Prime Video Productions

You Tube Content Up 30%

2012-01-24T11:40:00.001Z

Some stats just announced.

You Tube has grown 30% in 8 months

1 hour of video is loaded every second!!

Are you using You Tube effectively to promote your business or skill?

Get Your Emails Opened, Read And Responded To - Part 2

2012-01-18T14:40:00.002Z

Here's Part 2 of how to generate more business through email from Ford Henderson. Email is a very powerful way to generate more clients and new business. Can you improve the results you get from email by testing some of these ideas?

Only send emails to people who have given you permission to contact them.
Don't send unsolicited email messages to people - you'll most likely annoy them to the point where they report you to their internet service provider as a spammer, which will get you blacklisted.

Only ever send emails to those people who've given you explicit permission (opted-in).
Don't Forget A Call to Action
Although open rates are important, the purpose of your email is to get a response from your readers.

One of the critical reasons email marketing can produce indifferent results is that there is no clear call to action.

Before you send your email think carefully why you are sending it and what you want the reader to do.

What specific action do you want them to take? (make an appointment, buy one of your products, click a link to view a blog post or download a report, etc.).
Use urgency to compel people to take action
Put a deadline in your email that will motivate people to take immediate action. For example, 'Three spaces left' or 'Offer ends by midnight Friday', etc.
Check your emails for spam before you send them
Put your email copy through a spam content checker to identify any words or phrases that will be regarded as spam.

Contrary to opinion, the word 'free' won't result in your email being blocked by spam filters. People do respond to free offers.

What will trigger a spam block response is if 'free' is the first word of your subject line or if it's all written in capital letters or followed by an exclamation mark.
Maintain frequent contact
You need to maintain a balance between keeping in regular contact with your subscribers and bombarding them with so many messages that they view your emails as unwelcome intrusions and unsubscribe from your list.

To find out how to get the best responses try sending your email messages at different times of the day and on different days of the week

Some experts believe if you're marketing to businesses, you should send emails Tuesday through to Thursday between 9.30 am and 3 pm.

Each target market is different so test and measure to find out what works best for your readers.

Ford Henderson offer many services and is happy for a brief chat, to find out how he can help you improve your marketing and increase the number of clients you have.

You can contact him on 0191 257 2454

Get Your Emails Opened, Read And Responded To - Part 1

2011-12-28T12:14:00.004Z

I found this article by Ford Henderson and thought it may be helpful.

When it's used effectively, email can pack a powerful marketing punch. It's also a low-cost marketing technique which can result in immediate new business.

However, email open rates are falling. People are overwhelmed by the number of emails that arrive in their in boxes every day and night.

That means there is an even greater need for your emails to stand-out from the rest so that they are the ones that get opened, read and responded to.

Here are some tips that will help you to improve your email marketing success:

1. Monitor your open rates

An open rate is simply the number of people who received your email and opened it.

Keep monitoring open rates to find out what your market responds to.

What triggers their interest and attracts their attention?

2. Take care with your 'from' line

Research has revealed that more than half of all email recipients look at both the 'from' line and the subject line of a message before deciding to open or delete it.

Choose a 'from' line that people will recognise and trust (for example, the name of your company, your name, or the newsletter they've opted to receive).

3. Personalise the subject line

Use the first name of the person you are sending the email to. Studies have shown that personalising subject lines can almost double the likelihood of your email being opened.

Test your market and see if personalised subject lines work better than generic subject lines.

4. Make your subject line attention-grabbing

Your subject line plays a hugely important role in the success of your email marketing campaign.

People make the decision about whether to open or delete your email based for the most part on your subject line so it needs to instantly grab your reader's attention.

It should clearly convey what people can expect to read in your email, what's in it for them or what you want them to do as a result of reading it.
Think of the subject line as a headline in a Newspaper - Interesting, relevant and compelling enough to win attention.

5. Keep the subject line brief

Your subject line should be no more than 50 characters in length, including spaces between words.

The most important part of the subject line is at the beginning so put key benefits at the start of the email. Test some of these to find out what works for you.

Part 2 will follow next week.

Contact Ford on : 0191 257 2454 fords@fordhendersonmarketing.com

How To Get the Best Result from Your Video Presentation / Stage Presentation

2011-11-25T15:19:00.000Z

This is the first part of helpful tips on presentations

Firstly introduce yourself and company (keep very brief).
Explain the benefits and how you are going to help the client, fix their problems etc.
Speak clearly and have a good pace, the average attention span is about 30 seconds, so you need to hold people’s attention.
Less is more – focus on your targeted audience and key messages you want to convey. Use pauses to allow the audience to digest your message.
Why should the client use you, what makes you different. Use very brief examples.
Story telling is very powerful.
Be confident, passionate and enthusiastic in what you have to say.
Vary facial expressions and smile.
Stand tall and proud.
Do not pace back and forth or rock (lean forward / backwards).
Although it is not advisable to move around erratically, some structured movement can enhance your presentation.
Concentrate on what you are doing, be focussed, don’t lose your train of thought.
The use of props (where appropriate) can help clients remember you.
Vary the pitch of your voice, which adds realism and interest to what you say.
When asked a question, firstly thank the person for the question. Then repeat the question to ensure you have understood it correctly and all of the audience has heard it. After answering it, ask the questioner if that has answered their question.
Answer questions honestly. If you do not know the answer, do not try and talk around it, but agree to take it off line and get back to them with the answer.
At the end of the presentation, ask them what you want them to do next.
Be specific and Keep It Simple – one thing for them to do.
Use a memory hook for your business.

Practice and prepare - make it your own. Contact us to see how we can help you.

Some tips on dressing for your presentation coming soon.

Pricing

2011-11-10T11:07:00.000Z

I saw this article and thought it may be useful to share.

Every business struggles with pricing decisions. Last night I watched Channel 5′s (UK) “The Hotel Inspector” and the central point of that episode was that the hoteliers weren’t charging enough for their premium service and were soon to go under. A major element of the turnaround was to….raise the price.

Irrational Decisions?

I recommend that you read “Predictably Irrational” by behavioural economist Dan Ariely, or at least watch this video of him at a TED conference.

Decoy Pricing

The price people pay is very heavily influenced by what they see as the alternatives displayed alongside. So Dan Ariely ran an experiment with 100 students at MIT using a couple of different adverts for subscriptions to The Economist.

Firstly he showed them this one: The online subscription only cost $59 but there were two other options – the print version alone (at $125) or the print version plus the online version (again at $125). The result was that:

16% chose the $59 online subscription
84% chose the combined print and online subscription at $125
nobody chose the $125 print version alone

But then he created a second advertisement for subscriptions which left out the “Print only” option at $125. With these pricing options 100 MIT students chose as follows:

68% chose the online subscription at $59
32% chose the combined online and print option at $125

So the “print subscription alone” option in the first example (which nobody chose to purchase) was far from redundant – it guided people towards the “print plus online” option. The effect on revenues of the “print plus online” option being present or not would be substantial. Assuming 100 purchases in each case in line with the students choices:

The 1st advertisement would generate $11,444 revenue
The 2nd advertisement would generate $8,012 revenue (a 30% decrease!)

Of course the profit picture may be quite different (we don’t know the costs of producing & distributing the print and online versions), but these are not marginal figures. How you present your pricing options is key. The next post will look at further examples of the mysteries of pricing. Original Article by Tim Latham 01536 609609
Full article:http://www.unconsultancy.com/category/blog/

Does Your Marketing Generate New Clients or Just Waste Your Money?

2011-10-28T09:54:00.000+01:00

A recent article by Ford Henderson (0191 257 2454) that I thought would be useful It covers the basics of marketing that so many of us forget in the day to day efforts to grow our businesses.

Marketing a small business can be tough if you are not sure what to do. You can waste a lot of money, time and energy and still not get the results you are after.
Marketing successfully is all about understanding the relationship between the following elements:

Your target market - Who are you targeting?

Your message - What are you saying to them?

Your medium - How you are communicating with them?

I learned this from Dan Kennedy and it has served me well in all of my businesses.
Let's look at each element in more detail:
Your Target Market

It's absolutely crucial that you identify your market. The truth is that you can be offering a world-beating service and using a variety of media to get your message out there, but if you've have picked a poor or weak target market, you'll never get the results you want.
So, what is a good target market? It's one that:

Has a big problem for which they are desperate to find (and pay for) a solution
Has the money to pay you
Is easy and inexpensive to communicate with

Does your market meet this requirement? If it doesn't, stop wasting money and time and choose a better target market.

Your Message
The message you send to your target market must address their problems and aspirations; explain the value and results you provide; and why your solution is the only one they should consider.
If you deliver the same message as your competitors, why should a prospect choose you over anyone else? You must provide compelling reasons for them to choose you.
Developing such a message will take time and effort on your part but the results will be worth it.

Your Medium
You need to find out where your target market goes to find information and place your message there. The only way to do that is to investigate.
Ask your existing clients. Look at your competitors. Research online to discover the forums your audience participate in, the trade organisations they belong to and the publications they read.
There are many ways to send your message (including direct mail, social media, strategic alliances, leaflets, referrals, adverts in trade journals, email marketing, articles, press releases, SEO, etc.) but you must use the ones that will be noticed by your target market.
To get more clients through the door, these three elements (market, message and medium) need to be synchronised.
Begin by choosing the right target market then develop a message that will grab their attention, and use the right medium to reach them.

I hope you found this useful. Please let me know what you think.

So how much does a video cost to promote my business ?

2011-10-10T20:19:00.002+01:00

Web video is used by many marketers and businesses to promote their products and services. How else can you engage with millions of potential clients for the cost of a leaflet drop? Explain you services to potential clients, highlight the benefits or explain complex messages in a simple way.

Today with current technology, producing videos has come right down in price, but how much should you expect to pay. Below are some of the main cost factors:

Location: If you are in London expect to pay top prices. A general rule of thumb, as you go north in the UK, the cost of video production appears to drop.

Perhaps it’s the lower overheads! E.g. If a video production company film mainly on location and hire facilities such as studios, then their overhead cost will be less. This saving can then be passed onto the clients.

Quality level: There are wide variations in video production company’s quality and competence. I have listed some below:
Level 1 – the amateur / hobbyist who likes making videos. This person has very few overhead costs, probably no insurance and works for pocket money. With this person you may get a satisfactory result but equipment and knowledge is probably very limited with no guarantees. Typical adverts in local papers will highlight very low cost video production. Engage at your own risk.

Level 2 – the graduate straight out of university. This person will know the theory, but lacks in depth experience as well as having limited equipment due to low capital investment. Results can vary a great deal and you take the risk.

Level 3 – the small professional video production company with output to industry standards. This company will have 1 to 3 staff, who will have qualifications and experience, belong to a recognised professional body. They will have a variety of video equipment e.g. radio mikes, lighting etc..

The company will run video production as a sole business i.e. not have additional services such as photographic, web design or graphic design business.

These people are actually really good at their job. If you want to make a really professional video, you probably need this level of resources.

Level 4 - the large professional video production company with their own offices, studio and overheads necessitating big expenditure!

This company will have videographers with qualifications and experience, belong to a recognised professional body and run video production as a sole as described in level 3 above.

