistakes, resulting in pictures that are out of focus, badly composed or over-exposed by flash. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected with the following advice, plus a little bit of practice!

• Don’t be afraid of retakes. The great thing about digital cameras is there’s no film to waste. The first picture you take probably isn’t the best one. Take four or five photos, and weed through them on your computer for the best one.
• Always shoot on your camera’s highest resolution setting. You can decide later to shrink a photo down, but you can’t improve a low-res picture once it’s taken.
• Don’t take the name “point-and-shoot” too literally! Many people assume wherever they happen to be standing is the best place to take a picture. Walk around your subject, looking for the best angle and lighting.
• Avoid leaving too much space around what you’re shooting. Move in or zoom in until you’re framed fairly tightly around your subject.
• Watch out for distracting objects or people in the background. You don’t want to take a portrait of your CEO with an “Exit” sign right over his/her head!
• Excess motion can result in blurry or bad photos. Anchor your body when you’re ready to shoot. Press the shutter button smoothly — don’t stab or jerk the camera. It might even be a good idea to hold your breath.
• Avoid shooting a person straight on, looking directly into the camera. They will look stiff and uncomfortable. Have them turn their body at a slight angle and swivel their head toward the camera for a more natural, candid look.
• You can even have your portrait subject looking away from the camera. If you do this, frame them slightly off-center and include more of the area in the direction they’re looking. This “look space” effect results in great environmental portraits.
• Don’t stand someone up against a wall to take their picture. It will resemble a police mug shot and create a shadow halo around their head.
• Use your point-and-shoot’s autofocus function wisely. Most digital cameras allow you to press the shutter button halfway to set the focus. You can then move the camera around to change or improve the composition. Aim first at what you want to be in focus, press the button halfway to lock it in, and move around until you like what you see. Then press the shutter the rest of the way to take the shot.
• Focusing with a smartphone camera is a little different. On most smartphones, you can tap the screen on the object you want to focus on. Then press the shutter button to take the picture. Otherwise it will just focus on whatever is in the center of your screen.
• Smartphone cameras have a wider aspect ratio than regular cameras, resulting in a long, skinny image. Avoid holding the phone upright while taking a picture, unless you’re photographing something tall like a building or a basketball player.
• Your camera’s flash function is best when used about five or six feet away from your subject. If you’re too close, they’ll be blasted with light and washed out. If they’re more than 10 feet away, the flash won’t reach them. Try to use natural light whenever possible.
• If you’re photographing outdoors, bright sunny days aren’t the best choice. Shoot on an overcast day or in the shade for the best effects.

Looking for experts behind the lens? Check out what photography services Coles has to offer!

I recently read a story about the demise of PR firms in our local Sunday paper. The article discussed how PR firms need to keep up with times and are slowly closing shop, due in large part because they can’t keep up with new technology and the ever changing marketing world.

We get the “has YOUR business changed?” question a lot and the obvious answer is “yes.”

In fact, to showcase how our business has changed since we started back in 1985 as a PR firm, (and I should note that we are now a marketing communication firm) below are ten marketing tools I have discussed with various clients in various industries in the past 24 hours.

1) SMS Marketing — Remember when you wouldn’t give out your email to any company wishing to sign up for their service? Fast forward ten years and welcome to the world of SMS marketing. Giving out your cell number to any company, giving that company permission to text your phone is a tough call.  Companies engaging in SMS marketing need to make sure your content is relevant, timely and usable to the end user.

2) QR Codes — Are we really that lazy? Yes! When it comes to marketing, automating “calls to action” and saving your potential or existing target audience time can be the difference between gaining and losing a long-term customer.

3) Blogs — SEO. That’s really all there is to say. If you aren’t blogging, start. Content is still king.

4) Video on websites — Yes, the world has changed. We no longer have the time to read 1999 websites with loads of text. Sure content is still king for SEO, but video can be dual- effect of telling your story visually and enhancing SEO.

