Pihla Group has ordered a continuous series of video production from OneMinStory for the marketing of Tiivi and Pihla windows and doors, especially on YouTube. During the contract, OneMinStory will also manage the publication of videos and the optimization of Tiiv’s YouTube channel. Tiivi offers a top-quality domestic window collection and a certified installation service especially for consumer customers. OneMinStory and Pihla Group have previously collaborated on projects, and now for the first time videos are produced with a continuous production program. The first videos of the contract period have been published on YouTube in June 2022. After the start of publishing the videos, Tiivi has also risen to the top positions in Google search with its most important search terms, and the videos have achieved thousands of views organically.

Base mapping helps you start in the right direction right away

Pihla Group’s Industrial Business Director & Marketing Director Minna Keränen commented: “Video is an important part of the way we serve our customers. Particularly good in this experience has been the thorough ground mapping that was done with OneMinStory to make a plan. We have also received much needed so-called a view from the consumers’ shoes to the design and execution of the videos, and we are very pleased that we went along with this.” Even though performing can seem exciting, every one Tiivi’s experts has had the courage to perform when requested to be on camera.

“Employer brand and personal representation of a thought leader on video are also the marketing goals here.” – says Minna Keränen.

The performance of Pihla Group experts is supported by professional director guidance and a script. With the help of data and feedback, videos and ongoing work can be constantly sparred.

Quick publishing rate – both for the sake of the audience and YouTube

The release publishing frequency is relatively fast and at least once a month a new video is published and optimized for YouTube. In this way, we want to serve both the public and take the place that belongs to the leading creator of the subject area on of windows and doors on the YouTube platform in the eyes of both the algorithms and the public. YouTube publication has also been shown to affect the discoverability of both videos and the company’s website in Google’s search engines.

Boldly straight to the poin

The starting point of content in videos is to serve the customer. The videos don’t shy away from sensitive topics from a business perspective, such as how much window repairs really costs, or what alternatives there are, e.g. repairing the windows yourself

During the contract, OneMinStory also manages the publication of videos and the optimization and monitoring of Tiiv’s YouTube channel. There are good and generally underutilized tools for optimizing YouTube content, with which a video designed for the YouTube experience, if properly published, can be found on the platform by an interested person even years later. This evergreenness is special in the social media world, where the lifespan of one publication is usually from an hour to a day. Multi-channel is not forgotten, as separate social media clips are produced from each Tiiv video for Tiiv’s other channels to promote the actual videos.

5 things that get people to start watching your video and finish watching it

There are plenty of videos available, and it is not possible to watch all of them. How can you make sure your target audience chooses your video online and watches all of it? At least five things play into these decisions.

1. Sharing.

   Who is sharing, how and where, are some of the first things that catch our eye. Personal accounts are more interesting than business accounts. What have they written as a caption when sharing and

   how much are they putting themselves out there in the shared content?

   What is this about? Have I already seen someone else share this, but did not watch it then, I have to watch this now since others have shown such interest. (Repetition.) Is the person sharing content familiar and have they shared videos before? In case the video is part of a series and they have produced videos regularly it increases the relevance and I will want to check at least some of the content and what it is about.

2. Thumbnail, a preview snapshot of your video

   Is it interesting, does it look good and

   has it been chosen specifically for sharing or has the platform you are hosting the video on selected it randomly?

   Is it a native video that can be viewed in the feed or directly on the platform I am using? Or will I be redirected somewhere else if I click on it? Hopefully not.

3. The first seconds 0-5

   What impression does the video give?

   Does it look unique and interesting?

   OK – I will watch a little more! (If the video has subtitles, as I could be on a bus or trying to get my baby to sleep and can’t switch on the sound.)

4. The first 10-15 seconds

   What problem is this video about or what problem does it solve? The worse the problem is, the better the story. Is the problem relevant to others in some way?

   Have the people who made the video and ordered it understood what is at the core of the problem and presented it in an interesting way,

   or have they just scratched the surface, approached the topic from the wrong angle or in a wrong way? If they have managed to present the core problem in an interesting way, alright – I will commit to watching some more and allow my full attention to be captured by the story until the end of the video.

5. Is there new content provided until the end?

   Or has the significant content been presented by the halfway point?

