Author: Brittany Crockett

One of the difficult things about being in the video production industry is the need to buy new gear on the regular. This week on the Content Machine podcast, we’re talking about a game changing piece of equipment that you can add to your video toolkit.

Video gear is constantly evolving to better fill production needs, which means gear is either becoming higher quality or becoming more affordable for higher end gear. This is actually the reason we were able to break into the video space eight years ago. We happened to start at the magic moment when recording gear became really affordable for the first time. Gear cost was no longer a barrier to entry that it had always been. So, because gear is more affordable than ever, there is more competition than ever, and because there’s more competition than ever, the space is forever changing. We are always looking for an edge against our competitors. Bar none, the biggest edge that Adelsberger Marketing has is its videographers and editors. We have talented people that create amazing videos. It’s the creativity of the scripting, shooting, and editing that set apart any project. But with that being said, creatives need their tools, so we always stay on the lookout for new tools to bring into our inventory to allow our team to have more options for their creativity.

Fun fact, we even have a dedicated Slack channel so we can communicate and stay on top of all the new trendy tech. The day the Ronin 4D was released, we put in our order. We had no doubts it was going to be a game changer, and change the game it certainly has. The Ronin 4D is a best-in-class camera with every bell and whistle you can imagine on it. And we wanted to wait a while before we put out a review about it so that we could put it through its paces first. But this thing is the real deal. The quality of the video is top notch. Not just that it can record 6K or 8K, but the image coming from the sensor is crisp. With all the recording formats DJI has available, color grading is very flexible. But the capabilities of this camera are really what we’re here for. The three main capabilities to highlight today, stability, focus, and teamwork. While all three of these capabilities are not new to the camera industry, the Ronin 4D is unique because it has all the capabilities packaged together straight out of the box.

So, stability. Prior to this camera, we would need to take an extra time to set up our cameras on stabilizers and make sure the gimbals were balanced and ready. Also, we always had to make sure those stabilizers stay charged as well. The Ronin, having a built-in stabilizer, saves time and potential error and adds some additional upgrades to the stabilizing system. With the ground radar that is built in, it adds an extra dimension to our ability to stabilize a camera. The radar means I can run nearly at a full sprint and you can’t tell the camera is being carried by a human. It is wild how good this stabilization is. That also means we do not need to take time in post to stabilize or crop any of our footage in to hide stabilization issues.

The Ronin has an amazing autofocus and focus pulling system built into the camera. No more searching for a specific lens with focusing gears and having to have a second person waiting by to rack focus. On the fly, you can spin a dedicated wheel located right in the Ronin’s handle to change the focus point. Additionally, its facial recognition is ridiculously fast. In our testing and usage, its ability to focus is nearly instantaneous and very, very accurate, thanks to the camera literally using radar to read the scene.

Finally, teamwork. A native component of the Ronin 4D is the monitoring system and the secondary controls. This setup allows someone to support the camera operator with focus, exposure, and gamble controls. Sometimes with and talk shots, you need to be focused on not tripping or just keeping the subject in frame. This team method allows our operator to focus solely on safety while a second person can make the shot look perfect. The transmission speed and quality on the wireless monitor is crazy and it looks as good as it does on the camera. It can also serve as a great way for a client to watch along with us if they are concerned about certain shots.

Now, one thing I was concerned about is the battery life. We are using proprietary batteries and the inclusion of a built-in gamble. I wasn’t sure how the battery was going to hold up over the usage of the device. It has not been an issue. We get great battery life from the camera and with just a few extra swap outs, we have not had any issues.

The Ronin 4D has been an excellent addition to our toolset, and I would recommend it for any videographer looking to improve their stability, focus, and teamwork, and most importantly, anyone who’s looking to take up their production capabilities.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Content Machine Podcast. We don’t normally do gear reviews here, so if you like this episode and you want more reviews like this one, drop us a comment and please let us know.

Our internship program has become a key strategic priority for Adelsberger Marketing. We talked about the why of an internship program in a previous episode of the podcast, but I wanted to talk about some of the hows that we’ve pieced together along the way that have led us to what I feel is a successful internship program.

The first point to note is consistency. At Adelsberger Marketing, we are going to hire interns to work with us through every semester, summer, spring, and fall. This allows it to become a pattern for us and part of our identity as our company. Also, by keeping it consistent, it allows us to keep learning from our internship program and to avoid becoming rusty at any point in the process. We get referrals from teachers. Building relationships with teachers allows us to get a better quality of student to apply for the program and to spread word about our program to more potential students. Another potential benefit is that it allows us to receive instructor recommendations about specific students that we may not pay enough attention to otherwise. Instructors know students way better than we’re going to get to know them through a series of interviews.

