Marketing your Business with Video – Video Blogging

Wherever we go today we are inundated with Video Content.

What used to be confined to TV and cinema is now everywhere, from the internet to mobile phones and from digital displays in the bank to the seat-back on your flight. Whether we like it or not, we’re now in the video age; and it looks like it’s here to stay.

Lets look at the stats. Youtube was established in 2005 and in just five short years has reached 2 billion views a day! Around 24 hours of video is uploaded every minute and the average person spends 15 minutes a day on Youtube. Research also indicates that your website is 53 times more likely to appear at the top of a Google search if it contains video as opposed to one that doesn’t.

So, the world is crying out for video content and it’s easy enough to give it to them and get in on the action. Camcorders are becoming more and more affordable with great options such as the Flip HD or Sony Bloggie. Your choice of video could range from a video blog letting people know what you do right through to an all singing, all dancing corporate presentation with actors and animations.

Whichever option you go for will depend on your budget, your target market and what it is you’re marketing. It doesn’t have to be expensive to make sure your video looks professional though. Video content is highly disposable and a fickle Youtube user will happily move onto the next video if they don’t like what they see.

If you’re creating a video blog then make sure you invest in a tripod or use a web camera that is stationary. There’s nothing worse than a camera that wobbles around while a friend or partner holds it for you. You don’t want your audience getting seasick after all! You could always use a shelf or a ledge, but these narrow down where you can place your camera… go for the tripod I say.

Throw open the curtains as well and let some light in. Although budget camcorders can give great results they usually don’t work that well in low light conditions and you don’t want your video looking dark and dingy. Last but not least, think about your background. Try and sit in a clean, uncluttered area and keep in mind what the viewer can see behind you. You want your audience to be focused on you, not the remnants of your left over pizza boxes in the background! You could also pick up a cheap backdrop from a fabric/ home-furnishings shop, or even use a green screen… but that’s maybe a discussion for another blog post!

You should also think about adding a few choice elements to enhance the production of your video. One option would be to have a bar of text along the bottom showing who you are and what you do/your company name (Called a lower-third) like they do when interviewing someone on the news. Another option would be to have an intro sequence that you add to all your videos to add brand recognition. These can all be added relatively easily in an editing system. Programs like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie would do the job.

What to cover though? There’s no hard and fast rules on this unfortunately as that depends on your product/service and intended audience, and each of them will probably want different things. In most cases you want to keep your video relatively simple. Stick to who you are, what you do and maybe something that sets you apart from competitors or why somebody would want your product/service. Try not to bog your viewer down with unnecessary information, but on the other hand don’t let them go away from your video with unanswered questions.

Always watch your video back before posting and ask yourself if you have covered everything. Consider what a potential customer would want to know after watching your video and have you covered it. If possible, get a friend to watch it for you. The best advice when making your video is to relax and have fun! Don’t be afraid of letting your personality come through on your video… this is a video blog after all, not a public service announcement! People connect with people so don’t forget to smile! You do have to retain a certain level of professionalism though as you want to come across as the responsible business owner/service provider that you are. All I’m saying is best not to have a few large vodkas before the cameras roll!

And last but not least (We’re nearly done, hang in there!) you need to make sure your audience can find you. There are billions of videos on the net and we want to make sure that your prospective customers can find you. Make your tags work for you in your Youtube video so you’re getting the position you deserve in the search results. You should have your specific video tags and also your ‘core tags’. Video tags relating to that specific video and core tags relating to you and your company. Lets take an example… you run a fitness club in Newcastle in the north east of England and you’re announcing a new yoga class with a discount for new members. Your video tags would be yoga, well-being, discount, new, classes. Your core tags would be fitness club, gym, health club, Newcastle, north east, north, England. These core tags should be on every video you post to maintain consistency within search results. Try and imagine what you would type into the search box if you were looking for yourself but without using your name!

I’m pretty sure you can put in as many tags as you like, but I’d recommend at least ten good quality tags to help people find you. You could even save your core tags in a text document to make sure you’re putting the same ones in each time and save you having to write them out every time. They don’t have to stay the same forever. Try changing or adding to them to see if your rankings change.

Once your video is up and running then let people know about it. Post links on Facebook and Twitter or embed the video onto your website. Try not to bombard your followers though, you might notice people jumping ship if you fill up somebody’s wall with dozens of links! Regarding Twitter, think of the time of day that you post your link as well. Are your target market people who work from home… post your link in the day. Have a potential market overseas… take the time difference into account to get maximum exposure without resorting to multiple posts. A couple of well timed announcements can work wonders.

In conclusion… there’s a captive audience out there that want video. It’s now easier than ever to provide it to them so what are you waiting for?!

If anyone has any questions on video production/equipment or just needs a bit of friendly advice then feel free to comment and I’ll be happy to get back to you. If I don’t know the answer then I’ll do my best to try and find out for you. If you’d rather send a private message then you can so so on the contact page at the link below…

Scott

www.stencilmedia.co.uk/contact

100 Years of Visual Effects

Nice little video here that’s been doing the rounds for the last year or so. It’s a breif overview of visual effects throughout the years. Check it out!

100 Years of Visual Effects