   Does the story continue with a style that reveals new things, hooks and value until the very end?

   Wow, let’s watch all of it then, but I can’t wait for this great video to end so I can share it with everyone!

Finnish growth companies often do not understand what sales is

Keith Silverang tells Antti of the biggest challenge of Finnish growth companies in his experience: attitude towards sales.

Keith is the Technopolis Plc’s CEO. He has been an entrepreneur and an executive in Finland for many companies over 30 years. As Technopolis CEO,  which locates and serves a large part of Finnish growth companies every day, Keith sees their people, operating methods and financial figures in the long and short time span, so he knows what he is talking about.

AntinStory is Antti Sipilä’s and OneMinStory’s video blog.

“Everything good should start with the premise that we’re in a global market right from the start, and not internationalize separately. The starting position should be that we can serve the customer regardless of where they are or what language they speak.”

– Jani Penttinen, CEO, Transfluent

A video included in Transfluent’s Slush pitch from five years ago and the media publications that followed it:

Slush as a launching platform for breakthrough

Transfluent is a model example of a company which succeeded in an international breakthrough through the use of videos. In 2011, Transfluent was successful in a competition held at Slush. It got immediate international press coverage with the video included, made a rapid breakthrough, and ended up moving its headquarters to the United States. Originally, Transfluent was specialized in the translation of social media in particular, but has since expanded to become a full-service translation agency.

“In comparison to traditional agencies, we’re really quick and flexible,” says Transfluent’s founder and CEO, Jani Penttinen.

Videos as a tool for convincing

Since the beginning, Transfluent has used videos in both marketing and internal use. With concise one-minute-videos, it has managed to tell about their service in pitching style and thus convince clients around the world. Of course, the breakthrough is affected mostly by the video content about the company, but it doesn’t communicate correctly to the viewer if the language and tone of the video isn’t right.

OneMinStory has done cooperation with Transfluent for a long time. The quality is always guaranteed and tasks are taken care of efficiently, for example in translation work on videos.

Penttinen adds a few tips on those considering localizing videos. Firstly, use time on communicating your own vision. Secondly, concentrate efforts on the languages and markets where there is the most demand. Finally, take localization into account already at the planning stage of the video.

The localization of a video

When you have a video ready, done in one language, (How was it made?), we can help you in your international breakthrough by localizing your video to make it suitable for other markets. Here, with the permission of Ouman:

A 5-Language remix about the company story of Ouman

We seek to produce localizations on a turnkey principle. You don’t have to use your precious time unnecessarily on technical details, we got it covered for you!

With us, the video localization process is very simple:

1. Translating the language of the video. In order to achieve the best end result in the video, both the narrator’s voice and the texts of the video have to be translated. By using Transfluent in the translation work, we ensure that the content is always of high quality, even when translated. 🙂 In addition, we also check the translation with you so that you’re sure to be pleased with the end result.
2. Commissioning a new narrator voice. OneMinStory has accrued comprehensive contacts through experience, through whom we’re always sure to find professional native speakers as narrators. So, localization into rarer languages too is also sure to succeed with our help.
3. Editing and compiling of the entirety of the video. So that the rhythm of the video remains smooth and the whole remains of high quality, despite the change in language, new spoken lines and texts have to be edited precisely into video.

As Transfluent’s Jani Penttinen also notes: “An unlocalized video only reaches a small part of the potential number of viewers, so through a small additional investment, you get a lot more benefit out of the video.” The localization of a video with us costs, in its entirety, about 25% of the cost of the original video.

On the basis of my own experience, a good translation is based on careful work done by people who care and communication between the translation agency and the production company.

There’s that certain something in the 360-degree video and virtual reality, but what is it?

When I first got a 360-degree video in front of me on YouTube where I got to turn the ‘camera’ myself with my mouse in any direction whatsoever while the video played, I realised that there was something new before me and that it made sense. At the same moment, it occurred to me to wonder what that sense might be. I honestly don’t fully understand it yet either, but I do understand that there’s always sense for a marketer in an exciting experience! Those who first adopt the application and learn to use it have at least the advantage to take on the change with confidence and readiness.

