Category: Video Marketing

I’ve got a challenge for you this week: Decide on a video technique to use in your Silhouette or Cricut small business and create a video to post to social media by the end of the week. Here’s a look at the video marketing related posts on the blog:

• How to Easily Add Sparkle to Your Product Videos
• 5 Tips for Better Live Videos
• Easy Video Mockups in Your Craft Business
• Tutorial: How to Create Animated Social Media Graphics
• Tutorial: How to Create a Video Thank You in Your Craft Business
• Advertising with Stop Motion Videos in Your Silhouette or Cricut Business
• How to Create Slideshows for Advertising Your Craft Business
• How to Use Flipagram in Your Silhouette or Cricut Business

Why Video Marketing?

According to Wordstream, more than one-third of online activity is spent watching video! They further go on to state that the millennial age group watches the most online videos. If that isn’t enough, it is estimated that videos on social media networks generate more shares than text and images combined!

Get out there and get recording!

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I’ve told you before: Videos are the “thing” on social media right now. Today, I’m sharing a quick (and fun!) way to add a sparkle effect to your videos. But first, Let’s look at the posts related to videos on Cutting for Business:

• 5 Tips for Better Live Videos
• Easy Video Mockups in Your Craft Business
• Tutorial: How to Create Animated Social Media Graphics
• Tutorial: How to Create a Video Thank You in Your Craft Business
• Advertising with Stop Motion Videos in Your Silhouette or Cricut Business
• How to Create Slideshows for Advertising Your Craft Business
• How to Use Flipagram in Your Silhouette or Cricut Business

Now, bring on the sparkle! Don’t you hate it when you photograph a specialty material and it looks dull in the photo but shines in real life? There’s an app for Apple devices called Kirakira+ that allows you to take video and it automatically adds a sparkle to anything reflective. (For the Android users, I couldn’t find anything that works similarly. I’m sorry. Although there are a few apps that look similar in your store.)

Tutorial to Use Kirakira+

It’s really simple: After downloading it in the Apple App Store, open it and choose the “kirakira” effect. Once open, you’ll simply record a video within the app.  Here’s what the app interface looks like, along with a few notes:

After recording your video, it will be saved to your camera roll and you can use it.

Here’s my sample video:

A few tips for using Kirakira+

• Use this sparingly! Everyone loves a little sparkle, but too much of a good thing is bad!
• Try this app with glitter materials, holographic materials, and reflective materials.
• The sparkle placement is automatic, however, you can manipulate it somewhat using the “Sparklemeter”. Also, for more sparkle, use a bright light and move the product or camera a lot. For less sparkle, use a darker room and keep the camera still (or move it only slightly).
• Unfortunately, you have to record your video using the app. At this time, it does not support importing existing videos.
• There’s other settings in the Kirakira+ App, go explore!

Wondering about the video? I shot the video in my Shotbox (read more here), the mason jar tumbler is this one (straw included) from Save A Cup, and the adhesive glitter vinyl is from this pack. The font I used can be picked up here.

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While we are talking product photography this week, we need to take a few minutes and look at videos. I’ve mentioned before – more than a few times – that videos on social media are a great way to reach your followers. Before we look at tips for live videos in your Silhouette Cameo or Cricut Explore small business, let’s take a look at video related posts on Cutting for Business:

• Easy Video Mockups in Your Craft Business
• How to Create Animated Social Media Graphics
• How to Create a Video Thank You in Your Craft Business
• Advertising with Stop Motion Videos
• How to Create Slideshows for Advertising
• How to Use Flipagram

And now, 5 tips for better live videos:

1. Advertise to your social media following the date and time of upcoming live video. So many times I see crafters just decide to do a Facebook Live at the spur of the moment. While that is great, you miss customers who may like to interact with you because they didn’t know to expect it.
2. Prepare ahead of time and practice, practice, practice. It’s obvious when watching live videos if the person in the video has practiced ahead of time or not. A polished video will leave a much better impression on your customers than one where you wing it. Once you’ve got several videos under your belt, then you can go live on the fly. Also, having a general written schedule you can refer to will make sure that you don’t forget anything during your video. As you prepare, be sure that your recording space will be quiet during the video (nothing worse than a child screaming in the background of your company’s product launch video)!
3. Use a tripod for still videos and an image stabilizer if you are moving. For the love of all things crafty, there is nothing worse than viewing a crafters video that is shaking! (Personally, I get motion sickness and it makes me turn it off!) So, use a tripod (click here to see super cheap ones Amazon) or an image stabilizer (again, find them on Amazon) if you will be walking around.
4. Decide when you will answer questions before you start. Facebook Live allows broadcasters to see questions from viewers in real time. Decide whether you will answer questions in real time or tackle them at the end. If you aren’t taking questions until the end, say this at the beginning of the video.
5. Follow up after the video. If you are using Facebook Live, go through the comments immediately at the end of the broadcast and answer them all. This helps those viewing a replay of the video at a later time; but it also lets viewers know that they are important to you.

Now that you are armed with tips, get out there and get broadcasting! Need a few ideas for your first live video? How about a simple DIY related to the products you sell, a sneak peek at a new design you will be selling soon, your brand new product packaging, or you working on an order?

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It’s no secret that videos are a great way to advertise your Silhouette Cameo or Cricut small business. A while back, I even spent a whole week sharing different ways to incorporate videos into your business. It’s also no secret that I love PlaceIt to create mockups. I also wrote a post about their website that you can read here. Today, I’m thrilled to share that PlaceIt has recently ventured into videos!

