Posts

,

How to upload a video to YouTube correctly

How to upload a video to YouTube correctly

Today, we are going to walk through how to upload a video correctly to YouTube. And it’s kind of one of those things, fill out all the blanks, but there are some things that people don’t understand that play a big piece in the SEO of your YouTube channel. When you login to your YouTube channel, you will have this create video here. Now, a tool that we use is called Tube Buddy, and this is a great add-on to really help add SEO, Search Engine Optimization to your YouTube videos. We’ll get to that within this tutorial, but it’s called Tube Buddy, and right here, you’re going click to upload your video. And after you upload your video, and it just takes a quick second since I’m doing a screen share. You’re going to have an option to select the files from your computer. I’m going go ahead and just do this Zoom recording I had done earlier with a client, it’s going upload the video. Based on the length of your video, it will determine how long it takes to upload it. Okay, once you have the video, it’s processing the video, YouTube does a great job on walking you through what you should be doing, okay, again, filling out those blanks.

Adding a Title and Description to Your YouTube Video

You are required to have a title, and again, the title you want to make sure is using those keywords of what the video is on and what people would be searching for. Here I’m going say, how to create custom images in Canva? Now, in your description, I like having a how to or step, something where people… What the title you should be thinking is what would people be typing into YouTube or Google to find that video? How to is a great way, healthy eating ideas, healthy snacks for kids, whatever that topic is your video is around, this is where that title comes in. Now with your description, you have 5000 characters you can use for your video description. And with that, you need to have at least 500 for each video. What I’d like to do is when you are recording a video. What we do is we record our video and then we transcribe our video on Scribie. And then I would take that first paragraph of that transcription from our blog and put it in here. Maybe it would say, in this video, you will learn how to create custom images in Canva, building a brand with your digital marketing, yada, yada yada, we want to keep on going.

Then you would say to learn more, visit our blog at, and then you could put the URL to your blog there. Okay, this is a great area in here, you want to make sure that you have your keyword and that you are describing what that video is about. It’s clear to the viewer that they understand what it is they are going to be learning. Now, the next thing is the thumbnail, you can create a custom thumbnail in Canva, and what we’ll do is they have… This moved me… If you have used Canva, you’ll know that they have a ton of designs on here, there’s a free version and a paid version. We have the paid version, and it’s running a little bit slow today, but you can actually create a custom YouTube thumbnail. We’ll let that load. But what you would do here is then click upload thumbnail and you would upload that thumbnail from your computer to here. YouTube tends to have, especially if it’s a video of you talking, they pick the worst thumbnails where your eyes are closed. It’s a horrible thumbnail, I always recommend creating a custom thumbnail in Canva, you can have that correct size and then you can upload that to here.

Additonal Features When Uploading Your YouTube Video

Once you have your custom thumbnail uploaded, then what you’re going to do is choose playlist. We have a ton of playlists, this helps keep our channel organized, and what you could do is, if this is, let’s say you are a pediatrician, this can be tips for parents, this can be eating healthy for kids, whatever those categories are, are what your playlists are going to be. I’m going click this to be… We’ll do social media tips, and it could be more than one category, you can choose two or three and then click done. Now, what you want to come down and do is, this is where if it’s made for kids or not. And what this does, if it says yes it’s made for kids, then kids that have access to YouTube Kids, and for whatever reasons they were to type in something similar to what your video is talking about, your video could show up in YouTube Kids. Even though this video there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s a great tutorial. I’m going say it’s not made for kids because they don’t need to know this. You could do an age restriction if you need to, but I just say no, not made for kids, and it’s fine. Here’s a piece you want to make sure you do not skip over, this show more. And this is where Tube Buddy comes in action, right here, your tag, these are keywords that people would type into YouTube to find a video.

This says tag to be useful if content in your video is commonly misspelled. Otherwise, tags play a minimal role in helping viewers find your video. You want to have things like how to, very broad and then very niche, I can type in Canva. And then this is where YouTube comes into play, I can do Canva tutorial for beginners. Now, if I scroll down a tad bit, you’ll see these tag tools, these recommended tags. This is Tube Buddy, helping me figure out what I should put into that tag area, you can do it by relevance or keyword score. I like keywords score ’cause I feel like that’s what people are searching more for, this is Canva templates, then we would come down to… And I would just pick the ones that I feel best fit my video that I was talking about. Okay. You can add up to 500 characters in here. I always like to have at least between five and 20, if you can tags in here. TubeBuddy is a great way to help. Obviously, these ones that are in orange and yellow are the best to choose from, and then as they go to red, they become a little bit less searched for. I’m going do one more. And then what I’m going do is I’m going click next.

