VE Digital

Day: April 28, 2022

  • Where to Find Motivation and Inspiration When You’re Stuck

    Where to Find Motivation and Inspiration When You’re Stuck

    Where to Find Motivation and Inspiration When You’re Stuck

    It’s normal to find yourself unmotivated and uninspired sometimes. Slumps happen to everyone and you don’t have to be too hard on yourself when you just can’t seem to pull yourself together. When this happens to you, don’t fret because there are ways to find motivation and inspiration to get you back on your feet and running and hustling again like before. We got you.

     

    How To Find Motivation

     

    Revisit your ‘Why’.

    When you find yourself listless and uninspired to do the things you need to do, one thing that always perks me up is by thinking about my ‘whys’. It’s a simple gesture yet it’s something that we always neglect when we become too busy and preoccupied with life.

    In this fast-paced world, we are always on the go. We hustle hard and we get as many things done as we possibly can. We are always racing with time but when a moment of demotivation hits us, we feel like we’re not worthy to even slow down for just a little bit. If you are that kind of person, this is the sign you’re looking for. It’s okay to slow down and rest for a bit.

    When you lack the motivation to do your work, reach your goals, or even do your passion, it’s the perfect time to revisit the reasons why you are doing them in the first place.

     

    List down things that make you smile.

    An effective way to keep yourself motivated is by having a list of things that make you smile. Take a moment to jot down the things that brought you joy and the moments that made you excited.

    Do this daily to keep your list running with things that made you happy. Do you feel excited when you finish up work and go home to make dinner for your family? Does it make you smile when you saw a rainbow in the sky? Have you read something funny on the internet that brightened up your day? No matter how small or silly or irrelevant you think that thing is, if it made you happy, list it down. We often forget that it’s the little things that matter, it’s the little things that make up the bigger things.

    You can keep a running list of things that made you happy on your Notes App so that you’ll always have access to it and you’ll always get to update it whenever you want to.

     

    Read something.

    Another way to find motivation and inspiration is to read something. May it be books, magazines, news articles, blogs, social updates, or whatever, doesn’t matter what medium it is, as long as you just read.

    Reading is a great way to find new ideas when you’re dried out. Perhaps you’ll find fresh thoughts when you read other people’s perspectives. Need to generate new ideas for content creation? There’s a plethora of high-quality content on the internet, just know how to filter the trash and look for the gold.

     

    Go outside.

    Sometimes, a change in surroundings will be a great help to get you out of your slump and demotivated state. It refreshes the mind and lets you see the world in a different light. Take a short walk and look at your surroundings.

    Listening to your favorite music while outside can also do wonders.

     

    Talk to a friend.

    When you find yourself lacking in the motivation department, talking to your friends can be another way to help you out.

    Phone a friend, go to the gym together or meet at a park to hang out and get to conversing. Having someone supportive by your side is a wonder to have especially when you have baggage to unload.

    If you want to have work done, you can have work dates. Grab your laptop and meet a friend. Even if you’re working on different projects, you’ll have a feeling of wanting to be productive by having someone who is also doing their work.

     

    Rest but don’t give up.

    There are times when we just couldn’t help but feel down. We don’t have the energy, both mentally and physically, to do the things we’re supposed to do. In times like this, it’s okay to accept that we don’t have the motivation to move. You can always take some rest.

    Rest but don’t quit. That’s what I always tell myself. There will always be moments in your life when you don’t feel inspired or motivated and it’s okay to take it slow. It’s okay to just be in your comfy pajamas watching your favorite tv show or surfing the internet or just relaxing. Having a day off won’t hinder you from achieving your goals. It’s a needed rest and you deserve it after working so hard.

     

    Where to Find Motivation and Inspiration When You're Stuck

     

    Where to Find Inspiration

     

    Facebook Groups

    Whatever topic it is you are looking for, or whatever field, I am pretty sure that Facebook has a group about it. Facebook Groups are great resources to find inspiration from. There are a lot of people active in these things and you get authentic inputs from groups that have highly engaged members.

     

    Youtube Videos

    Are you looking for something? A tutorial? A guide? An inspirational talk? Maybe just some ambient sound to relax your mind? YouTube has them all. This platform has grown exponentially over the years and the amount of content you can find in it is infinite.

    Whenever I need inspiration and I’m not in the mood to read, I open youtube and let it suck me into its many videos.

     

    Podcasts

    Podcasts are a wonderful thing. When you don’t have the time to watch a video, you can turn to podcasts and listen to them while doing your chores or something.

