The Social Wave

Get your video marketing evaluated at www.pixability.com. This site has an excellent tool to analyze your video optimization, Google efforts, and overall video marketing. It will score you in key areas and show you where you need to improve, or what you need to focus on:

OCTOPUS

Offer value,

Call to action,

Tag,

Objections

Pick focus (FAQ, SAQ, on the road, candid camera, bloopers, real you, product demo, story),

Upload,

Short.

In addition to customer connection, videos also help sites show up higher on the search engines. Browsers and search engines are becoming savvier and are spending less time reading endless web pages of text. Instead, they are picking up on keywords tagged on videos appearing on sites.

As a growing business, it is important that you integrate video into your online marketing efforts. Even if you start with a basic video tip on how to best use your product or service, just get it recorded and get it up on YouTube, your own website and/or blog. Although customers like humor and creativity, the message helps them save time or money or makes their life easier, and that is what everyone’s looking for.

There are seven big-picture things you need to keep in mind when creating video marketing pieces. Let’s take a look at these key areas in detail:

1. Offer value. Every video that you offer needs to include something of value for the viewer, whether it is a tip, resource, or laugh for the day. You don’t want to just roll tape for the sake of having video. The following four-video approach is an excellent way to get you started and comfortable with video creation and video marketing. This great technique comes from trafficgeyser.com. (Always give credit, by the way, when you borrow, try, or advise on someone else’s techniques. The following is shortened from creating 20 videos to just four at first. Create the four videos as follow:

• Two FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). These are questions that are frequently asked by your customers or clients. For example, as a fitness trainer, you might video record an answer to “What are the best ways to prepare for a marathon”? (Hint: these can come from your top tips video footage that you are just about to create.)

• Two SAQ (Should Ask Questions). These are questions that your customers or clients should be asking but aren’t. This is additional valuable information that will make their lives easier or save them time or money.

2. Call to action. Include a call to action in your video. So many websites have great videos and yet no call to action. If you want clients to call you or click on a link, then ask them to. You can also ask them to sign up for your email list or visit your blog. If your video is focused on what’s in it for them, then you’ll have their undivided attention, so take maximum advantage of this and get them to take the action you want them to take!

3. Tag. Use keywords in the video titles as well as the description because search engines will find it much easier to index your video file. Make sure that you include your URL at the end of your video, or go for it and add your URL throughout your video. It is a great way to get additional exposure online. Make sure that your URL copy is in a clearly visible font, and place it at the bottom middle for better viewing and exposure. Last, name your video correctly and give it a relevant name so it will show up better in search engine results. Your title should be something relevant to what your customer is looking for. For example, if you’re selling widgets, then “Mybestwidget. mov” might be a better choice for naming your video than “9077709845wdgt.mov.”

4. Objections. Address any objections that have surfaced about your products or service. Videos are a great way to respond to upset customers because they can see your face and visually connect that you are sincere. Objections can also be handled by using the FAQ and SAQ approach mentioned in the “Offering Value” section.

5. Pick a focus. Whether you choose to create FAQ and SAQ videos, or film on the road, candid camera, bloopers, or even product demos, be creative. Make sure the video has the essence of your brand personality, yet also make sure that the message and/or short story is focused. Do not try to cover 15 things in a 60-second video.

6. Upload to your site. Make your videos visible on the first page of your website! Don’t hide your marketing on some obscure dark page that an online customer will never find. Including a short video on your homepage can often keep visitors on your site longer. Make sure you keep your video above the fold on your site, meaning they shouldn’t have to scroll down to view it.

Tip for your video background Avoid plain white walls or what’s called hospital walls, but minimize distracting backgrounds. If there is a lot going on in your visuals, it will distract from you and your message. It gives people too many other things to look at. It is hard enough keeping people’s attention, and if you give them reasons to look elsewhere, they will.

7. Shortness is sweet. Keep your videos short and to the point. Remember, the less people

know about you, the shorter their attention span will be when watching your video. Your prospective customers often know little or nothing about you; they simply want to know who you are, what you do, and most importantly, what’s in it for them. So give them the message in less than two minutes; often just 60 to 90 seconds can be enough.

• Video equipment. You do not need expensive video equipment; consider using a Flipcam video from Theflip.com. Just pick one up at your local electronics store or online. It is a small camcorder that can shoot a couple of hours of high-definition video, and costs less than $200. It’s simple to use and plugs directly into any computer’s USB port. It includes easy-to-use editing software to get you up and running quickly. Flip video editing is as easy as color–by-number painting; anyone can do it.

• Editing software. If you want more extensive editing software, Camtasia works great on both Macintosh and personal computers. Just make sure that you save your video editing every few minutes, or you might be in tears after an hour of editing. We have all been there, done that! Camtasia ranges from $99 for the Macintosh platform to $399 for the PC. At any price, it is totally worth every penny. You can add subtitles, change the color of type, add in thought bubbles, music, intros, and exits, just to name a few of the program’s features. If you just want to record and deliver footage for someone else to edit, reach out to local college students. They work for beer or coffee gift cards and most are extremely tech savvy. Just tell them what message you really want to relay from the footage, and let them have at it. To view a few FAQ and SAQ samples that I did, visit www.socialwavebook.com.

• Don’t worry about being perfect. You most likely will not like your first take of any video you create. Record a few extra clips to get comfortable in front of the camera, but don’t let multiple video takes slow you down to the point of needing weeks or months to create your video. Find the key points to say, rehearse them if you need to, and then speak to the camera, from your heart to your customers. Your confidence will grow as you get happier in front of the camera. Having given that advice, know you can take dozens of takes of your very first video, and yet end up going with video shoot number three!

