May 072013
 

Video Marketing Rises in Popularity: Do You Have a Strategy?

video marketing strategy New Horizon 123 Online videos have become more accessible and are starting to become expected by your website visitors. As a business owner, you really want to give your prospective clients what they are looking for, make their user-experience easier, make your brand stand-out, be memorable, and increase your leads to sales conversions. Make your product or service offerings clear, creative, and easy-to-understand in the 3 seconds you have of your target’s attention before they are moving onto the next site.

It always helps to put yourself in the shoes of your prospects. If you are looking for a product or service, come across two sites with the same offerings – all other things being equal – would you spend more time on the website that had a compelling video right on the home page that quickly and concisely answers your questions or one that has no video and a lot of text to read through in order to determine if that site’s offering fulfills your needs?

Do You Have A Video Strategy?

So now you have realized that you need to use a video to make your website visitor quickly “get” what you are about. You also know that the more compelling and engaging your video is, the more likely they will be to stay and watch the video. Now that you know where you want to be, how do you get “there”? Jumping in without knowing exactly where you are going is likely to get you “lost”.

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May 032013
 

What is Your Goal?

video marketing strategy
Video Marketing just like any other marketing requires a strategy. Creating a video alone is not enough. What are you going to do with the video? Before you start your video you need to know what your goal is. Not everyone will have the same goals and/or strategies.

This post is a result of my recent experience working with someone whose goal for a video was not the same as mine, hence the reminder to myself to start at step one!

Make sure your goals and your client’s are in alignment!

Below are the strategies I use when creating videos as “teasers”. They might not work for everyone but for the most part, I have had success with this strategy. Hopefully, you will find it helpful. :)

Engage the Audience

If you don’t grab the views attention in the first few seconds, you will lose them and the remainder of your video content will not be seen. This is my favorite area as it allows me to be creative. Everyone has different tastes as far as images and music and you need to be certain that your client’s preferences are met if you are making a video for a client. Hence my video order form where I specifically ask the client to specify their preferences. For my own videos, I like to use fun, sometimes silly, definitely memorable, and very creative images, animations, and music. I realize that not everyone has the same tastes as I do and you can’t please everyone all the time. I was actually recently surprised to hear that a recent client loved what I refer to as the “Pillsbury dough boy guys” – you never know until you ask.

Provide an Outline

The video should summarize your content and basically be an outline of where your viewer can find “more” information. If you provide ALL the details and your video is totally comprehensive, you have now given a tutorial rather than a “teaser”/introduction video. Of course, a tutorial is also a video and if this is your goal – then you need to create a tutorial. Here is an example of a video I did according to this strategy: The 16th Way to Leverage Your Linkedin Account: The Behance Network. Here is the tutorial I created for the same topic: How to Use The 16th Way to Leverage Your Linkedin Account. See, you can have more than one strategy but you need to know which strategy you are following BEFORE you create yours or a client video.

Establish Yourself as a Thought Leader

This is key! If you don’t let your target know that you are the source of valuable information, they won’t know where to go when they need or want more information.

People like to do business with people they know and trust. Use your videos to help your target market “know” you and trust that you are your industry’s expert. How do you do that? Continue to provide them with information they want/need so that YOU or YOUR business is where they will go when they need or want to make a purchase. This is also a great way to up-sell an existing client – make yourself the “source” for value.

Continuously Provide Value

A cute or entertaining video is fine and if your goal is ONLY to entertain – then you have achieved that goal. However, if your goal is to establish yourself as a thought-leader, you need to be sure your video has valuable content. Have you ever watched a video or read an article that looks as though you are going to learn something from it and then when you are done you realize you learned nothing? Don’t tell your audience in your title or description that they will learn something and then not provide that content. Deliver on what you promise and continue to provide value!

Make Them Want to Hear More

If you give away ALL the information in your video, what is left for the viewer to do? If you are providing a tutorial, then yes, do provide all the information or you will not be delivering what you promise. However, if your goal (there is that “word” again) is to help establish you as a thought leader, create an awareness about a product or service, let people know where they should go for more information, have them watch a full tutorial, or make a purchase, then don’t give away the store in this video. If you want them to do more but include EVERYTHING in this video, guess what? They have no reason to look any further! TELL them what their next step is so that if they choose to, they can take that step. Here is an example of a “Teaser Video”: 15 Ways to Develop Your Linkedin Account to Generate Sale. The goal of this video was to get the viewer to the FULL tutorial presentation. This is the call to action at the end of this video – it leads directly to the full presentation. See the difference between what I am calling a “Teaser” video and a tutorial? There are many different possible goals/strategies for a video – just be sure you know before you start, what your goal is.

Call to Action

What do you want the viewer to do after watching your video? If you don’t know exactly what that is, neither will they.

Do You Have a Video Marketing Strategy?

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Mar 272013
 

Are You Including Video Marketing in Your Local Business Marketing Mix?

VloggingOver 3 billion videos are viewed on YouTube every single day. Consumers who view an online video are 85% more likely to make a product purchase (source: internetretailer). What are you waiting for?

