The Power of Videos on Instagram to Enhance Your Marketing Campaigns

Sharing videos on Instagram is one of the best ways to gain new followers. I have been doing a little research to help you to get started, and it's easier than you think!

Firstly, decide what is the purpose of the video? 

I have been very guilty of posting short video clips on my Instagram account without considering what message I am trying to convey.

Most viewers are watching on a laptop or on a mobile phone, and in most cases with the sound off. Therefore, it is important to add text or captions to ensure that your message reaches your audience. I know that I am more likely to watch a video with text than without!

Almost every video that I have posted to Instagram to date has been without sound or text, so other than showing my audience what I've just made, who is the target of my posts?

I have two main aims:

• To inspire the ballooning community
• To promote my balloon decor 

Here's a video that I created using a free app called Apple Clips. 

"Clips is a mobile video editing software application created by Apple Inc. Apple describes it as an app for 'making and sharing fun videos with text, effects, graphics, and more.' Wikipedia







By simply adding a little text, you are telling your viewers what your decor can do for them, - remember, we sell the emotion that our balloons create and not just balloons! 

I uploaded my edited video to YouTube for the purpose of this blog. It looks better when published to Instagram or Facebook as it keeps its square shape. Square videos are a big hit on social media, and Instagram is no exception. Since it was originally a square-only platform, users gravitate toward a square format on Instagram. 

Make sure that you capture your viewers' attention immediately. Keep your videos short! Your videos should be bright and have movement. 

Another app that I like to use occasionally is KiraKira+. With this app, you can add effects like a cross filter to attach to the camera lens. Light-emitting materials and reflective objects will shine even more, especially decor with metallic confetti!

Be careful with this app as it can make your balloons look beautifully sparkly, and your customers might want you to supply that effect!







You might want to add a note to your posts saying "Sparkles, powered by KiraKira+" or something like that to let people know that it's an effect created through an app, but of course, with the right lighting your balloons can sparkle, so maybe you can sell that effect, too!

Here is a very short video clip that I made using KiraKira+.  I was preparing confetti balloons for a job that I was doing and decided that it might make a great video! It is one of my most viewed posts on Instagram, and it helped to boost my followers considerably! I might repost it in the future, but next time I will definitely add text using the Clips app! 

I hope like me that you are enjoying growing your social media presence and followers. I am really enjoying experimenting and learning more. I hope that some of this information is helpful to you. Please let me know, I would love to get some feedback!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

@suebowler

Organic Balloon and Flower Wall

Sometimes I have to pinch myself! Not only do I get to do what I love every day - writing the Very Best Balloon Blog and being a Qualatex Training Instructor - I also get the opportunity on occasions to work with fabulous clients to create some amazing balloon decor! 

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a brand development agency who asked me to create a balloon and flower wall for a press event in London. As some who loves working with both balloons and flowers, I jumped at the opportunity! 

Pastel Balloon and Flower Wall by Sue Bowler

The Logistics

When building a wall like this, it is important to consider how stable it needs to be. The balloon themselves are not heavy, but when you load it with lots of faux flowers the weight increases considerably. So my first consideration was how was I going to support my balloon wall?

Thinking about what would work best, I came up with the idea of using a grid frame. My next task was to find a grid frame that would be suitable. After a little research, I found the perfect solution!

Adding the balloons to the grid frame.

The Prep

One of the client's criteria was that the balloons needed to be pastel tones to suit the faux flowers that they were supplying for the wall. How excited was I to see that Qualatex had recently published a trending article Custom Pastel Colours and included a fabulous Custom Colour Pastel Colour Chart. I spent a couple of hours during the evening double-stuffing 5" and 11" balloons in preparation for the job the next day - definitely worth doing in advance.

When inflating double-stuffed balloons, make sure that you have an electric air-inflator that is powerful enough to inflate the balloons. I use the Premium Twin-Air inflator. It works perfectly and never over-heats! 

To find out more about this inflator, visit Premium Balloon Accessories.





Here is a really short video that gives a close-up view of the wall.

Summary

I loved making this wall and learned a great deal whilst building it. Although I was really happy with the end result, as was the client, I am already thinking about how I could make it even better! This wall took eight hours to build, including the construction time to build the panels. Tonight, I am heading back to London to take the wall down and recover the framework, poles, and bases so that I can re-use them for my next fabulous balloon wall installation! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com

Introducing Toñy Moncada CBA, and sharing a video of one of her fabulous NEW techniques!