These people are really good at their job, although you may not get the same personal service of the small professional company. If you want to make a really professional video and have a large budget, you should use this level of resources.

Manpower costs: Depending on the levels of quality listed above and expertise, costs can be anywhere between minimum wage all the way to thousands per day. These costs grow if you also get the production company to employ professional actors, voice over artists, script writers etc.
You can save money by finding people who can do some of these jobs themselves, but beware, if they are doing too much, quality can suffer.

So there you have it, you can pay very little for your business video, but how cheap do you want your company to look?
Get to know the company and understand what they can and can not do before engaging them for that important video.

8 Tips For Creating A Successful Social Video Campaign (an extract from a Real SEO article)

2011-09-08T11:57:00.000+01:00

Through the massive power of the internet and social media, videos allow us to share ideas, spread information and promote fads and styles. The aim of social media videos – as with any promotional tool – is to provide your viewers something of interest that grabs their attention and keeps them coming back for more.

Here are 8 tips to making great social media videos that work:

Publish Regularly

If you want regular viewers, you need to post content regularly. The most successful blogs, websites and social media accounts are updated frequently and contain useful information for those viewing.

Regularly publishing means your great social media videos will be taken more seriously and will be viewed more often by a relevant audience.

Bring High Energy

A lot of people watch videos from their work or college where they have been numbed from the workload. To break them from their entrancing boredom, bring high energy into your social media videos.

Powerful, explosive videos spread quickly through the internet world.

Teach Creatively

Most students fail to learn because they are not being taught in a way that is fun or engaging. If you want people to watch your social media videos, you need to teach creatively. Use demonstrations and tutorials to breakdown complex issues and subjects. Top-10 lists, best of’s, and how-to’s are among the most watched videos on the web for a reason, they are easy to watch.

Involve Others

Think of your social media videos as parties: you want to invite as many interesting, cool, and informative people as you can. Invite experts, gurus, professionals and teachers to star in your productions and talk about what they know and do best.

Engage with Viewers

If a viewer feels like their presence isn’t appreciated, they will take it somewhere else, which means other websites with other videos. If you want to maintain your traffic, you need to engage with viewers. You do this by letting them know you appreciate their audience. Follow up on emails, respond to comments, and answer questions.

Wow Viewers

Old news is not news. In order to drive fresh, interested eyeballs to your social media videos, you need to wow viewers. Stale coverage and predictable advice will quickly turn them away.

Always strive to be interesting and unpredictable. Find angles that haven’t been addressed.

Call to Action

It’s not enough to get people to watch your social media videos. You need to get them to follow, track, and monitor your every move. Giving them a call-to-action makes this possible. When you have a following you create a platform for releasing products and information pertinent to your organization.

Make Content Sharable

Great social media videos are like bouncing balls. They pass from one person to another, across playgrounds and through town. Catchy titles, readable text, simple addresses and plenty of links make content sharable… not to mention the vast amount of social media venues. Allow your viewers to share videos easily through major social media networks by attaching links, likes, pluses, diggs, and every other outlet to each and every video you publish.

http://www.reelseo.com/8-tip-social-video/

Web Video is Massive and Growing

2011-08-18T10:26:00.000+01:00

Latest YouTube Stats

Taken from a recent article.

Over last weekend (25-05-2011), YouTube had over 3 billion views in a day, a 50% increase over last year. That’s the equivalent of nearly half the world’s population watching a YouTube video each day, or every U.S. resident watching at least nine videos a day.

(http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/thanks-youtube-community-for-two-big.html)

Twitter uses video to show of their service with a video.

Cisco Figures on Video - forecast to 2015

Global Internet video traffic surpassed global peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic in 2010, and by 2012 Internet video will account for over 50 percent of consumer Internet traffic.

As anticipated, as of 2010 P2P traffic is no longer the largest Internet traffic type, for the first time in 10 years. Internet video was 40 percent of consumer Internet traffic in 2010 and will reach 50 percent by year-end 2012.

It would take over 5 years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks every second in 2015. Every second, 1 million minutes of video content will cross the network in 2015.

Internet video is now 40 percent of consumer Internet traffic, and will reach 62 percent by the end of 2015, not including the amount of video exchanged through P2P file sharing. The sum of all forms of video (TV, video on demand [VoD], Internet, and P2P) will continue to be approximately 90 percent of global consumer traffic by 2015.

Internet video to TV tripled in 2010. Internet video to TV will continue to grow at a rapid pace, increasing 17-fold by 2015. Internet video to TV will be over 16 percent of consumer Internet video traffic in 2015, up from 7 percent in 2010.

Video-on-demand traffic will triple by 2015. The amount of VoD traffic in 2015 will be equivalent to 3 billion DVDs per month.

High-definition video-on-demand will surpass standard definition by the end of 2011. By 2015, high-definition Internet video will comprise 77 percent of VoD.

(Full article http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-481360_ns827_Networking_Solutions_White_Paper.html)

So what are you doing to get your video on line?

Great Video Ads

2011-08-16T11:28:00.000+01:00

How to include numerous elements into a video to make it memorable.

Improve your web site ranking with video

2011-08-05T10:15:00.000+01:00

YouTube is the biggest video sharing site. The statistics are mind boggling (Source: Google March 2011):-

YouTube has more than 2 billion views every single day
24 hours of video is uploaded every single minute
The average person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube

There is a mass of information on the web to improve your web site ranking with video.

Below are some links to some independent stats/information.

Why use video to improve web site ranking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z7NBUA6EzI

Do You Use Video Marketing?

2011-07-19T11:57:00.000+01:00

Latest comScore Web Video Statistics - Top 10 Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers
Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in June with 149.3 million unique viewers, followed by VEVO with 63.0 million viewers and Yahoo! Sites with 52.7 million viewers. Microsoft Sites came in fourth with 50.7 million viewers, while Viacom Digital ranked fifth with 49.5 million viewers. Total viewing sessions surpassed the 6 billion mark for the first time, with Google Sites generating the highest number of viewing sessions (2.3 billion) and highest time spent per viewer (324 minutes, or 5.4 hours).

Top U.S. Online Video Properties Ranked by Unique Video Viewers June 2011 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore Video Metrix
Property	Total Unique Viewers (000)	*Viewing Sessions (000)**	Minutes per Viewer
Total Internet : Total Audience	178,447	6,255,493	1,008.3
Google Sites	149,281	2,311,116	324.1
VEVO	63,003	399,503	112.0
Yahoo! Sites	52,665	247,834	34.8
Microsoft Sites	50,663	286,892	32.8
Viacom Digital	49,493	274,933	76.8
Facebook.com	47,687	167,137	20.7
AOL, Inc.	43,915	251,987	49.3
Turner Digital	30,063	121,301	46.2
Hulu	26,701	156,939	184.8
Amazon Sites	21,247	43,193	8.3

*A viewing session is defined as a period of time with continuous video viewing
followed by a 30-minute period of video inactivity.

With these numbers all companies should have some video content on the web!

How To Talk on Camera

2011-07-04T11:42:00.000+01:00

When we talk to one another we usually look straight at the other person.
Therefore the most powerful way to talk on camera is to talk directly to the camera.
However presenting straight to camera is a skill and takes lots of practice, as talking to a piece of glass doesn't give eye contact to react to.

You could use an autocue, like TV newsreaders, however that is another skill set and is not easy to do and look natural. An autocue (for those not familiar with it) uses a piece of mirrored glass that allows the viewer to look straight at the camera lens but read the reflected text scrolling up the screen.

Let us assume you do not have an autocue and do not wish to talk straight to the camera.
The most natural way to talk on camera while not looking at the camera is an interview. This is more of a conversation and helps relax the person in front of the camera. It is a technique you will see many times on the TV.

To get good material this way there are a few rules to follow. The situation below is a person being interviewed by someone not in camera view.

Have a list of open questions at the ready. E.g. "How did you get the idea for this product?”, “What is the timeframe for product launch?”

The person being interviewed should be encouraged to incorporate the question into their answer. E.g. "How did I get the idea for this product? Well, I was sitting in the bath one day……..". If the person starts an answer badly or coughs or looks in a funny way, just start again.
This technique enables a more professional edit to take place in post production.

Get the right eye line. If the person asking the questions is a distance away from the camera the eye line of the interviewee is very impersonal. You may even end up with a profile shot, which is not desirable. Make sure the interviewer is as near to the camera as possible, this gives a much better look; ensure you can see both eyes of the interviewee. Essentially this gives you a view that is as near as you can be to looking down the lens without all the problems.

Once the interviewer has asked the question they must remain silent. If they keep interrupting the interviewee, they will spoil the flow and also compromise the post production edit.

Film several times using different frame sizes e.g. close up, medium close up etc. This gives options during the edit stage and the person will be more relaxed the second/third time. The same effect can be achieved with multi camera filming.

Finally if you can get any shots of the subject being discussed, it will help make the interview more interesting and can break up the talking head shots in post production.

For more ideas or help with your video production, why not contact us for a chat.

Your First Video Shoot Tips

2011-06-15T17:18:00.000+01:00

Web videos are a great way to capture and engage with your potential customers, but where do you start. You must have a concept to build upon with a story board, script and then the filming. Below are a few simple tips to help:

1. Pay Special Attention to the Sound
Choose a quiet location so the background noise doesn't bother the viewer. Unless you are shooting an event or music video, it should be quiet around you. Before you start filming, make sure that you are not going to be interrupted by telephones, barking dogs, or people chatting in the background.
Also make sure your camera microphone is close enough to the subject that you will be able to hear them clearly. That is why we use radio mikes on many occasions and you see the BBC and ITV presenters wearing radio microphones.

2. Be Short and to the Point
Highlight the benefits of your service or product. Get to the point right away and then share your detailed information later. Present your message with your audience in mind. Time is valuable and if they get bored they will click onto the next video within the first 20 seconds. They don't want to waste time watching a hard sales pitch, a boring commercial or a misleading message.

3. Pay Special Attention to the Lighting
Choose a location that gives good quality lighting. The lighting should provide contrast to your subject but not dazzling. It should enable your camera to work within it’s capabilities. We have been asked to recover some video that is best described as ‘spot the black cat in a coal cellar’.

4. Call to Action
Make sure you include your contact information and give them a good reason to contact you, visit your web site or store, sign up for your newsletter or ask for additional information.
Think of other ways they can connect with you. For example, following you on Twitter or reading your blogs. Encourage your viewers to follow-up in a quick and easy way.

Web Videos can be a powerful tool when correctly produced.
If you have any questions or would like to see some of the videos we have produced for our clients, please visit our website http://www.primevideo.co.uk
If you like what you see, contact me so we can talk about your next video production.

Video Has Changed The Search Results Forever

2011-05-31T10:10:00.000+01:00

Real SEO speaking with Bruce Clay at SMX on how video has impacted the search results in dramatic and permanent ways.

Bruce is one of the most-trusted voices in the search engine marketing space.
He founded his SEO company, Bruce Clay Inc., in 1996… before the official launch of Google and well before most in the industry today were thinking about rankings.

How are you using video in your marketing strategy?

Video Marketing Campaigns

2011-05-24T11:30:00.000+01:00

The use of video in marketing, especially via the web is growing at a fast pace.