    Podcasts have been growing in the last few years and there’s a great variety of content in it today for almost any subject you can think of. Want to learn more about Mythology? Relationships? Digital Marketing? Want to listen to worship and gospel? Book raves? Slice of life? Crime and Mystery? There’s a podcast for these, I tell you. And you can listen to them whenever you want to! Such great things to pick up inspiration from!

     

    Pinterest

    Looking for visual inspirations? Pinterest is my go-to. It has a plethora of aesthetically pleasing photos to very well-designed infographics that will help you find motivation and inspiration in no time! Pinterest is a wonder.

     

    Other Blogs

    Another way to find motivation and inspiration is by browsing other people’s blogs. You can find so many things by reading other people’s words and most of the time, that’s what helps me overcome my slumps. Search up blogs on your niche or topic and find people whose writing style you like. With thousands of blogs on the internet, I don’t think you’ll have difficulty finding some that will become your new favorites.

     

    Books

    When all else fails, reading a book, or something tangible like a magazine can help you. Read something even unrelated to your work to refresh your brain. Read an adventure book to stimulate your imagination. Read a romance book to tickle your romantic bone. Maybe fiction or self-help is your thing, then go ahead and read that.

    The point is, reading is oil to the brain that will keep it from rusting and it always gives you something new to learn. And new learnings will eventually give you inspirations and new ideas for your work.

     

    We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and we have different ways to cope up with different stress factors. When you happen to be in a slump and demotivated state, just know that you’re not the only one who feels this way. I hope the tips stated above would help you and give you some ideas on how to gain inspiration and get you motivated again.

    Keep fighting!

  • How To Express Your Brand’s Story Through Videos

    How To Express Your Brand’s Story Through Videos

    6 Colorful Ways To Express Your Brand’s Story Through Videos

    When you create videos for your business, it’s important to have knowledge on how to have the creative ideas behind these videos as well as understand its production process. As you put out your product launches or campaigns, you always have to think about creating unique and engaging videos to cater to your audience. And knowing how to express your brand’s story through videos will allow you to increase your company’s social accounts engagements and have better aesthetics on your website.

    This post is going to be all about the process of creating these videos. We will be talking about how we start going into the creative setting, our strategy, and our goals for the videos we want to create. We will also cover the creative process, on how to pull visual inspirations for our content, planning the video production, finding the right people to work with, and doing the post-production processes.

    Social media is always evolving as we have mentioned in our previous articles, and video is becoming more popular and important than ever. Being in the digital marketing world, you have to possess skills to be able to traverse the creative and production space. And that’s exactly what we’ll be going on about in this post, on how to bring together a few essential elements to create amazing videos. Let’s get started.

    Why is Video Important for Marketing?

    With the increase in the need for video content in the digital marketing space, the lines between marketing, creative, and production teams have become blurred.  Marketing is about capturing your audience’s attention, and lately, videos are an excellent medium for that. 

    According to The Daily Carnage, mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year and 83% of marketers say that videos help them generate leads. In 2021, there was an 800% increase in global watch time of ad-supported video content. Learning these numbers is enough to conclude that videos are now a basic part of the digital world that needs you to level up your marketing effort to succeed.

     

    Define Your Goals to Create a Successful Video

    In the digital marketing field, having a clear strategy behind everything you do is vital. Your strategy is your map to achieving success and it’s no different when it comes to planning for your videos. In your strategy, you will have to define your goals for your video, who you’re target audience is, and why your video is important. 

    In goal setting, you’ll have to address several questions to aid you in creating your strategy. Depending on your brand and what you are trying to market, you’ll have to determine your top three objectives in creating your video content. It can be introducing your product or service, launching a new collection, teaching customers how to use certain things, or selling your product or service. 

    Define your target audience. When you think about your potential customer, you’ll be able to think about the types of questions that will help you define these people. But this time, you have to be as specific as possible. Being thoroughly specific will help influence how your visuals look and the type of aesthetics to go for in your video. It will also influence the platforms you’ll choose to have your videos uploaded on. It’s helpful to get as specific as possible with your target audience because that will definitely help your creative direction later on.

    You will also have to define your values. This will help determine what type of copy to make and what type of visuals to have in your video. How do you want your viewers to perceive you? Do you want to be for the masses or for the luxurious? This will help you narrow down the type of visuals you’ll want to produce in your video.

    Finally, you also have to choose the platforms to upload your videos on. Where do you want to focus? YouTube is best for longer form informational videos, TikTok is great for quick and engaging videos, as well as Instagram Reels, Facebook is a great platform for emotional or informational videos, and your website is best for how-to’s, campaign videos, and general brand videos. 

