Online Video Marketing and Optimization - Seattle Chamber Presentation 3/18

Join the Martini Media team on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce for in interactive presentation about online video marketing and optimization. Our talk is part of their Technology Thursday series - a lunch program that focuses on business technology solutions. Our goal for this discussion is to not only talk about video marketing and the types of online videos a business can create, but also to show how to use technology to increase views and measure success.

Topics for the discussion include:

• Why you should use video to market your business online: This will be a discussion about the key business cases for using video online.
• What types of sales-oriented videos should you create for your business: Here we will dive deeper into the types of videos you can create, giving an example of each one and a possible scenario it should be used in.
• Using social networks and search to increase views: Once a video is created, you have a single piece of content that can be transferred and embedded online. We call this concept the "Viral Ecosystem." The second part of this equation is optimizing your video content so it is discoverable by searchers.
• Understanding analytics and how to measure success: Many business owners or marketers get caught up on views, but there are other analytics that should be considered when evaluating a video campaign. We will discuss the most popular tools here, and we will cite examples where video gave marketers measurable results.

Visit the Chamber website to register for the session, or learn more about the Chamber and the other programs they offer. If you are attending the session, feel free to email me any questions you have prior to the event. We hope to see you there!

Video and E-Commerce: Using Video to Sell Your Products Online

There is no doubt about it - a well-produced video sells products. In an A to B study by online retailer eBags, conversion rates increased 50 percent on pages with video when the play button was clicked over pages with no video. That conversion rate increased to 138 percent when the user watched the entire video. Video turns shoppers into buyers.

Video helps your customers understand what your products are, how they can use them, and what they need to do to make the purchase.

1. Video can show what a product does when words and photos fail to illustrate. The less time it takes for your consumer to understand what your product does, the more likely they will purchase it.
2. Video can show how a product or services solves a problem, giving the user more motivation to make the purchase to solve their own problems. This is especially useful if you are able to craft a story line about your products use. This story line doesn't have to be too complicated - it could be as simple as setting up a problem and showing how your product solves it. Our Potlifter video is a great example of this. By showing multiple uses for the product, we give the audience more ways to apply the product's use to their lives.
3. With video, you can deliver a complete sales message - from problem, to solution, to call to action - all under a minute. Once you are finished telling your product's story, tell them how to order it. If the video is on your product detail page, tell the viewer what button they need to click on to add it to their shopping cart. If the video is on YouTube, include a link to where they can order the product on your website. You've made it easy for your viewer to understand what your product does and why they need it, now make it easy for them to actually buy it.

There are a few things to consider if you are going to produce videos of your products for your e-commerce site. First, just like how you wouldn't post poor-quality photos on your site, your videos shouldn't be poor quality either. They should be well produced, so hire a professional to help you if you don't have the equipment or a producer to do it in house. They should also be well written - prepare a script for each product or hire a writer to help you.

And these videos can be used offline as well. Burn them onto a DVD to include with your media kit, or loop them to play at a trade show. With some planning and professional help, you can create a library of videos to help you sell your products or services both online and off.

Superbowl Ads - Best Of

Well, the big game is always the stage for the advertising industry's blockbuster ads, their spielbergian moment to capture the collective imagination of the largest viewing audience possible, as well as its disposable income.

From a viral and internet marketing perspective, what stands out is broadcast media borrowing heavily from hits on the web. There seemed to be a high perponderance of cute, feral creatures playing violin or watching car ads, something that is always sure on the internet to increase your YouTube hits. And the vizio ad featured a greatest hits collection of the last few years's most popular viral sensations. What it all adds up to is this; viral marketing doesn't stop where the internet ends. It can find itself at a front row seat on the greatest show on earth, without the sting of the 1 million dollar minimum media buys.

Overall, there were a couple of real standouts. The Volkswagen ad with Stevie Wonder was simply brilliant. By referencing the "slugbug" phenomena everyone has particpated in at one point in their lives, it formed a very simple, easygoing connection with their audience. Following that up with a great Stevie Wonder scene at the end...well...was a home run (or shall we say...touchdown)?

On the down side, there was a lot of weirdness. And a lot of men in their underwear. Maybe this is the dark side of viral marketing rearing its ugly head. Viral and internet marketing have raised the bar in terms of what really entertains people. Ads can no longer afford not to be entertaining to some degree. Taking risks is essential, and not every risk panned out. The Taco Bell ad with Charles Barkley was chaos. The GoDaddy ads were, well...just cheezy. All in all, risks do have to be taken, but execution is everything.

From a marketing point of view, it all ads up to the fact that viral internet marketing has never been more influencial. Usually Superbowl Sunday sets the tone for a company's ad campaign for the year to come. Now, the Big Game finds itself playing no-huddle hurry up offense, trying to beat its young internet brother to the punchline.

A Beginner's Guide to Video SEO

Video is a great tool to teach your customers about your product or service's competitive advantage, but it can also be used as a tool to help your potential customers find you. Below are some tips to help improve your exposure in search results using video shares.

1. Use keywords in your video title: This is probably the most important factor influencing placement in search results. If you want more customers to find your video, use relevant keywords - such as your business type and location - in the title rather than just your business name.
2. Use keywords in your description text and tags: Like the video title, descriptions and tags also factor in search results. After the title, users will read the description in search results. Above all else, the description should make sense and accurately describe the video, so focus on readability over keyword stuffing. If needed, place your excess keywords in the tag field.
3. Caption your video: As discussed in a prior post, Google is rolling out a feature that will automatically caption YouTube videos, helping your SEO by making it easier for search engines to read your content. Until then, there are a few easy options to caption videos. Use CaptionTube to manually add text and easily time it to your video. Or you can use Google Voice's technology to automatically time your captions using an uploaded transcript.
4. Post to multiple shares: Although YouTube is by far the most popular, each video share has a different audience. Posting to multiple shares will help you capture the most audience. This could also be an opportunity to test different title, description, and tag text.
5. Share with your friends and encourage comments: As we move to real-time search, it is more important to make sure users are continuing to engage with your content. Share with your family and friends. Pass your videos along to potential customers. Use the comment section to engage with viewers and encourage conversation.

Before you try to reach new customers through video SEO, make sure that your content is professionally shot and edited. A poorly executed and produced video will not portray credibility to the viewer. As part of our baseline production package, Martini Media optimizes our client's video content by performing steps 1 through 4 above. We leave the fun part up to you - sharing with your friends and customers!