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Archive for the ‘Video Marketing’ Category
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
You have your brand new website up and running. It looks fantastic and you have a lot of great products listed along with article or blogging content. Are you wondering what else you could do to enhance your website?
Consider doing various videos or podcasts about you, your business, what your products are and other ways. The general online public loves short podcasts on just about anything.
For instance, maybe your website business is providing a service. Whatever the service is, you could have short videos on tips and tricks of the trade to help someone do something instead of always hiring to have it done.
You can also have a how-to section for people who like to have do-it-yourself projects. Look at it as giving away freebies. Everyone loves freebies and if you give your customers something, they will be sure to give back by purchasing something from your website.
It’s also a great way for SEO. Podcasts and YouTube videos will get you moved up in the search rankings faster than without them, thats for sure.
If you are not sure how to go about making videos, there are a lot of self-help videos online. See there! You are even using them now! A world of information is right at your fingertips so why not use it to optimize your business presence on the internet.
With a new year upon us, now is the perfect time to try something new. You will be surprised at how effective videos are on your marketing campaign. You can even attach them to your marketing emails for an even bigger response.
Tags: advertising, google, online marketing, small business, YouTube
Posted in Video Marketing | 2 Comments »
Sunday, November 6th, 2011
Google+ was already a good and growing destination for Web marketers. It just got better. They’ve added a YouTube search feature.
The best thing about the new search feature for YouTube videos is that it isn’t obtrusive. Google really did a good job on this one. On the top right of your screen you’ll see the little YouTube icon. Click it and the search box extends inward. It’s just big enough for you to enter your search term and when you do a small popup box appears – just about the size of a video – and you can see your video search results.
There’s a featured video, then below that is a playlist. Don’t like what you see? Search again.
If you click the green Share button in the top right part of the pop up box, or the video in the box, then you can easily share the video on Google+. You choose your circles and add a message. Seamless sharing.
I have to tell you, this is much better than Facebook’s sharing feature. If you are a video marketer and you have an audience on Google+, I highly recommend that you start sharing YouTube videos on Google+. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Tags: google, videos, YouTube
Posted in Video Marketing | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
This story of Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri delivering a eulogy for Osama bin Laden caught my attention. The reason this story caught my eye is because I realized that Al Qaeda, like any other organization, has a story to tell. It may not be a good story. It may not be a story most of us want to hear. But it’s a story. And when a simple video draws media attention as a mere mention, then you know they’re onto something.
This is video marketing at its purest.
I didn’t see the video. I don’t really need to. What the second in command at Al Qaeda has to say is not as important as the fact that he said it. So what does this video really mean in terms of keeping Al Qaeda in the public spotlight?
- No. 1, they did something. An organization that many people are interested in, one way or another, made a public comment. That’s news.
- The eulogy is just a way to heroize a fallen soldier. Osama bin Laden may be our enemy, but he’s somebody’s friend. When you capture the eyes of both your enemies and your friends (or your customers and your competition) with a single act, then you’ve been effective.
- Video is a powerful medium. You can have much more impact with one video than you can with ten articles.
- Keep telling the story. Al Qaeda’s – and bin Laden’s – story has always been to stick it to the evil Americans. Zawahri’s message was that bin Laden has done that in his death as much as in his life. The story has been told.
If you want to be effective at online marketing, use videos, but use them intelligently. That means
- Sparingly, but often
- When you have something useful to say
- Tell your story and keep telling it over and over again
- Make it newsworthy, or at least worthy of attention
- Never waver
If Al Qaeda can use video to keep its message before the public eye, I know you can too.
Posted in Video Marketing | 6 Comments »
Saturday, March 19th, 2011
YouTube presents one of the greatest marketing tools to hit the Internet in years. Really. I’m not making it up. And what makes YouTube such a powerful marketing tool is that you can virtually have your own YouTube channel, sort of like your own TV channel – except, it’s free.
All you have to do is set up a YouTube account and start producing and uploading videos. OK, it’s a little more complicated than that. You have to create good, entertaining videos that people will want to watch. But if you can do that, then having your own YouTube channel can pay you big dividends.