    Think about what your company’s goals have right now and why your brand wants to create videos. Having a clear ‘why’ will help you out tremendously.

     

    How To Express Your Brand's Story Through Videos

     

    Concepting Visuals to Build Your Marketing Video

    Now that you have your goals and strategies in place, you can begin conceptualizing your video and how it will come to life. This process will include pulling together a mood board to get visual ideas. Inputting together your mood board, you’ll have to consider your lighting, your props, your background, and other types of visuals. Watching videos on Vimeo and YouTube will help you brainstorm ideas for this.

    Start conceptualizing by making a mood board and to start it, I highly recommend going through Pinterest because you can get a lot of inspiration from there. Pick your top images that go cohesively together. You can use Canva or Adobe Illustrator to create a mood board template. When you look at the mood board you created, it should give you a specific feeling and every image has to be cohesive or connected with the one next to it.

    To get you started with what images to include in your mood board, here’s a checklist:

    • 3-4 images that represent the types of models
    • 3-4 images that represent the types of space that you want to shoot in
    • 3-4 images that represent the lighting and ambiance

    When you’ve checked all of these boxes, you should be able to put together a cohesive mood board that will serve as the visual inspiration for your video.

    You can also write a couple of phrases or words under the photos you put together to describe what’s happening in your mood board. 

     

    Writing Your Marketing Video Script

    Now that your mood board is done, you can start writing your copy or video scripts. You don’t need to write a whole movie scene, you just have to prepare a short and concise copy that will express how you want your brand to be perceived in the video.

    Start off with writing out all the things you want to get into your video. When you’re creating your script, make sure to write in the tone of voice of the target audience you are looking to attract. You want to use words that will be appealing to your audience.

    You want to have an engaging hook, a concise body that includes all the information you want to disseminate, and finally closing and a call to action telling your viewers what to do, whether it be to purchase something, to learn more, etc.

    Once you have your script laid out, it’s important you make a recording of the whole thing to see how long it takes for the whole copy to be spoken. Doing this will help you make sure that your video is long or short enough to fit the platform you’re going to upload it in. 

    Choosing Your Location and Production Equipment

    Now that we have all the things above, it’s time to get into planning the production. In order to proceed with actually shooting your video, you’ll need to look for your location and have the right equipment. 

    In finding the perfect shooting location, there are things to consider because you have a lot of different options. You can shoot in a studio that already has all the equipment you need, or you can shoot on location and bring your own equipment. There are pros and cons to each option. Typically, shooting on location can be a bit more challenging because you’ll have to bring your own equipment. As for shooting in a studio, you’ll have to create the look you want to build for your video. You also have to consider the studio’s availability dates and what equipment they have on hand.

    Another thing to consider is the recording sound onset you have. This factor is often overlooked but because the sound is vital in videos, it’s important you know if your location or the studio is soundproof or if there are any sounds that will get picked up by the video. 

    Work with your videographer so that they will understand the exact type of ambiance you desire. 

     

    Sourcing Models and Props for Your Video Shoot

    In the next part after securing your location, you’ll then need to source your models and find your props. Your models and props will bring your video to life so you have to really be thorough in picking these. You might work with a casting director if you have a large-scale project, or with a smaller team and hire models yourself. Regardless, if you have to take in any task in the video production process, you’ll want to have a look at the models you select so that you can achieve your vision.

    When sourcing models, there are a few options you can use. You can work with a modeling agency, use a talent sourcing site such as Swipecast, or just search through Instagram.

    As for props, you can be as resourceful as you can. Props can be everywhere. It can be your daily things, a chair from your house, or from a local prop rental studio. You can also get some items from Amazon if you can’t find them at your local store. 

    Planning for Post-Production of Express Your Brand’s Story Through Videos

    The last thing on the list here is the post-production of your video. Now that you have your creative and production plans, it’s time to plan for your post-production. 

    Knowing the exact specs for how the video will be edited, will help your videographer plan the way they shoot the video and the angles that they use. You also have to consider the different specs and requirements for the sizes of your video. Has your video been edited for multiple platforms, like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Vimeo, and more? This will allow you to make the most of your investment and will also allow your customers to have the same experience across multiple platforms. Having your videos sized properly makes the process easier when it’s time to upload your campaigns. 

     

    Final Thoughts

    As marketers, it is so important to know how to create videos. Learning how to express your brand’s story through videos is what every marketer needs to know in this digital age. Hopefully, this deep dive into the world of video production gave you a sense of knowing. Now that you know the video production process, it’s time to put what you learned into action. 

    For more articles like this, do visit our blog!