This is where if you want to have subtitles, you can add subtitles to your video, you can also add an end screen. You can create a template and then add it to there, or you can create your own. And this is just helping people stay on your channel, and be able to find other videos that you have put on. Promote related content at the end of your video. And if you do this, it will tell you, and again, based on the popularity of your channel, how long you have had your channel, if you’re verified, all these things will allow you what you can and cannot have on here. This will say, subscribe to Social Speak, you can choose where you want this to show up. I like to have it towards the end it’s not blocking the content. At the end of your video, if you are just chit-chatting a little bit, that’s where then I would have this come up  so people can subscribe to that video or to your channel. And then you could also add a card, and this is, if you’re talking about maybe a free PDF and in your video, you say, “Be sure to download my free PDF on my website about such and such.” This is where you can promote another video once you reach a certain… When you join the partner program with YouTube, that’s when you’re going have a link. But you can promote your channel, a certain playlist, another video.

This is where you would say, be sure to watch this other video that explains our freebie or how to download our freebie, whatever that is, that call to action. These cards are great for call to action, I may want to do a playlist and I’m going click into, let’s just do healthcare digital marketing tips. Then I can choose at what point in the video, I want this to show up right here. If you are watching a YouTube video and you see this little eye icon, that is an info card. And if you click onto it, it will take you to somewhere else, whether it is a playlist, a video, or if they are a partner of YouTube, take them to a link. Then you can click next and they’ll make sure if you have any music in the background, if you are talking about anything, YouTube just check to make sure that you’re following all of the copyright rules that YouTube set. No issues found, which is great, I can click next. Here, what we have, I get a check mark here. Video elements, I’m going go back to there to see, that’s where these are. I don’t have a check mark here because I didn’t add those to this video. You click next, next, this is where you can schedule a video to post, you can make it public, which means it’s going to be found in YouTube, you can use this link to promote it out, and it’s searchable within YouTube.

Unlisted means that anyone with the video link can watch that video. I like to use unlisted for our newsletters, we may just do a video just for our newsletter subscribers. And I don’t want to be found on YouTube. I’m just housing that video on YouTube, and using unlisted is a great idea because then I can still email that link out to people and they can watch it, but it’s not searchable within YouTube. The other one is private. Private is great, if you’re doing an online course or a private, like maybe telehealth or a coaching session where you recorded that session just for that person, and then you can share it just with them, it’s only viewable to the people that you invite. Okay? For this one, I’m just going do unlisted because this is a video that I am going to publish to the public, and then you will click save, and then what you’ll do is you can from here, share it to any of these. But if you go to the video and you right click on it, and you could copy the embedded code to put that into your blog post. If you’re using Mailchimp or Constant Contact and you want to put this video into your email, then you just need the link and then within there, they would show you how to add that video.

Final Steps to Upload Your YouTube Video

Those are just a few steps you want to take to make sure that your video is being uploaded correctly to YouTube, and you have all of the boxes checked, everything to just make sure that you are optimizing your YouTube videos the best you can. If you need help with creating that YouTube strategy and how to upload your videos to your channel, please let us know. You can schedule a free 30-minute consultation and we would love to walk through that with you. Thank you guys, have a great day.

/by
,

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Business

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Business

Most people think of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram when we talk about social media marketing. But Youtube is the second biggest search engine globally, and it’s also considered a social media platform.

With over 2 billion monthly average users, Youtube isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. If you’re looking for ways to get your products or services in front of your target audience, we highly recommend that you include Youtube into your marketing mix.

Here are six ways you can use Youtube as a marketing tool for your business or healthcare practice.

Grow your audience

With over 2.3 billion users worldwide, Youtube is the biggest video-sharing platform in the world. The numbers are growing year after year. Simply speaking, creating a presence on this platform means having an endless flow of potential customers.