We treat them like adults, and some of them are. Our interns are all college students and likely late in their college experience as well. But not always. Some may be earlier in their college journey, but we try to focus on late college experience interns. We want to treat them like adults. Because of our remote working environment and the working style of our company, we all work somewhat independently, and so the interns do too. We try to communicate with them regularly and check in with them, but they are entrusted to go and do, to learn and to be successful through their own motivation. But we let them start with internal work. All of our interns start with an internal project. Internal projects give them a safe space to start working, both for their self confidence and for our trust in them. We have had interns in the past work on video editing for our company, editing our podcast, working on our onboarding materials, and working on branded slide decks. These types of activities give them a chance to prove themselves in a way that does not endanger our customers’ businesses and allows them an opportunity to make mistakes in a safe space.

After earning trust, we allow them to start working on additional projects, some of which may involve client work. As they earn trust and respect, they earn more responsibility. We want to be an environment, as one intern described, as safe and friendly. We want our team to treat them with respect, but also to give them the freedom to learn. Let them develop new skills in a situation that won’t result in a stressful situation if they make a mistake. Many interns who come to us are having to learn to do something differently from what they usually do, or are taking on their first public facing projects. There is no need to make this a high wire act for them. But we also want interns to be able to see multiple areas of the business. To help with relationships with the staff and allow them to see more of the world of marketing, we have each intern spend time with each staff member learning about their work and how they do it. This builds a relationship and exposes the students to new things. We use this later in the semester as well to see if students want to spend more time in different areas of the business.

And who knows, this could be their opportunity to learn about a role that they love that they never knew existed. We check in often with our interns. I put in an effort to talk with them directly every week or every other week to make sure that they have what they need and to see what they are learning. Being able to interface with leadership is an important way for interns to feel valued, but it also gives me a chance to make sure that we are doing a good job of supporting their learning experience. Sometimes there is a debate whether you should pay interns. You should absolutely pay interns. If you are not in a position to pay interns, even a small amount, you should reconsider starting an internship program. Maybe consider just having job shadow opportunities instead. Paying interns is fair because we expect them to produce some work for us. We also look for ways for them to help us beyond simply being around. Maybe it’s making a delivery or helping us on set. Pay your interns because it increases the commitment between both the company and the intern. A successful internship program is mutually beneficial to both the company and the student.

This should be the goal when you start your program. Think about what values you can bring to one another and how you can bring those values to fruition. With these thoughts in mind and a little bit of leg work, you’ll be on a good track to having a great and successful internship program. If you’re looking to start an internship program, I would love to just chat with you about that. Thank you for listening to the Content Machine podcast. Be sure to subscribe and share this with your friends if you found it helpful.

The internet is changing the way people read communications. Longer messages are less and less popular and likely going unread. So what can we do? And more specifically, what do we do when we have a lot to say but fewer words to say it in?

We can start by thinking about how to refine our communication to make it more friendly to modern readers, because while attention spans have dropped and the amount of information has exponentially increased, we still need to have our communications read and understood.

I noticed this being done well by one of my daily reads, the Nashville email newsletter. Axios, which if you don’t know, is an online publication specializing in the output of breaking news. They started branding their communication style with the term Smart Brevity. Then they released a book and a training on it, both using the title Smart Brevity. So if you’re interested in that, take a look. I think it contains some very helpful information for communicating in a world with modern readers. Being able to get the main point of your message across without cheapening it or leaving a vital detail out is a special skill. Smart Brevity tries to give a framework to make things shorter without making them shallower. Smart Brevity focuses on a few things. Structure of the content, focusing of the messaging, and prioritization of information.

Structuring of content in Smart Brevity has a lot to do with making the text more scannable. Instead of a wall of text like a classic newspaper article, you can break it up into short paragraphs using bold text for key thoughts and bullet points to make the information more accessible. Imagine if you could turn a one page story into 3 short 1-3 sentence paragraphs. This tactic would make it easer for the reader to decide based on those paragraphs whether or not they’re interested in reading the entire piece. That is the power of Smart Brevity.

