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The Power of Modern Video Production in Rochester, MN for Website Media

MLT Group has provided professional video production services since 1986. Since then our services have grown to include social media marketing, graphic design, web design, SEO, and more. Our video services team has decades of experience creating visual and audio rich productions that are excellent ways to engage your audience, improve your professional image, and provide a wealth of information concisely and memorably. Videos have long ranked as the most effective communication and marketing tool compared to other content, having outpaced text content and images. With the high-resolution screens and fast internet of today’s highly technological world, videos have come into their own. With our capabilities for video production in Rochester, MN, the Upper Midwest region, and even nationally, brands can increase site traffic, grow their audience, and create long-lasting impressions with viewers.

Digital Devices

In early 2020, reports showed individuals spend an average of 3.7 hours a day on digital devices. Since the coronavirus pandemic enhanced dependence on digital access for hundreds of millions, that number has likely increased significantly. Much of the content we interact with online is video. From YouTube videos to streaming services, it’s rare to go through your day without watching at least one video.

As a provider of comprehensive video production services, including corporate and industrial videos, animation, videos for the web and social media, and even 4k resolution aerial video, we know there are several growing trends in the video world for businesses and organizations to keep in mind.

Some Statistics:

  1. Video display sizes are shrinking with larger percentages of users watching them on smartphones, tablets, and other smaller devices. Video producers should keep in mind how details and spatial placement of on-screen images will be processed visually on smaller screens.
  2. 49% of users watch over five videos daily.
  3. Most users report they find video advertisements more relevant than other formats.
  4. YouTube was ranked higher than Facebook in 2020 for consumer traction and effectiveness in changing consumer behavior.
  5. Online videos are predicted to take up 82% of consumer traffic by 2022. This is 15 times higher than it was in 2017.
  6. 73% of adults in the US utilize YouTube, including almost all 15 to 25-year-olds.
  7. 90% of DIY makers use how-to videos on YouTube.
  8. 60% of businesses use videos for marketing purposes.
  9. 50% of marketers using video have been doing so for at least a year.
  10. 14% of marketers make videos daily.
  11. 36% of marketers make videos weekly.
  12. 94% of brands using video will continue to rely on it for effective marketing purposes.
  13. 74% of businesses using marketing videos say it has a higher return on investment (ROI) than photographs, pictures, or other static imagery.
  14. 68% of businesses say videos have a better ROI than Google Ads.
  15. The consumption of videos on mobile devices increases annually by 100%.

These statistics show by the numbers that videos are the content of the future, and our consumption of video media will only increase as a nation. If you aren’t convinced that there is power to modern video content and video marketing strategies, think about the way you interact with the videos you see around you. Even if you don’t seek out YouTube or Facebook videos, use streaming services, or watch TV, you’ll likely be exposed to a video somewhere in the world.

Video Content

Video content is everywhere, from screens on gas station pumps to digital billboards. Most employers require their staff to watch videos for training, announcements, and other work-related relays of information. News providers use video footage whenever they have it to show what’s happening in the world. Video content has increased so significantly over the years because it is the number one most engaging material, and those who use it know how well it works.

If you’re considering incorporating video content into your brand’s image, marketing strategy, or website, there are three levels of media formats to consider. These levels are the ABCs of video content, and each is effective in various ways.

A-Level:

A-level videos are generally the most polished, produced types of video content and the most expensive and often time-consuming productions. However, these videos can be worth their cost and effort if you need to create a professional, credible, and trustworthy impression. National commercials, corporate profiles, TV products, product explanations, and brand overviews are just some examples of A-level videos that can establish a clear description of the video topic in a professional way. Brands typically partner with a video or marketing company to create a scripted, staged video, often filmed with high resolution cameras and sound systems.

Most brands produce a few A-level videos to establish the quality of their brand, products, or services. Two great examples of A-level company videos are the My Career. My Culture. and My Kohler. commercial for Kohler and their Altogether Kohler highlight reel.