In this article, I’m not going to deal with the hype and investment boom around virtual reality – let’s just conclude that it’s significant and you can go into that from this link. I’ll concentrate on the content, so let’s get to business:

Choose where you look

In a 360-degree video, the viewer can turn the camera angle in the direction they want. In other words he is in the middle of the events of the video! It’s a new and exciting experience. For example, in the video below: grab onto the screen and find the singer!

N.B. For now, YouTube’s 360 videos only work in the browser on the desktop.  When viewed on the computer, use the latest Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer browsers (not Safari!). With your smartphone and in Safari, you can see a so-called stereoscopic whole 360-degree picture, which isn’t much of an experience. If you want to use your smartphone, use the YouTube application which allows 360-videos.

The video was produced by the OneMinStory network’s Medialouhos.

A 360-degree video is at its best when viewed with VR goggles and so that the viewer gets to take part in the events. It leaves an indelible impression! Unfortunately at least for now, VR equipment or goggles are a rarity, and hardly anyone uses them primarily to watch commercials.

How can a marketer use virtual reality now?

It’s new, successful, exciting and the wider audience doesn’t have easy access to it. Just like a celebrity! Connect your image in a genuine way to virtual reality and offer your customers real encounters in a new kind of environment.

How cool is that? It’s way cooler in #virtualreality, the way the creator sees it. This is 2D captured from the screen. #vr #tiltbrush #htcvive

A video posted by Oneminstory (@oneminstory) on Sep 1, 2016 at 11:54am PDT

We arranged a VR booth at the event of our customer Plastex, where the video artist Arto Ant-Wuorinen got to try out virtual reality for the first time. Participants got to try their hand at three-dimensional drawing in virtual reality with the Tilt Brush application of Google. Even the more sceptical and grown-up experimenters were entranced by the experience! All of them learned to draw literally brilliant works at once, move amongst them and experience:

WHAT IS A DRAWING LIKE THAT’S A SCULPTURE AT THE SAME TIME?

The experience was, above all, fun, intense and refreshingly new. It was a unifying topic of conversation, but not too technically educational, because it’s possible to get involved in the experience immediately. The apparatus is already at such a good level (thanks to the Finnish virtual reality association FIVR for the loan of the equipment!).

The 360-degree video is immersive, above all, i.e. practically very captivating, because it places and, at best, submerges the viewer on an experiential level right in the middle of events.

Where’s the story?

How is a story told in virtual reality or with a 360-degree video? In the same way as before; it has a beginning, middle and end, and something changes along the way and in the thinking of the viewer.

Carrying the viewer along in the story, at the same time as they take part in the events and literally use the camera themselves, is challenging. However, it is done. A good example is virtual reality games.

In the same way as in many games before, the idea is to walk along a particular ‘reality tunnel’. Another way is the situation that begins and ends at a specified time, like in the music video seen before.

Control must be given up

In virtual reality, the teller of the story has to understand that the viewer’s use of time, state or experience cannot be controlled completely, and that’s not the intention either. To the horror of many story-telling professionals, in order to succeed, the teller has to give up control in virtual reality and in the 360-degree video.

The only way to control is to create such a spectacular experience, story or application that it sucks the viewer in. The viewer’s experience of freedom, and its natural and inspiring creation, are the most important requirement for the success of the telling of the story. That, in itself, is already some kind of experience and a challenging goal. In addition to that, a story can also be told. The events around can have a beginning, a middle and an ending. We can cause a change in the thinking of the viewer with the story, just as with other story-telling devices.

Here is a music video filmed with Nokia’s Ozo camera in one take. There is a clear story and it requires the seamless cooperation of more than a hundred actors. There’s no way to hide behind the camera…

An informative application is a clear case

Training, teaching and the informative application are the most most clearly usable applications of the 360-degree video and virtual reality. Learning has been found to be many times more effective if visual aids, such as video, are used. Learning is even more effective if the learner personally takes part in doing. In the experience of virtual reality, those two superchargers of learning are combined! That’s also my own experience of the Tilt Brush event. Learning how to use it is so instantaneous that it totally bewitches you and you feel like you’re in an amusement park. Learning is fun!

Here’s a 360-degree informative presentation video of the CERN particle accelerator.