Unlike other social media platforms, people use Youtube as a search engine. They type something into the search bar, and then your videos come up in the search results. That means you get qualified traffic, not just some random people who stumbled upon your content. They are interested in what you have to offer.

By publishing videos on Youtube, you’re not just exposing your brand to a huge audience; you’re actually getting potential leads, clients, and customers.

Connect with your target audience 

Youtube provides a powerful yet informal way of connecting with your audience. Remember that Youtube is a competitive platform, with 500 hours of video uploaded every minute.

If you want to capture your target audience’s attention, then you need to create videos with your audience in mind. Remember, it’s not all about you; it’s about your followers.

We also recommend creating a content calendar to plan and organize your upcoming content. Plus, you’ll spare yourself the stress of coming up with a topic on the spot.

Use the platform to show your expertise 

Besides watching countless hours of entertaining videos, one of the main reasons why Youtube is so popular is because it provides users with quick answers and solutions.

A lot of people are searching for health-related topics online nowadays. As a healthcare professional, you can quickly provide your audience with informative and educational videos related to your practice. There is no better way to share your knowledge than through video.

What may seem like common knowledge to you can be extremely valuable to your audience. Go ahead and share tips, give advice, or create how-to videos for your audience.

Providing your audience with educational and informative content will not only maximize your visibility but you’ll also be seen as a great resource and an industry expert.

Tell your brand story 

As a business owner, you’re probably looking for ways to get the word out about your products or services. But here’s the thing… People are tired of ads. So how do you capture your target audience’s attention without annoying them? One way you can do that is by telling your brand story.

In today’s competitive marketplace, you can no longer afford to be a faceless entity. People want to talk to real humans. Telling your brand story will help you stand out from the competition and help humanize your brand. The result is a brand that is as profitable as it is captivating.

Use video content to boost SEO ranking 

If you do a quick Google search, you’ll notice that videos appear more often on the search engine results. Why? Because Google loves video content. This is why it’s a necessary tool for your business.

When creating video content on Youtube, it is best to add a link to your website. While having lots of views is great, remember that you’re using the platform to encourage viewers to take action. You want to drive them to your website, where they can get more details about your offer.

Another idea is to incorporate video into your blog post or landing page. This will not only help you rank on Google, but it will also attract inbound links.

Be consistent with content production 

If you’re planning to use Youtube as a marketing tool, you need to commit to it. You can’t just post two videos this week and then be gone for a few months. Youtube is fast-paced by nature, and content becomes obsolete quickly.

If you go weeks or months between posts, people are likely to forget about you. Posting consistently and frequently will help you build loyal followers and strengthen your brand.

Decide how frequently you’ll post content. You don’t need to publish videos every day. But if you’re starting, we highly recommend that you publish videos two to three times a week to help your channel perform well in the algorithm.

Commit to posting video content multiple times a week and stick to your posting schedule. Also, let your followers know when you’ll be posting, so they can tune in the next time you have a new video up.

Final thoughts 

While every social media platform provides some benefits, there is one platform a lot of business owners seem to forget – Youtube.

Having a solid online presence on Youtube provides immense possibilities for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, driving traffic, and increasing conversion rate. If you still haven’t embraced the power of video, you’re seriously missing out.

 

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Business

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Family Medicine Practice6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Nutrition Practice

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Mental Health Practice

/by
, ,

Top Reasons Why Your Business Should be on Youtube

BIMSYoutube_2.23Today, Youtube is considered as the second largest search engine in the world. In fact, millions of viewers are turning to Youtube everyday to learn more about products and services, find answers to their questions and find solutions to their problems.

Here are a few reasons why it’s time for your business to start embracing Youtube as part of your marketing strategy.

Build trust

Online video marketing provides businesses an opportunity to build trust. Your videos will demonstrate what you can do and what you know. By uploading videos that feature your expertise in your field, it provides you an opportunity to build authority and recognition.

Online video also allows you to project a better and more personal profile to your clients. This gives customers a sense of intimacy; thus, making it easier to build rapport and trust.

SEO benefits

By utilizing Youtube as part of your marketing strategy, you are also increasing your search engine optimization. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing consider video as important as text-only pages. Marketing on Youtube will help your videos appear more frequently in Google’s search results.