• Determine if you want your video to begin playing automatically. When your customers (or prospective customers) visit your website, do you want your video to play automatically or offer the opportunity to skip your video? Make your choice depending on the behavior of your customers. If you are selling a one-off, and customers will only visit your website once to purchase it, then a video that plays automatically might work just fine. If your customers visit your website multiple times, you may want to consider having your video play on-demand because it could irritate them and make them leave for another website!

• Be relevant and informative. Videos that demonstrate step-by-step procedures are great; videos that express an opinion about a specific topic can be useful, too.

• Create an interesting title for your video. A good title will grab the attention of users and help sell them on viewing the video. Additionally, the title and description should contain a related keyword-rich phrase relevant to your product, service, or brand to optimize it for SEO.

• Provide transcripts of your videos. Search engines love to index HTML, and by surrounding your videos with keyword-rich copy, you can improve the search rank of your video.

• Create a video sitemap. For video that is native to your own website, make sure that users and search engine spiders can find your video content. The easiest way to do this is through the use of a video sitemap on your site. Use important keywords in the anchor text links to your videos featured on your video sitemap.

• Brand your video by adding your logo. Video is an excellent tool for generating brand awareness for your company or service.

• Offer the option to embed your video. Allow other users access to the code that will allow them to embed your video on their website or their blog. Think viral marketing.

• Allow users to rate your video. Videos that receive higher ratings from users are the ones that users tend to “favorite” and save.

Uploading your video to all of the video site options available can be time consuming. There are paid tools and services you can use to automate uploading of your video to sites on the internet, and there are a few free ones out there as well. These sites, whether Tubemogul. com or TrafficGeyser.com, allow you to upload your video to multiple video sites at the same time. After uploading your video, you can log in to your account with these sites and track the number of views, clicks, or comments on your video. With Tubemogul, you can also track 10 other videos within the system. If you’re in a competitive marketplace where video is used a lot, it can be a great advantage to see what other businesses are doing. Note: when it comes to uploading videos on an automated site like TubeMogul, check its most recent upload guidelines because they are constantly changing. Same for YouTube.

Another great video site for marketing is Viddler, which both corporations and individuals can use. Its current tag is “grow your brand with online video.” Although it includes some short-story and humorous videos, it is a more business-oriented video site compared to YouTube, which is more focused on entertainment.

If you are looking to upload your FAQ or SAQ, check out Screencast, which allows you to make a video private, public, or hidden with password access. It has free as well as paid-for account options, and even if you have hundreds of training videos, you may find the free accounts sufficient. No matter which video sites you use, make sure you embed the video code, which helps with SEO and improves the look of the video.

There is a super impressive new product at TalkFusion.com. This site offers video emailing with custom templates, video conferencing, and live video broadcasting, as well as the option to publish your videos to over 200 social sites or on its own social video site, the Fusion Wall. Video greetings are and will become a larger part of our online experience because people are desperate to connect outside of copy. Embrace this new vehicle and start feeling it out.

When I launched my first live broadcast using TalkFusion, the recording actually ended up making it to the CEO of TalkFusion. I had a call from him and his team.

They were so impressed with my video training webcast recording that they wanted to discuss how we could partner. Isn’t it amazing how this online world works?

I broadcast a video to my market, it makes it to the CEO of the video broadcast company, and, there you have it- opportunity is born. You never know when it will pop out around the corner from something you posted or something you recorded.

Just look at the Justin Bieber story. (I know what you are thinking, is she really going there?). Yes, the Justin craze was born from a YouTube video upload a few years ago. Now he is one of the hottest teenage heart throbs on this planet. I am still trying to figure out what the heck this “Bieber fever” thing is all about. Enlighten me on my blog, please: www.starrhall.com.

As you move forward with your video marketing, make sure that you jump into video emails to and for your clients and customers. They are a great way to say hello as well as use the Octopus approach to take them out online for the masses. Whether you use a video site or you just upload a quick video from your flipcam or webcam, make sure you have some type of analytics tool or system to monitor the success (or sinking) of your video(s). Yes, we are focused on video view success. However, you need to know when your video ship is a-sinkin’—also known as stinkin’. Most video sites automatically have number of views, but check to make sure the analytics, also called “insights,” are in place on the video sites you upload to. If you just upload directly to your blog and you do not have this system in place, you will never know if 1 person viewed or 1,000.

While we are talking about videos, let’s visit video conferencing. This option is fantastic for jumping online and having a quick group-coaching video session, product demonstration, question-and-answer session, or just visually connecting with people that you meet on social sites. Try hosting one live video conference every month, especially if you have clients around the globe. They love the visual connection as much as you do. It helps you bond and makes your businesses relationship more personable. Always make sure that you are presentable. It’s a sorry fact that too many people ignore the professional rule when it comes to videos. Tops that show a lot of bare skin, bright lip stick, torn T-shirts, PJs—those are not allowed on the scene. Behind the scenes, feel free to wear your ducky PJ bottoms with a suit top when doing a live webcast from your home office. Only the cat need know.

Video conferencing sites to check out are Talkfusion.com, iMeet. com, Oovoo.com, and Skype.com. Each site varies as to how many people you can conference with—from two to unlimited.

If you are a speaker or presenter, or have a product demonstration, live video conferences or broadcasts such as those available through Talkfusion, and now Skype, offer screen share options as well as live chat, surveys, and polls. For professional speakers, this has been a great option to use when presenting to groups large and small from the comfort of your own home office. Now as long as you can keep your dogs from barking during your presentations, all is well.

The views on my video are minimal. How can I get more views and promote them to a wider audience other than listing on YouTube?

Key areas of video marketing

Video details

Sites to upload on

Video emailing, conferencing, and live broadcast

Video optimization