However maximizing the benefit of your video and to get a return on the time and effort put into your video production in your campaign requires thought and planning.

Fortunately, there are certain things that you can do, that will ensure that you are making the best use of your video production in your marketing campaign.

Below are some ideas that you may use to make the marketing process simpler yet more productive and use video marketing for maximum benefits.

1- the video edit

Since online audiences tend to be more impatient than that of the more traditional media, you should grab their attention very quickly. This may be achieved using sound or video effects. Major films use music to great effect.

2 - video sharing / hosting sites

You need to get your video viewed by the maximum number of your target audience.

There are many different websites that can achieve this; many are free e.g. You Tube, Vimeo.

Always place your video on your own web site as well as a hosting site. When you use the same key words and phrases on all locations you will get more presence on the web and thus be found more often by search engines.

If choosing a less well-known hosting site, make sure it is reliable and that your videos will be available for viewing all the time.

3 - search engine optimised description

As mentioned above, using the same key words and descriptions in your web site page, your videos and hosting sites will draw more traffic to your web site and help make your web page visible to search engine discovery systems / crawlers.

Think of your video description as some sort of a supplementary material to your video advertisement. Use the right keywords and phrases the appropriate number of times to make certain that people who search for the products and services that you offer will be directed to your page.

4 – spread the word

Take the time to join as many online groups and forums that you can find which are appropriate to your customer base or expertise. This is one of the best video marketer strategies that you may use to boost the effect of your online video marketing campaign.

Think of the various ways through which you can advertise your products on these groups. Even better, you can simply place a link that will lead to the page of your video advertisement at the signature portion of your posts. This way, you will basically get a backlink to your site every time you respond or post on your online group or forum's website.

2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

2011-05-18T14:43:00.001+01:00

How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses
April 2011 original report by Michael A Stelzner

This recent study shows how a large section of marketers are increasing the use of video to get their messages across.

YouTube/Video
Surprisingly, marketers indicated that YouTube / video was the top area in which they planned to increase their social media efforts. A significant 77% of marketers plan on increasing their YouTube and / or video marketing.

Businesses with 1000 or more employees indicated this is a key growth area, with 82% responding affirmatively.

What the Study Covered
This study surveyed over 3300 marketers with the goal of understanding how marketers are using social media to grow and promote their businesses. It highlights the top 10 social media questions marketers want answered and analyses 2278 open-ended responses and summarise all the major questions that marketing pros want answered.

The Study’s Primary Findings

Video marketing on the rise: A significant 77% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2011.

Marketers place high value on social media: A significant 90% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business.

Measurement and integration are top areas marketers want to master: One third of all social media marketers want to know how to monitor and measure the return on investment (ROI) of social media and integrate their social media activities.

Social media marketing takes a lot of time: The majority of marketers (58%) are using social media for 6 hours or more each week, and more than a third (34%) invest 11 or more hours weekly.

Marketers seek to learn more about Facebook and blogging: 70% of marketers want to learn more about Facebook and 69% want to learn more about blogging.

The top benefits of social media marketing: The number-one advantage of social media marketing (by a long shot) is generating more business exposure, as indicated by 88% of marketers. Increased traffic (72%) and improved search rankings (62%) were also major advantages.

The top social media tools: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media tools used by marketers, in that order. Facebook has eclipsed Twitter to take the top spot since our 2010 study.

Social media outsourcing under-utilised: Only 28% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing.

The full report can be found at:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-marketing-industry-report-2011/

Work Life Balance

2011-05-16T19:59:00.000+01:00

A video worth watching:

Website Keyword Research

2011-05-16T14:42:00.000+01:00

Keywords are very important to web sites and also the web videos that the company uses to promote their products and services.

Below is an an article provided by David Vallance of Kit Happens on how to go about your keyword research.

Keyword research is absolutely critical to successfully optimising a website, yet amazingly it is often the part of the process that ends up being rushed. When I say successfully optimising a website, I don’t simply mean getting it to rank high in search engines, you might be thinking that surely that’s the whole point of search engine optimisation (SEO).

However there is absolutely no point ranking high for keywords that either do not receive many searches from internet users, or keywords that generate the wrong type of traffic.

So what is the wrong type of traffic? Basically in my view the wrong type of traffic is users who are not interested in your product/service offering and are never likely to be. People who are new to SEO often make the mistake of optimising for keywords that do receive lots of traffic, but they are highly competitive phrases which require a lot more work and time in order to achieve high rankings. When and if they achieve high rankings they are often not specific or targeted enough to convert traffic into leads.

In order to find targeted key phrases it is important to think about to type of phrases users are likely to enter into search engines when trying to find your service or product offering. Let’s use an online store selling scuba diving equipment as an example, someone might be tempted to optimise for the phrase ’scuba diving’ because it receives a high volume of traffic each month. However a more sensible phrase to optimise for might be ‘online dive store’ or ’scuba diving equipment’ as these phrases still receive a good amount of traffic, they are more specific in that a user is clearly searching for the type of products/services on offer and there will be less competition.

So how do you find the right keywords? I would recommend a tool called Wordtracker, this is widely accepted in the SEO world as being the best keyword research tool in the industry, within Wordtracker you can find out how many searches there are each day on specific key phrases as well as how much competition there is. I won’t go into detail on how to use Wordtracker in this article, since that really warrants a completely separate (and much more lengthy article).

So to summarise before starting to optimise any website I would always recommend that thorough keyword research has been completed to ensure that you actually get the results you’re hoping for. Also be wary of any SEO consultants or web designers who do rush this process or in fact skip it altogether, unfortunately it is not uncommon for companies (often web designers without SEO experience/expertise) to simply guess at the keywords, or use very generic phrases rather than conducting research.

David Vallance is a professional SEO consultant and director of Kit Happens, an online marketing business and a web design company in Milton Keynes providing web design, search engine optimisation, graphic design and email marketing throughout the UK. Visit the Kit Happens home page to find out more about us.

3 Video Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Website and Increase Sales

2011-05-06T12:39:00.000+01:00

Now video is everywhere on the internet, there are a number of ways video can help promote your website and increase your product or service sales.

Here are some of the ways:

Product or Service Demonstrations
The most obvious choice is the product or service video.
These demonstrate how your product or service works and can be step-by-step instructions.
The video should highlight the benefits and features that differentiate your product or service from your competitors.
The video can contain a mix of live footage by a presenter, a video interview, client testimonials, pictures, actual computer screen capture shots; the list is endless.
As with all marketing, ensure your video is aimed at your chosen customer sector.

Product Reviews
An independent person or group should complete your product or service review. This third party should be trusted and it is helpful if known to your customer group e.g. a magazine editor / contributor.
However customer product reviews or video testimonials can really work as well. Especially if posted on your web site and You Tube / Facebook / Twitter using the same keywords and descriptive phrases. This will make them easier to find when using Google searches.
Another approach to this video is to partner or joint venture with a trusted third party to create a video product review for your own products.

Visual Case Studies
The case study video employs many of the items used in the Product Demonstration video and use illustrations, interviews and graphics with a voice-over to explain complex products or services in a simple but compelling manner. These videos give a short story about the product or service and will highlight how beneficial they have been to the client or customer.

There are many more uses that I will cover in future blogs.

A Powerful Short Video

2011-04-26T11:11:00.001+01:00

A powerful video -----

Video Marketing Tips

2011-04-19T13:20:00.000+01:00

Video marketing has been in existence for quite a while. There are many companies now taking advantage of videos to promote their products/services. Below are a few ideas to help you:
Remember your goal for your video – what is its purpose?

- build trust in your brand

- get viewer to visit your web site

- highlight a product or service feature

- educate the viewer

- highlight you’re a green company

- etc. etc..

Call to Action

You are using videos as a medium to fulfil your marketing goals. So it is really important to have a call to action. Do not assume the viewer’s response will be what you expect.

For example, if you want your viewers to visit your website and signup for your newsletter, then state this in your call to action.

Place your call to action in all areas of your video, but make sure that you also put it at the very end of your video for emphasis. A web site address watermark all the way through the video can be effective. As can embedding web site addresses in comments and annotation fields.

Also test various call to action messages as you can’t really determine which ones will work better than the others.

Follow Posts/Comments on Your Video

You should always follow comments that are being posted about your video on the sharing sites. This is because customers will leave both good and bad comments that you can use to build virtual relationships. Answering comments can be a very positive tool.

Feedback comments are very important and are a great way to understand what your viewers are thinking in addition to bond with them, plus understand their requirements.

The feedback will help you improve your video content the next time you create one.

So permit comments and use them to your advantage – free market research!

Video Delivery Mechanisms

You should always be on the look out, for new video channels to your specific audience/client base.

Getting your video in front of your target audience is key.

RSS should be considered in your video marketing campaigns. Many people use RSS feeds to stay up to date with information and find it more convenient to collect information in one place.

So when you submit your videos RSS to online directories, you’ll find a lot more people actually subscribing to your RSS feed and trying to stay updated with your new videos. RSS is nothing other than content marketing and because it is so popular it make sense to utilize the pull of its technology to your benefit.

Video marketing is probably one of the most effective quality traffic generation techniques available, as long as you make sure to get the basic elements correct.

Good luck…

Are Your Videos Attracting Traffic to Your Web Site?

2011-04-07T11:26:00.000+01:00

Back in December 2007, Google enhanced their Site Map function that would help them find video content on the web and thus improve the search capability.

A Video Sitemap tells Google exactly where and what the video content is on your web site. This helps the Googlebots and web crawlers find them. Your video can then be fully searchable on all Google searches.

The Video Sitemap is an addition of the Google sitemap function and it ties together your video content and web page location together with any thumbnail picture and key words you wish to include. This all helps search engines find your web site and video !

The Site Map can contain an entry for each web page that contains a video whether embedded on that page or via You Tube or another video hosting site e.g. Vimeo. For each video you can add the duration, title, thumbnail and keyword rich description to help drive traffic to your video and also help Google properly index it.

Compatible video types include: .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .mov, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .ra, .ram, .rm, .flv and need to be directly available via HTTP which means no streaming media.

The Site Map should be built using the xml format and protocol – details can be found at:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=80471&cbid=ux85k6jzpgx7&src=cb&lev=answer

Once you have build your Site Map which includes the video information, you must upload the file to your web site so that it is publicly available.

Then inform Google that you have updated / loaded a Site Map through their Google Webmaster tools sitemap area.

If none of this makes sense, why not speak to your web developer about video site maps or get in touch with us.

Gain Customers With Video

2011-03-28T12:43:00.000+01:00

Every company needs to consider web video as part of their marketing strategy.

1. Videos Are Popular. People enjoy watching videos and it’s easy. YouTube is the 3rd most visited website in the world, with over 85 million viewers watching on a regular basis and over 160 million viewers in 2010. A well produced video with the right keywords has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of viewers within hours. Not many marketing methods have that kind of power.

2. Videos Hold Attention. If your video is interesting and informative, it can hold someone’s attention for much longer than other kinds of content.
It may also prompt them to action e.g. visit your website or blog.

A video that demonstrates your expertise will not only increase your credibility; it will also show consumers that you want to engage with them in a friendly format.

3. Videos Search Ranking. A video with good titles consistently ranks high in the search engines. They are popular with customers looking for information and are therefore more likely to be shared and passed around via all kinds of channels e.g. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites can all contain links to your videos.