How to Create a Video Mockup Using PlaceIt

1. Visit placeit.net. Browse the videos until you find a mockup to use.
2. Once you locate a video to use, click on “Upload Image” and upload your image. Your image should be in .jpg or .png format.
3. Resize your image to fill the light area and click “Crop”. 
4. Once the video processes, click “Download” to purchase and remove the watermark or download a watermarked video for free. 

Here’s my video:

You’ll be able to post your video on social media, your website, or anywhere else that accepts video formats.

Want the cut file I used in my video? Download the SVG here.

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I’ve shared before that videos are a great way to encourage interaction with your followers on social media. Today, I’m showing you how to create animated social media graphics – easily – using an app called Ripl.

Tutorial to Create Animated Social Media Graphics Using Ripl

1. Install Ripl on your smartphone, then open the app. Tap the “+” sign to get started:
2. Upload a photo, enter text, and a link to your product or shop: 
3. Choose an animated overlay. Use the buttons at the bottom of the screen to fine tune your design. Some layouts are free while others require a subscription: 
4. That’s it! Choose how you would like to share your post: 
5. Upload it to your favorite social media network, or save it to your camera roll: 
6. Here’s my animated social media graphic: [huge_it_video_player id=”4″]

To see more posts on videos on Cutting for Business, click here.

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Today we are continuing with easy types of video advertising for your Silhouette Cameo or Cricut small business. As I mentioned yesterday when we looked at slideshows with Flipagram, video marketing has become more popular than ever! Did you know that statistics show that video promotion is 600% more effective than print and direct mail combined? Let’s look at another style of slideshows that you can use in your Silhouette Cameo or Cricut small business.

Sample Video Slideshow:

How to Create Your Own Slideshow

1. Visit Animoto and create an account. I tested out several different slideshow makers for this post and found that Animoto was the most user friendly. 
2. Choose a theme for your slideshow. One of the things that I like best about Animoto is the premade themes that work well for small business advertising. The sample slideshow above uses the Clean Lines theme. When choosing a theme, go for something minimal that makes your photos stand out rather than the slideshow effects.
3. Next, from the left hand side of the screen, you’ll upload photos and your logo. You can also change the soundtrack if you’d like. When you are finished, you can preview your slideshow. 
4. If you want to edit your photos, there is a basic photo editor built into Animoto. Click on the gear under any photo. (I circled it in red in the photo below.) 
5. When you are ready to publish your slideshow, click “Preview Video”, then “Produce”. 
6. You’ll now be able to save your video slideshow and click “Finish”.
7. After you produce your video slideshow, you can share it using the icons on the right hand side of the screen. 

A few tips before you start creating your video slideshow in Animoto: 1) Remember, your video should be a teaser that introduces your products quickly. For Facebook slideshows, I like to keep them under 59 seconds maximum and under 30 seconds if possible. For Instagram videos, your limit is 15 seconds. 2) Keep your slideshow to a theme. For example, if you sell many different types of products make several slideshows to use in advertising (one for decals, one for tumblers, one for shirts, one for decor). So, what slideshow will you create first? Let me know in the comments.

DreamBox Stop Motion Video

A few months ago, I urged Cutting for Business readers to send handwritten thank you notes (or thank yous printed out in a nice font) with their handmade products. I recommend this because it is an effective way to show the human side of your small business. Today, let’s take the idea farther using videos. Imagine your customer opening their package with your handmade product inside and being able to view a short view of you thanking them for their order. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Well, it’s pretty easy, too!

Tutorial to Create a Video Thank You for Your Craft Business

1. Create a short video thanking your customer for their order. Consider telling them about an upcoming product launch or giving them a coupon code for their next order. Remember, use a tripod or prop up your camera so your video doesn’t have camera shake.
2. Upload your video to a video hosting service. In this case, I used YouTube because it is easy to use and it’s free. Additionally, you can choose the privacy setting. I set my privacy setting to “Unlisted” which means that it is not visible in the search results and you must have a link to the video to view it.
3. Next, you’ll need to be able to provide a short link to your customers to view your video. The link that YouTube provides is pretty long, so let’s shorten it.

First, copy and paste the “Share” link from YouTube:  

Next, go to is.gd and copy the link into the box. Click on the link that says, “Further options/Custom URL”:

Enter your business name or something else that your customer will recognize into the box and click “Shorten”:

Write down your new link.

4. Now that you’ve got your shortened video link head over to Silhouette Studio or Cricut Design Space and design a Print and Cut/Print then Cut sticker with a catchy quote and the link to your video. Your catchy quote should make your customer want to type the link into their browser to view the video. Here’s a few ideas: “I want to thank you for your purchase, view this link”, “Get a coupon code for your next order at xyz business at this link”, “I’ve got a message for you at this link”.

5. Stick your stickers onto your packing slip and start impressing your customers.

6. Alternatively, you could also make a stamp with your Silhouette Mint (which have come way down in price)!

What about QR Codes?

I know that someone will ask about using a QR Code instead of using a shortened link. Unfortunately, QR codes are pretty much dead. Many, many people can’t scan them. I think we will see improved QR codes in the future, but the upcoming technologies aren’t easily accessed by small businesses right now.

Want to see my video message?

Or click here: is.gd/cuttingforbusiness.

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