Focusing on the messaging focuses you to acknowledge that more words are not always better and all the details are not often as relevant to the meaning of the story as others. A big concept here is to take the big idea of the piece and make it very clear. Even saying, “here is why this matters” or “here is the bigger picture” can help focus the attention of the reader.

Prioritizing information forces you to pull out key points. Sure, some thoughts might get left on the cutting room floor, but the important thing to think about is, what if trimming the excess is the difference between your idea being noticed or being forgotten? Smart Brevity allows a much greater opportunity for each person to at least see the idea that you’re trying to communicate. And from there, either move on, or if the topic or idea is relevant to them, to dive deeper and to click through to read the entire article.

I think it’s important to come to grips with the concept that not everyone is going to read your piece, and perhaps more importantly, no one is going to read your full piece. Would you rather the work be unread, or would you rather focus on getting the main idea out there and increasing the number of people who notice the work? Let’s not forget, if more people are noticing the work, more people are going to take time to read the whole thing. And as a marketer in 2023, I pick the second option every time. Smart Brevity, which clocks in according to the book’s front page, 28,002 words or 106 minutes of reading is a must read for anyone who communicates on the internet, whether that be internal communications or marketing communications. The book covers big ideas and gives you constant examples of how to implement its concepts. This is required reading for the writing staff at Adelsberger Marketing, and because of this, we hope it will help us shape our strategies for all of our clients going forward in 2023 and beyond.

Thank you for listening to the Content Machine podcast. If you found it helpful, forward it to a friend and stay tuned for future episodes.

Every company needs a website. And no, just a Facebook page will not do. Why? Well, Facebook is not a ubiquitous platform, meaning not everyone is on Facebook. Facebook can be helpful, but access can be limited to those without a Facebook account. A website is accessible to everyone with the Internet, and whether or not they are on a particular social media platform doesn’t matter. So what makes a successful website? A few things to consider. Clear messaging, clear information the customer needs, a clear call to action, a freebie, and testimonials.

Let’s start with clear messaging. Being able to position yourself with what you do for your customers is the first step to a winning website. We love the messaging thoughts in the book Story Brand by Donald Miller. Things like remembering that the customer is the hero in the story and you are there to help them, communicating the how of what you do for them, and setting the customer up for success. Most people care about the result of what you do for them, not necessarily the how. The classic looking for the sizzle, not the stake thought process. If you are not leading with clear messaging, you are wasting most of the effort of your website. Lack of clarity can distract or turn off customers.

Then consider what is the most pertinent information a customer might be looking for. That means if you are a church, your service times are not hidden somewhere on the website. They need to be easy to find. If you are a professional services firm, communicating what your specialties are needs to be easy to find. But also figuring out how to work with you or how to attend your event should be clear and easy as well. During the website planning process, we do an exercise that helps think from the position of the website visitors to think about what they need when they visit the website as opposed to what we want to promote. I would encourage the same for you. Take a moment and think about the biggest groups of customers that will be visiting your website and think about what they will be looking for when they come. Make sure that information is within a click or two of arriving.

A clear call to action. We call them CTAs in the business. Call to action. Customers need to know exactly how to start working with you. Is that a form to fill out on the website or do they have to call you? You should also make it easy for someone to do that. Make a clear CTA button relevant at multiple points on the website. Bonus points if you explain the process to getting started while they do that. You want to make it as clear as possible how to start doing business with you and what that looks like.

A freebie is a great way to build relationships with your audience. What is a freebie? Well, maybe it’s a free quote or a free assessment tool or a free guide. It’s a device that allows you to get some permission to communicate with potential customer and position yourself as the expert further in the minds of those who use the freebie. Ideally, this is something that can happen with automation or is something that is not horribly expensive for you to implement. It is a relationship builder, not a deal closer. It is a piece that helps you push people further down the funnel.

And finally, when thinking about a winning website, think about testimonials. Why testimonials? Well, they are what we like to call social proof. Social proof helps convert the skeptical. If someone is looking at your organization and unsure about signing up or contacting you, a testimonial can help silence some of the skepticism they have. Testimonials can be as low key as a featured client on your website, or as complicated as a video from someone who’s worked with you talking about how good it is to work with you. Having testimonials is a little bit of work, but once you have them, implement them on your website and think about including them in your social media and print materials.

Now, of course, this doesn’t cover some of the technical things a website should do. Maybe we’ll cover that in a future episode. But from a content standpoint, if you accomplish the above, you’ll be doing better than most of the people out there. Do you have a winning website? If not, you should think about giving us a call. At Adelsberger Marketing, we build winning websites every day. If you have a friend who needs website help, text them the link to this podcast. Thank you for listening to the Content Machine podcast and we hope to catch you on the next episode.