4. Good Videos Enhance Your Brand. Video offers visual appeal. People are looking to identify with you. With video marketing, you have the opportunity to put a name and a face to your company, show them who you are and what benefits you provide. This can all lead to greater trust in your product or service.

Incorporating video into your marketing strategy can reap big rewards for your business, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Acting now gives you the advantage of utilising the new technologies that will make it even easier for potential customers to see your videos.

For the price of a few thousand leaflets you could reach millions of people!

If you want to improve your online presence, look into the possibilities offered by video marketing.

Social Networking Has Overtaken Entertainment

2011-03-22T20:38:00.000Z

Social networking has overtaken entertainment as the most popular online activity in the UK.

According to figures from Experian Hitwise, social networks received 2.4bn visits during January 2011, accounting for 12.4% of all UK internet visits. This beats the 12.1% for entertainment sites.

Facebook dominates, boasting 56% of all traffic to social networks, but Hitwise said people were rarely regular users of just one social media site.
Search is still the biggest driver of traffic for transactional sites, accounting for 33% of all trafficin that category.

Social networks originate 13% of traffic to other sites, with the biggest receiver of traffic from social networks being news and entertainment sites.

Robin Goad, research director of Experian Hitwise, said, “Transactional sites still rely primarily on search for their traffic and therefore sales. Successful transactional websites will be those that learn to harness the power of social networks, driving traffic through to their own sites.”

Experian Hitwise also revealed that the amount of time spent on social media sites has increased, with the average session time hitting 22 minutes.

Interesting Marketing Stats

2011-03-16T19:56:00.001Z

Video Stats Did You Know?

Video boost conversion rates by an average of 9%.
(Internet Retailer, October 2010)
Products that have videos are 95% more likely to be bought.
(Internet Retailer, April 2010)
Video adds two minutes to visitors' stays on retail sites.
(Comscore, August 2010)
Video increases the likelihood of a front-page Google search result by 96% with proper page optimisation.
(Forrester, January 2010)

Makes you think. Have you video in your marketing strategy?

How To Make Video Testimonials and Grow Your Business

2011-03-05T12:34:00.001Z

Over the years, testimonials have been used by companies to increase prospective customers trust in their products or services.

These testimonials have been in a written form and consist of positive feedback or case studies. However there is a growing trend to use video testimonials as they are more believable and have a greater impact – thus building trust in a shorter timescale and increasing sales.

Content
1 - the video testimonial should be relevant to your products and customers.

2 - they also need to have a positive approach.

3 - they need to be truthful and genuine. If you use a phony testimonial, you will soon get found out and it will do more harm than good!
As they say it takes ages to build trust but it’s lost in a second.
By using honest testimonials, you are not risking any problems in the future. Your customers will also have confidence in you, when they recognise that you are not saying anything wrong in order to promote your product, which may significantly boost your sales.

4 - the quality of the video testimonial production will say much about the type of company it’s promoting e.g. a video testimonial recorded on a mobile phone will look cheap! Is this the message you wish to convey?

Web Site Location
The location of video testimonials on your web site also has an impact on sales.

1 - place one or two of your best testimonials on your home page, the others place on a specific page for testimonials.

2 - keep the video testimonials short and to the point, informative and attractive for your web site visitors. This will allow them to get the most from them.

In our modern world, consumers are overloaded on a daily basis with an assault of advertisements. Many consumers are actually becoming immune to advertising and marketing. So how do you get the attention of prospective customers?

Research indicates that consumers are progressively relying on the recommendation from friends, colleagues, family members and others prior to making a purchase. The video testimonials will play to this growing trend.

With video endorsements and testimonials, you can capture a lot more excitement and emotion from your clients. This does not occur in printed testimonials.
Videos can show a lot of emotions. Integrating several of these on your site could be a highly effective conversion tool.

Once you reduce a customer's concern about the choice of supplier, you will lessen their price awareness. This means you do not have to be the cheapest.

Just imagine a customer going to your site and discovering a number of smiling faces highlighting how good your product or service is. See these video testimonials .

With a quick 30 second endorsement of your service or product, the potential customer will rate its authenticity and click to find out more about the product or service.

Video testimonials are a must for your web site………

Accustream just recently published, Pro Online Video 1999 – 2014:

2011-02-23T14:32:00.000Z

Accustream just recently published, Pro Online Video 1999 – 2014: Consumption and Category Share Analytics.
According to the report 2010 was worth 72.3 billion views, that’s the biggest jump since 2007.
Entertainment/Kids video made up 24.4% of the market, followed by television-related content at 23.6%. Video aggregators originated 17.2% of 2010 video views.
Video views per unique user per site per month jumped by 51% to 6.2 across all categories. Sites with an excess of 100 million views per month clocked in at 18.3 views per unique user, and accounted for 61.8% of total views.
Of course these numbers are fluid. Things not taken into consideration are that there is lots of professional content on YouTube, there is a lot of non-professional content on sites like Facebook. If you were to look at the comScore top ten video properties on the web, you could argue that the professional stuff is a much greater percentage:

Google Sites
Yahoo! Sites
VEVO
AOL, Inc.
Viacom Digital
Facebook.com
Microsoft Sites
Fox Interactive Media

So do the numbers add up?
Well you can be sure video content is growing on the web and so are the number of viewers.

Little Lives Gala Ball in Milton Keynes - Art for Auction - video by Prime Video Productions

2011-02-14T11:10:00.005Z

Milton Keynes Hospital's Little Lives appeal is raising funds to develop the Neonatal Unit with the Vincent and Flavia Gala Ball. The Stani Gallery at Stony Stratford is delighted to have donated art for auction at this event on 4th March. There are a few tickets still available on 07803129800. See the video below:

Thanks to the artists for their marvellous art work and Prime Video Productions for the video presentation.

http://www.primevideo.co.uk

Leadership and Passion in YouTube Videos

2011-02-02T11:50:00.001Z

Video marketing is quickly becoming the most popular form of marketing. Videos continue to prove that they build trust and rapport with your prospects better and quicker than written content.

You can create a viral video to attract millions of views with your advertising embedded.
You can create a YouTube channel in which your videos cater for a specific niche market and promote your brand. This is very powerful and used by many online marketers.

OK, so you have decided to use YouTube marketing as one of the tools in your marketing toolbox.

What makes your videos stand out ?

Creating great content goes without saying; you also require the element of Leadership and Passion in your field.

Leadership must come through in your videos and really convey a certain message to the viewer. Your message must show confidence and display the characteristics of a leader in your field. The viewers will then want to follow you and find out more about what you do and what your company delivers.

Do not have a quiet unassuming voice and show uncertainty – this will kill the videos purpose.

Leadership and Passion are huge factors that are often overlooked. People seeking information, opportunities, advice, are also looking to be led. They are ultimately looking for a leader to show them the way!

Being a leader in all aspects of your business (any business) will do wonders for you.
Think about this as you prepare to create a video next time. Think it through in your mind before you just recite your material into the camera – be passionate and show your expertise.

6 Billion Videos Watched in November 2010 by UK Web Users

2011-01-20T16:10:00.000Z

People watching videos on the internet are growing, according to comScore a leading internet statistics company.

Their report highlighted that:
"In the UK, 34.7 million Internet users watched 6 billion content videos in November 2010. During the same month nearly 964 million viewing sessions took place, resulting in an average of 6 videos viewed per session."

“Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top video content property with 428 million viewing sessions during the month and 30.4 million unique viewers, followed by BBC Sites 46.8 million viewing sessions and Vevo 41.4 million sessions, while Facebook had 28.2 million.”

So if you are not on YouTube you will not be seen!

Two Key Reasons to Use Video for Marketing

2011-01-12T12:25:00.000Z

Firstly -- we live in a society that is used to receiving information through the TV, mobile phone, Blackberry etc. We grew up with television and movies.

This is how we receive the news, education, information, and everyday communication e.g. Facebook.

Information delivered straight to us, to watch and listen – no effort required!!.

Thousands of studies on the effectiveness of television advertising demonstrated the effectiveness of multi-media advertising. The parallel with online video promotion is obvious.

Secondly -- the first rule of marketing tells us that people prefer doing business with people we know, like and trust.

So what better way could there be to help people get to know you than through video promotions, testimonials, thought leadership etc?
Web videos online, offer the unique opportunity to help prospective clients, customers get to know you.

So what is stopping you getting an affordable video this month ?

The PUMA Hardchorus

2011-01-05T19:17:00.002Z

One of the top viral videos of 2010!!!

4 ways to get ahead of the competition

2010-12-10T10:55:00.001Z

A useful overview from Business Link

Business sentiment is currently divided on the economic outlook. The most recent quarterly survey by the Federation of Small Businesses of over 1000 of its business owner members showed an equal division between those who expected their sales to increase, stay static or fall.
If you are looking to take advantage of any economic upswing and expect to increase your sales, the issue of competition has never been more pressing.

The 4 key areas to consider are:

1. Know the competition

2. Know your customers

3. Know your own people

4. Know your business

See the full article from Business Link at:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=5001709189&type=ONEOFFPAGE&site=210

What a Video can do for your Business Brand

2010-11-30T12:19:00.000Z

Several years ago the idea of watching a video online meant poor quality, jittery pictures and slow loading times. Now with major video hosting web sites such as YouTube and that broadband speed these days are far quicker than it used to be, it's the age of the video.

In the old days if you wanted to learn how to tile a bathroom or plumb in a sink you had to look in books or ask a professional.
Now the Internet has the text answers, HOWEVER you now also have video. I hope you agree that it is easier and more pleasurable to view a video on your desired topic rather than trawl through a large amount of text online.

It is much easier to read from a book than read through pages of a website on a computer screen. Many people agree that there is a limit to the amount of text you can read online without an element of discomfort to your eyes. Online videos are the perfect solution. Videos can contain text and audio and are well versed in a level of communication that text alone cannot compete with.

They say a picture can paint a thousand words, so what can video do for you?

• Tutorials, How To Guides, Demonstrations
• Advertising and Promotion
• Business Branding
• Instructions, Tours and Walkthroughs
• Testimonials, Reports

The examples above are just some of the many uses that videos are being used for online today. As the video revolution gathers speed, you do not want to miss out.

Within a very short timeframe online videos will be an integral part of most online business.

A good place to start taking advantage of this is with YouTube.
It is completely free to setup an account and within minutes you will be able to set up your very own Channel. This can also use your web site keywords giving you twice the Internet presence to promote your brand. YouTube has gained popularity from all parts of the world and more than 80 million people in the United States watch it.

Now if you use YouTube wisely you can attract many more people from your target audience quickly.

New Video for the Stani Gallery - Stony Stratford - Great Christmas Gifts

2010-11-23T20:36:00.001Z

Great ideas for a Christmas gift for that special person - go have a look at The Stani Gallery in Stony Stratford.
See our latest video for the gallery - I just love the mice !!!!!

Video Camera Training Video

2010-11-22T11:18:00.000Z

What a great way to learn how to use a video camera - a clever advert!!!!

YouTube Insight Statistics Have Moved

2010-11-15T11:35:00.000Z

For those of you that have been using YouTube statistics to help with your video marketing. I have noticed they have moved there on screen location. At first I thought they had been disabled, but no just moved.