Generate sales

Youtube allows customers to see your products in action before buying them. This is particularly beneficial for those who sell online. Reember, nothing will market your product better than an actual video demonstration.

Youtube can help your business attract customers from different parts of the world. The more people watch your videos, the more business you can generate.

More content in less time

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a minute of video is worth millions. Every second of video is equivalent to reading an article with at least 15,000 words.

People love videos because it provides them a lot of information in so little time. Long articles provide a significant amount of information. However, some people are not interested in reading them because it will take a lot of time. Who would want to read a long, boring article, when you can just press the play button and get the same amount of information in a minute or two?

It’s where your customers want to find you

Youtube is the 3rd most viewed website in the world, next to Google and Facebook. In fact, over 3 billion Youtube videos are being watched every single day. Plus, millions of people subscribe to different channels each day. With this statistic, it is safe to say that people wants it. Not delivering on this desire means somebody else will.

 

/by
, ,

Tips to Maximize Your Youtube Marketing Results

youtubemarketing_11.25.14

YouTube might try to wow you with the latest statistics by revealing that 48 hours worth of video are being uploaded every minute. By the time you finish reading this article, we’re guessing 3 days’ worth of videos have been uploaded on the site.

With the competition getting tougher, you’re probably thinking if someone would be interested enough to watch your videos. If you are doing this to capture the attention of your target audience, you have to make sure that your videos standout from the rest and focus on conversion.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your Youtube marketing campaign.

Keep it short

Whether it’s in TV or the Internet, no one is interested to watch ads anymore.

Most Youtube ads allow users to skip the ad after 5 seconds. Majority of the users would take advantage of this option and click on the “skip ad” button immediately and proceed to watch the video they came to Youtube for.     That being said, you only have 5 seconds to capture the attention of your target audience and get your message across. Otherwise, it’ll be out of the picture. Make sure to keep your ads short and watchable. Don’t go beyond the 60-second mark.

Selecting the right keywords

Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. And the fact that Google owns Youtube cannot be overlooked.

Videos appear on search engines. To make your video more findable, you have to make sure that it lands on top of the search results page. To do that, you need to select the right keywords and use them in the first few words of your title, description and tags.

Create compelling videos

When individuals are searching online, they are looking for quick information. That said, each one of your videos should be relevant, valuable and educational to your prospective and current clients. Create content that addresses your audience’s needs.

 

/by

Using Video Marketing for YOUR Business

The usage of video on the web offers certain distinct, from SEO advantages right through to increased sales conversion, let’s look at the benefits of video content in detail.

1. Increasing your SEO

If you did not know . . . social media as a marketing tool is growing exponentially. No business can stick to age-old marketing methods. The major search engines now give a lot of value to video content. If your website or business has a video and an article about the same keyword, chances are that your video will rank higher every time.

Visitors are more likely to watch a quick 2 minute video demonstration of your services than they are to read a long wall of text. In addition, you can target several long-tail keywords with videos to scale your rankings even further.

2. Video Distribution

There are several video distribution sites that allow users to upload their videos to many websites at once. Tools such as TubeMogul, VideoWildfire and Hey!Spread allow you to add your videos to a lot of the popular video-sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, and others simultaneously. These websites usually offer optimized videos for their mobile platforms too, thus automatically expanding the reach of the uploader’s brand.

3. The Social Media Effect

Since popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow users to share interesting links, having your own video on the major sites drastically increases your chances of exposure. Also, people are more likely to share an interesting video they came across rather than an article.

4. Automatically Increase Traffic to Your Website

If you have been surfing the web long enough, inevitably you have visited a Web 2.0 property which features a video on the homepage. Having this kind of a setup increases the visitor retention on the page. People are more likely to be intrigued by the service and might stay around to find out more if they are presented with an entertaining video explaining the purpose of the website or the service.

5. Increase Sales by Having a Great 1st Impression

For example, assume the case of a website that reviews cameras and includes the webmaster’s affiliate links at the end of each review. Now for a physical product such as a camera, a video review can show things to the visitor that simply cannot be conveyed effectively through text. In these cases, a video is a far more effective tool to increase the chance of conversions, and subsequently helping the webmaster make money online.