Earlier this month I attended the OnArt Event held in Barcelona, Spain. It was a rare opportunity to be able to attend a convention as a guest and not an instructor.

I was very excited to be able to see some of the instructors at work teaching some truly awesome classes! One of the classes that I attended was "Table Settings" taught by Toñy Moncada, CBA of Globofiesta, in Elche, Alicante, Spain.

Here is one of Toñy's beautiful wedding table settings that she sells
not only as a balloon display but also filled with treats and candies! 

I first met Toñy Moncada in 2008 at the first OnArt Event. Toñy is very passionate about balloons and creative decor. She loves exciting her clients with her fabulous ideas. Toñy's explains that her day-to-day sales mainly come from clients wanting balloons for newborns and birthdays. She specialises, however, in wedding and communion decor. In a six week-period from the end of April to the beginning of June, Toñy says that her store averages 50-60 communions per week!

Toñy told me that she loves to create wedding decor. She feels that her work fills the couple's day with many emotions. All of Toñy's weddings are bespoke, designed specifically to achieve the client's dreams. Toñy loves to build a good relationship with her customers so that she can fully understand their desires and wants.

I love Toñy's Japanese influenced design for an 18th birthday! 

One of Toñy's favourite balloons is the Qualatex^® Deco Bubble! 

"Bubbles are so versatile. There are so many beautiful things that you can do with them! They are long-lasting and one of my top-selling balloons!"

Toñy offers some great advice for someone new to the balloon industry.

"To work with balloons, you must feel a passion. Without passion you will not be able to find your creativity. You must also understand how to run a business. This is vitally important for the future success of your business.

Make sure that you build a good relationship with your customers, as this will result in repeat business and good recommendations." 

During Toñy's class, she shared a fabulous technique that I had never seen before. I asked Toñy if she would be happy to share this with the readers of the Very Best Balloon Blog and she agreed! 

"Good Design Matters for your Business" - Zoe Adams-Jones Shows You How to Create Fabulous Social Media Posts Using CANVA.

We all want to do a better job with our social media activity. We know how important it is to increase our customer base and to connect with our current customers. However, producing engaging content and having content consistency is not quite so simple.

I am always looking for an easy solution and when it comes to design, Canva is simply perfect! Canva, for those of you who have not used it before, is a graphic-design tool website. It uses a drag-and-drop format and provides access to more than a million photographs, graphics, and fonts. It is used by non-designers as well as professionals. The tools can be used for both web and print media design and graphics. It offers a wide variety of content types that include Facebook and Instagram post templates, posters, brochures, and so much more!

Canva is free. However, you can upgrade for a nominal monthly fee to increase its functionality. Personally, I would start with the free version and then upgrade later if you feel you need the extra functions.

Zoe Adams-Jones

Recently, the wonderful Zoe Adams-Jones, CBA, of Jaz Trading in Queensland, Australia, made a live online tutorial - "Creating Easy Professional Graphics using Canva" - that she shared with the Australian ballooning community and to her followers on Facebook. Zoe has a background in digital marketing and has many years of experience in this field. She very kindly agreed that we could share her tutorial with the readers of the Very Best Balloon Blog.

I had previously "had a go" at using Canva, but because it did not work for me instantly, I gave up. As with anything new, you need to invest just a little bit of time to go through the steps. Zoe's tutorial will guide you through the simple steps of how to use Canva with ease, and within no time you will be producing fabulous marketing materials that you can use across all your social media channels.

I recommend that you open up Canva first (www.Canva.com) click on "Create a Design" and have a little play for a few minutes. Then watch Zoe's tutorial and everything will start to make sense!

OnArt - "Convention of Balloon Artists" 2018

OnArt - "Convention of Balloon Artists," a Qualatex-sponsored event, has just celebrated its 11th Anniversary. From the 5th-7th October, 2018, the Hotel FrontAir Congress in Barcelona, Spain, became home for nearly two hundred delegates, sponsors, and organisers, including eleven fabulous instructors from around the globe — twenty different countries, in fact!  

Fabulous "Barcelona" balloon wall and "Motor Bike" 
designed by Vadim Sushkanov, CBA.

OnArt founder Jósemarie Álvarez with his wife Cristina Cano of Globofiesta Party S.L.,   first started the balloon artist event in 2008. For me, this was very special as I was one of the first instructors to teach at this fabulous convention.

