I don’t care if you’re a solopreneur or own a company with 50 employees – you know how to get or create inventory, what your profit margin is, and who your target market is. Now, let’s see how you answer these three vital marketing questions. I’ll have answers at the end.
1. WHY DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE? What is its purpose? Is it an online brochure? Do you actually sell product and collect revenue there? Is it because everyone else has one?
2. ARE THE RIGHT PEOPLE VISITING YOUR SITE? Do you know who they are and how they found you? Do you know what phrase they put into a search engine that brought your site into the results? How long are they staying ?
3. WHAT DO YOU WANT THEM TO DO? Place an order? Subscribe to your newsletter? Call you to find out more? If you don’t ask your visitors to do something, then they won’t.
NOW LET’S SEE THE ANSWERS
1. If someone recommends you to a friend, 8 out of 10 of those folks will head to the web to check you out. If you can’t answer their questions, they’ll go elsewhere very quickly. Videos immediately establish trust and expertise.
2. You can target the right visitors all across the web with videos. Use blogs, social media, local search and more. When they do find you, make them stay with compelling videos that answer their questions and show off your product or service.
3. Whether you want visitors to fill out a form, subscribe to a newsletter or buy a product, 70% more visitors convert after watching a video.
Want to talk about more ideas? Call me. Because if you aren’t using video and your competition is, you lose.
–that’s a wrap.
All posts by Ron Harper
Change Your FAQ
What does your company have in common with Sears, JC Penneys and Ikea? It could be a lot more than you think. All three of those retailers use video to explain, to demonstrate, and to educate.
If your customer has questions, you can provide the answers in videos. As someone told me recently: if I answer a customer’s question in an email, I’m talking to one person. But if I answer a question in a video, I could be talking to hundreds of persons at the same time.
Do you sell something that requires assembly? Why not put the instructions online in a video. Are there modifications the customer can make? Do a video. One of the more popular categories in retail is the “unboxing” video where everything in the box is explained and examined. Those are particularly helpful with electronics.
If you can answer all of your customer’s questions this way, or provide the helpful information they need, would they see you differently? What do you think their perception of your expertise would be?
How many persons can you reach with a video on your website…and how much easier could you be found? I can help you find those answers.
-That’s a wrap.
The Emotion Of Web Video
Most of my clients have one goal in mind when they ask me to produce a video for their website: they want their message to be remembered. That’s why customer testimonials on video work so well. It’s real people, real words, and real emotions.
That is also why – when you talk about your business and show your product, the you that is so passionate about hour business comes thru. Your prospects will respond to web video. So, tell your story and have fun, as well as gain an advantage.over the competition.
What else can you do with web video? More on that next time.
-that’s a wrap.
Showing Our Stuff
The past three years has brought a lot of new friends our way. Every project we do is different and exciting. The new year gives us an opportunity to take a look back and put together some of the work we’ve done for our clients. Here’s our 2012 demo reel. I hope you enjoy it. When can we get started on YOUR project?
–That’s a wrap.
Questions About Building A Video Library
How well do you know your competition? How well do you know their marketing efforts? Sometimes being in business and competing for the same customer is like a chess game. The winner will always be the one who is thinking three moves ahead.
Think your competition has a marketing plan? Or do they favor a shotgun approach: a little of this, and a little of that? Unfocused marketing misses the mark. Make blatent one or two things about your brand, and you’ll be successful. One thing that realy focuses your efforts, and has a large return on investment is video.
If you have video, and your competition doesn’t – You Win!
It’s been proven thyat companies with at least three videos on their site are perceived as experts by their customers.
Start building a video presence – with a blog, or a tips and tricks section to your website – BEFORE the competition starts paying attention.
–That’s a wrap.
Don’t Hide Your Videos
I’m starting to see a few websites with a YouTube logo in one corner or as part of the site menu. I take that to mean there’s a company YouTube channel linked to it. But you shouldn’t stop there. If you make YouTube your sole source of video traffic, you’re missing the boat.
Here’s how:
1. Videos hosted on your own server get “liked” by the search engines quicker.
2. If you don’t show some of your expertise – in the form of videos – on your site, you’re asking your audience to jump through another hoop in order to get them.
Instead:
Post your best – the ones that answer questions or solve problems – on a page or pages that are dedicated to solving that problem.
