Welcome to Saucy Horse - Video Production & Social Media Marketing.

Visit our websites :

VIDEO PRODUCTION FOR BUSINESS & WEB
http://SaucyHorse.co.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING http://SaucyHorseSocialMedia.co.uk

Monday 27 June 2011

Like Comedy, it involves...timing






When you've made the decision to put video on your website due to all the positive factors it brings, you'll have to decide how long you want your clip to be.

(All videos from the SaucyHorseTV YouTube Channel)

For a promo clip, a short 60-120 second video with all the features packed in will do wonders for your business and site. This clip for La Manga shows off the resort to beautiful advantage and makes the viewer want to learn more and hopefully go there. (I have to admit, I watched this clip more times than necessary for research purposes and imagined myself there!)

 

You can also position your company and previous work undertaken with a 120 - 180 second clip. This clip for Saucy Horse shows of techniques, previous work and styles which gives customers an idea of the work that we do.

 

A longer clip of 4 - 6 minutes can give your customers and visitors to the site a full breaksown of your company, staff and facilities. It's an ideal showcase for your company.

 

Your video partner will help you in your decision as to which clip is best for you and your business. They should have a range of packages on offer which will meet your needs. Even the shortest video keeps customers and prospective customers on your site for longer, giving you more chance to showcase your product or services.

What kind of video would suit you and your market best?

 





 

Friday 24 June 2011





two-girls-whispering.jpg image by getfrank

"Your brand is what people are saying about you when you're not in the room"

I'm not sure who coined that phrase but it's a cracker. Daniel Rowse wrote a great blog on ProBlogger about branding for your own blog and it got me thinking about Business Brands.

So, what are people saying about your brand? Do you even know?? I've asked a few business owners this question. One replied - "We don't really have a brand, we just sell carpets". Well, let's have a look at that first...

A brand emerges over time whether a business actively works towards it or not, and whether that business wants it or not! Your customers and potential customers begin to develop perceptions about your service or product, and what your company stands for, in many instances, sub-consciously. Social Media networks provide an immediate platform for your customers' opinions, thoughts and experiences. And we can all access our social networks wherever we are now, courtesy of the technological leaps in mobile devices. So, we're in a restaurant having a great meal - we might Tweet that... We're in a carpet shop and the service is terrible - we might Tweet that as well, or comment on our Facebook wall - and it's out there, for millions of people to see. One tiny ingredient in the recipe that will become your Brand.
There are 300,000+ businesses on Facebook, and half a million new users every day. Twitter is on target for 1 billion users by 2012. As social media users grow exponentially (that's your customer base we're talking about - B2C and B2B), it's clear that, whether you are engaging with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn et al, as a business or not, things will be said about your company. The important thing is to listen - and to do that, you need to be there in the room!

People will make up their own minds about who you are and what your company stands for – but you do have some ability to help them come to these conclusions. As they use your product or service, as they hear how others feel about you by reading online reviews and Tweets, and as they then engage with others, sharing their own thoughts and experiences of your business, your brand is being built. If you are listening to these conversations and taking part - with relevant contributions and helping out with answers to questions - you are in a strong position not only to manage and enhance your reputation, but also to respond positively in the way you take your business to the market in the future. Let's say you are listening to your competitors' customers for instance, perhaps by following them on Twitter, perhaps by monitoring comments on Facebook pages, and you hear that there is a specific problem to which you can actually provide a solution - you are in a position to take action. That's responsiveness, and the immediacy of this interaction and feedback beats any Focus Group or Market Research by a long shot, doesn't it?? Let's face it, if you're not listening, you may never know it was said in the first place, and that includes complaints and derogatory comments as well as praise!

So, for brand enhancement alone, the ability to build relationships with your customers is key - and for all the hype and buzz around "social media", the point, surely, is that it's the most effective way to do just that - build relationships. By doing that, you will know what they are saying, and they will know you are listening. It's great customer service and plain business sense.

Please leave your comments below - are there better ways than using the social networks to monitor what your customers think about you?



Thursday 23 June 2011

Using Video on your Website - YouTube







Ninth in a series of entries inspired by Social Media Examiner - 26 Ways to Engage With Customers Using Video All quotes come from the article - have a look, it's an informative lesson in using video.