6. More Success with Opt-in and Subscriber Lists for Video Based Feeds

People are used to getting walls of text and promotional offers in their inbox all day long. Not many marketers out there offer informational videos to their subscribers. Since most people are already signed up to one or more textual newsletters, a weekly video-based feed can be a nice change. Also, some concepts are better demonstrated over video.

7. Personalized Experience for Your Customers

You can guide your visitors to different sections of your website using videos making the whole experience similar to visiting an actual store. Videos put a face on the merchant and make the users more comfortable doing business with them.

8. Automation of Video Creation

Earlier, video production used to be a lengthy process involving half a dozen people and a lot of equipment. But nowadays, video production is seamless and in a lot of cases, completely automated. All in all, video marketing is highly beneficial for improving brand recognition and customer retention. Online businesses that haven’t jumped onto the video bandwagon already should look at it as a serious option for improving the quality of their websites.

/5 Comments/by
,

Social Media Best Practices: 12 Tips for Making the Best of Facebook, Twitter, Google + or Any Other Social Site

This is a great article I found by Frank Barry http://socialmediatoday.com/frankbarry/328381/social-media-best-practices-12-tips-making-best-facebook-twitter-google-or-any-oth?utm_source=smt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

Do you know how many of your supporters use popular social networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube?

Twitter has more than 16 million users, and 42.3 percent of the entire American population is on Facebook. YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world. Google recently made a big social medial play by introducing Google+ which saw 20 million users within the first three weeks.

With usage stats like that it’s probably safe to assume that a large portion of your supporters, customers and/or prospects use at least one of these sites on a regular basis, right?

Which means you need to get laser focused on figuring out how to best utilize sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.

But as with anything, it can be challenging to figure out where to start or how to ensure your efforts are going to be effective.

With that in mind, here are 12 tips that will help you succeed no matter what social-networking site you apply them to.

1. CLAIM YOUR LAND

As you get more and more involved in using social media, be sure to claim your land by creating your organization’s Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel, LinkedIn profile, Google+ profile, etc.

Think about it like when the Internet became popular — you wanted to secure your domain even if you didn’t plan on using it right away so others wouldn’t register it.

2. FILL OUT YOUR PROFILE COMPLETELY

The social Web is essentially a place where relationships are built, maintained and enhanced in a digital space.

It’s really no different than real life in that people want to get to know who you are, what you stand for, how you’re changing the world and what they can get by connecting with you. So make sure to take advantage of all the profile space you have by adding a picture, putting up information about your organization, providing links back to your website and so on. This way others know you’re a real nonprofit doing real things.

3. SPEND SOME TIME OBSERVING (AKA LISTENING)

An easy way to understand this concept is to think about attending a party where you don’t know many people.

It’s doubtful that you’d go barging in to conversations or groups of people without first getting the lay of the land by observing the room, looking for others who you may know or know of, and thinking about what you could talk about with those attending. The social Web is no different. It requires that you learn the culture, people and way to interact on each specific site. Twitter is different than Facebook, and Facebook is different than LinkedIn.

Spend some time observing how others interact, speak, share and communicate before you dive in. Creating a social-media listening dashboard helps as you get started. You can get one up and running in 30 minutes or less for free.

4. LOCATE YOUR PEEPS

Once you’ve begun to get acclimated with the culture and overall way to interact on each social site, start to look for those who are talking about or interested in things you find interesting.

For example: If you’re a nonprofit that focuses on disaster-relief efforts in places like New Zealand, then you may want to connect with the Red Cross and begin building a relationship with it. Or you may want to find individuals who are talking about the events around the world where disaster relief is needed.

This allows you to engage with people who are interested in the things you do and who might become supporters of yours one day. You should also get familiar with using search features like Twitter Search to help you find the right people to engage with.

Here are 13 simple twitter search examples to get you started.

5. ENGAGE, BUT DON’T YELL (OR ASK FOR DONATIONS)

After you’ve been observing for a while and locating like-minded organizations and individuals, you want to begin building relationships with them.

The key point to remember here is that you should not start by selling your wares or promoting your programs or asking for donations. Even though Social Fundraising is a great way to empower your supporters it shouldn’t be the first thing you focus on. Start by getting to know the individuals who run the social-media accounts you interact with — offer your help, assistance and support to them. Be the initiator and giver.