Use your YouTube embed code to play your videos in email newsletters, and other communication tools.
Put your videos out front, and let them work their magic.
— That’s a wrap.
5 Things You Should Know About Video Marketing
You’re in business. You have competition. That’s a given. Still, there are things, ideas, products, or people that set you apart from your competition. But how do you let your prospective customers know? The traditional way is advertising, but it can be expensive, and most times, you can’t be sure how effective it will be. Videos for business and website video marketing is effective, affordable and trackable. Here are the basics you need to know: 1. Pick a video production company that specializes in producing ONLINE video. They will help you decide how to best reach your target audience. 2. Use real people. Use yourself: customers love to be able to put a face on your business. If you’re not completely comfortable on camera, a professional video producer will show you how to look at the top of your game. 3. Show where you do business. Show where your product is made. Behind the scenes videos CAN be tricky. Someone who specializes in shooting business videos can spot the details that could make or break the scene. 4. Put the finished video in the right spot on your website. Video marketing professionals will work with you or your web designer to make sure the video is optimized and plays properly from your server. 5. Promote your message in social media, blogs, and newsletters. The more places you put your video, the more the search engines will love it. For more information about how videos drive results, visit Videos On Your Website
–That’s a wrap.
Which Videos Keep Viewers Longer?
Lady Gaga’s newest music video, or your demonstration and customer testimonial – which do you think would win? Basically, we’re talking entertainment vs. information.
You Tube’s Insights analytics tool is now showing graphs of where viewer interest drops off. The results are pretty surprising.
Most entertainment videos start off with high interest and drops off quickly as the video plays.
On the other hand, informative videos start with a lower level of interest, and that level increases the longer the video plays. What does that mean for YOUR videos? Well, what it says is people who watch the first 30 to 45 seconds of your video are more likely to watch it all the way through.
My suggestion would be to have a great opening, and if you have a hook, or a terrific point to your story, tease it within that first 45 seconds. There are things you can do within that time to ensure that folks will stick around until the end.
You can still be a star without having the latest I-tunes hit. Just be yourself and let your customers shine.
–That’s a Wrap.
Would You Feel Better If I Called It A Commercial?
After decades in advertising, I can tell you that business people LOVE commercials. It’s their opportunity to get “face time” with their customers and prospects and talk about their wonderful products.
Guess who doesn’t love commercials?
Answer: customers and prospects.
When is the only time customers love commercials?
During that football game each February.
But this is the online world. And people don’t search for commercials.
And yet, I’m surrounded by materials from video producers trying to sell businesses a :30 second commercial, or an Infomercial, or even, heaven forbid, a Webmercial. And so it bears repeating:
People. Don’t. Search. For. Commercials.
They’re looking for content. If you’re a plumber, it might be: Five Things You Should Never Put Down Your Garbage Disposal. If you’re a dentist, it might be: Meet Our Staff. If you run a pet grooming service, maybe it’s a couple of testimonials from satisfied customers.
That way, when folks search for a plumber, and that video shows up in search, that plumber has a certain amount of expertise in the eyes of that prospect. When someone is searching for a dentist, all of a sudden this one seems nicer and more trustworthy. When my friends tell me to check out the pet grooming service, I see a couple of folks like me talking about what a pleasure it was working with them.
Content like that will keep me on a web page longer. Content like that will build trust in the eyes of a customer or prospect. It’s closer to showing and telling than it is to selling. But it is not a commercial.
It’s better.
–that’s a wrap.
My Cat Eats Small Meals
I work with a few clients on a monthly basis helping them build their video blog.
When a business decides to do a video or two every month, they’re understandably very excited. Come the day of the shoot, they are in one of two camps: They have a three page written script –or—they have no idea what they’re going to say.
I have the same advice for both of them: My cat eats small meals.
A few times a day, my cat will saunter over to her bowl and take a few bites. That’s all she needs. After that, it can be playtime, naptime, or she’ll sit on one of her favorite surfaces in my office and watch me work.
Humans can be the same way with information: don’t give them too much to digest.
Instead of putting all of your messages into one video, think about what you want your viewer to come away with. What inspires you? What motivates you every day? Those are great video blog posts. It doesn’t always have to be about your product.
By breaking up your information into small “bites” you can feed your customers and prospects just the right information diet that will have them coming back for more.
That’s a wrap.