5) Media Relations  — The Indianapolis Home Show will be kicking off their 90th edition at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2012. The show will be bigger and better than before. Stay tuned for more details.

6) Printed Brochures — Printed brochures still can have a powerful effect on potential customers. Sure we live in a digital world, but the sense of touch is still alive and kicking.

7) Customized Demographic Online Banner Advertising — No longer do you have to place a banner on a specific site, hoping the ad will have some impact on your target audience. Are you targeting mothers with babies, making over 75k and living in Zip Code 46220? The solution is customized demographic online banner advertising.

Word of Mouth Marketing — It happens everyday, but how should companies track it.? And what are evangelists and how do companies identify this group? Coles Marketing is one of the only firms in Indiana trained in effective Word of Mouth Marketing. It’s a proven method that yields results for our clients and companies around the world.

9) An On-Hold Greeting — Call it old fashion, but a recorded phone greeting can be the first impression of your company. Whether your recording your message or answering the phone; be polite, informative and enthusiastic.

10) Billboard Advertising — A proven method of branding your company. Be short and grab their attention. Remember the average driver has 3 seconds to take in your message. There is nothing worse than driving by a billboard crammed with information. Save it for a print ad!

As a marketing firm, we have more tools in our toolbox than ever before. I wouldn’t call that “demise,” I  call it “opportunity.” And we certainly couldn’t keep up with these changing times without having a dedicated and talented staff ,working together to keep our clients top of mind.

Yesterday, we discussed how difficult it is to define what we do in one or two sentences. While it may be hard to describe what you do, it’s likely that everyone has a mission statement.  We recently completed a project with Sourwine Real Estate Services. The goal was to put their mission statement into an “elevator speech.”

Click on the video below to view their “elevator speech.” And check out their entire web site, including available office space, by clicking on this link.

One common question among friends, colleagues and potential clients is "what do you do?" You would think it's an easy answer, and in some cases it is. For instance, "I am a plumber" or "I am an electrician" are pretty self explanatory.  But, what about "I am in marketing" or "I am in marketing communications"?  It's sometimes hard to boil our type of business down to one or two sentences. In 1985, Coles Marketing started out as a public relations firm.  As growth occurred and client requests changed, we adapted and grew. Along the way, we added media buying services and a creative department. Recently, I ran across a term that will give you a better understanding of how our business has changed in recent years.

A definition of content marketing is below from Wikipedia.

"Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty."

Wikipedia continues with the following information.

"Many content marketers choose to create new information and share it via any and all media. Content marketing products frequently take the form of custom magazines, print or online newsletters, digital content, websites or microsites, white papers, webcasts/webinars, podcasts, video portals or series, in-person roadshows, roundtables, interactive online, email, events."

So while we maintain our roots as a traditional public relations and advertising firm, gaining credibility and reach for our clients.  We also realize the importance of maintaining and/or retaining brand loyalty. At Coles Marketing, we continue to stay on top of the latest marketing trends and adapt and grow with our clients. And in this ever adapting world, we don't mind adding a couple more sentences to our "what we do" explanation.

Are your e-newsletters stale?  If the answer is yes, you are not alone.  In today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving marketing world it’s a challenge to keep your audience engaged. 

At Coles Marketing Communications, we develop campaigns to keep your audience engaged.  Our philosophy is “content is king,” no matter what the marketing medium. 

As a full service marketing communications company, we have the capability to research, write, design, shoot video, track email campaigns and keep the conversation going after the campaign has been completed.  We recently rolled out a twice a month email campaign to central Indiana golfers, which offers video tips from the Pro and specials to five RN Thompson Golf courses.  The courses include: Ironwood Golf Course, Winding Ridge Golf Course, Smock Golf Course, Southern Dunes Golf Course and Gray Eagle Golf Course.

Readers are engaged with updated material, weekly specials (offering some of the cheapest golf rates in central Indiana) and quality video golf tips from Scott Morris (PGA Pro) to keep golfers on top of their game.

If you’re interested in receiving the newsletter, visit the RN Thompson web site to sign up.