Pansy that has jumped off a canal barge.
How to use video to promote your business
Have you thought about
creating videos to promote your business?
Video can boost your search
engine rankings and is an effective way
to increase customer
engagement. But how do you go about making a video?
Sarah Orchard of Orchard
Marketing Associates investigates
In the US, YouTube accounts
for around 18% of all downstream internet traffic
(that’s data that goes from a
source to a computer).
That’s impressive. But
perhaps even more impressive is
YouTube’s status as the
world’s second biggest internet search engine.
It receives more searches
than Bing, Yahoo, Ask and other search engines.
My point - because I'm not
just singing the praises of YouTube - is that video has become
a hugely powerful medium. Dig
past the plethora of cute kittens, TV clips
and skateboard accidents, and
you'll find businesses everywhere
are incorporating video into their marketing
strategies.
The power of video
Here's an example. A friend
of mine decided it was time to buy a new tent.
She intended to buy one that
was reasonably priced,
but found herself veering
towards the Outwell brand.
It meant going over budget
but she soon figured out how to persuade her other half.
How? She showed him Outwell's
website and played him the videos
so that he could understand
why it was worth paying more.
Outwell is a great example of
a business that really understands
what information customers want
and how to communicate it.
Video is known as rich media
content and it can boost customer engagement,
increase the time spent on a
site and help convert sales. Used cleverly and with a purpose,
video can transform your
website into a dynamic interactive site that will attract repeat visits.
And it’s not just YouTube.
Video is available via many
different platforms and services.
These include:
Vine. Part of Twitter,
Vine allows you to create and share super-short (six-second) videos.
Brands often use it to share
intriguing clips through social media.
Vimeo. This video
sharing site is similar to YouTube,
although tends to feature
more professionally-produced, arty clips and recordings.
Most video services allow
their users to discover your videos via their own websites and apps.
You can also usually embed
videos on your own website - and often in other locations,
such as your tweets, Facebook
pages and so on.
But what can I put in my videos?
How you use video will depend
on your type of business and the services or products you offer.
Here are a few ideas to get
you started:
Show off a product. If you sell a physical product, video is a
powerful way to give people
a sense of what the product
is actually like, how it feels and what it’s made of.
For instance, if you sell
furniture, a video can help convey its build quality.
Explain how to do something. ‘How to’ videos are a good way to
give people
some useful information,
while also reminding them of your product. For instance,
if you sell car shampoo, you
could create a video explaining the best way to wash a car.
Bring testimonials for life. Many companies use written
testimonials on their websites.
But you can create more
interest and authenticity if you interview people
or invite customers to upload
videos of them using your products.
Upload new videos regularly. Building a regular audience for
your videos isn’t easy,
but can give your business
prospects a big boost. Create new videos regularly
and encourage people to
subscribe via your YouTube channel.
Add a personal touch. Welcome visitors to your site, introduce
your staff
or film a ‘day in the life’. This type of content will add
personality and bring your business to life.
This could help someone
decide they'd like to do business with ‘people like that’.
Incorporate music. You can buy sound clips from websites like Shutterstock, iStockPhoto
and Ricall, which offers well-known
songs by popular artists and emerging acts,
ready for use by small
businesses and non-profit organisations.
Share industry expertise. You can use video to provide
commentary on industry news,
or to offer detailed
information about your industry. This can help build your reputation
and can form a key plank of
any your business public relations efforts.
This is just scratching the
surface, of course. You can use video in any way you choose.
And as shooting, editing and
sharing video is much easier and cheaper than ever,
you can try different things
to see what works for you.
How easy is it to create video?
Making a video is no longer
the preserve of professionals and nor is it a costly exercise.
Having said that,
professionals can produce sophisticated, polished videos from around £250 each.
This can be a worthwhile investment for high profile projects,
although with a little time
and effort you can get great results by doing it yourself.
There are many online
services and pieces of free software that make it easy to upload,
embed and share video
content. For instance:
Animoto helps
you make and share videos online.
It’s super-easy to use and
can create videos that look highly professional.
Microsoft’s video editing
software,
Windows
Movie Maker, is straightforward and can produce good results.
It’s included with some
versions of Windows or can be downloaded for free.
If you have a Mac, iMovie lets you combine
clips to create videos you can share.
Again, it’s free - if it’s
not already on your Mac, you can download it.
Adobe
Voice is a free iPad app that makes creating animated videos trivial.
It includes a library of
images and sounds you can use in your videos.
Magisto lets you combine videos and
photos into interesting clips to share online.
You can choose a theme and
add music - it’s easy to use but offers relatively basic features.
You can shoot video with virtually any digital camera or smart
phone,
although it may be worth
spending up to a couple of hundred pounds on a dedicated video camera. Think
about what sort of video you want to shoot.
For instance, if you plan to
interview customers, consider a model
with a connection for a
separate microphone, so you can record the interview clearly.
If you want to shoot action
sequences, a rugged model like a GoPro might
be a better choice.
Make sure your video gets found
Once you’ve created your
video, consider uploading it to as many video sharing websites
as possible, including
YouTube and Vimeo.
You may also be able to add
video to your listings in online directories.
Make sure you add interesting
titles and clear descriptions to your videos,
to give them the best chance
of getting found and viewed.
Finally, encourage viewers to
share and embed your video so they spread it for you.
http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/online-marketing/how-to-use-video-to-promote-your-business
You can TCR music, poetry or self development material for internal knowing.
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Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
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To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more
things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”
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