Spend some time in chitchat-type conversations to build real connections and relationships with others — it will pay off in the long run.

6. BUILD YOUR FAN BASE (JUST LIKE BUILDING YOUR HOUSE FILE)

As you start to engage with the right individuals and organizations, you naturally begin to build your fan base — it’s the organic way of doing things on the social Web.

In addition to that, once you’ve developed a solid presence, part of your fan-, friend- and follower-growth strategy should include promoting your presence on social-media sites to your current supporter base. You can do this by putting social-media links on your main website and sending e-mail communications to your housefile, letting all your supporters know where to find you on the various social-networking sites you participate on.

This helps build your social-network fan base in two ways.

First, it gets all those who you have e-mails addresses for to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter and so on.

Second, it gives you exposure to your fans’ networks and provides the opportunity for many more to find out about you.

7. CREATE MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS

Now that you’re building a nice-sized following and engaging with the right crowd, you should focus on building relationships that are useful to others.

Sticking with the disaster-relief example, if you were engaged in helping those affected by a natural disaster in New Zealand, then you could help others by providing them up-to-the-minute news, pointing them to resources that would allow them to help or participate in the relief efforts, and creating conversations with others that help draw attention to the cause.

By being a resource to your community and helping others, you quickly build a great reputation online.

8. IDENTIFY AND INTERACT WITH INFLUENCERS

A key part of any social-media strategy involves identifying influencers — those who have nice-sized online networks can effectively spread your message and are able to activate others.

These individuals can help you reach more people because of the trusted relationships they’ve already built. As you build relationships with people online, look for the influencers and be thoughtful about how you engage and build relationships with them.

It’s very possible they can help amplify your message like you’ve never been able to do.

9. CONNECT THE DOTS

The social Web is very much a game of relationships and a place where those who are genuinely using the tools for good want to connect with other like-minded individuals.

As you build your network of fans, help them to get to know each other by connecting them. Make introductions on Facebook. Share something that one of your fans has done with another on Twitter. Help build a tight-knit network by being a connector who’s always looking for ways to build beneficial relationships between others.

10. PUMP OUT USEFUL INFO. AND CONTENT

Think of participating on the social Web like you think about your website.

Would people come back if you failed to update your website with useful information on a regular basis? Doubtful. The same holds true on the social Web, so make sure to consistently share great content that’s relevant and useful to your fan base. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be content that you wrote or created. It can be news stories, resources from other websites, information from a partner organization, etc.

The key is that you become valuable by sharing useful content.

11. ACTIVATE YOUR NETWORK

At the end of the day, doing the steps outlined above have a purpose.

That purpose is to build a community of people who are supporters of your organization and willing to take action in support of your cause.

Your online network will respond when you ask if you’ve built real relationships, engaged with people, proved to be a useful resource, connected others and had an overall positive impact on your online community.

12. SAY THANK YOU

Good manners apply in any social setting, and the Web is no different.

Make sure to continually show appreciation when you’re fans support you by donating, volunteering, sharing your content, retweeting a tweet, liking a Facebook status update, attending an event or any other action you’ve requested them to take. It shows that you’re paying attention and that you’re grateful for every bit of support.

And that keeps people coming back to support you every time you need them.

What one tip would you add? There’s plenty more out there that you’re doing a great job at, I’m sure!

/1 Comment/by
, , , ,

Are You Using The Power of Video to Promote Your Brand

Why is Video for Business so Powerful?

The business climate today is all about how to make your marketing message heard above all the “noise” of competing marketing messaging in an age where we are all faced with “information overload” to the nth degree. Business owners are always looking for ways to maintain a competitive advantage and to be able to connect with their customers and potential customers in an effort to create a personal connection.

With the increased usage of the latest technologies, if also becomes a challenge for the business owner to figure out how to use all the technology that is available to increase brand exposure and deepen relationships with customers and potential customers.

Online video is the future, the latest trend, and continues to rise in popularity. Key indicators point to corporations embracing online video as an essential marketing tool. In a 2008 Interactive Marketing study, Forrester Research predicted a compound annual growth rate of 72% through the year 2012 – the most robust of all interactive investments. Online video is expected to grow significantly more than search engine marketing, display ads, and email marketing.