YouTube

Mention video on the web and you instantly think, "YouTube". Its ease of use, upload and search facility makes it the first stop for people who want to upload video. It's the go-to site for people wanting to see how something is done - try following written word instructions to make an origami crane. Going to YouTube to watch the video tutorial is quicker and easier. How did we cope without it?

If you use a blog rather than a have company website you can store your videos on your YouTube channel and embed them directly into your blog. People can subscribe to your channel and be updated instantly by email as soon as you add a new video. It's such a powerful tool that you cannot think of Social Media without it - it seamlessly integrates into Twitter (and twitter clients), Facebook and LinkedIn. Apps are available on Apple products to allow YouTube videos to be watched and shared.

YouTube is now one of the top thre search engines. You can ensure that your video is found by making the description of the video as complete as possible. Also, check the autocomplete search box and make sure that your description comes up in there as one of the top 3 autocompletes.

How would you integrate YouTube videos into your Social Media and Website? Do you use YouTube for work or do you think of it as a social resource?




Wednesday 22 June 2011

When Social Media Goes Bad







This is an old story, but it’s such a great case history and article. Since I’m a new Saucy Horse, I’d like to share my favourite stories, case histories and writers with you. We’ve touched on this subject here before.
When things are going right on your Social Media Feeds, it’s great. You’re interacting with your contacts, customers and  potential customers; everyone is happy and life is good.
Then something like this could happen.

Somewhere, far from your PC and your Social Media Policy, a circumstance over which you have no control has the potential to cause serious damage to your company’s reputation.  Kevin Smith is a serious “influencer” as a successful and popular film director with nearly two million followers.
How Southwest handled this is detailed in this excellent article by Cord Silverstein of Marketing Hipster.
This began a back and forth Twitter throw down that Southwest Airlines could not win.  When you are dealing with an influencer who has the backing of his people, right or wrong, the people are going to have their say against the big bad corporation. This is where Southwest’s social media strategy truly took flight.
They did the following:
  • They responded to each individual who tweeted to @SouthwestAir about the situation.  No matter how mean the tweet was, they responded.  They apologized that Mr. Smith had to go through what he did and explained their company policy.
  • They posted a blog post once again apologizing, but also explained the airlines position.  When their blog went down because of all the traffic they were receiving, they moved their blog post to another Web site so people could read it.
  • If you check out the comments on the blog post, you will see users who left comments with curses and writing some not so nice things about Southwest.  Did they remove these comments or take the easy route and just turn the comments off, no. (Note: the Web site is still real slow because of all the traffic they are getting.  You might not be able to get to this page.)
  • They had a VP from Southwest reach out and speak to Kevin Smith on the phone.
Southwest were adept in their handling of this. They quickly realised that the damage done to Kevin Smith wasn’t immediately fixable; however the damage to their reputation was. They apologised to Mr Smith and then responded to every tweet; and there is the genius. These people were not connected to the incident so Southwest could have legitimately ignored them; Southwest didn’t. However rant-y and rave-y they were, they were included in the discussion.
These bullet points from Cord Silverstein have stuck with me ever since I read the article at the time.
  • In social media, you cannot control the conversation.  Don’t even try.  Your goal is to listen, understand, engage and potentially influence.
  • You are never going to make everyone happy or solve everyone’s problem.  Using this case study as an example, Kevin Smith is not going to be a fan of Southwest Airlines no matter what they say now.  But Southwest understands that they are fighting for the hearts and minds of the thousands possibly millions of other people who are witnessing and discussing this incident online.
  • Finally, half the battle is just showing up.  Southwest knew they could not win this argument.  They knew they were going to take their lumps, but they understood that not engaging in these conversations would be shortsighted and deliver far worse results.
Social Media can go wrong; anything from tweeting from the wrong account to misusing hashtags and all points in between. How we deal with it is what counts.
Making sure that there is a strong Social Media Strategy in place is key.  If you outsource make sure that all sides know how to react in worst-case scenarios. Make sure that everyone who has access to your Social Media Accounts is fully trained; they are the public face of your company. Foster a community.
And never, ever, throw Kevin Smith off a plane.