A few years ago, we started a very intentional internship program. Our goal was to have two interns a semester, every semester, fall, spring, and summer, even if we didn’t think we needed them at the time. We are going on our fifth consecutive semester of having interns, and I wanted to share some thoughts about it over two episodes. This episode, we will talk about the why of our internship program, and in a future episode, we’ll talk about the what and the how of successful internships. So why do we do internships and why will we continue this largely successful program? The top two reasons are community involvement and talent development. The first reason, and the most important reason is future talent identification and development. There are not many other scenarios in which you will get to see how someone works and fits in with your company culture before you truly commit to them. Internships are commitments for a semester alone. So, if they are a dud culturally or they don’t know how to work hard, you are not committed in the long term. You get to know people not just as a resume, as people. And this is a huge help in understanding whether they are a good fit culturally or not.

A bad hire can set a small business back months or years, and this is a good way to help minimize the risk. But you also get to find out what’s important to them and if you are a good fit for them. Some people will just take a job and then be unhappy because they’re not a good fit for the job. This is a disservice to everyone involved. And you get an idea of their talent. But not just their current talent level, you can really think about their potential and work towards helping them reach that potential in a way more flexibly than you could with someone that is hired as staff. Because of the cost of interns on the balance sheet, you can be way more flexible with their assignments and opportunities than a normal staff member. You are also able to train them in how you do business so that you get to have a hand in developing how they approach their work and their craft. And also importantly, it fulfills our mission. Part of our mission at Adelsberger Marketing is to have a culture that values our community. Internships are a great way to invest in your community. Most of our interns – 99% of them – come from local institutions or live locally. A good internship can help shape the future of a student by giving them real-world work experience that looks good on a resume and real-world skills that helps future employers see their potential. It can also help students think through what they want to do in life. Being able to fulfill our mission in this way is a great way to help our local colleges and universities fulfill their missions, and they have become great mutually beneficial relationships.

And while those are the two main whys that we do internships here at Adelsberger Marketing, here are a few more. Three times a year, Adelsberger Marketing gets to practice onboarding. In a firm our size, we might hire every year or every other year, which does not give us a lot of chances to perfect our onboarding practices. And without interns, every time we practice onboarding, it would be on a staff hire, which is a much more costly endeavor if we mess it up. With interns, we get to practice onboarding at least two people three times a year. This has given us a huge opportunity to dial in and constantly improve our onboarding process. When your onboarding process is good, it allows new folks to get a fast start to work and quickly align with company culture. Internships also allow us to grow our network of influence. Assuming all goes well, we just created six new advocates for our company every year. People whose lives we have had a positive impact on and will fondly think of us as they continue their career journeys. This added network can help us in a few ways. Referral for potential internships, so especially in the years surrounding their internship, they might point friends to us, which will help us grow our pool of potential candidates. But also, as they grow and are more successful, they might land a job that requires some outside contractors to complete some work. And we hope that means they’ll think about us.

Internships also help our staff develop leadership skills. Each of our interns spend time with all of our staff members, and this puts us in a position to help educate these students. And teaching is a form of leadership. Having to explain why and how you do your work helps you consider and internalize those ideas, which I think will make you more effective in those tasks. And depending on the intern, they may be largely assigned to a specific staff member for oversight. This gives the staff member a chance to work on things like instruction, direction giving, and delegation, things that in an organization of our size, they might not always get to work on.

And finally, it helps us deal with failure. We had one intern that was a failure, and there was co-fault there, and it gave us a chance to learn from it. And hopefully that intern was able to learn from it as well. But it’s helped us better select interns and better prepare future interns for success. I would encourage you to look at interns as an opportunity to better position your organization for success. There’s a good chance it will reveal your culture for what it really is, good or bad. And it can be a strain at moments, but the results are special. We plan to continue to do our internship program for as long as I’m running the company. An internship program is a test of your culture. It will help reveal some weak spots and push you to make your environment better for all the people that work in it. In the growing competition for talent, it is going to help you develop more and more opportunities to build relationships and secure talent. What is not to like?

If you need help thinking through an internship program or you have other questions, feel free to reach out. If you found this episode helpful, text it to a friend. Thank you for listening to the Content Machine Podcast.