Online Video Made Simple

In subscribing to the Search Engine Guide’s email newsletter, we receive helpful articles from various authors about Search Engine Marketing, Local Search, Blogging, Online Video and more.  The Search Engine Guide is focused on assisting the small business in marketing their products and services online.  I came across the following article on ‘Five Ways Your Business Can Use Online Video’ by Mack Collier that I thought would be of interest to some of our clients and other small companies trying to promote their business on the web.  It will require some time and creativity on your end with a bit of understanding about technology, but otherwise is a great tool for a reasonably financial solution to online video.  Read on…

 

Thanks to the lowering cost of technology, it’s now possible for any small business owner to create and share videos with current and potential customers online, for less than $200.  This also gives small business owners several exciting new options for growing their businesses.

 

If you’re wanting to add video to your online marketing mix, the Flip Camera is your new best friend.  This camera, which can be had for well less than $200, gives small businesses the ability to quickly and easily create and then upload videos to the internet. 

 

I’ve actually seen a demonstration of this Flip Camera at a seminar I attended recently and it looks like it’s pretty simple to use, not to mention the fact that it’s portable.  You won’t have to worry about lugging around heavy equipment and you can be as spontaneous as you need to be.  It does require video editing software, such as Sony Vegas, which runs anywhere between $74.95 and $549.95 depending on which package you choose.  You can also take advantage of a few free programs like Windows Movie Maker and Videospin.com.

 

And here’s five ways you can use videos that you create to promote and grow your business.

1 – Product demonstrations.  Let’s say you own a lawn care business.  Often when dealing with insecticides and weed-control products, how you use the product greatly determines its effectiveness.  If you could create a video showing your customers exactly how to apply the products so that they could have a beautiful lawn, that would likely make them MUCH more likely to buy the product from you.  Because you are helping them understand how to use it properly.  As time goes by, you could create a library just for your product demonstration videos, and organize them by brand/function.

2 – Profile your workers.  One thing that many companies, especially those that blog, miss is putting the focus on their workers.  It makes customers feel more at ease if we know more about the people we are dealing with.  Creating a short video to introduce us to the people that work for your business is a great way to help establish trust with your customers.

3 – Put the spotlight on your evangelists.  Are you lucky enough to have special customers that sing your praises to everyone they see?  Then stick them in front of the camera!  Ask them if they wouldn’t mind recording a short video testimonial for your business (Hint: They will probably ask you what took so long!).

4 – Record special events that you’re involved in.  Does your business participate in fundraisers?  Do you have a bookstore that has a ‘Mystery Night’ every Thursday?  If you have any event that is geared toward interacting with your community, share those experiences with others through video.  This is also a great way to show your personality, and that you enjoy creating events that bring you closer to your customers.

5 – Creating posts for your blog.  Let’s be honest, for some people, it’s simply easier for them to create a 5-min video talking about a topic, than it is to spend an hour trying to write the perfect blog post.  If this sounds like you, then don’t fight it!  Instead of writing your next blog post, record a short video and post that instead!  You may find out that your readers prefer this format.  And you might as well!

 

A great example of Video Blogging is Sage Lewis’ ‘Web Marketing Watch’.  He is also an author for Search Engine Guide.  Sage uses video on a regular basis to share his information, thoughts and views on a variety of topics instead of writing articles or blog posts.  Another creative way to interact with your online audience!

 

These are just a few of many ways that your small business can leverage video as a way to promote your business, help customers get the information they are looking for, and to just have fun!

Online Video Mania!

Online Video has made great strides in the past few years, especially with the introduction of YouTube into the proverbial “Cyberspace” over 3 years ago.  YouTube started as a way to upload user-generated content, giving amateurs the opportunity to star in their own homemade videos and make it visible to the World Wide Web for all to see.  Site users and visitors grew quickly and eventually Google snatched it up to add to its suite of online properties in October, 2006.

 

Eventhough YouTube is mostly geared towards video clips of movies or shows and those creating homemade videos for entertainment purposes, it has such a great viral effect in the Web 2.0 World (Social Networking sites) that companies have also started utilizing videos as a successful marketing tool.

 

Adding videos to your website, landing pages or video sharing sites is a great way to engage your customers.  It tells them what they need to know in a short, concise visual message versus forcing them to read paragraphs of information to make an informed decision.  It’s also a great way to instruct your visitors on next steps encouraging them to take action.

 

In a recent seminar I attended presented by a local Search Engine Marketing company, they recommend to write down the top 10 problems your customers face and address them in your online video.  Walk your customers through a process or product description/demonstration and instruct them on next steps in a short video clip.  Make the learning process as simple and straight forward as possible, then make sure you include a call to action.  The average video should be between :30 (seconds) to 3:30 in length, but no more than 5 minutes unless it’s a training video or sales guide.  In fact, online videos are a great way to train new employees without the added expense of air fare and hotel accommodations to send them to a training seminar and they’re available 24/7! 

 

Check out the outstanding product and training videos produced by the company we utilize in promoting online videos to our clients at MindGrabMedia.com.

