I want to give you and idea of who we are as a company (and who I, Michael Cole, am) when it comes to marketing and video.
My interest in film and video started in high school. I participated in my city’s (Marlborough, MA) local television station. My friends and I were always trying to make feature films, and biting off more than we could chew. (This was before digital filmmaking had broken through, and so it seemed impossible). In college, I majored in communications, focusing on film and video production.
It wasn’t until the summer before senior year of college, that I got into the idea of advertising. I wasn’t sure what jobs would be available to me with a communications degree, but it was important that I work. That summer, I took an internship with a company with ‘Advertising’ right in the title.
I learned that the company was actually in marketing, and not advertising. It was news to me, that there was a difference, and so I continued. That internship taught me a ton about the digital marketing landscape. I hadn’t planned on learning about SEO, and social media marketing but I liked the work. It was something where I got to exhibit my creative side, which was important, and rewarding to me.
As an added bonus, the company was doing video work! I knew the production side of video, but this let me see how to optimize marketing videos. I also learned how they helped to build brand awareness. We were dealing with small, local companies (restaurants, landscapers, and salons were our big clients). So there was a boutique feel, and this was no more true than in the videos. They were professional, but personal. Using them to bolster other forms of marketing like social media and blogs helped small companies to connect with their audience.
The internship ended before going back for my senior year, and I had learned a lot. I wasn’t sure what it would do for my resume, but the truth was it launched my career in marketing. It took me about a year after graduating to find a job, but when I did, the deciding factor was my experience at my internship.
At that first job, I was half of the marketing team and I was also given the opportunity to make videos. I made fun fun videos to market to let customers know that we were wishing them Happy Holidays. I also made customer testimonial videos used to entice leads on the verge of purchasing. I even made vlog style videos to help create a brand style to engage prospective customers.
From that position, I moved into marketing data analysis. It was much less video oriented, and focused more on the ‘nitty gritty’ of how all marketing efforts are reaching and effecting audiences. This is an essential part of any marketing campaign. It helps to maximize effect (replicating success), and minimize cost (reducing failed attempts).
From there, I moved into a branding department. While I was in the branding department, I also began doing video work with the company. My day to day consisted of ensuring that the elements of style, grammar, font, and look, were consistent and created a cohesive look for the company. That extended into the video work that they were also having me do. I created video highlight reels of different team building events. And quarterly meetings videos. Training videos. Employee interviews.
While I was working there, I began doing the videos that I’m doing now. My first client was Che Empanadas in Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall.
Creating this video, helped me to realize that, I wanted to combine video production on much more significant scale. I wanted to combine it with my own marketing expertise. While filming, I was able to work with the entire team at Che Empanadas. We created a video that would give a feeling of their restaurant to the internet. While photography is getting a lot of hype on social media, video is as important to businesses like this. Neither a photo nor a video can give you the smell or flavor of food, but video can help to create texture and atmosphere that photos cannot. When combined with proper use of SEO, a well placed video can capture someone’s imagination in a way that photography doesn’t have a chance of doing.
Later in the summer, I had the opportunity to be the second camera person on an ad, a project that I immensely proud of.
I’m excited to continue to combine this knowledge and experience making a video for you. And to help your small business capture the market, and more to connect with your audience.
Chocolate Diamond Media 