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What Can TV Teach Us About the New Video Revolution?

old time television

TV went through a revolution some years ago. Remember when cable first began? Remember when people were asking, ÔÇ£Why do we need a channel just for weather?ÔÇØ or ÔÇ£Why do we need a channel with 24 hour news?ÔÇØ 20 years later, we know we canÔÇÖt live without the 24 hour news cycle (well most of us). Given this, what can we learn from history when it comes to video? Here are a few things we can pull from the history playbook.

TV History ÔÇô A Big Lesson

In Video, Content is King!

Throughout history of television, there has never been a shortage of ideas. Television went from sitcoms to reality TV and back to sitcoms. Television has gone through drastic changes, only to come back to where it began. Not surprising. People like stories. People like to watch reality and sitcoms. TheyÔÇÖre very similar in nature.

What does that mean for you? Since content is king, youll need to focus on how to create content. Think of Google as the masses (the millions of TV viewers)constantly looking for something new, better, and entertaining. Your goal should be to continue to come up with new material to share. Whether its a marketing video, an informational/testimonial video, demonstration video, a training video, or just a recording of an in depth discussion about a topic relevant to a specific niche, new information (content) is king.

Your Action Item: Take approximately 30 minutes to play on YouTube. First, develop a list of keywords to search. See what you find. Watch 5 videos, but only for 30 seconds each. Write down notes about what you learned from each video. Next, search through the most popular videos and channels. Do the same thing, watch for 30 to 60 seconds. What did you learn/experience? Keys to pay attention to are the format each used, the techniques they used (sales), the techniques they used (production), the length of each video, etc. Use this information to come up with new approaches to video and to content.

Got an idea for a great video? Let us know. Want help coming up with one? Let us know.

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Does Video Provide an ROI?

image from demo video

Did you know that Digital Video is a very powerful tool in business? Ever notice the games on your iPad or iPhone? Many of them are now using video to advertise to you. Why is that? Because it works.

Product Videos

Video about a product is usually ÔÇÿto the point.ÔÇÖ In fact, the most effective videos that are about a product are under 2 minutes. These videos typically contain information that will help a prospective buyer make buying decisions. They include the benefits clearly and support all other material a possible buyer might encounter. Do you want to improve a possible buyer’s chances of buying? The location┬áof the┬ávideo within the website is┬ámore effective if placed near the purchase or buy now button. Once someone has watched the video, he or she should feel confident in making the purchase. If so, you donÔÇÖt want them looking far for the button to purchase (or phone number, if this is your call to action).

How do you know if Video works?

Good researchers know that calculating cause and effect takes data. Pure data. If youÔÇÖre going to do a video, youÔÇÖll want to know, did it work? One way to determine this is to do some testing before posting the video on your website and after posting the video to your website. Here are a couple of steps to consider: Pre-Test. Measure current data. How long do potential customers stay on a page? Typically people stay on a home page for just enough time to determine ÔÇô Is this who I was looking for? Can they do what I need them to do? Do they provide the level of professionalism IÔÇÖm looking for? Can you do the job? Can I trust you? More time on your site may equate to level of comfort and may lead to more sales. But how will you know unless you measure it before and after? Here are some stats that support having online video:

  • 188.2 Million People in the US watched 52.4 Billion Online Content Videos in December 2013. (Source: http://www.invodo.com/resources/statistics/)
  • Professionally produced video optimized for eCommerce outperforms user-generated video (UGC video) by 30%, delivering a 24.7% lift as compared with an 18.7% lift for the UGC video. (Source: http://www.invodo.com/resources/statistics/)
  • 93% of marketers used video for online marketing in 2013. (Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Barriers-Tumble-Video-Marketing-Adoption-Grows/1010374)
  • Mobile is important too! 72.1 million US Smartphone users watched video on their devices at least monthly in 2013. This is expected to rise to 86.8 million, more than a quarter of the US population, in 2014. (Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Long-Form-Video-Content-Rivals-Short-Even-on-Smartphones/1010492)
  • 51.9% of Marketing Professionals worldwide cite video as the type of content with the best ROI. (Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Which-Content-Marketing-Tactics-Best-ROI/1009706)

While we may be biased, the stats are now screaming out, ÔÇ£Use Video!!ÔÇØ If you have any questions or comments, please leave them here, or contact us directly.

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Should I Create an "About Us" Video?

Still from testimonial video about Elite Payment Processing

How Does Video Help Your Website?

When we created our website, we contemplated about creating an About Us video or to just have an About Us page. We opted for the text version because we believed it helped our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because words are easily understood by Google. Since the creation of our website, we’ve learned how important video is to SEO. Not only that, we’ve discovered that an About Us video can help sell products.

Imagine you are looking for a photographer for your event. During your search you find three photographers that you think can do the job. You click on the About Us page for each and find that two of the three pages are┬átext based. When you watch the one with the video, you not only learn about the photographer, you also learn she has a great sense of humor. You think, this is perfect for the event we’re putting together.

