Hey friends! ‍

This is a brief introduction to my newsletter made specifically for business owners in the Victoria/Vancouver region. As a fellow business owner, I know that time is money.

My goal is to keep these short, punchy, and packed full of actionable tips that you can apply in your own business.

The name of the game here is video - but I'll likely touch on things related to video, such as marketing, apps, strategy, opportunities, and more. As usual, if you have any questions about these topics, feel free to drop me a line. 

Alright, let's dig in!

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👀  Opportunities

• The LaunchOnline.ca grant program for businesses in BC is still taking applicants. This is a phenomenal way for local businesses to improve their website/marketing with funding from the government. The grant covers 75% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $7,500 per business. The program closes when the funds dry up, so jump on this opportunity quickly!
• With new COVID restrictions pushing restaurants back to a delivery-only model, now is the perfect time for restaurants to increase their exposure on social apps like Instagram. Want to make your customers' mouths water? Try creating super close-up videos of your most over-the-top menu items like this example from Milky Lane. 
  

⚡️  Quick tips

• Did you know that Unfold for iOS allows you to combine multiple photos/videos into gorgeous stand-out Instagram stories? I use this app all the time on my personal account and always get comments about it. It's super simple to use and has a bunch of templates built-in. Check out this tutorial to see it in action. 

• A beautiful website video background is still one of our favourite quick wins when working with brands/businesses. Why? Simple - it's one of the fastest ways to highlight your brand, products, and services when someone visits your website. 
• As an example, FoodBloggerPro increased the conversion rate on their website by 138% by adding a video background to their website. 
• Not only are these videos quick to produce, but it's also one of the fastest ways to highlight your brand, products, and services when someone visits your website. 
  

😍  Inspiration

• Have you been to Boom + Batten in Vic West? Their Instagram is a prime example of how to put the customer experience front and center. Each one of their IG story archives at the top of their profile contains a bunch of re-grammed stories from their customers. Their feed on the other hand follows a beautiful aesthetic that reflects their brand. This is a super-smart way to keep the brand intact while highlighting real customer photos & videos. 
• On the topic of Instagram, stop motion is still an extremely effective tool for standing out online. If you have a product-based company, you should seriously try this out! Apps like LifeLapse (built by my friend and old colleague Sarah Boland) makes it super easy.

• Want another way to stand out on the ol' Insta feed? Try creating a dynamic multi-framed video like Watson Bay Boutique Hotel. This is a similar approach to Unfold above but uses high-quality videos and a custom animated approach.

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That's it for this week! Don't forget to subscribe to get the latest tips in your inbox each week. And if you want to chat about upping your game using video in your business, you can schedule a free 15-min strategy session with me here. 

Cheers,
Justin