Benefits of Video Marketing

It’s Inexpensive: Creating your video doesn’t require any fancy equipment and many of us already have what we need to get started. Getting your video online is free through many services or costs very little to host on your own website.

It’s Targeted: In the “olden days”, the only place you could really get your video seen by thousands, or even millions, was by advertising on TV which can be VERY expensive. In addition, inevitably you are paying to have your commercial shown to people who aren’t likely to ever become your customers.

With video marketing, you can laser target your videos to reach a specific audience and market to that audience, so that your message gets in front of the right people. And luckily, even though people outside your market may view your videos, it doesn’t have to cost you a penny to have them see it.

It’s Trackable: Online marketing is much easier to track than traditional media venues with the availability of detailed analytics and tracking,  from how many times your videos are viewed, to how many people ordered your product or service because of a video, you have these statistics at your fingertips 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Visibility in Local Search: One important thing to realize that is that today’s customer is Internet and tech savvy. Just because they’re in your local area it doesn’t mean they know how to find you. People no longer look in the Yellow pages when searching for something – they “Google” it. They’re searching online, looking for reviews and recommendations before they visit your store or office.

If they can’t find you online, then they aren’t going to walk through your door. Video helps you get in front of a local audience that is already looking for a business like yours.

Increases Website Traffic: Video marketing can be a great source of extra traffic to your website. No, you’re probably not going to see millions of visitors every day and you may not become a YouTube sensation, but you can certainly grow your targeted traffic and turn many of those visitors into paying customers and clients.

• Keep Visitors on Your Site Longer: Having a video on your website increases the length a visitor stays on your website, especially if your video is engaging and compelling.

Establish Yourself as an Expert: People want to do business with people who know what they’re doing. Online video provides you with the opportunity to show that you’re knowledgeable in your area of expertise.

Whether you’re a cosmetic dentist demonstrating a certain procedure or a lawyer advising fathers on how to get fair access to their children, informative videos show you to be a professional that potential customers can turn to.

Increased Credibility: Not only do people look for businesses that know what they’re doing, they want to feel like they can trust them and that, in some way, they know them. Video helps create a more meaningful connection to viewers to a much greater extent than text or images alone.

Increase Loyalty from Existing Customers: As a business owner, you already know that it’s easier to get an existing customer to buy from you again than it is to acquire a new customer. Our regulars are our bread and butter. There’s no doubt about that. Of course, it’s important to keep growing your clientele, but it’s crucial that you stay in the mind of customers who have purchased from you before. Video is a great way to do that.

Whether it’s providing helpful how-to information or sending a video message of thanks, there is so much potential to tap into with your video camera.

Need Some Help With Your Local Business Video Marketing?

We have options starting as low as $45. Get more details HERE!

Local Niche Market Videos New Horizons 123

 

Oct 082012
 

You Can’t Afford NOT To Be Findable In Today’s Market

found in searchSmall businesses should understand that the Internet is replacing the Yellow Pages. And just like the good ole days of the Yellow Pages, when a customer starts searching they are usually ready to buy.

Will Your Potential Clients Be Able To Find You?

If your business doesn’t have an Internet presence as part of your Marketing Strategy then you probably can’t be found in the place where 80% of potential customers start their search for your product or service.

Your Customers Expect You To Be On The Internet!

Whether you are a real estate agency, plumber, dentist, lawyer, contractor, it doesn’t matter, if you can’t be found on the Internet you are losing business. Even if you have a website that isn’t being promoted it’s like putting up a billboard in the desert. It still means NO customers.

Internet Marketing is NOT Just About Having a Website. It’s About Being Found by Customers Ready to do Business With You and Making More Sales!

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Jun 232012
 

How Do You Make Sure Your Marketing Message is Heard as Your Target Travels Along the Information Highway?information marketing message

You must first identify your ideal client.

Clearly describe what you do.

Use action words.

Don’t be boring!

Deliver your message in video.

Pinpoint the main benefits of your offering(s).

Deliver your message on websites, blogs, newsletters, emails, promotional materials and more.

Make sure your Marketing Message is… Descriptive, consistent, valuable, and …UNFORGETTABLE!

video marketing

Jan 162012
 

Mavis Nong is Having a Blog Engage Membership Contest

Mavis Nong

Are you a blogger? Have you heard of Mavis Nong? I am sure you have unless you are living in a cave :) Well folks, Mavis is running a contest on her blog!

You can find all the details you need on her blog, AND, guess where else? In the video below.

Enjoy!

Jan 212011
 

What Makes a Good Elevator Pitch?

Jeannette Paladino, Writer-in-Chief at Write Speak Sell and Patricia Weber, Business Coach for Introverts and Shy suggest that some people struggle with coming up with an effective elevator pitch because they haven't thought through their personal brands. Pat and Jeannette joined forces in a collaborative project and wrote an e-book full of practical advice and a wealth of knowledge called: Repairing the Elevator Speech To Burnish Your Personal Brand". Stay tuned for more information on their e-book…

In the meantime, Pat & Jeannette were kind enough to let me barge in on their collaboration and add some of my "stuff" via video. Enjoy!