Here’s an example of one that could be used as an About Us; however, doesn’t exactly follow the full format of creating an emotional connection first.

Video speaks to the emotions of the buyer, while text speaks to the logic. When you present to emotions, you will connect with the buyer. When the buyer connects with the personality within the video, you have a greater likelihood of acquiring the sale.

Key Points to a Successful About Us Video

  • Be Unique. Your company has a story, a culture, and a personality. This should come through in the video you post. If you’re an accounting firm, you will most likely want to present a professional, straight forward message. If you’re an advertising agency with flair, you’ll want to present a professional, creative video.
  • Earn Trust. Use a testimonial or two in your About Us video. Think about it. Potential customers are looking for someone, they’ve elected to do more research about you, why not give them supporting material in the form of a testimonial.
  • Keep the Video┬áShort. Try to keep the video to somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes, but make┬áthe first minute the most┬áemotionally connective.
  • Make It Personable. This may sound logical, but many people want to push a sales pitch; instead, make it about the benefits of using your company and the values you hold. Connect with the potential client.

If we can help, let us know! Watch for our About Us video, coming soon!

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5 Keys From YouTube on Marketing Your Videos

Word Cloud related to SEO and Websites

Knowing that you’re going to spend some money on a quality video, shouldn’t you at least know how to better market them on YouTube? Here are a 5 keys to smart marketing on YouTube. Many of these came from YouTube’s Playbook, so use wisely!

  1. Create a Playlist. This is a grouping of videos, either by theme, subject matter within a theme, or any way you want to dice up a theme. A playlist can either be your own videos or from other channels. The goal behind creating a playlist is to get people to stay on your channel longer. If you have your viewers going from one video to another because you provide good content, your brand gets recognized. Your brand begins to place higher in the “Suggested Video” section.
  2. Trailer. We’ve all heard that movie voice, “One man, against all odds, …” but having a channel trailer is important because it’s the first thing people will see when visiting your channel. One of the keys to having a trailer is to make it engaging and interactive. Why should people look at your channel? What content are you providing? Keep it short, but make it stick. Make sure the video shows the brand’s personality and character. If your company is whimsical, the┬átrailer should be too. If you brand is serious, so should be your trailer.
  3. Annotations. While admittedly an annoying feature if you are watching the video, this is one of the best ways to engage your audience. Annotations are those text boxes that show up on the screen. They are clickable and can give some important information that might not be included in the video. Remember connecting is important. Get those viewers to comment by adding annotations.
  4. Analytics. What gets measured, gets done. One of the best tools Google offers is the YouTube Analytics page. It’s available┬áfor your┬áYouTube channel as well. Learning which video has been watched the longest (not necessarily the most number of times) can tell you a lot about what your audience wants to know. By looking at the analytics, you can customize and improve later videos you post. You can also determine who your viewers are and how engaging your videos are to them.
  5. Interaction. Finally, one of the keys to successful marketing your YouTube page is interaction. Not just with your viewers, but with other channels. Interaction on your part is simple. Like other videos (while logged in as your brand), make playlists with other channel’s videos, and commenting on other channels. As with anything being measured, do this in moderation. Google doesn’t like it if you just like everything.

We hope this helps you be more productive on YouTube and improve your rankings. If you liked this article, please give it a share!  

Source: SoMedia Networks. (2014). Five Tips from YouTube's Playbook on Marketing Your Videos. Retrieved from: videomarketing.somedia.net/five-tips-from-youtubes-playbook-on-marketing-your-videos/

 

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4 Ways to Optimize Your Business YouTube Page

YouTube logo

Google is the largest and most used search engine online. It seems everyone knows that, but did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine online? Owned by Google, it has quickly become the next most used search engine. This is why you must use YouTube as a part of your marketing plan. What better way to use YouTube than to provide Google/YouTube with high quality video that educate the consumer about your business? Here are a couple of other tips:

  1. Make Your Channel Your Own. When someone lands on your page, do they know it is yours? Do they recognize your brand? Too many people start a YouTube Channel, but do not brand it. It should look and feel similar to your overall branding strategy. This should also include your video. Make sure the video you place on your channel matches your brand. This should include when you comment on othersÔÇÖ videos.
  2. Provide Content. We like to say, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million. Content is king with Google, and the same applies to YouTube. Your videos must be original and interesting. When others comment on your video, YouTube and Google give it more importance. The video must also represent your brand. It is also important that you have a lot of content. It is perfectly fine to upload multiple videos about an interesting and related topic to help you build SEO about that topic. If you can provide information that is hard to find anywhere else, youÔÇÖll also attract multiple viewers and give them a reason to comment.
  3. Get Them Clicking. Within YouTube is a fantastic function called Annotation. Use that function to get people to click through to a page that you decide. Think of this as a sales funnel. If they found you via Google, clicked on your YouTube page, and watched the video, you must give them a reason to move to your webpage or other sales action. Whether youÔÇÖre raising money for a fundraiser or educating people and want them to buy your book, a video with an annotation built in will lead them to the link to buy. Use this. Get them clicking by also getting them to comment on your video. Best way to make this happen is to get them to see an annotation telling them to do so or getting the person in the video to request for feedback or comments. Build it into the video.
  4. Use Links. No. We donÔÇÖt mean pay for links; we mean link all of your content. If you write a blog about a topic that is highlighted by your video, embed or link (or both) to that video. This builds an SEO web that helps Google and YouTube better understand how the topic is related.

