http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nmfLYF-t3E
Here’s the first snip from our series Demystifying You Tube for Business. Thanks to everyone who participated. We’ll post more clips soon, and we’re looking forward to the rest of the sessions.
All posts by Ron Harper
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I’m listed there for business video professionals. If you have a service, maybe you should sign up too.
How To Make You Tube Work For You
Many businesses who use videos don’t have the time or the tools to host their videos on their own server, so they opt for loading their productions on You Tube and using the embed code. If you really don’t have any other options, it’s still better to have something on You Tube than nothing at all. So here’s a list of tips and tricks. The more of them you can accomplish, the better off you will be in placing your content where the search engines will find and display it.
GIVE YOUR VIDEO A GOOD TITLE. Use keywords. Make it compelling. No one will watch, nor will they search for “October video.mp4” But they will watch “How I Saved Money and Solved My ——- Problem In Three Steps.” Get the picture?
PAY ATTENTION TO THE DESCRIPTION FIELD. The very first thing should be http:// and your website. Not just your homepage, but a page that gets the viewer closer to doing business with you.
UPLOAD A TRANSCRIPT / CREATE CAPTIONS This is a relatively new feature, but it is possible now to upload a transcript of your video to You Tube. There is also a feature that will let you create captions so the video can be watched, instead of heard. There is an entire list of best practices for these actions themselves, so ask for help, or search for tutorials. Big hint: don’t use WORD to create your files. Use WORDPAD so you can save them as .txt files without all the format encoding. Or, if you understand video time code, create a .srt file and you’re able to more precisely control your captions. The ability for the search engines to read videos due to transcripts is really a game changer.
CREATE A NEW PAGE FOR JUST THE VIDEO If you can whip up a single page on your site, and embed the video, surrounded by keywords and phrases that would be great. Then you can put THAT URL into the You Tube description field. If you have one video optimized for a key phrase, and a different video optimized for a different key phrase, you have increased your chances of being on top of a search and having that search lead back to you.
TELL EVERYONE. Put the You Tube Share code on every social network you can. Your promotion needs to run like a good ad campaign. Maybe not everywhere all at once, and maybe some places more than once. But get it out there and create some talk. Ask folks to share. Ask for comments. Ask for subscribers.
BRANDING. FYI, as part of it’s newly launched “In Video Programming”, you can upload an image that You Tube will use as a “bug” in the corner of your videos. You can also pick which corner of the video it appears in, and for how long. There is also a seldom used workaround for the You Tube embed code that removes You Tube branding.
Some folks don’t want to be associated with You Tube because of its “pedestrian” image. But You Tube is the second largest search engine. It’s a great place to put your videos. And by following some simple steps, it can be another tool in your arsenal for getting noticed.
–That’s a wrap.
Friends With Content
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
This May Get Technical
Do it yourself video editing can open up a whole new set of problems for those looking for what they think may be an easy way in.
Take for example the newest consumer HD cameras. Many of them use a technology developed jointly by Sony and Panasonic called AVCHD. This is actually a professional MP4 format that was developed for use in Blu-Ray discs. It’s a big problem for do it yourselfers.
You see, AVCHD files take a lot of processing power just to play them back properly. A LOT. And before you even move the clips from your camera to your hard drive, you have to navigate the labrynth file system that comes with shooting in AVCHD.
On laptops, the video clips will look out of synch. You’ll need something with at least quad core processing to play your video. And if you cant play it, how are going to find your edit points?
Be prepared to shell out close to $3000 for an editing system with enough processing power, RAM, and the kind of video card you’ll need to edit with any kind of ease.
Most businesses who want to add video will turn to a professional – for shooting or editing or both. DIY can be fun, and somewhat inexpensive . And as they say, the devil is in the details, so if you’re going to edit professional looking video for your website, make sure you system is up to it.
–That’s a wrap.
Seven Steps To Writing For Reading On Camera
My friend Rick Dearborn had some great tips on his MARKETVIDPOST blog. I asked his permission to share them with you, and he graciously accepted. Here is Rick’s post:
Most marketers are already good writers. They’re involved in carefully choosing words and crafting marketing messages all day long. But writing a script to be read on camera is a whole different experience that requires a few new skills. Here are a few useful tips that will help you create scripts that area easier to read aloud:
1. READ IT ALOUD. No matter what you’ve written, read it out loud to yourself. See how it flows and feels, and make changes accordingly. Then put it down for a while, and do it again. You will be surprised at the edits that will be needed.
2. CONTRACTIONS. When writing we rarely use contractions, but they’re commonplace in our speach. When writing to be read aloud, contractions are essential. After you write your script, read it over an look for places where contractions make sense. Here is an example that shows what a difference contractionscan make:
Before: “Now you are ready to get started. We are sure you aready know there is a best way to begin. But, if you do not, here is how you can start. You will need to write a draft first and you will need to read it aloud. It is always a good idea to start that way.”
After: “Now you’re ready to get started. We’re sure you already know there’s a best way to begin. But, if you don’t, here’s how you can start. You’ll need to write a draft first, and you’ll need to read it aloud. It’s always a good idea to start that way.”
3. COMMAS. Commas make good gramatical sense, but in most cases they don’t work well when reading aloud. The reason is, when we read aloud we feel we need to pause when we see a comma. The gramatical use of a comma does not necessarily result in the best phrasing when reading aloud. After you write your script, take all the commas out and read it aloud. Where it feels natural to pause, put dashes in instead of commas. Then read aloud again and adjust as necessary.
4. UNDERLINING. If there are particular words you need to emphasis when reading aloud, underline them. But, don’t go crazy with it. Use underlining sparingly, only on the words that are really important. Some techniques recommend single, double, and triple underlining of words all through your script to ensure different levels of emphasis. If you go crazy with underlining, your reading can sound mechanical. It should be natural and real. I recommend using underlining only for the words that really matter.
5. PARAGRAPH PHRASING. Don’t hesitate to break your script up into smaller, shorter paragraphs – it will help you phrase the concepts when reading aloud. I’ts ok to even make a paragraph out of a single sentence.
6. FONT SIZE AND LINE SPACING. It really helps to write the script in a larger than usual font, one that is easy to read aloud. I also recommend greater than normal line spacing. I like 24 point Arial font, with 1.5 to 2.0 line spacing. That gives you a little space to enter hand written underlining or other small changes. (But, don’t get too carried away with hand written edits on your script. They can get hard to read. It’s always better to make them in the computer and print out a new copy, if you can).
7. ALL CAPS. When you write a script in ALL CAPS, you can focus more on the emphasis of the meaning, rather than on the structural, making it easier to read.
That last tip is controversial to some, but I have to say that when I write scripts for myself, I write in all caps. Maybe it has something to do with the teletype copy I used to read. Those machines only had caps, and everyone in radio learnedly to read copy that way. I hope this helps.
— that’s a wrap
3 Vital Marketing Questions Every Business Must Answer
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
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.