The statistics can be found to the left hand side next to the Like/Don’t Like buttons as seen below.

Your video statistics are still available and so are the public stats on videos where the user hasn’t disabled them. YouTube just wants to keep you on your toes.

Facebook Video Marketing Strategic Tips

2010-11-11T10:50:00.002Z

Extracts from a really useful article from Grant Crowell interviewing Brian Solis * Facebook is key to every companies Marketing Strategy.

Why Facebook Video Marketing Now?

Brian was the keynote speaker for the Facebook Success Summit 2010 month-long webinar, hosted by SocialMediaExaminer.com “10 Reasons Facebook Video Marketing is Valuable for Business.”) His keynote promo read: “By this time next year, more businesses will be vested into Facebook than any other social network. With more than 500 million active users, Facebook has become the world’s largest social gathering spot” and is now considered essential to businesses of all sizes.

“Facebook is a platform. I recently said that the medium is not just the message” says Brian. “The medium is [also] the platform, and the platform enables so much more.”

Facebook is a HUGE Platform

Here are some of the eye-popping stats that Brian threw out to start his presentation:

150 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month
2/3rds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of the Global Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook
There are over 150 million active users accessing Facebook through their mobile devices

“We are reaching a different type of social consumer” says Brian. “This social consumer takes to email first, Facebook second, to share things. Facebook is part of this sharing cycle.”

Facebook Video Marketing Tips

Here are some of ideas on video marketing with Facebook that I gleamed from watching Brian’s presentation, which came as a mix of his direct advice and presentation examples and general Facebook marketing tips which I could figure out would also apply to video content:

Have a Facebook Page landing page video
Do a follow-up video to new “Fans”
Find the people who are most likely to “share” your video
Harness YouTube social sharing functionality for Facebook

1) Add a Customized Tab and Intro Video to Your Facebook Page

“A lot of companies will design a series of interesting initiatives where the landing page isn’t the wall.” Says Brian. “The landing page is a customized tab, which can be done very inexpensively and effectively.” Some people introduce some exclusive content there, some specials, some promotions, or some interesting or entertaining videos just to start to navigate that experience.”

For an example of a landing page opening up to a custom tab with an intro video, Check out the Eyes and Feet Facebook site. They feature right on their landing page tab a “Know what we do in 1 minute video,” which announces: “Click on the image below to see a short video about WHY Eyes And Feet makes sense for YOUR local business”.

2) Keep Facebook Fans Engaged with a Follow-up Video

At the end of the Eyes and Feet intro video on their Facebook page is a link to their “quick product demo video” about how Eyes and Feet works, and what they actually do. Probably a good idea and it goes directly to their website where you can watch the video and the site owner has a better chance of generating a conversion.

3) Find Influencers & Those Most likely to “Share” Your Video

Whether it is your own original videos or videos you think the audience would find engaging, offer your own comments on the content of the video and what you find makes it engaging.
“The social effect within Facebook is designed to keep people sharing. It’s designed to keep people interactive” says Brian“.

4) Harness YouTube Social Sharing To Facebook

Brian shared the example of the Swarovski gemstone company’s own Facebook Page, and how every video that was done by them on YouTube was sent right over to Facebook. YouTube does allow account holders to have videos that are published on YouTube to automatically be published on their corresponding Facebook Wall, under “Accounts > Authorized Sites.”
* Brian Solis is listed as “globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media”.
Below is a clip from an interview with the head of social media at Ford Motor Company, talking about his company’s success story with Facebook Video Marketing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BolKotKuaig

What Is Social Video Marketing?

2010-11-08T10:05:00.000Z

A really interesting article. Do you use social media and video for your marketing ?

What Is Social Video Marketing? The Experts Weigh In

With the heavy convergence of social and video, and video with online marketing, have we now reached a point for a new definition that combines all three? Is social video marketing just about creating videos for social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and YouTube, or is it much more than just that? We put together a special panel of video experts, along with our own ReelSEO staff, where we all take a crack at giving our own definition.

See the whole article: http://www.reelseo.com/social-video-marketing/

Robert F. Kennedy Quote

2010-11-05T09:18:00.001Z

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
- Robert F. Kennedy

Samsung will become the first UK advertiser to run display ads on YouTube’s mobile site.

2010-11-02T11:16:00.000Z

Samsung will become the first UK advertiser to run display ads on YouTube’s mobile site.

The YouTube mobile advertising, forms part of a wider marketing launch campaign for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which will run across in-game advertising with PlayStation, online search and display, mobile advertising, outdoor and print.
Built around the creative platform Life Without Limits, the campaign will focus on the size and portability of the tablet PC, which weighs 380g.

So video reaches more people via new devices and YouTube is recognised as a serious marketing channel by the major players.

What is Affiliate Marketing

2010-10-29T11:41:00.000+01:00

What is affiliate marketing? (extract from original article by Tarang M Bhargava)

We often hear of people that are implementing something that we haven't even heard of! So let's not stay ignorant any further and try and explore Affiliate Marketing.

Consider an example of a simple business 'A'. 'A' needs to advertise his products, so he convinces 'B', who knows a lot of people, to promote his business. In return, 'A' will pay him commission according to a contract they sign (it can be a share per customer etc.). To understand the basic of Affiliate Marketing, replace 'A' and 'B' by websites.

Website 'A' chooses website 'B' to advertise its products. 'A' can pay 'B' either through Pay-per-Click (for each visitor), or Pay-per-Lead (for each registration), or Pay-per-Sale (commission for each sale).

Now that we've understood the essence of Affiliate Marketing, another very common query that arises is that "How do I go about implementing it in my business"?

The first step would be to create your website.

Once you have done that, you can choose a variety of available affiliate networks. For example, search engine affiliates who rely upon the Pay-per-Click commission, retail sites that compare various products of the same category, booking a site exclusively for your advertisements, review sites, blogs and the list extents with your creativity and business thought process.

Being a business person, the next question that I would put forward is "How will it enhance my sales?"

Visualise it this way, you have just built a website for your business and obviously, not many people know about it. Being a business person you cannot call each of your clients to inform them about it, that's not practical! Instead, hunt for a website that is already a hit amongst the internet surfers and also use your business knowledge to look for sites whose contents relate to your product. This way, many people would be directed to your site, and in turn you would have to pay a minimal amount to the site.

What are the reasons that Affiliate Marketing is such a hit? It's because it is a "Pay per Performance" technique. You get leaflets and other advertising material printed, but you never know if you get sales from them. In the case of Affiliate Marketing, you pay only after you get a query or a customer!

Original article by Tarang M Bhargava - who is the CEO of Vexat Inc., and has six yeears of affiliate marketing experience.

Video Over the Written Word

2010-10-25T11:24:00.000+01:00

Video is here to stay - so much more can be done with video than the written word or even audio recordings.

You may have to dress slightly differently to record your video, but otherwise video should be your preferred presentation, marketing and communication medium - and it's growing in universal popularity every day. This acceptance alone answers the question, why use video?

For example when you are creating a education piece or an article to post on a blog, use video whenever you can. Presentations recorded on video are far more powerful and effective than any other medium. Viewers see facial expressions and body language multiplying the impact of the points being made. Even a video recording of a PowerPoint tutorial beats any other method of archiving training.

Contact us today and see how easy it can be to get a professional video.

Twit Happens: Tips To Overcome Legal Dangers With Video On Twitter

2010-10-25T11:10:00.001+01:00

Twit Happens: Tips To Overcome Legal Dangers With Video On Twitter

Simple Key Points for a Great Web Video

2010-10-18T11:42:00.001+01:00

Essential for every website that is out there on the web, is a good looking Web Video, and today it is within the budgets for nearly all companies marketing.

Now if you spend any time on YouTube, you know video production is not limited to the big corporate, big budget video productions and yet many affordable productions receive a lot of views to their message.

Marketing with video is getting easier and more affordable to produce good looking web videos for your marketing. You see the video production business growing with the emergence of high-speed Internet, and what's exciting is now with mobile devices means you can bring your video to the people when they want it.

Think about those YouTube videos you have been watching, with a message to market match - that is video marketing.

All you need is:

Know your audience
Know your service or product
What is your key message
Have a good story and script/storyboard

The use of web video production is growing, and it will continue to keep growing.
Are you keeping up with your marketing?

Get More Views on Your YouTube Video

2010-10-11T11:34:00.001+01:00

1/ Thumbnail image. Make this small image (which appears in the YouTube index of all videos meeting peoples search criteria) interesting. It needs to be eye catching and if sufficiently different, will virtually guarantee an increase in views.

2/ Comments. If you leave comments on other videos you will give yourself more visibility. By giving yourself more exposure you will increase the chances greatly for people to click on your user name and check out your videos.

3/. Subscribe to People. When you subscribe to other people’s videos on YouTube, many will view your videos. This gives you instant viewers and some may become subscribers to your videos.

5 Video Marketing Tips

2010-10-07T12:17:00.001+01:00

As many people know, video marketing has become one of the most powerful ways to market your business on the internet.
Many web sites such as YouTube and Vimeo allow you to upload your videos and receive large amounts of traffic.

Below are a few simple tips to help you:

1) Keep the Video Short: In today's hectic society people do not have the time to sit and watch a 10 minute video. Attention spans are getting shorter, so keep your videos short and to the point – 1 to 2 minutes. Unless it is a training video with excellent content that requires a longer video.

2) Focus on Keywords: Google indexes YouTube videos very well and it’s not difficult to get a high ranking on Google with a well chosen niche keywords.

3) Measure Your Results: Make sure you measure your results then test and trial things and see what works and what does not.
For example, you could try recording a 60 second video and see how it compares to a 3 minute video. Trial and error works when you measure and test.

4) Know Your Audience: Really understand your audience and it’s needs. How can you help solve their problem? Now focus on it.

5) Focus on Consistent Messages: Make sure you are consistent with your video marketing message. Your target audience are more likely to subscribe to your channel if it’s consistent. Offer solutions to a problem or valuable information or humour (has to be professional done).

Facebook growing importance to Marketing

2010-09-29T14:14:00.000+01:00

A new survey found that 46 per cent of people follow one or more brand via a social network.

A new survey has suggested that Facebook may be a good place for marketers to focus their video production campaigns.

The recent poll by digital consultancy ‘Beyond’ highlighted that 46 per cent of 2,500 US and UK respondents follow one or more brand through a social network with 23 per cent saying they would prefer to receive information from a company or brand through Facebook.
Half of those surveyed said they follow a company on a social network to receive special offers or discounts, while 34 per cent do so for the love of the product.

"Our research indicates that digital marketing requires a much more integrated strategy that runs across the entire company, from sales through to customer service," Beyond EMEA managing director Nick Rappolt told the news provider.

"It requires a convergence of thinking and an approach to deal with user-generated content."

How to Put Your Video Marketing Message Together

2010-09-28T11:38:00.001+01:00

Entertainment verses Brand Message

Web video has the ability to give more entertainment value and create ‘calls to action’.
These calls to action can be anywhere within or outside the video and can be acted upon immediately.
They include options to click on a link, visit a Blog or Facebook page, watch another video or buy now!