When you see an interesting video on the Internet, you tend to post the link on Twitter, Facebook, or share it by emailing it to friends. They pass it on to their friends and the effect multiplies spreading your message quickly, resulting in massive exposure. This is called viral marketing and carries tremendous power via brand exposure at very little cost. Using video helps others connect with your brand because it now has a face that others can identify with and adds that personal touch that is so important in establishing, maintaining, and enhancing relationships.

Online video is going to increase in popularity according to a study by eMarketer that reported 152 million people were watching online video in 2008. By 2012 that number, according to the study, is expected to soar to 190 million.

Video adds a new dimension to the written word. If one uses videos of themselves speaking their message, they are able to use humor, physical expression, and eye-contact adding a totally new layer of personalization. If one chooses to use an animated video, the element of entertainment is added and with a musical background, adds an emotional effect as music brings out emotions in people.

Using video turns a static website into a dynamic, interactive destination. Video requires the viewer to use more of their senses making your message more memorable.

You can use video to demonstrate a product that will educate your customers, show your product or service in action, save time and money on customer service by being proactive, train clients remotely saving time and money on travel expenses, and expand your target market beyond your local geographical area

Businesses who use video to promote their brand are giving a human face to their corporate website. You can include a short video welcoming visitors to your website, introduce yourself and other members of your company, or record a customer testimonial to show your value to others.

Using videos encourages engagement with your brand and in this day where relationships carry so much weight this is a very important aspect of video marketing. If you regularly provide valuable video content, you will be encouraging repeat visits to your website.

Even though the use of video is increasing and studies indicate it will continue to increase, there are still many industries that don’t use video as a common practice. If your competitors don’t yet use video, you’ll be able to set yourself apart by using video on your website.

In this age where people want instant gratification and easily accessible information, videos provide an easy method of relaying information to others. At the click of a button, you can promote your brand, advertise a special, make an announcement, sell your service, etc. rather than requiring your target market to read text.

When compared to traditional methods of promoting products like text ads, banner ads, and printed promotions, videos are more cost effective and provide a much more valuable and memorable experience for the end-user.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5838810

/1 Comment/by
, , , , ,

Using YouTube Videos to Increase SEO and Brand Awareness

YouTube videos can be an excellent tool for entrepreneurs and marketers when launching an online campaign. Upon setting up a YouTube channel, use the steps following to increase brand awareness online. It’s also possible to gain an advantage in terms of increasing brand visibility using this method. YouTube videos are a helpful way to share with online communities and search engine users alike.

1 – Choose a Video Topic

There are many options in choosing a topic for video marketing on YouTube. Consider if focusing on new or innovative ways of using products as a possible topic. Or demonstrate your expertise as an entrepreneur to gain credibility and a following. You can also get a lot of mileage out of testimonials. The topic and how you choose to display it in video, you are only limited by your imagination.

As an online marketer, you will want to begin thinking of a series of videos that will continually bring viewers back to your website time and again. Over time, your brand will develop through this medium.

2 – Video Recording

Once you have selected the topic and format of your video, you can plan out some scenes, your dialogue and then start recording. What technology you choose to do this is not as important as the information you convey. Some online marketers have recorded effective videos on their mobile phones, in contrast to others who have used high definition video recorders.

Keep your videos direct, focused and below 2 minutes for the best results. Once you have recorded everything, use a photo editing software to clean it up.

3 – SEO Video Tactics

Once the video is ready for viewing by a broader audience, upload it to your YouTube video channel. Optimize it for SEO by including the best keywords into the title, metadata and feeds. Be sure that a link of your website is displayed prominently to encourage plenty of organic traffic. By doing this, you will generate back linking and encourage others to share the video on their websites and blogs.

4 – Earn More Video Views

In addition to creating new YouTube videos, entrepreneurs should be on the look out for complimentary videos shared by other online marketers. Post your own video feed or link in response to their videos to generate more views of your video in the comments section. You can also try promoting your videos on social networking sites like Facebook and twitter, which attract millions of viewers daily. Ask that friends share your video links with their networks for even more traffic.

While video marketing is somewhat more challenging than other forms of marketing, it’s also a lot of fun and can reach a much larger audience. As an entrepreneur, you have much to gain by using video marketing to improve your brand’s visibility and influence online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6142081

/4 Comments/by