This three-day event promised to be action-packed, fun-filled, and with many amazing learning opportunities! It did not fail on any level. 

The event kicked off with a CBA examination under the watchful eye of Keith Stirman, CBA. Congratulations to the thirteen new CBAs who passed!

The welcome party was the perfect opportunity for everyone to meet up. The fabulous party decor below was created by Edward Muñoz and Vadim Shushkanov.

Beautiful "Candy'" theme entrance decor by Edward Muñoz

Fabulous "Candy" theme decor by Edward Muñoz

 "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" 

by Barbara Rosatelli 

Taking the Fear Factor out of Organic Decor - Top Tips from Three Industry Experts!

Does the thought of creating an organic style balloon installation give you sleepless nights and fill you with dread? 

Fear no more - I have instilled the help of three amazing organic balloon art designers to share with us their top tips that will steer you through those worrying and confusing times!

The fabulous Caity Byrne, CBA of All About balloons in Washington, D.C., USA, has some truly great advice to share!

Caity Byrne of All About Balloons

"Don't be afraid to play! So many times, I have pulled out the color I think is just right for an organic piece, only to realize I'm completely wrong. I've pulled out other colors I'm dubious will look good together, and I end up with my new favorite palette. The cost to experiment is so minimal compared to the potential return on investment.
The principles and elements of design are of paramount importance in organic decor. Whether it's balance, scale, whatever- they should all be kept in mind when designing, planning, and constructing a piece. A 3-footer is completely out of proportion when nestled in with a bunch of 5" balloons, for example. An 8' swag behind a 25' stage is going to look completely underwhelming and out of place. A 25' swag on an 8' stage can be done well, provided there is balance (but not symmetry- gross!).
When it comes to actual hands-on construction of a piece, the most important thing I cannot stress enough is to keep balloons round! In my opinion, there is no place for anything other than round balloons in most decor (excepting helium balloons on a string, of course). Round balloons stack much more nicely and give movement to the piece. How many times have you seen an organic piece while strolling through Instagram only to have your eye stop abruptly on a pear-shaped balloon (or a bad color or size)?
The best business advice I have is particularly true in organics: don't be cheap and don't be lazy. Use Cloud Busters if the piece warrants it! Grab those foils and add them in for flair! Use SuperAgates- they're worth it! Take the time to make the confetti balloons and make your piece over the top. Your clients will be thrilled and your future clients will be calling!" 

Want to know how Caity makes her fabulous organic decor? She has two educational downloads available to purchase from gumroad.com/allaboutballoons.

Here are some of Caity's favourite organic installations

This was the first organic piece that Caity ever did. It was in the East Room of the White House for the Obama’s final Halloween party.

Pump Up Your Business with this Amazing Tool for Calculating Helium Costs

What can I say! The balloon industry is made up of some truly generous people who want to help other "Balloonies" succeed and grow their businesses successfully!

Last week the fabulous Michelle Severino, CBA, of Party Splendour in Peakhurst, NSW, Australia, sent me a copy of her amazing Helium Cost and Volume Calculator to share with the ballooning community. Michelle says that this tool has been invaluable to her business and hopes that it will help others, too!

The calculator is very easy to use. You will be able to find Michelle's original calculator in both the Qualatex and QBN Facebook Groups in the FILE section in both Excel (PC) and Numbers (Mac) formats (unfortunately, I cannot share these files on Blogger.)

To start, you will need to change some of the fields to suit you and your business. I have marked these on the image below and colour-coded them with descriptions.

Those of you who are more familiar with creating documents using Excel and Numbers will be able to customise this form very easily.

• CYLINDER SIZE: List all the cylinder names and sizes that you use. The form is currently set up to take three different sizes. 
• CUBIC FEET: For each cylinder size listed, add the cubic feet volume if you work with cubic feet.
• PRICE/ Cu ft: Change the currency to suit your country. 
• CUBIC METERS: For each cylinder size listed, add the cubic meter volume if you work with cubic meters.
• PRICE/ CUBIC METERS: Change the currency to suit your country

I have customised the Helium Cost and Volume Calculator to suit my business in the UK. I have changed the cylinder sizes to three different BOC cylinders that I use. For each cylinder size, I have added both the cubic feet and cubic meter volumes - I don't think that you need to add both, but I did. I then changed all the currency values to U.K. Sterling. 

