500 million hours. That's how much our planet watches YouTube every day. And 87% of marketing teams use video in some capacity. By now, everyone agrees that video is a growing and vital component to any successful marketing strategy.

Any company can create compelling video content that deepens a brand and builds lasting relationships with consumers.

Here's how:

1. Ditch the Direct Appeal
People tend to consume online videos in moments of leisure: on their phone in the subway, at their desk at work while taking a breather, on the couch at home. If the content feels like an ad, it's going to get turned off. Instead, try to create a flow of content that conveys your brand without "selling" it. Don't be pushy. Just tell the stories that are at the heart of your company.

Check out this example by our very own team at Zoomhum:

2. Be Emotional
Don't be afraid to include stories and moments that pull at the heart strings or reveal a bit of grit, passion, anger, joy. It's these emotional cues that are going to keep your customer tuned in and coming back for more. If you're interviewing employees, be sure to ask them in the interview process how they feel about the topic. What does it mean to them personally? How has it changed their life? If the answer is that it hasn't, then you probably shouldn't be making the video in the first place. And check back soon for a blog post on how to illicit emotional content in interviews. 

Here's an example from Zoomhum that uses emotion and emotional terms like "family:"

3. Be Quick
Any video over one minute in length better be spectacular. Because no one -- not even the CEO's mom -- is going to sit down and watch it on their phone, tablet, or desktop. No one. It's just not going to happen. It's far better to make five one-minute videos than one five-minute video. Remember, people are probably going to be consuming these videos on their phones in random off moments. Fit into that little moment.

Another example from our very own team:

4. Fire Your In-House Team
If you have an in-house video team, they're going to need equipment. That equipment is going to last about three years, and then you'll be investing another $30,000-to-$50,000. Also, not every video team is great at every assignment. These days, even if there's not a production company in your city that fits your needs, you can find one on Google and fly them. Working with multiple teams allows you to be nimble and create content that has a lot of diversity.

5. Have a personality -- and show it.
We know from working with a wide bevy of companies that each one is unique. Some companies plan beer parties on the beach to blow off steam. Others have tea and "mindfullness" sessions in the conference room. If you don't know what your company's personality is, then ask some of the vendors who service you. Once you know, use it. Create content that reflects the actual culture of your company. It's going to result in more genuine videos -- and authenticity can't be bought. It's also just about the most compelling thing to watch.

Thanks for taking the time to engage with us, and we hope that you consider contacting us if you're looking to hire a top-tier team to create content for you.

- David Myers, Zoomhum LLC
 

At Zoomhum, we have a special passion for telling the stories of educational institutions through promotional videos for schools, colleges, and universities. As former instructors in the field of video production, we feel a special kinship with the work of instructors -- and working with students is still a great treat for us.

We love to work with creative marketing teams, like the one at MB2 Dental Solutions, who understand the value of adding narratives into their media mix. This recent piece explores the life of Dr. Simmons in Victoria, Texas. Instead of focusing on his dental practice, we learn about his life outside of the office.

When Evan Stewart Nilza Rueckert of RUECKERT + STEWART and Ebby Halliday approached us, they had a vision for a new kind of real estate video -- one that is story-driven and emotional. "People make decisions with their emotions and then justify the decisions with logic," Evan said.

We were immediately drawn to the vision, and we're proud to present our first story-driven real estate video. In it, you'll meet one of the owners of the home, as she remembers favorite moments from her time in the house.

We look forward to making more of these videos in the future.

Over the past week, we were honored to cover part of the story of Hurricane Harvey. We travelled to Beaumont, Texas, and Port Arthur, Texas, documenting the stories of employees that work for a company that was hit hard by the storm.

In one neighborhood after another, we saw the same thing -- everyone's possessions out in the front yard, waiting to be picked up and brought to the dump. The flooding from Hurricane Harvey was far more expansive and devastating that we thought it could be. Mile after mile. It was immense.

In the coming weeks, we'll be putting together this story, and we're excited to share the great humor, warmth, and humanity of the people who we interviewed. 

You can donate to victims of the storm through the Red Cross at the following link: https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-harvey?scode=RSG00000E017&utm_campaign=Harvey&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI35yEo7ud1gIVCoRpCh3yfQx1EAAYASAAEgK4dPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLD5wae7ndYCFViraQodCJAKqQ

This video gives a little overview of some of the commercial and corporate video that we've been shooting over the past few months. We're excited to be sharing it with friends, colleagues, and future clients.

Most of the footage was shot on Canon C100 Mark II's and the DJI Phantom 4 Professional.

We were really proud to work with Rachel Kay Public Relations, a PR firm our of Manhattan, on their project for Barbara's, a company that makes familiar products like Puffin Cereal. Each year, Barbara's awards a grand prize of $10,000 to a kidpreneur. This year, Kaden Newton of Rockwall, Texas, won the grand prize, and we were thrilled to spend the day with him. 

At the age of seven, Kaden founded a nonprofit company that feeds kids in need. The company, "Mac & Cheese and Pancakes," is a really special idea. We recommend that everyone reaches out to them by donating some food products.

Zoomhum LLC makes promotional corporate films for social media. This is a great example of what we love to do.

As proud new members of the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce, we were excited to cover their Celebration of Excellence, 2017. We set up an interview station on their red carpet and did a brief highlight video of the overall event. It's always exciting to see members of the Dallas community come together for such a great cause.

Over the past two months, we worked with the owners at CrossFit Deep in Dallas, Texas, crafting a business video for their website. The assignment was the combine some hand-held, "Saving-Private-Ryan" b-roll footage with a polished interview setup. We're really excited to share the final product.

We were thrilled to get the chance to create some branded content for one of our favorite stores in East Dallas, Dowdy Studio. Dylan and Pamela, the owners of Dowdy, are a ton of fun to shoot with, and they're both such consummate artists. 

For this project, we were asked to tell a visual story, forgoing interviews. In the piece, there are only two brief bits of spoken audio. Dylan tells the story of the store through his focused, precise movement on the screen printer.

We love everything in Dowdy Studio -- the shirts, the cards, the pillows, the new children's-line of clothing. We can't wait to see how the store continues to grow with the wider East Dallas neighborhood.

One of the best parts of working in commercial video production is having the occasional day when we can let loose with a personal project. We had a lot of fun with our chef friends, Alex and Scott, as they whipped together some shrimp scampi. We used the shoot as a chance to play with some speed grading and new studio lights from Dracast.

The sound design in this video is intentionally a little over-the-top dramatic and brings to mind a mix of the TV show "Dexter" and "Barefoot Contessa."