Finally, if you need any help getting that video going, let us know. We can help!

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Website Video Idea – Employee Spotlight

Employee Spotlight Video

Do your customers know who they are talking to when they call your business line? How about your potential customers. Ideally, they don’t know you or haven’t met you directly. This would mean that they found you online through a search engine and have made the decision to call you. Wouldn’t it be nice if they had some idea of who they were talking to when they call? Now they can!

We believe that potential customers would like to feel comfortable calling a business. We also believe that a business can move the level of comfort for potential customers to the positive by supplying the customers with an Employee Spotlight video. This allows the customer to know who they are talking to. We’ve all seen the About Us pages on websites that usually contain a photo with a brief description of their role. Why not change this? Why not make this a video introduction supported by the brief job description of the employee? This can significantly improve search engine performance for each person’s name as well as the name of the business.

Who Needs an Employee Spotlight Video?

This works particularly well with organizations like law firms, partnerships, ad agencies, and chambers of commerce. These tend to have lower turnover allowing the video to have a longer shelf life. Even if turnover is a little higher, shooting a video highlighting high-level employees can improve morale and make the employees feel a bit more connected to the company/firm.

If you’re considering a video that spotlights the employees and partners in the business, contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

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Simple Video Blog Ideas

projector graphics

You’re probably reading this because you want to improve your website’s SEO. You’ve heard that video on your website can help SEO, but you’re looking at your computer and decided, you need a topic. You could write about your topic, or you could do a video. While we’ve given tips about How To Set Up Your Video Correctly, coming up with the topic can be a little difficult. This blog post is about picking a topic and running with it!

The How-To-Video

Videos that describe how to do something can be very helpful for your potential customer. After all, they need help. Why not be the solution? For example, about 4 weeks ago I needed to learn how to hang a flat screen television to a wall. The directions that came with the hardware wasn’t helpful, so I Googled it. I found hundreds of videos, but I selected the one that was titled correctly and after a few seconds began to teach me how to successfully hang the TV. (Side note, the TV is still hanging on the wall — Success!)

ScreenCasting

A different version of a video How-To-Video, but an important one. If you have something to show or describe on your computer screen, use ScreenCast or CamStudio. They capture what you are doing on your computer screen. I have used this program when I need to show someone how to set up an account on a website or how to make changes to a computer setting for better video viewing.

Video Interview

This is where we can come in to compliment your activities. Conducting interviews of clients or important people in your field of business can add value to your website. We’ll help you make the interview look professional and insightful. We’ll make sure you stay on topic and relevant to your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do you have a list of questions that potential clients ask frequently? Or do you have a list of questions that existing customers ask? Put together a list of frequently asked questions for them to refer to before sitting down with you. For example, a dentist might answer questions such as, “How do I prepare for my root canal operation?” or an Estate Planner might do an FAQ video about, “What documents do I need before I meet with my Estate Planner?” These can assist in SEO as well as help your customers/clients.

These are just a few options when deciding on what type of videos you can use for a blog and how you can use them. If you would like us to help you plan some of these out, simply give us a call.

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How To Be Ready For Your Video Production Shoot Day

sony video camera

By following these tips, youÔÇÖll find you will save a little time, aggravation, and money on your shoot day. YouÔÇÖve hired the production team; theyÔÇÖve created the script, scouted the location, and started the planning process. They may have even hired some professional actors for the shoot. Here are the steps you can take to improve the video outcome.

Solidify Your Needs

Knowing what your objectives are for shooting is important. Defining them early is even more important. There is nothing more frustrating for a client when they change directions, change objectives, and find out how much it will cost them because the script doesnÔÇÖt accomplish these tasks. Anytime a client decides to change directions, a cost is incurred later. Clarify your objective and needs before doing anything else.

Communication with the Producer is Critical

Do you know what youÔÇÖre going to do with the video? Communicate it with the producer. Do you know youÔÇÖre going to need commercial for TV at a later date? Communicate it with the producer. Do you know that you are going to use these for multiple websites or multiple blog postings? Communicate it with the producer. The more the producer knows in the beginning, the better the planning will go and the better the results of the project.

Save Time (& Money) in the Edit Suite

Video production includes editing, cutting clips together, importing video, color correcting, adjusting audio levels, and exporting. All of these tasks take time. Editors work on an hourly rate, so if you can assist in the planning stage, you can often save time in the editing portion of the project. Time saving happens when the editor is able to ÔÇÿbatch tasksÔÇÖ and completing multiple projects simultaneously. When this happens, you save cash.

Do you need some help in the video production planning stage? We can help.