So what are the benefits to having your own YouTube channel?
- No. 1, if you produce good videos that are entertaining and informative, then you can gain a following on YouTube. Some channels have thousands of viewers every day.
- You can drive steady traffic to your website using your own YouTube channel.
- If your channel is popular enough, you can sell advertising on your videos and monetize the channel.
- A YouTube channel that offers entertaining and informative videos can increase your online reputation.
- You can become an instant expert by sharing your knowledge through daily or weekly online videos with your own YouTube channel.
There are many ways to market your business and products online. Having a YouTube channel is only one of them, but it’s a powerful one.
Posted in Video Marketing | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 11th, 2011
YouTube is giving video content creators a new way to increase their audiences and improve their skills. It’s called the YouTube Creator Institute.
This looks like a good deal. You can learn more creative ways to produce your content so that it shines and attracts new audiences. The reason for introducing this is obvious. YouTube is hoping to make money from your content. Of course, if you make money, they’ll make money so there’s a strong interest in helping you become the best content creator you can become.
Whether you have an idea for a small business video show or a new form of YouTube entertainment, you can learn all about camera angles, lighting, storytelling, promotion, and pick up a whole host of skills necessary for running a new media hit.
YouTube is one of the top video marketing and video sharing websites online. It’s also owned by Google. Whatever you do, if you do it well, YouTube can help you succeed and take it to new audiences. It can help you expand your current audience. And it can help you grow your business beyond your wildest dreams. The YouTube Creator Institute looks like a good deal. I wouldn’t pass this opportunity up.
Tags: content, Video Marketing, YouTube
Posted in Video Marketing | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
A nasty rumor is spreading, according to WebProNews, that YouTube is considering paying celebrities to provide video content channels. If true, what will that do to your channel?
Can you imagine competing against the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey for attention? If this report is true, you might have to.
If you think this is no different than competing against the Big O and the Big A on Twitter, think again. YouTube provides video content and video by its nature is much more demanding of attention than 140 characters of text. Besides, YouTube is one of the top 5 Web properties in terms of traffic and Twitter isn’t. YouTube is also owned by Google and has deep pockets. Plus, there is plenty of money to be made in online video content.
I’m not saying this is a negative in any way. However, if celebrities are paid for providing YouTube content, your YouTube channel could be relegated to second-class status by a celebrity who is competing directly against you. That means you’d have to be that much more creative and aggressive in your YouTube marketing efforts.
But then, there’s the other hand (isn’t there always another hand?). Celebrity YouTube channels could also present a unique marketing opportunity for your small business by giving you another advertising channel. Is that what YouTube’s real goal is?
Tags: online, Video Marketing, YouTube
Posted in Video Marketing | 1 Comment »
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
YouTube has finally surpassed the 1 billion mark on subscribers. If you don’t think that’s significant then you don’t know much about YouTube. The subscriber part I’m talking about are channels.
So what’s a YouTube channel? Good question. And the answer is real simple.
A channel is your individual YouTube account. That’s your channel. And every time another YouTube user subscribes to your channel that’s a feather in your cap. So there are 1 billion total subscribers to channels on YouTube. Big deal, right?
Actually, it is a big deal because there are 16 channels with more than 1 million users each. WebProNews says there are 15, but lists 16.
Now, do you think 1 million subscribers to your channel would be a big deal? You bet it is. That’s clout. I’d say if you’ve got more than 100,000 subscribers then you are doing really well, but to have 1 million, well, that just means you have a lot of power. It means you can sell advertising. Make money. It means you can probably get a movie or a book deal. Make money. Catch my drift?
So how do you make money on YouTube? Get a lot of subscribers to your channel. But how do you that? Produce great videos and promote the heck out of them. You think you can do that with your small business? I think so. You might not get 1 million subscribers, but if you get 100,000 subscribers then that’s pretty good for business. Don’t you think?