Good news from Finland

Did you know that there’s a Finnish company involved in the platform competition of virtual reality and the 360-degree video? It has been refining its product for years, and has international customerships and turnover from all around the world? Thinglink began its journey with photo-enriching openable action points, thinglinks. With photos, thinglinks haven’t yet completely revolutionized the world. But, they have risen to be a tool and media for informative 360-degree realizations that stands out in the world (this 360 application too works best on the desktop, i.e. a PC, for the moment).

Through development of the technology and platform, Thinglink is ready for virtual reality, and all kinds of 360-degree video applications. Customerships are pouring straight into Thinglink’s lap when an easy way to create a new, interesting experience is sought. Thinglink is a Finnish start-up, whose most prominent evangelist is the Sales Director of the European region, Sani Leino. By producing good content, he distributes value to everyone working in sales and story-telling and thus is worth a follow!

Why am I writing about VR and the 360-degree video?

OneMinStory produces videos on the basis of the current marketing needs of companies. What do the hype issues of the future have to do with them? Hype stories are a part of the reference development of the content production of companies. By taking virtual reality now as the topic of already ‘ordinary’ videos or other contents, I’m offering value to those who are interested and puzzled by the subject. At the same time, I learn about what’s to come. You can do the same.

Filming in Lapland with OneMinStory’s network

Finland is a long country, 1157 kilometres to be exact. A member company of our video professionals’ network furthest up in the north and filming in all of Lapland is Caamos Media House. One of its owners and videographers, Rikumatti Jurmu is also a professional snowmobile rider. One thing they have is an abundance and a long season of pure white snow. Above is a video they created for Lynx about their 2017 snowmobile driving apparel. Riku is driving the Lynx BoonDocker snowmobile of course. Enjoy the ride. And if you need to capture video in northern Finland, with or without snow,  you know where to get it.

Video series: the advantages of producing regular video content online

Producing videos as a series is effective in communications and marketing for both businesses and communities. The fact that it is not yet done by many companies means it is a tremendous opportunity to stand out and take over the market. Some well-known success stories in producing regular video content are Smartly, awarded as the best startup in Finland, and Vaynermedia from the US. Below you can find a list of five advantages of using regular video content and instructions on how to get started.

1. You will be remembered by the target audience

One great thing about a series of videos is that your audience will want to know what might come next. If you create interesting content and hint that you will do this again soon, you create an expectation for something new with each new video of the series. Your audience is curious and interested in what will happen next. That means your series and brand will be on their minds in between videos – in other words, all the time!

2. Learning

Regularly doing something leads to learning. In social media, continuous learning is HUGE. You receive feedback and data from every video in your series, and you can use it to choose the topic of your next video and in making it. Learning and mental growth will motivate your team to carry on and this, in turn, will help your business reach the crest of the wave.

3. A video series is easier to find

The target audience will find it easier to find a series of videos than a single video. This is because a series simply contains more of the most important unique qualifiers* that online search engines use in indexing and perceive as being CONNECTED to each other.

So the more videos you create in a series, the more likely it is that your videos and business will be found, talked about and people want to connect with it.

*Headings, url, descriptions, links, tags, and optimised keywords

Hint: You can create a series out of existing YouTube videos by creating a playlist. You can make a different list for each series, and new videos can be automatically added to the separate lists through a tag or a word in the description. YouTube is more likely to suggest the next video in your series to viewers.

4. Social media favours those who produce video content regularly

Social media platforms, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn collect information on each user in a separate file to apply their algorithms. This information is used by the algorithm to decide when and to whom to show content. All of these platforms prefer video, and those who produce it regularly are favoured when it comes to for example being shown on YouTube searches. Videos are effective in keeping users on a platform and services compete for being the favourite video platform, so advertising a video, in other words, sharing videos has been made as easy as possible for businesses. Improving the sharing of videos is one of the most competitive factors for platforms and the most effective way to reach the target audience.

Video advertising has been proven to be the most cost effective way to advertise profitably on Facebook when the goal is to create conversions through a website.

5. A series of videos can set you apart from the competition

It’s true that many companies make a lot of video content and use it to create a large brand image online. Even in the global scale, very few businesses create recognisable content in the form of a series of videos, which have a clear, unique voice. It doesn’t take much more than the decision to start though. I have been doing this for over 20 videos so far.