Web video presents the opportunity to integrate your marketing messages within a wide variety of formats including web video series, short adverts and viral videos.

How does the marketing company do it?
1) They know the product or service and will determine the main audience. This will be the audience that will be most receptive to your message.

2) They know the audience and will determine what they are most entertained by.

3) They take action.

Steps They Take
1) Look at your primary audience and lay down equal parts including message value and entertainment value. This may be a very entertaining piece wrapped in a brand message or vice versa.
Caution – how entertaining is your product or service to begin with?

2) To address your secondary audience, you will need to enhance the entertainment value while maintaining a solid marketing message. As you widen the audience, keep reducing the marketing message until you have a web video that is very entertaining but with a clear take away message.

However if you want to stay within your primary audience, stick with your main message.

3) These videos show how companies have incorporated the 2 elements:

Coca-Cola Happiness Machine video, the Coke machine literally represents happiness and the message. The hidden camera approach and unsuspecting people offer the entertainment value.

This Red Bull video says it all. This can be a very successful formula since the viewer is visually engaged with the brand throughout the video and entertained at the same time.

The Cute Girl Has Catchy Dance video from Samsung. This approach is successful because of the clear separation between the entertainment value and the sell, which makes the video highly shareable.

Pros and Cons of These Approaches

High Message Content
Positive:
·    Viewers know exactly what you are selling
·    Video will appeal to a more targeted demographic
Negative:
·    Video may not reach as many people organically
·    Video may be perceived as too “pushy”
·    Viewers may not pass along or talk about your video
·    You may spend more viral seeding and social media buys

High Entertainment Value
Positives:
·    Viewers will pass along your video organically
·    Viewers will talk about your video
·    Viewers will remember your video
·    Audiences will come back for more
·    You will spend less on viral seeding and social media buys

Negatives:
·    Viewers may not remember what your video was selling
·    Viewers may not talk about your brand or product
·    Video will appeal to a wider but less targeted audience
·    Viewers may not recognise a clear call to action

So the choice is yours for your specific product or service – what is your main message and the best way to show it off ??

Twitter Video Marketing

2010-09-23T10:45:00.001+01:00

Twitter Video Marketing

Real SEO’s Grant Crowell interviewed Tubemogul’s Director of Communications and Marketing David Burch about their recent report including data on Twitter and video, which declares that Twitter is one of the fastest growing ways that video is being discovered online, and that video referrals from twitter are more valuable than referrals from Google and other search engines. David says that for online marketers and video professionals, “there’s no good reason now not to be on twitter.”

Recent announcements highlight features of embedded videos in Twitter feeds. OnlineVideo.Net reported in their article, The New Twitter: Now Featuring Video, “For now, video from Brightcove, Justin.TV, Twitvid, Ustream, Vimeo, and YouTube can be embedded into a Twitter feed, as well as photos from Flickr, TwitPic, and others.” http://twitter.com/newtwitter

Tubemogul released their joint quarterly research report with the online video platform Brightcove and says Twitter is now the 2nd fastest growing discovery source of video views, growing at rate of 38.7% PER MONTH. That rate is ahead of all search engines and behind only Facebook.

How does that compare with the actual percentage of referrals? Well, Google continues to generate the highest volume of traffic to online video content.
The exact statistics are:
40.1% of the total video streams came from Google
16.8% from Yahoo
13.1% from Bing
7.9% from Facebook
2.7% from AOL
0.9% from Twitter

Extracts from the interview with Tubemogul's David Burch
Grant: What would you say your report’s data can say about the business value of using twitter with video?

David: Twitter is one of the fastest growing ways that video is being discovered online. In terms of engagement, it leads search engines and a whole bunch of other potential sources of video, second only to Facebook. So Twitter is a really great source for finding the viewers that care; i.e., the viewers that will actually want to share and engage with your video.

Traffic Strategies With Twitter Video For Business
Grant: What traffic strategies have you seen involving video content with Twitter?

David: I’ll admit first off that I’m not up on every latest twitter app being used out there. I know there are things like twitvid and video destinations doing the same thing in video (and in photos, like twitpic, and tweetphoto). But I really think what this data shows is that people are sharing what they’re already watching, and what they’re seeing with the engagement and volume, is just due to the way twitter’s built.

People share with people that have similar tastes. It’s more likely to be an echo chamber; and if your brand is in that echo chamber, you’re going to find the best viewers of anyone out there.

Grant: Now that Twitter is going to allow for videos and photos to be embedded right in the site, will keeping people on twitter add to that echo chamber? Perhaps video not just embedded on Twitter, but even hosted by twitter could be next?

David: I think it’s still going to be a lot of people sharing videos that they’ve found on YouTube, or on a brand’s site, and they want to share it right from there. Like I said, it’s already growing and businesses should be on Twitter. I really believe that. There’s no good reason now not to be.

The Power of Web Video

2010-09-22T11:01:00.001+01:00

The Power of Web Video

This recent piece by Chris Anderson is a really interesting watch and read. It highlights how web video and specifically YouTube has changed so many things today with it power to create innovation.

Note: Chris Anderson is the curator of TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading." He gave the talk in the video above at the TED Global conference in Oxford, England, in July. Titled “The Secret Power of YouTube,”. He also features in an article on CNN.

He highlights that there is a lot of junk on YouTube, but there is a massive amount of great information.

“Hidden among all the cute kittens and pirated TV shows, online video is driving astonishing innovation in thousands of different fields ranging from the ultra-niche to the sharing of truly world-changing ideas.”

The chief argument Anderson makes is that YouTube makes it easier for innovators to find an audience, and the audience’s approval and praise drives further innovation. A very accurate assumption ?

Anderson uses a phrase: crowd-accelerated innovation. He says it’s a new term, but an age-old process. There are three ingredients he says are required for crowd-accelerated innovation to occur: Crowd, Light, & Desire.

For instance YouTube provides the Crowd, in the tens of millions of daily viewers. It’s the world’s largest video audience every single day.

To lean more watch the video or read the article.

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 5 Video Appeals To Most People

2010-09-09T21:04:00.002+01:00

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 5 Video Appeals To Most People

Have you ever met the anti technology person … “I’ll never use email, there’s no personality in it…. These new fangled mobile phones, what’s wrong with the good old landline phone….. etc etc…”. Well there are quite a few around still, but they are in the minority.

Many people now use the Internet, love their PCs, mobile devices and prefer to watch a video rather than read screen fulls of written information. So much so that the majority of web users seek out and prefer video, it’s an important illustration of how diverse our audience is.

I would never suggest that one of my clients eliminate all text from their website and replace it with all video. Different people have different preference systems i.e. many like pictures/video, some like audio only and a few prefer text only.
Many like brief statements while others like masses of details.
Therefore I would never recommend they ignore video just because there are still people who like text out there in the world.

Adding video to your web site does not have to be an all or nothing venture. You can begin slowly and then progress. Including a few videos throughout your website is a fantastic way to ensure that you are appealing to all types of people that will be purchasing your product or service.

Conclusion

So is web video for you?
If your answer is “yes,” then great you have tapped into a real help for bringing your marketing alive and more engaging with your customers. Plus it will definitely help you stand out from your competitors.

If “no” then I have failed to convince you. Web video is pretty much for everyone, and might eventually end up being absolutely vital to any successful web presence.

If you’re not already dabbling in video, I hope these articles have given you reason to consider diving in. In the next article I will go into a little more detail.

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 4 Web Video Can Help You Get Discovered

2010-09-06T15:12:00.002+01:00

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 4 Web Video Can Help You Get Discovered

Web Video is rapidly increasing in search engine importance and Bruce Clay, one of the godfathers of SEO has said you basically won’t exist, in search engine terms, if you don’t have video:

“…In the case of video, we believe that as one of the more important engagement objects, Google has actually started to build it into the algorithm. To us, that means if your website has engagement objects on it, video or mp3… it is going to be received by the algorithm better and your site will actually have an opportunity to rank better.

Now today, we haven’t seen it much as an incidence of ranking, mostly because not everyone is doing it. …I don’t think we’ve yet seen even the tip of the iceberg.
I think, that a year from now, we are going to be sitting here saying – ‘if you don’t have video, if you don’t have engagement objects on your website, you are just not going to rank. It will make you last amoung equals if you don’t have it.”

Web Video is getting more widely used on the internet and you may have noticed that you see video results in the main Google search results more often.

Google now have their “universal search engine” (Google searches on text, video, news, shopping etc.) and would not have introduced it unless users were clicking on all the different formats on the web.

Videos now receive more clicks on search results, as they are so easy to digest and engage with. Wouldn’t you like your company to be the one capturing those click throughs and gaining more sales?
If yes all you need is a professional web video.

Why is it So Few SMEs Use Video as a Marketing Tool?

2010-09-05T14:20:00.001+01:00

Why is it So Few SMEs Use Video as a Marketing Tool?

Today’s social and business world is full of terms such as video marketing, social media, blogging and services such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter and many more.

So why is it that so few Small to Medium Sized Enterprises / Businesses (SMEs) have grasped these new forms of media marketing and are not using video to its full capability as a marketing tool?

There appears to be 2 barriers regarding the use of Video Marketing from some research I have completed. These are:

Cost
Complexity of Video Production

The truth is that most SMEs have not had the time to fully appreciate the benefits of video marketing and the ease of production when handled by professionals.

In particular they have not considered the benefits verses the cost of having their own web video production. The benefits can be listed as follows:

1 Targeted video marketing ensures:
       - little wasted time or cost on broad brush marketing
   - makes you stand out from your competitors
       - appeals to customers who have a genuine interest in your business offering
   - generates higher quality enquiries

2 Increases the number of visitors to your web site

3 Increases the amount of time spent on your web site

4 Improved search engine results for key search words

5 Results measurable

6 Builds trust in your brand

7 Cost effective and easily affordable

The truth of marketing in today's world is that it has never been a better time for SMEs to maximise their exposure via video marketing and at a similar cost to a colour leaflet. A colour leaflet reaching 1000s of potential customers will cost about the same as a video that can reach millions!!

Contact Prime Video Productions to learn more………

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 3 Video Helps Sell Products

2010-09-03T12:15:00.001+01:00

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 3 Video Helps Sell Products

Research has shown that video helps sell products and services. The research is all over the internet.

Many companies have tried all sorts of things to help sell their products and services via their web sites. There are sites with loads of SEO shortcuts, multiple images and a host of other unwise actions, all because someone convinced them these tactics would help sell more products and services.

All they really required is some video showing the benefits (how it helps the customer), the unique selling points and a call to action.

Videos Sell Products Even When Not Watched

2010-09-03T11:57:00.002+01:00

Videos Sell Products Even When Not Watched   (with extracts from an article by Mark R Robertson)

Placing video on you web site is not new but is still in its infancy within the UK.
The power of web videos is starting to take off and retailers have woken up to the power of video as a marketing tool that builds customer confidence and increases conversion rates.

The amazing thing about video is that it works to this effect whether it’s watched or not. In other words just adding product videos to your web site, whether they’re watched or not, will help sell products.

Why add video to your web site pages?

Simply put, product and service videos sell products and services. While shoppers who actually view a product video are buying at a higher rate than those who choose not to watch the video. Another interesting point is that people who do NOT watch the video are converting at a significantly higher rate than shoppers viewing the same product page without the option for video viewing.