I know that this tool will help me greatly when I am quoting for a job and calculating my helium costs.

Chris Adamo Does It Again!

I have some fantastic news to share with you! Chris Adamo, CBA, of Balloons Online in Sydney, Australia, has just added some amazing new features to his Balloons Online Design Tool software.

With immediate effect, you can now design Arches and Columns.

Simply log into http://www.balloons.com.au/tools/  and follow the CLICK HERE TO START as shown in the image below.

Once you enter the software, you will be taken to the Design Template page.

To find the template that you want to work with, click on ADD MODEL - this is on the right-hand side of the page. 

Halloween's Coming, - Let's Go Totally Catty, Batty, Deadly, Ghostly, and Scary!

Halloween is creeping up on us. It's time to get ready with our "balloontastic" designs and excite our customers with witches, ghouls, and ghosts!

The key to any successful holiday sales campaign is in the planning, preparing and of course, organising.

Get displaying!

The purpose of good displays and visual merchandising is to attract, engage, and motivate customers towards making a purchase.

Good visual merchandising can help:

• Create interest and excitement 
• Prolong dwell time (we want people to stop and look) 
• Increase customer understanding of what you can offer



Think about all the potential display areas that you have:

• Windows 
• In-Store Displays
• Till/Checkout area
• Wall Space
• Ceiling Space

If you own a die-cutter like a Cameo Silhouette, create some fun and exciting decals for your shop window and other display areas.

I found this cat image at Snazzy Little Things.com. It has a great selection of Halloween window silhouettes that are free to download.

UpClose and Personal with Jackie Ochitwa CBA

I was very excited to meet the very talented Jackie Ochitwa, CBA, of With A Twist Balloon Creations in Alberta, Canada, earlier this year when we shared the instructor's prep room at the World Balloon Convention in San Diego, California, USA. The prep room is one of my favourite places at a convention because you get to meet some truly lovely and very talented balloon artists. You also get to see all the amazing designs that they are teaching!

I am always intrigued to find out a little about the artist behind the balloons and their ballooning journey. So, I asked Jackie how she converted her former radio show host career into becoming an international balloon artist! 

Jackie Ochitwa, CBA.

"I continued my radio career until my second child was born, and I decided that it was important for me to stay home and raise my babies. So, that’s what I did.

My kids always loved balloons, even at a really early age. We brought them to a fair one summer, and there was a group of teenagers twisting swords and flowers for the little ones. We took the balloons home and the sword unraveled (as swords tend to do when a four year old plays with it). My son was so sad; I picked the balloon up and attempted to put it back together the best I could. The smile on my son’s face was priceless – it was then that I decided to look for a balloon twisting book at the library the next time we went. I mean, how hard could it be?"

Yes, It Is Possible To Make 5" Confetti-Filled Balloons!

Everyone loves confetti and confetti-filled balloon decor, it is still very much a hot trend. But how many of us struggle to get the confetti inside a 5" balloon? 

5" confetti-filled balloons look fabulous in centrepieces, and are perfect for organic style decor, too, like this beautiful organic decor created by Shannon Kilford of Born To Party in Sydney, Australia — It really adds a sparkle to this beautiful balloon installation! 

Organic Decor by Shannon Kilford of Born to Party in Sydney, Australia.

So to help you make these fabulous 5" confetti balloons, I have made a short video to show you how easy it is! 

You will need:

• 5" Diamond Clear Latex Balloons
• Hand Pump
• Confetti
• Cloth
• Castration tool/castrating ring pliers/economy castration bander; the 4-prong version is the best. Probably the easiest way to find a supplier is to search the Internet using any of the keywords that I used above. 

A Few Simple Steps on How To Build Your Instagram Following

Last year, I made a commitment to myself to work on my Instagram account. I have always been a Facebook kind of girl, but today, I find Facebook cluttered and a little overwhelming with the number of unwelcome posts, videos, and adverts that appear constantly in my newsfeed. Instagram, on the other hand, I find inspiring and filled with content that I want to view. I wonder how many of our customers feel the same way?


Like any social network out there, there are right ways to use it, wrong ways to use it, and clever ways to use it.

Let's begin with hashtags.

I have written about hashtags before, but this time I would like to be a little more specific. Using hashtags is one thing. Using the right tags is a completely different thing. 

If you want to tag your photos properly, you'll need to find and use the most relevant hashtags. This means doing the appropriate research to make sure you're using hashtags that not only describe what you do but are also being searched for on Instagram. So how do you do this?