In addition to that video series, our Instagram account contains some of our mobile-friendly video content designed for that platform. Maybe that content is what got you to read this text in the first place.

Another example of a great video series in a longer format is Nat and Friends created by a Google employee. I like everything about this series except its length – I would make each video one minute long. Time is time.

How to start producing videos regularly?

To start, we go through the basics by looking at the needs of your target audience and your goals. We plan ideas and formats for your series on the chosen platform and based on your niche and then start creating content following the pricing structure agreed beforehand.

Our experts are continuously available and use tools such as the finished design for the motions graphics of your videos and platform specific formats for your series, which we use to regularly edit great looking video content for the different channels on topics related to your business. You can use them to reach your target audience in a measurable way and to learn about their reactions. This allows us to keep improving the quality and impact of your videos over time. The reactions your videos receive will also help you to develop your whole business through new insights on the feelings that are prevalent in your market and its current state.

Channel-specific format

Should your video be vertical or horizontal? Depending on the requirements, it might be good to use both. Our offer will always include all the versions of the finished video that you need for the channels you use. Producing them is not a problem when we have the storyline and materials. New versions for different channels can be easily tested and added over time.

How often?

Tying your hands by committing to publishing each and every Thursday might not be the best approach. Planning and a publishing calendar are helpful, but plans must be flexible and follow other actions taken and the markets. Your series will be most beneficial when the publishing cycle is such that your target audience recognises the series and you can take advantage of the momentum it creates. For example, it might be good to be visible at least once in a quarter. When the content creators are constantly working, you make the most of the advantages of learning, visibility and the growing familiarity in the minds of your target audience. Of course, in the case of our experts, they create video content all the time and also learn from the other projects they work on, bringing all the newest expertise with them to your video project.

Price?

To produce the first video, we will both attend a short workshop which only takes a small amount of time to ensure the approach we take will be of interest to your customers. The workshop allows us to agree on the fixed production fee for regular video content. Due to the channel-specific format, anyone in your organisation can order simply by sending an e-mail. There will be no time-consuming meetings after we get started! We will create content, publish and learn with continuous improvement.

See you soon!

Video has revolutionized business communication

All buyers, especially buyers of services and products for companies and enterprises ( B2B) use a lot of videos when examining different options. 70% of the buyers for companies who carry out research about options tell they are using videos in the process. A buyer’s path to purchase goes through a variety of videos in each stage of the digital research process.

1. Interest and awareness

Your videos need an audience. In order for people to be aware of and interested in the subject of your video,  content marketing should be done at the beginning of the shopping experience. Interesting and entertaining  pieces of content. As above.

Effective use of video in content marketing has changed rapidly. Just a year ago you could share a one and a half minute video about a product from Youtube in social media channels such as Twitter and you got reasonable numbers of engagement. Today, not so much. The reason is that people do not want to click a link that takes them out of the scrolling of  channel experience unless there is a really relevant reason, especially in mobile. Social media channels favour native video in how they are integrated in the user experience. Native video means a video that is uploaded in the particular service it’s being showed on. Video which is directly in the channel, and starts itself, gets more views because of it’s easy viewing experience. This kind of video is intended for creating interest and an emotional momentum to continue on by clicking to the brand’s website, or sharing the video. Researching purchasers will click forward to the brand site, if they feel they might have a need for the product. For others the video is excellent and distinctive service and thus also great brand advertising.

• Interest-provoking, informative but light.
• In feed, 15-60 seconds.
• Mobile Experience. A large part of these views are mobile.
• Approximately 50% of the total investment should go to this phase, including a small media budget. (If you you already have a large part of your target group as followers, you might not need a media budget at all.)

2. Getting to know you by video

In this digital investigative stage, the buyer engages the videos in the brand’s website, expecting to see an original one minute product intro or a quality explainer video. Because video is a superior way to discover and learn about a new subject online. If the video cannot be found, the buyers wade forward by learning the site’s structure at random order of pages and case descriptions on to the contact information collection point, such as a downloadable guide, which they are not necessarily willing to download at this point, because they are not ready to leave their contact details just yet.
Providing the intro video at this point is the best practice, placing it on the front page or a landing page, so that people get the best possible starting point to the experience.

• Product or service intro video. Like this one.
• On the brand’s website. 1 to 2 minutes. (Embedded)
• Allocate 25% of the total investment to this step.