Tags: Video Marketing, YouTube
Posted in Video Marketing | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
One of the things that webmasters, and small business owners in particular, can get better at is embedded video. There seems to be a lot of missed opportunities in using video as a marketing tool for small businesses.
We could pontificate about how this is the case, but I’d rather just get right to the quick and tell you how embedded video can increase the traffic to your website.
No. 1, if the video you embed is on YouTube then you can leave a comment on the video after you’ve embedded it on your site and say something to the effect:
Come hear what we’re saying about this video at xxxxxxx.com.
Change the xxxxxxx.com to your domain name (I don’t mean to demean your intelligence, but I thought I’d state the obvious.  )
Next, after posting the video to your site, bookmark it somewhere. Try to bookmark that video at the most popular social bookmarking sites and be sure to give it a well-written, enticing summary.
If you do those two things alone then you’ll see an increase of traffic to your site. But there is another way embedded video can lead to more traffic.
Let’s say you want to add video to your site. Make the video then upload it to YouTube or another one of the video directories online (Note: YouTube is the most popular one). Next, embed that video on your website. If you do that often enough and use YouTube like a social networking site – making friends, commenting on their videos, favoriting the videos you like, etc. – then you’ll develop a following on YouTube and soon you will see that all of your videos are being watched by a lot of people. If you filled out your profile correctly then you put a link to your website on your YouTube profile. A certain percentage of your video watchers will visit your website through that link.
And that’s about it. It’s pretty simple. Videos have a lot of potential for reputation management, SEO, and website traffic.
Tags: traffic, Video Marketing
Posted in Video Marketing | 3 Comments »
Monday, September 13th, 2010
We talked about Google Instant. In fact, we talked about it again. We may talk about it some more in the future. But right now I’d like to introduce you to YouTube Instant.
YouTube Instant is the brainchild of Feross Aboukhadijeh, a student at Stanford University. He talks about how he came to develop YouTube Instant and the ensuing media frenzy on his blog.
I’ve got to say that I’m particularly impressed with this website. You type in your search phrase and videos play in real time as you type. It looks like it is heavily weighted toward music and entertainment videos, but I did manage to find some business videos. I had to type in “business in” before I got to anything related to business (business intelligence). Then I typed in “small bu” and got a video on small business.
Is there a way to use this for your marketing? I’m sure there is – if you can figure out how the algorithm works that delivers the videos in real time. I think one of the keys is to have a popular video on YouTube as the popular videos are more likely to be found easier through a search.
One thing that would make YouTube Instant more valuable, if Feross doesn’t mind the suggestion, is to make it embedable on other people’s websites. A YouTube Instant widget would likely lead to more use and give Feross greater exposure as well.
Another idea is to provide a category search feature where video searchers can search for videos in real time by category. Good job, Feross!
Tags: video search, YouTube
Posted in Video Marketing | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 20th, 2010
There is one aspect of small business that is generally not promoted often enough online. That aspect? The fact that they are small; they can be personal; and that the person you are talking to is most likely the owner. If it is the owner you are dealing with then you know it’s in their best interest to provide a good service. When it comes to big business, the person you are talking to is a wage earner and their vested interest is in their paycheck each week – not necessarily you.
Small businesses have capitalized on this in the bricks and mortar world for decades. I am somewhat surprised that online businesses are not also promoting their size as being a benefit to customers. Trust is always an issue for many customers and small businesses have access to a tool that can quickly resolve some of these trust issues and that tool is video.
All it takes is a short video in which the small business owner introduces themselves, their products or services and perhaps what their web site has to offer customers. The one thing missing from the online world is that face to face contact. While video is only one way, it certainly provides a means to communicate with customers, and for customers to see and hear who they are dealing with.
Short videos like this can do wonders for an online business’s trust factor. Of course, it is important that you come across in the video as being trusting – but that’s something that you will need to work on. Video marketing doesn’t have to promote a product, it can be used to simply build trust, and for small businesses, it can serve them much better than large businesses.
Tags: building trust, online marketing, small business marketing
Posted in Video Marketing | 1 Comment »
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