Category Archives: Video As Content

How To

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I’m really amazed at the number of videos out there that are not taking advantage of the words and phrases folks are searching for. If you want your video, and ultimately your website, to be found by people who are searching for what you do, then use one of the most powerful phrases in search engines: “How To…”

Whether you are creating new products and services, or updating existing ones, make it easy for your customers by showing them How To… select the proper (fill in the blank), How To Use… (your product) Correctly, How To Troubleshoot….(what they currently have). The list is endless, literally. Then, be sure you have that magic phrase in your title, in your tags, and (if you’re embedding the video on a separate page) in your page title.

If people buy from people they trust, you can turn yourself into a ally with compelling and credible “How To” videos. Just remember to keep it simple, use numbered steps when possible, and aim for a recap at the end of your video that wraps everything up neatly. Studies have shown that it takes just three videos for a website to raise their credibility score to Expert by their viewers.

— That’s a wrap.

Advertising Or Engagement?

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Last week I was talking with a small business owner when the subject of videos for websites came up.
“We’ve talked about doing some videos, but we don’t need to do any advertising”, she said.

Website visitors and customers already understand what advertising is and what it isn’t. Unfortunately, most businesses do not. For example: some fervently believe that their website is advertising, and they pay for it out of their advertising budget. But even Amazon – one of the largest e-commerce websites isn’t advertising, for they also inform and entertain as well as sell. This is engagement.

If your website is nothing more than an online brochure for your business, then you’re losing the battle.

Business coaches advise that it costs more to get a new customer than to keep a customer. If you can convince an existing customer to buy more, your profit margin is higher. You can do that through engagement. Actually, you can also qualify and close more new customers that way. And there’s part of the difference.

While advertising implies a direct offer, engagement is more about establishing and building a relationship – one that, over time, will lead to sales, brand loyalty,  and a perception of expertise in the marketplace.

Video is the quickest and the most affordable vehicle to drive engagement.  Video for websites should not be advertising. People don’t search for commercials. Your visitors want to be engaged. Those businesses that provide that engagement will win. I hope you’ll be one of them.

–that’s a wrap.

Friends With Content

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Ok, now you’ve got a video on your website. And maybe you’ve even put out the link on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and all those other social media sites. You’re patting yourself on the back for being such a savvy marketer.
As they say in those infomercials, “But Wait There’s More!”
You have another venue open to you: Blogs That Are Not Yours. When someone you’d like to reach is searching for what you provide, what other sources of information can they find? Tap into those content networks, and you’ve struck a potential goldmine of marketing power.
That is a primary reason not to produce a video that is a commercial. People don’t search for commercials, and they certainly don’t share them either. When you’re offering content that answers a question or addresses a need, your videos are more likely to be watched, shared, AND published on Someone Else’s Blog. It’s ok to ask the Blog owner to post or write about your video. Just remember to do your homework and only contact those blogs that legitimately relate to the info in your video.
Find new customers. Make new friends. Open new channels of distribution for your videos. That will put you a step ahead of your competition.
That’s a wrap

3 Vital Marketing Questions Every Business Must Answer

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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.

Change Your FAQ

Uncategorized, Video As Content, Who Uses Video, , ,

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

Uncategorized, Video As Content, Who Uses 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

Behind The Scenes, Uncategorized, Video As Content, Who Uses Video, , , , , ,

 

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

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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

Behind The Scenes, Video As Content, , , ,

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.