3. The last round

When the intro intro video is seen, the researcher continues empowered by the understanding and feeling gained from video.  Now he or she is ready and wants to plunge into self-orienteering deeper into content. It is a good idea to have several how-to videos, customer references, and even recorded webinars available. Of these videos the buyer chooses a couple and maybe views them only partially, but it’s enough if they give the right image confirmation. These videos have an important persuasive effect and they tell that the company has depth and real things to do. Especially for products and services containing new innovation, customer references are very important. The videos at this stage are a testimony about the hands-on culture of the company, which is why the way they are offered, and suitable presence of the brand in these videos is important.

• Product support videos
• Customer References
•  Webinars held in the past
• 1 – 3 min. Webinars up to 1 h.
• 25% of the total investments in this stage.

4. After the sale

After the sale, the customer experience can be strengthened by supporting the customers by instructions and tips for the use of products and by sharing other users’ videos. If the customer is follower to a certain channel, he or she can be find curated videos produced by others interesting and entertaining,  about suitable topics for the brand. Additional sales can be suggested with a separate video directly purposed for it.

• Videos to enhance customer experience.
• For new products, return to 1.

P. S. If you would like to have a proposition of how to use video in driving your business, please contact us. We will reply you soon.

Hello there! Since the video production process is often asked about from of us, our video blog ( first time in English! ) with the nice animation above and the text below is about the stages of video production. Video production goes according to our experience – in this order.

1. Plan

Define your audience! What type are your viewers’ personalities? (The buyer persona.) In what style or tone should you speak to them?

Craft the story. What is the idea that you want to convey about the subject and how is it told through a story. Let’s bounce it around together. Your best story is difficult to see if your alone in the middle of it.

Approve the plan. In most cases, a screenwriter writes and you comment until all are satisfied.

2. Production

EXISTING CONTENT COLLECTION

Brand names: Logos, fonts, etc.
Existing materials and archive material.
It does not matter if these don’t exist, as the next in line is:

CONTENT CREATION

Filming footage and creating other visual elements, such as diagrams and drawing animation characters.
Motion graphics and animation. (As seen on the video above.)
Audio: Speak, effects and music.
Editing it all together.

FEEDBACK

Comments on the first version. Corrections.
The final video inspection and the last fixes.

3. Delivery

All done!  A Full HD video file with all rights is what you get. It will upload as such to all your channels 🙂

Publish! Show it to your spouse and neighbour. Go to the market. Receive comments. Generate leads. Enjoy. Good job! Publish again! ?

Read more about OneMinStory video production on this page.

There are endless possibilities to construct a story. That is exactly the problem.

The purpose of a business story is to give people, partners and customers to be, hope about something new and useful to them. Because hope can create an interest that grows.

One way to build a business story is: Person, Service, Numbers.

1. Person ( Real person or a character of a story) = Hope ( Someone recognises your problem and is able to solve it. )
2. Service = Something that creates new value.
3. Numbers = Proof of usefulness

For example: I am the person in public for OneMinStory. I have partners who have better skills than me in business and in video production, but I am one in the company who takes responsibility of it on a daily basis and the one who owns most of it. I am committed to our clients and it is my professional purpose now to serve and give hope to those who wish to get their stuff to market effectively.

Service is essential. For example, OneMinStory’s video production management application enhances collaboration and communication with everyone involved for creating the best possible story on video about your business.

Numbers. For executives, numbers are very useful and thus impactful. For example: 59% of senior executives prefer video over text.

Who is your person, what is your service and what is your number?

P.S. Person, service, numbers is not the only way to structure a good business story. It’s just one of the of ways to look at it.

P.P.S. Yes, I will start my own video blog soon.

We created a video for Codemate, a Finnish originated web development company. The video is placed on the homepage of their new website. It was also a pleasure to work with Pohjonen Productions that provided cinematography and editing services in this project.

Codemate has written a very nice illustrated article about the process of the making of the video, which we highly appreciate and recommend, since the outcome has been a success by all standards so far. A comment by Antti Sipilä, CEO of OneMinStory is included in the article. Read it here:

http://codemate-digital-business.tumblr.com/post/116277881791/making-of-codemate-trailer