The following case studies (data was provided by Tree podia and based on multivariate testing results for their client’s e-commerce websites) show conversion rates (CVR) for January 2010.

Retailer A:
· Control group (= pure CVR in site, without video at all): 1.04%
· CVR of people who could watch video but did not: 1.47%
· CVR of people who watched video: 4.06%
· Increase when comparing the users who could watch video (whether watched or not) to control group: +46.22%

Retailer B:
· Control: 3.27%
· CVR of people who could watch video but did not: 4.06%
· CVR of people who watched video: 4.82%
· increase (as defined above): +27.05%

So it turns out that just offering the option to watch a product video is already a selling point. How could that be? I believe human behaviour and trust factors. The seller is trusted more when a video of the product or service is shown.

What’s the best way to display web videos?

There are two main ways to display web videos, these are:

     - link to a video
     - embedded in the actual product page

While each method is effective, embedding the video player in the product page will generally generate a higher view rate. Research has shown if you add a simple link to video from any given product page, you can expect something between a 5%-15% video view rate, while a video player embedded on the same page will deliver a view rate ranging from 10%-35%.

Remember the location on the web page is also important i.e. more customers respond positively to videos above the page fold.
In most cases, video has proven to be an effective tool for increasing sales conversion rates. However poorly produced web videos may have a detrimental effect on your sales. This should not be a surprise as we are all well aware of the damage that poor copy writing can cause - quality does matters.

Plus always measure the performance of your marketing activities.
Only then will you know what works well.

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 2 Use Video or Lose Out

2010-09-01T09:18:00.004+01:00

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 2 Use Video or Lose Out

YouTube is very large being owned by Google. They claim to serve two billion video views per day.
YouTube Marketing - Greg Jarboe talks about YouTube Marketing

Quote - "Let me give you an analogy: When I was a kid, my friends and I decided to have a party. We got our ball game, a few water balloons, a boom box, some snacks and told all the neighbours kids to come and meet us in our backyard. We thought it was going to be amazing.

But unbeknown to us, Timmy Tompkins down the street had his own party that day. He had Super Soakers and a Slip-n-Slide. Game over. Nobody came to our lame party because they were too busy having fun at the Tompkins party. We gave up after a couple hours of stubborn pouting, grabbed our trunks and went to Timmy’s house and ultimately had a blast.
Don’t let online video ruin your company’s ability to connect with customers… join the party! There is a type of Internet user that loves video so much, they rarely start their browsing anywhere other than YouTube. If you’re not on YouTube… these people will not ever find you… period."

YouTube in movie deal with Blinkbox

2010-08-27T12:09:00.000+01:00

YouTube in full length movie deal with Blinkbox

Full-length movies are available on YouTube in the UK for the first time following a deal between Google and Blinkbox.

YouTube has launched a Movies section featuring more than 400 ad-supported and on-demand titles, including Bollywood, comedy and classic titles such as Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home and Animal Farm.

Donagh O’Malley, YouTube’s head of video partnerships, said, “This is one of many efforts to ensure people can find all the different kinds of video they want to see, from bedroom vlogs and citizen journalism reports to full-length films and TV shows. This is a first step and we hope film lovers enjoy the wide range of titles our partners have made available.”

Michael Comish, CEO of Blinkbox, said, “The size and scope of YouTube’s audience is immense and this exciting tie-up allows us to reach film fans and potential viewers outside our usual audience.”

M&S plans more commerce-enabled online video shows

2010-08-27T12:04:00.002+01:00

Marks & Spencer has seen the light and is putting web video at the centre of its online marketing strategy. This follows the launch of its first online TV show, fronted by Myleene Klass last week.

Simon Wood, M&S head of web operations when speaking to New Media Age said, "We know customers who interact with our videos spend more money, so it's an area we want to push.

"It's not just about getting people watching our videos, it's about getting them to purchase. We want to create TV-quality video content for the web."

So is web video the way to go for your marketing?

YouTube Now 3rd Most Visited Website

2010-08-27T11:39:00.003+01:00

YouTube has now overtaken Yahoo! in the search engine rankings and is hot on the heels of FaceBook - Internet Top Sites report. This may be part of the bigger Google strategy.

Alexa.com has reported that YouTube moved ahead of Google rival Yahoo! and taken the third spot. Now Facebook sits between Google and YouTube.

How will YouTube topple Facebook, who knows except the volume of videos on the web and the way people digest information these days anything is possible! Keep loading those web videos….

YouTube launches new mobile site

2010-08-25T16:15:00.002+01:00

Google has upgraded the mobile version of its video production sharing site YouTube.

YouTube mobile now receives over 100 million video playbacks a day, it was recently revealed.

The new site is designed to be quicker and offers more features and is designed specifically for access by mobile internet devices such as smartphones, using the new HTML5 web standard giving better quality video productions at a faster speed.

It is which means the videos can be played directly through mobile devices' web browsers.

Furthermore, it has been updated with enhanced social networking features to make it easier to share video links on Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz.

New Personalized Home Page Browse millions of videos easily. Your subscriptions, recommendations, and friends' activities are easy to access.

New Navigation List Quickly get to your playlists, favorites, uploads, and subscriptions via the new navigation list.

Upload videos Upload videos directly from your phone and see them appear within moments on both the mobile site and YouTube.com.

Community on the go Favorite, share, rate, and comment on videos directly from the mobile website to other YouTube users.

Search Easily find the specific video you're looking for.

Keep watching Discover "Related" videos for each video you watch on your phone.

DVD quality recording Now you can easily record and upload DVD quality videos straight from your phone. Seamless one-tap experience—try it with the YouTube widget.

High-quality video playback Watch your favorite YouTube videos in high quality right from your phone. The new mobile site is now faster than ever, providing a smooth playback experience.

Web Videos have never been more important than now!!

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 1 Video Helps You Stay Current

2010-08-24T16:18:00.006+01:00

Web Video Helps You Stay Current

If you are an advanced online video user, you might find this series of articles rather basic and covers ground you’ve already explored. However you may find some new information you missed when you were still a beginner yourself.

Before diving into online video, it’s important to determine if online video is for you.
The general consensus is yes, if you are serious about marketing your company, gaining more customers and growing your revenue. Most marketing agencies now are promoting video as a significant resource.
Whether you own a small business as a sole trader or own a large business video should be a part of your online marketing strategy.

Through this series I will highlight a list of possible reasons why you might want to get involved with online web video.

Web Video
Internet / Web Video is the latest and most current thing on the web. Even if you are still thinking about starting a blog or going onto Twitter, you really need to think about web video.

The web is full of people talking about video and with good reason. It’s entertaining, it’s easy to find and consume, and it engages viewers in a way that text simply cannot.

Web Video stats show a meteoric rise, and shows no signs of slowing. Along with that trend, there is a growing segment of the internet audience that has begun favouring video sites over sites that just have text. Its so easy to consume.

Additionally, web video advertising is the fastest-growing form of online advertising.
The number of YouTube advertisers has grown by 10 in the past year. That means all your competitors are out there using video to steal away your customers… and it’s probably working.

When email started gaining momentum in the 1990’s, there were the older business people who did not think it would have an impact and it was just a fad.
Plus Thomas Watson who was well known for his alleged 1943 statement: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers,".

That is how people sound today who say similar things about web video. If you want your content to be seen as something that is current and fresh, you need to have it in the freshest format… and that’s video.

Watch out for the next part of this series - Use Web Video or Lose Out

Video Marketing and Promotion of a New Product

2010-08-20T12:40:00.005+01:00

Videos are a great way of promoting a new concept / product. Take a look at this You Tube video.

Video Marketing For Affiliate Products

2010-08-19T16:52:00.005+01:00

Video Marketing For Affiliate Products by: Jeff Schuman

Anyone that is trying to make money with affiliate products needs to know about video marketing for affiliate products. Using video marketing will help you explode the traffic to any affiliate programs you promote and this will in turn increase the money you make.

When you want to use web video marketing to sell affiliate products you can make your own if you know how or use a professional web video production company. This will take time but will be worth it to explode traffic.

You can also find an affiliate system that will teach you everything you need to know about using this marketing method effectively. If it is a good system then they will also provide you with important tools and resources to help you get started right away.

It is always a good idea to know some of the basic steps that will be needed to make web videos for selling affiliate products. It doesn't matter if you make your own or use a professional video production company to help you set up the lighting, complete the edit etc.; knowing the basic steps will help you understand why it is a good idea to use.

1. The first step is to find software to use that will record the actions on your computer screen. You will also need a camera to record yourself on the video for credibility.

2. Next you need to record your video. For anyone just beginning you can record yourself purchasing and then reading or watching the affiliate product that you are trying to sell to someone else online.

You can also record results that you have achieved from the product you are trying to sell such as an increase in traffic. The key is to give visual proof to your customers for what you are trying to get them to believe.

This is a good idea because it will lend credibility to you. People want to know that you have purchased and used the product yourself and they want proof and not just your word. They don't know you and providing a video lets them see proof with their own eyes.

4. Once you have the web video done you can add it to as many video sites online as you can. Also add it to your blog for an increase in traffic.

Video marketing for affiliate products is one of the most effective ways to explode traffic and if you are not using it already then you need to start using it right away. The sooner you do the sooner your traffic will increase and the sooner your money will start to rise.

Why Place Your Video on You Tube?

2010-08-13T12:21:00.002+01:00

When discussing client video production requirements, we often talk about the best method of delivering a web video production, be it a product or service promotion or information video.

We always recommend embedding the video on the client’s web site (retains the customer to your web site). However we also recommend the video is loaded onto You Tube.

Now many people think YouTube is full of poor amateur videos, adverts from large companies like Diet Coke or viral videos where people play around with graphics and cartoons.
When you think about video marketing this way, it becomes difficult to see how YouTube can be essential for your business marketing campaign.

This short article will tell you how you can benefit from having You Tube in your marketing strategy.

YouTube is the most effective tool for video marketing because it is the most watched website for videos. In May 2010 You Tube recorded 14.6 billion videos viewed – a record month.

YouTube is ranked as the number 2 search engine behind Google. See full article: http://www.tgdaily.com/trendwatch-features/39777-youtube-surpasses-yahoo-as-world%E2%80%99s-2-search-engine

YouTube allows keywords to be entered. This gives you an additional internet presence and works in conjunction with your web site Search Engine Optimisation. Internet search engines, search on videos as well as text information.

Since its conception in 2005, YouTube has gained the biggest market share. After the first year since it started, there have been 38 million people who visited and put YouTube in the Top 10 websites. Due to its popularity, Google bought it in 2006 for $1.65 billion. YouTube did not stop growing and that is why it is in the top 5 websites that you should consider for your video marketing.

YouTube also has the benefit of being integrated with social networking websites which makes your video marketing efforts so much easier e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkeIn etc.

YouTube is also integrated with mobile devices, so you can reach your potential customers via PCs, iPads, mobile phones etc.

There are many other websites to place videos for marketing, such as blip.tv, Yahoo Video, Revver, Vimeo. However these are small when comparing market share with YouTube.

YouTube also has plenty of analysis tools to help measure your video marketing strategy. You can look at which videos are successful or not depending on the user traffic. Plus you do not need to spend any money on web development or hosting.