B-Level:

Companies and organizations with smaller budgets may produce mostly B-level material. These videos are generally planned out, scripted, shot, and edited professionally, but without big-budget production values. Even if they aren’t perfect, these videos are highly effective for growing your audience and imparting trustworthiness and authenticity to users. Such videos can create a great connection between your users and your brand without breaking your budget. Common B-level videos include regional commercials, internal corporate videos, how-to videos, educational content, social media videos, video series, testimonials, product demonstrations, and staff profiles.

The lower costs of B-level videos can allow brands to publish new content regularly. With regular video content users will see consistency and reliability in your brand’s practices. To produce a video of this quality requires a script, a production design, on-screen talent, organization and scheduling, professional video equipment and videographers, a director to work with your talent, design for graphics and animation, voice over talent and studio sound recording, and finally professional video editing and mastering.

C-Level:

Finally, we have C-level video content. While C-level videos are the least produced, rawest, and most unpolished content, they can also be one of the best ways to connect with your audience and humanize your brand and team. C-level videos can be done as quickly as pulling out a cell phone or webcam and recording. Some C-level videos include sharing sessions, on-location industry highlights, social media story videos, live polls, product chats, and more. These videos personalize your employees, they can show how passionate your brand is, you can use them to communicate directly with your audience, and because they are the cheapest to produce, you can release C-level content frequently. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat have live feeds and story options that are ideal for releasing C-level videos.

Another benefit of using C-level videos is that they require little editing, they often don’t need more than one person to shoot, and they are low cost. Even if you invest in a portable light and microphone to improve lighting and audio quality, you can usually get these tools for less than $50.

Video Production

No matter what kind of video content you produce or hire a professional to make for you, it’s always a great practice to generate captions to the audio or provide transcriptions of the video into a text format. Not only does this help your brand become more ADA compliant, it will expand your audience, make your site a more inclusive user space, and demonstrate your ethical practices.

To learn more about our video production services in Rochester, MN, contact MLT Group at (507) 281-3490, sales@mltgroup.com today.

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2022 Web Design Trends in Minneapolis, MN That Will Improve Your Brand Image Online

Since the coronavirus forced nonessential shutdowns and working from home became the norm, internet technology dramatically increased its development speeds. New tools and systems are advanced almost daily, design elements and product features trend with frequent turnover rates, and changing SEO algorithms can make or break your site’s effectiveness on search engine platforms. If you own an online brand, it can be challenging to know what the best methods are for success. To answer some of your questions, we’ve gathered data on what’s working and what’s popular today for SEO and design growth. There are a few trends we’ve predicted will become some of the pioneers for web design in 2022. If you need comprehensive, high quality web development and SEO services, MLT Group’s experts can provide web design, marketing, SEO, social media, video production, graphic design, and more. We provide services for complete web development while meeting contemporary web design trends in Minneapolis, MN and across the country.

Web Design Trends

While there are web building foundations and core values that can remain valid for many years and change only with the invention of significantly new technology, there are also hundreds of standards that shift with web design trends. From SEO algorithms created by search engines to the general visual aesthetics of a website, there are many aspects of web design that can rapidly change as new trends arise.

This coming year will likely see changes to web design and technology, especially because of Google’s spring launch of the Page Experience update. This update changes the SEO algorithm for Google rankings to place greater emphasis on user experience. Google’s SEO index and ranking system will now favor sites that have media, tools, aesthetics, and other features that improve user experience.

Some other changes that are predicted to be major web design trends in 2022 include the following:

Fun and positivity:

After the heaviness of 2020 and 2021, users are predicted to respond better to fun, positive, and visually optimistic site designs. This means colors will trend bolder and brighter, sites might include nonconforming functional features like animations and illustrations, and there might be an increase in the use of visual and sonic media. We are already seeing trends of sites using illustrated entry pages, animated buttons, unique fonts, and even games. With a trend of lighthearted, positive messaging both literally and visually, brands are building their websites to connect with users who are just now easing back into pre-pandemic patterns of life.

Some great examples of sites using fun, positive design systems include the Bernard Forever site, Grace Potter’s site, the Guns 2 Swords site, the Great British Bake Off site, and many more. An easy way to start incorporating fun and positive designs into your site is to increase your use of bright colors, include more visual media like photos or illustrations, and increase movement of site tools without compromising the user’s ability to navigate your pages (such as a bouncing page button or a photo reel).