 

Videos have proven to have strong viewership that continues to grow and favorable response rates.  According to comScore (comScore May, 2008 Press Release), U.S. Internet users viewed 11.5 billion online videos during the month of March 2008, which is a whopping 64% increase over March 2007.  Google sites lead the competition with a 38% share of all videos viewed online, with YouTube accounting for 98% of videos viewed on Google.  The next closest competitor is Fox Interactive Media with a 4.2% share.  comScore goes on to report that nearly 139 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 83 videos per viewer in March. 

 

In addition to the astounding viewership of online videos, the response rate isn’t too shabby either.  According to a study conducted by the Online Publishers Association in June 2007, out of the 80% who had viewed an Online Video Ad, 52% had taken some sort of action.  More specifically, 31% ventured on to the company’s website, 22% searched for more information about the product and 16% actually made a purchase.  These numbers are only going to climb.

 

As you can see, online videos are not just a fad nor are they just for fun.  They should not be ignored as a way to educate online consumers about your company’s products or services.  (It’s definitely on our “to do” list.)  Don’t forget about utilizing video as a means to train your sales staff too.  The opportunities are endless. 

 

It’s only a matter of time before you too will join in on the Online Video Craze!  

 

Local Search Partnerships

It’s all about the partnerships!  The web is a conglomeration of partnerships and networks.  This is what makes some sites so successful.  Not all sites generate their own content or their own advertisements, they partner with other sites to provide it for them.  Local Search thrives on these agreements because it allows them to reach a larger audience for their advertisers and drives more traffic to their sites.  But not all partnerships are created equal and may cause more harm than good.  Just check out this recent article about Local Search Partnerships:

ComScore: Partnerships in local search spark growth

Ellen Keohane

March 21, 2008

Nationally, Internet yellow pages (IYP) have seen significant increases in search traffic, due in part to new strategic partnerships between companies, according to a recent study by ComScore.

Within the past year, the Yellowpages.com Network established partnerships with Areaguides.net and 411.com, and saw its IYP search market share grow from 14.7% to 20.2% from Q4 2006 to Q4 of 2007, according to comScore. As a result of this growth, Yellowpages.com is now the market leader – overtaking Superpages.com by a slim margin – in the IYP search space.

In 2007, Superpages.com established a new partnership with Local.com and acquired Infospace FindIt/Switchboard.com, but also discontinued its relationships with 411.com and MSN Yellowpages. According to ComScore, Superpages.com’s market share dropped from 20.9% to 20.0% from Q4 2006 to Q4 2007.

Yellow Book and R.H. Donnelley also saw traffic more than double from December of 2006 to December of 2007, according to ComScore. Part of this growth may be attributed to Yellow Book’s partnerships with Infospace and Addresses.com and R.H. Donnelley’s acquisition of Business.com, ComScore said.

At a session at the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York on Monday, a panel consisting of representatives from various local search companies stressed the importance of partnerships in an area where there is no clear market leader.

Content is “absolutely critical” in the local search world, said Justin Sanger, founder and president of LocalLaunch, a local search engine marketing and search optimization firm owned by R.H. Donnelly. As a result, local search companies have had to “embrace” what has historically been their competitors.

“We can’t build walls around our inventory,” Sanger said. “Distribution is critical.”

Nobody’s the gorilla in this market,” said Bruce Crair, COO of Local.com, who also spoke at Monday’s panel. “The more we network with our cooperation partners – the better off the advertiser and consumer is,” he said.

Bruce Crair’s comment is a great ending to this article.  Networking has proven to be a key component to this industry.  The ultimate goal of any strategic partnership should be to provide a benefit to the advertiser and consumer.  More agreements are eminent in this arena and we’ll be keeping an eye on them as they develop.

What Is Local Search?

We’re all familiar with conducting a general search query on Google or Yahoo! for a certain product or brand name.  Once you’ve narrowed down what is important, the search terms get more specific and so does the geographic area in which you’re looking.  That’s when Local Search comes into play.  In fact, research shows web users are conducting approximately 1 Billion local searches per month. (ComScore)  Whether looking for a new car, a dentist or just want to order a pizza, eventually you need a phone number and location. 

Local involves any search which specifies a geographic area along with a product name, a brand, or company name.  Some sites that focus on Local content are Internet Yellow Page sites (i.e.: Yellowpages.com, Superpages.com), Yahoo! Local, Google Local, Local.com and Citysearch.com.  All of these sites accept local content or partner with another company to provide the content to help refine local searches.  This data can specify brands, products, services, certifications, location information, associations or anything else related to a business to help it stand out. 

Right now, only about 40% of businesses are taking advantage of the vast opportunities Local Search provides.  That number should definitely be higher.  In fact, there are companies that offer a service to provide all of your business information to a large group of local search engines and portals for a very reasonable price, such as Localeze.  This saves time spent going to every single site where local content is accepted and updating it yourself and also ensures accuracy of your data.  Most importantly…your info is there when your customers are ready to buy!!

Google…It’s Not Just a Search Engine!

Many people view Google as an online resource to do research on a product or gather information on a person or place. In fact Google has become so popular as the #1 Search Engine it is often used as a verb. But did you also know that Google has a host of sophisticated tools that allow advertisers to promote their business within their site as well as some very cool features to enhance any website? You can find advertising tools, features to enhance your site and solutions to increase productivity for your business by visiting www.google.com and clicking on any of the 3 links under the search bar. Check it out…Happy ‘Googling’!!