Why your videos should be on You Tube
Andy Beard writes an incredibly popular blog on Niche Marketing. Andy has over 1400 feed subscribers so when he takes notice of a new product or service, well… people listen.
The other day, Andy was writing about 2 Surfer Dudes who know a thing about video.
Notice how Andy can easily share the videos that inspired him by merely picking up a bit of code from You Tube and adding it to his blog. VIOLA! Now the 1400+ subscribers to Andy’s blog can see the 2 Surfer Dudes videos as well.
Sure there are other ways to include video clips in your blog, but none that offer the “portability” of You Tube.
Video is a powerful tool, but even more powerful are videos that are completely portable. Being able to grab a line of code from You Tube so anyone can share the video via their blog is the biggest reason why your marketing videos should be on You Tube.
See, even though the video is playing on Andy’s blog, by clicking the “menu” button on the video, I can copy the URL… the YOU TUBE URL so I can see other videos uploaded by the surfer dudes to their You Tube Account.
I call this principle “bread crumb trail marketing.” You don’t expect a LOT of people to go to all that time and trouble, but the few that do and find their way to you are likely to be HOT prospects for your products or services. If you’re lucky, a big time blogger like Andy Beard will help distribute your bread crumbs which will lead a LOT more hot prospects to your business!
When Video marketing meets Viral marketing….
Video has ALWAYS been a powerful marketing tool, however when you combine the power of video with the internet, you create Viral Video which is by far the most powerful force in marketing!
Online videos are nothing new. Way back in 1995, you could watch video of an exploding whale on the internet. The catch? You had to wait 30 minutes for the clip to download and you had to have the correct software installed to view the video. Other than that, what was not to love?
Fast forward 12 years and online video is HOT! The rise of high speed internet now allows users to view the exploding whale video without waiting for the entire file to download. However, if you think online video is just for idiots to showcase their need to be removed from the genetic pool…think again.
Michelle MacPhearson in her post Video Marketing for Free Traffic offers a great admonition:
First, let’s forget the silly videos you’ll find all over YouTube of kids running into fences and demonstrating the newest dance move. While that kind of video can bring in hundreds of thousands of views, it won’t bring the targeted traffic you need.
Instead, consider making a video tightly targeted towards your niche.
EXACTLY!!!!
Creating a video that shows you’re more “daring” than anyone else is going to attract the under 20 crowd in droves. If that’s your target audience… then go for it! If it’s not, well then you need to know exactly who populates your niche market. To do that, of course, you need to know:
- Who specifically is included in your niche market?
- What are their Goals/Desires/Problems?
- How can you help them with #2?
A great resource to help with answering these essential questions is the book, Beyond the Niche. According to the book,
Fortunately, there really is a simple, intuitive formula you can use to uncover what your customers are really looking for when they enter the doors of your store, or click on your web site.Â
Once you know what’s important to members of your niche audience, then you have the fuel for your online video.
According to HP’s Eric Kintz, who writes The Marketing Excellence blog:
In October 2005, Nike produced a pseudo home digital video of soccer star Ronaldinho, practicing while wearing his new Nike Gold shoes. The clip was downloaded 3.5 million times on YouTube and provided Nike with tremendous exposure to its core young male audience. As the young generation moves away from traditional TV to dedicate its time to watching the likes of YouTube, I anticipate that more brands will develop entertainment ads.
The Nike example above is a GREAT example of creating a video that SPEAKS to your niche market and speaks DIRECTLY to their goals/desires/problems. In the Nike case above, young aspiring soccer players have a goal: to be a professional soccer player. By tapping into that goal/desire…. Nike created a video marketing tool that was positively VIRAL in nature.
That’s what happens when you focus on specific Goals/Desires/Problems when you create your video. It taps in and creates a life of it’s own.
Video has ALWAYS been a powerful marketing tool…. online video is just the latest method of delivery.  Unlike other methods though, the internet allows video to become viral and that is the magic most business owners are seeking!
Two Types of Video
I love my VW… quite honestly, it’s our favorite of three cars.
However, this video does NOT make me want to add another to our “stable”….
There are two types of video… video that entertains and video that sells.
If you can create a video that does BOTH, it’s magic, It’s also rare.
If you miss… as is the case above, you risk alienating your audience.
Think about your message…. THEN measure whether the message is a selling one or an entertaining one and plan accordingly.
Online Video’s Increasing Power
The Internet Marketing 2.0 blog has a post on the growing popularity of online video.
1. Video just got VERY important.
You may say well that holds true sites geared toward celebrities or bands etc. but wait look at these results. Here is a search on the particular car model Mclaren F1. Here is another example, caveman .
If you think online video is just for the entertainment industry, think again. As Internet Marketing 2.0 points out, online videos posted on You Tube and the like are gaining prominence.
The ability to tag your videos at You Tube is playing an IMPORTANT role. Tag with the right keywords, and you’ll find your You Tube offering is getting real respect from Google. (Could it be the result of Google’s ownership of the You Tube property?)
The Google acquisition of You Tube was the opening bell. Online video is definitely on the upswing.
Marketing videos and youtube
Most of my clients are surprised when I advise them to post their videos on the most popular video sharing site in the world, youtube.
Youtube is not only a video sharing site, it’s also a membership site. You can join groups and communicate with other video creators. It’s popularity means even if your videos aren’t a “hit” they’re at least available to a wide audience.
Here are some “rules” about posting your video to youtube, or any other online video sharing site so you’ll get the most “bang” for your video.
- Tag properly
The number one piece of advice about uploading to youtube is to choose your keyword tags carefully. Remember, these are the words that people will use to FIND videos just like yours. Some people are tempted to pick “popular” tags instead of tagging the video according to content. Choose the latter! Tag for content.
One client was THRILLED when she began tagging her video uploads. Suddenly, people were actually WATCHING her videos on youtube because she had tagged her videos.
- Keep adding videos
One of the great things about youtube is you create your own account. When someone sees one video you’ve created, they can click on your User ID and see OTHER videos you’ve added.
- Link to your web site Remember, if people LIKE your videos, they’re probably going to LIKE the content of your web site. Let them know where your web site is through your member account at youtube.
Youtube is a great place to feature your videos. Who knows? If it’s creative enough, it might become a youtube sensation!
Using online video as a bread crumb trail….
I ended a call with a client who asked, next time, to be enlightened as to the ways of Technorati.
Technorati is a social networking tool that acts in a manner similar to Google, except they track blogs. They track what bloggers are blogging about and they track links between blogs.
Right now, I’d like to illustrate how I found another blog…. and how featuring a you tube video pulled me in. Read more
Do you have a web cam?
If you’re a service professional, you NEED to get yourself in front of interested customers/clients. Read more
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