3D and interactive:

Another predicted trend for web design in 2022 is the incorporation of three-dimensional systems and the increase in user interactive systems. This is largely due to the excitement around newly developed technology, but we think it’s a trend that will last because it improves the user experience and opens the door for increased brand presence at the forefront of modern web designs. 3D designs and interactive multimedia can exist because of the high resolution and detailing capabilities of today’s screens. Standards in image quality have shifted from HD to 4K over the last couple years, and some devices even use 6K-8K screen resolutions. In addition to increased resolution, internet speeds, broadband limits, and data feeds have increased dramatically to gather information better and faster.

Thanks to increased abilities for screen resolution and internet speeds, websites can incorporate cutting edge technologies for 3D and multimedia design. This includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), smart video, interactive statistics content, micro animations, large scale videos, highly expanded images, and more. These design features can be used to make your site more engaging for the user, increasing your brand profile and improving your profile’s imagery.

However, when incorporating 3D and interactive designs, it’s important to keep in mind that many users might not have access to screens with the highest resolution or internet capacities that can load complex media. There are ways to still build 3D and multimedia systems into your site design that can add richness to your brand and still be simple enough in coding and data requirements for all users to process on their devices. Two great examples of this are the Sennep site and the Kaspersky security company map.

ScrollyTelling:

ScrollyTelling, or narrative visualization, has been a growing trend over the last couple years. This involves the presentation of long form content in a text format “translated” for the user by breaking down each part of the text into smaller sections and including images and other media along the way. ScrollyTelling can impart information in 1,000 words or more to the user by breaking that information into intuitive paragraphs accompanied by related imagery. It resembles the way magazines format long form articles and editorials. This system of narrative visualization can be built into your site design easily, using the existing aesthetics and formatted spaces of your pages.

ScrollyTelling is a useful way to impart informational or journalistic articles, blogs, or product pages to your users. Some great examples of narratively visualized pages include the Apple AirPods product page, MLT Group’s page on SEO for Minneapolis, and a very in depth Huffington Post interview with chef José Andrés.

Also referred to as “deep dive content”, this style of web page has special importance for search engine optimization. Pages of 2,000 words and more provide Google and other search engines with a cue that the page may be a good resource for searchers. Utilizing scrollytelling design concepts makes these long form pages as engaging as they are important to SEO.

Mindful and accessible:

With a growing social importance placed on equality, human rights, and inclusive activism, it’s no wonder that mindful and accessible web design is a huge trend today. Especially after the pandemic lockdowns when everyone turned to the internet for news, entertainment, and work more than ever before, web designers realized they needed to make their sites clearer, quieter, and more direct. Part of mindful web design is to make your site a low stress, clean, and oriented space for the user. This includes using your white/negative space to create a sense of calm, removing overwhelming and unneeded graphics, and generally optimizing your site for as many types of users as possible.

Making your site mobile optimized and thumb navigation friendly will also increase the user’s accessibility, as most will interact with your site on their phones and laptops interchangeably.

A big part of making your site mindful and accessible is to adapt it to become ADA compliant. Incorporating features that follow the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is not only an ethical practice, it will also expand your usership to people with disabilities like visual or hearing impairments, seizure conditions, cognitive issues, and much more. To learn more about our ADA compliant features, click the blue circular button in the bottom left corner of our site.

2022 web development standards:

In addition to these general design trends, there will also be standardized developments that will improve your site’s ranking in search engine indexes. Two of these coming requirements include mobile first design and SSL certificates. Optimizing your site for mobile is not only a mindful and accessible design system, it’s just not really optional anymore. Since 2017, almost half of the global web traffic was done from a mobile device, and Google uses mobile optimization standards as one of their key ranking systems. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates started as their own trend, but today are a highly standardized security system. SSL security measures authenticate the validity of your site to users, and they encrypt the translated data, protecting user devices and identities.

These are just some popular web design trends in Minneapolis, MN predicted for 2022. To learn more about web design and our comprehensive services, contact MLT Group at (507) 281-3490, sales@mltgroup.com, or online today.