Have you heard of Webstagram? Not only does it show you the most popular Instagram hashtags, but it also offers a free search tool that allows you to find all the top hashtags related to your post. 

There is also another free site called All Hashtag. It has a "hashtag generator." Be selective with your hashtags. Using the top-rated hashtags might mean that your posts get lost and never seen. 

The important thing is to build your own hashtag list. There are two types of hashtags: BRANDED and COMMUNITY.

Branded, is specific to your company - your company name, for example. It's amazing how many people don't hashtag their own company name, including me! 

Community, like branded hashtags, can connect like-minded users around a specific subject. But, unlike branded hashtags, community hashtags don’t need to be directly related to a business. They can be broader and much less focused. You might decide to do a #happymonday or #TBT (throw-back-Thursday) campaign. This is a great way to engage with a wider community.

A slightly sneaky but great way to discover new and trending hashtags is to check out the hashtags that your competitors and industry influencers use.

"Selling the Dream"

How we describe and present our businesses can have a huge impact on how our clients perceive us. I have said many times before; our job is not to sell balloons, our job is to sell the special memories that our balloons make, whether it's a beautiful bouquet of balloons that we deliver for a special occasion or amazing decor that we create for a corporate event, a wedding, or a party.

Last month I attended the Qualatex^® Event in Shanghai, China. I had the honour of working with Lily Tan, of Myairtitude in Singapore, Jeff Wong, CBA, of Balloon Factory in Hong Kong, and TingYu Wong of Color Life Production, also from Hong Kong. It was also a great honour to meet some of the wonderful and very talented Chinese balloon artists who attended the event.

Balloon Decor by Jenny Wang of Bing Party Studio, China

So how does my trip to Shanghai have any relevance to my post topic, "Selling the Dream"?

Balloon Decor by Katie Jiang of ZUOYOU,
 Shandong, China.

I love to see the work of other balloon artists from around the world and was both inspired and excited to see beautiful designs created by some of our Chinese delegates. What really stood out for me was that every photograph told a story and shared a dream - a dream that could easily be turned into a wonderful memory.

Selling the dream is not just limited to creative industries such as ours. This is what companies such as IKEA do all the time. They sell the dream with all their fabulous room settings in stores. When people walk around the beautifully displayed rooms, they see a complete lifestyle rather than just a sofa or table. It's a clever concept, as I am sure that many people buy everything they see!






The photo above really brings the room to life! We all know that a celebration is not a celebration without balloons. This beautiful balloon bouquet adds the perfect finishing touch to this lifestyle photograph - the image would not look as vibrant and exciting without it.

Jenny Wang of Bing Party Studio really has a creative eye. Her photo really sets the scene for a romantic occasion - candles, wine, roses, and romance, but without the fabulous balloon heart, the photograph would not have the same impact. Equally, the heart would not have the same impact without the other elements. Being able to create images such as this is a true art that I would love to learn.

Design by Jenny Wang, Bingo Party Studio.

Here's another great photograph from Jenny Wang. A completely different dream setting, but this time for a child's party. What a fabulous photo backdrop!

Design by Jenny Wang, Bingo Party Studio.

Here are some more beautiful photographs that "sell the dream" -  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Design by Jenny Wang, Bingo Party Studio.

Design by Calypso Cheng, Nanching, China.

Design by Calypso Cheng, Nanching, China.

Balloon Decor by Katie Jiang of ZUOYOU,
in Shandong, China.

Balloon Decor by Moli Zhu of Bubble Double Balloon Studio, Shanghai, China.

In most cases these photographs are not set in elaborate locations, and the backgrounds are pretty neutral. It is the combination of designs and simple props that have made these images as appealing as they are. 

As much as they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, I do believe that words, too, are very important. Once again, I was inspired when I read these magical words on TingYu's "About" page on his Color Life Production website:

"We believe balloon brings happiness and balloon art brings happiness to others. Color Life Production keens to provide balloon art education and decoration services to different place, to turn every special moments into colorful and happy memories!" 

What a fabulous way to greet your customers and tell them that you are the right person to work with.

I hope that this blog post has inspired you as much as it has inspired me!

Thank you to all the wonderful designers who have shared their photographs with the Very Best Balloon Blog and to Soo Chin Goo who helped me greatly.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue 

www.suebowler.com