Contact Martin at Prime Video Productions to discuss this article –

martin@primevideo.co.uk

http://www.primevideo.co.uk

A Very Clever Video - Useful Ideas

2010-08-05T16:24:00.001+01:00

Today I noticed this very clever video.
Although based around running for the US Congress, the video gives useful ideas to any company wishing to promote themselves.

Keep it simple
Good voice over
Humour as appropriate
- monstrous truck = monstrous task that lies ahead

5 Tips for Growing Your Business

2010-08-03T14:47:00.002+01:00

119Share

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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum

Dina Kaplan co-founded Blip.TV, a video sharing platform for independent web shows, five years ago. In those five years, Kaplan has seen her business grow from a really small niche of video bloggers who were producing original video shows, to thousands of users using the site to host their own shows and upload produced videos.
The New York-based company, which shares revenue 50/50 with content producers, has scaled to 96 million video views a month and is now seeing more of its shows making more than $10,000 a quarter than ever before. In fact, Kaplan said payouts to content producers have increased 77% from Q1 to Q2 of this year.
Here are 5 things Kaplan recommends to entrepreneurs.

1. Don’t Try To Be All Things To All People

Kaplan said that when Blip.tv was just starting in 2005, the company went after a discrete market. “We didn’t try to be all things to all people,” she said. Blip.tv targeted a group of people who were producing original shows for the web and saw an opportunity to make their experience better. They saw a problem that could be fixed. The market they chose was very small, she said, but one that they knew would grow.

2. Learn From Your Customers

Once the company identified their target market, they studied it. They spent time with key users who were producing original video for blogs. Kaplan said it was just a handful of people at that point, and they hung out with them, got beers with them, and did a lot of listening to learn exactly what they were looking for in a platform that would host their shows.
“We did a lot of listening and built tools that would make their lives easier,” Kaplan said. “As the market grew, we did more listening and adapted the platform to the needs of the producers of video content.”

3. Hire Experts

Kaplan stresses hiring as one of the most important aspects to growing your business. At the beginning, the founders are doing everything, but it’s important that as you grow you hire experts in the different fields your business requires. Use your personal network, friends, cousins, a professional contact, and go to industry events and meet with people in your field.
“Hiring sets up your company to be much larger than yourself,” she said. “Give it all you got. You will benefit from good recruiting.”

4. Engage and Connect With Your Community

Connecting with your professional community is not only important in hiring, but in doing business in general. It can generate leads, partnerships, and opportunities that you may not have known were available. Kaplan said that some time should be spent with your “head down” focusing on the product, and a good chunk of the time should be spent with your “head up” meeting with people in your industry, communities of professionals, companies and other entrepreneurs.
“You should spend some of your time learning from other people and making connections,” Kaplan said. “Your business shouldn’t exist in a vacuum.”

5. Don’t Obsess Over Funding

Kaplan said companies often obsess on the funding, often at the expense of the product. She said business owners should focus on the product and market, and if the product is a great idea, the money will follow. She thinks focusing on building the product, especially for Internet () companies, is the first step and then looking for revenue or funding should follow.
“The funding isn’t the scarce resource. The scarce resource is good ideas, and more importantly, good execution,” Kaplan said.

12 CEOs Use Web Video - Their Videos

2010-08-03T14:37:00.001+01:00

I saw this post and thought it may be useful to help you get an idea of what some US CEOs are doing with web vidoes. With thanks to: http://eberbach.pl/blog/how-12-ceos-founders-are-leveraging-web-video/

"The debate continues on whether CEOs should be fluent in social media or not, but the number of CEOs using social media to engage customers is still very low, even among technology companies.
In the past year it seems that executives have become more comfortable with platforms like Twitter and Facebook. For example, there are a number of influential CEOs using Twitter to represent their companies and bring a friendly face to their businesses. Tweeting CEOs like Tony Hsieh of Zappos and Guy Kawasaki of Alltop are well-known for their successful social presences and large followings as a result........."

Go to http://eberbach.pl/blog/how-12-ceos-founders-are-leveraging-web-video/ for the full story and videos.

For video production in and around Milton Keynes, please get in touch.
http://www.primevideo.co.uk

2 Key Points Why I Should Use Video on My Web Site

2010-07-26T11:34:00.002+01:00

Today many people use the web, You Tube and iPlayers. They expect to see videos to make life simpler for them. Why read when you can look and listen.

Some recent stats -
87% of people in the UK (who have an Internet connection in the house) now use
the Internet as the first place to look for products and services.

Over 94% use Google, Yahoo or another major search engine rather than an on-line
directory (like Yell/Thompson etc) initially.
78% of people will watch at least the first 30 seconds of a video if it's displayed
as a result of their search.

1/ Time on Your Web Site (Dwell Time) Increased – people spend longer on your web
site and get longer exposure to your products and services.

Plus they can learn more about your company and its personality without having
to read loads of text information.

2/ Product and Service Conversion – people who watch a video on their
shopping journey are more lightly to complete their order.

A video delivers more impact than text can ever do.

Interesting and engaging videos lead to better customer retention and sales.

Statistics from several video platforms confirm this e.g. Google Analytics, buto.tv

Please get in touch if you would like to learn how we can help you reach millions of
people for the price of a colour leaflet or magazine advert. enquiries@primevideo.co.uk
or take a look at our web site: http://www.primevideo.co.uk

Web Video Benefits Highlighted by Business Link

2010-07-15T16:16:00.001+01:00

Once you have generated traffic to your website using search engine optimisation or online advertising techniques you need to ensure the visitor's experience of your brand is consistent with all your marketing messages.

If your business is innovative, forward thinking, creative, extremely competitive or in some way unique - does your web content demonstrate this?

Here are some communications techniques that could give your site a real boost, and encourage customers to visit your website regularly.

1. Online Video
Video assists greatly with your product marketing. It is especially useful if you have a complex product or proposition that needs a more graphical explanation than can be achieved using still photographs and words. It also enables you to demonstrate your company culture and show another side to your business, especially if you are unlikely to meet customers on a regular basis.

Tips for online video:

    * Keep the production in line with the intended audience. Shaky camera work might be perceived as being cool by one audience but others might see it as shoddy and unprofessional, so be mindful of your intended style.
    * Tag your content with appropriate keywords so that the video can be found by your customers in web searches.
    * Designing your video for online use means bearing in mind the bandwidth and audio quality issues. You must find a happy medium between production quality and a potentially large file size.
    * In addition to posting your video on sites such as YouTube, embed the video on your website to maximise the number of viewers who have access to it.
    * Solicit feedback. This will allow you to engage with your customers and collect their opinions on the content, which will inform future marketing ideas.
    * Developing an online video community among customers and stakeholders is an option to consider.
    * Consider using a video as a means by which you can quickly respond to events of relevance to your sector. For example, if a competitor brings out a new product you could create a video about your product and why it's different or better.

2. Podcasting
A podcast is an audio recording hosted on a website; it may be thought of as a radio show that is hosted on the internet. It is yet another way in which you can keep in touch with your customers and clients and adds some more personality beyond that found in a website.

3. Blogging
Successful blogs can attract many thousands of readers and generate a community of their own. From a business perspective it is a useful means of establishing your name as a reputable source of insight and commentary. Blogs take a lot of commitment and hard work to establish and you will need to create interesting copy several times a month to maintain your readers' interest.

4. Customer testimonials
Whether you sell direct to customers or your model is business-to-business, third-party validation is extremely reassuring to potential customers.

5. News
A vigorous online presence is indicative of a business that is thriving, active and energetic. Simply by posting a piece of news relating to your products or announcements about your business' success, or updating a blog at least once a month, you can demonstrate that your business is active.

6. Testing
A few simple updates to your online presence can provide excellent returns if well-executed. None of these need cost much and indeed some can be completed quite quickly. Don't be afraid to try out new ways of building your business using online marketing tools to find out what works best for you.

Thanks to Business Link for the information.

12 Key Points to Consider When Building a Video Production Requirement

2010-07-09T14:27:00.002+01:00

One question I get asked a lot. "Where do I start in order to put a video together to help promote my business....."

Your starting point is to create a project brief. This is the instruction that will be used to develop the video and firm up costs. The better the brief, the more chance there is of a successful video production. The brief should be as comprehensive as possible based on an accurate appraisal of what you want to achieve through the video.

As a guide the following points should be addressed:-

1/ What is the aim of the video?

2/ Define the intended audience.

3/ What is desired effect on audience? Instruct or inform? Change attitudes?

4/ Degree of urgency?

5/ Ideal length of video?

6/ Type of presentation; documentary, "fly-on-wall", presenter, talk-over, music only?

7/ Style of presentation; matter of fact, serious or humorous?

8/ Use of graphics; extensive, limited or none?

9/ Soundtrack; any music preferences? Are you providing the music?

10/ Script, if required to be developed by whom and when?

11/ Delivery format e.g. DVD, web media etc.

12/ Budget; how much is allowed for the video?

Hopefully these points will start you thinking!!

Take a look at our web site samples http://www.primevideo.co.uk to give you an idea of what can be done...... We offer a free no obligation consultation.

A Local Wedding Car Company Video Filmed by our sister company Timeless Video

2010-07-02T14:31:00.002+01:00

A Recent Video We Produced for a Local Company

2010-07-02T14:21:00.002+01:00

Welcome to the Prime Video Production Blog

2010-07-02T13:42:00.006+01:00

Welcome to our new blog.

I hope to add frequent content to highlight how video can enhance your business, be it a simple video testimonial from a happy customer right through to a product of company video promotion.

Prime Video Productions

You Tube Content Up 30%

Get Your Emails Opened, Read And Responded To - Part 2

Get Your Emails Opened, Read And Responded To - Part 1

How To Get the Best Result from Your Video Presentation / Stage Presentation

This is the first part of helpful tips on presentations

Pricing

Irrational Decisions?

I recommend that you read “Predictably Irrational” by behavioural economist Dan Ariely, or at least watch this video of him at a TED conference.

Decoy Pricing

Does Your Marketing Generate New Clients or Just Waste Your Money?

So how much does a video cost to promote my business ?

8 Tips For Creating A Successful Social Video Campaign (an extract from a Real SEO article)

Publish Regularly

Bring High Energy

Teach Creatively

Involve Others

Engage with Viewers

Wow Viewers

Call to Action

Make Content Sharable

Web Video is Massive and Growing

Cisco Figures on Video - forecast to 2015

Great Video Ads

Improve your web site ranking with video

Do You Use Video Marketing?

How To Talk on Camera

Your First Video Shoot Tips

Video Has Changed The Search Results Forever

Video Marketing Campaigns

2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

Work Life Balance

Website Keyword Research

3 Video Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Website and Increase Sales

A Powerful Short Video

Video Marketing Tips

Are Your Videos Attracting Traffic to Your Web Site?

Gain Customers With Video

Social Networking Has Overtaken Entertainment

Interesting Marketing Stats

How To Make Video Testimonials and Grow Your Business

Accustream just recently published, Pro Online Video 1999 – 2014:

Little Lives Gala Ball in Milton Keynes - Art for Auction - video by Prime Video Productions

Leadership and Passion in YouTube Videos

6 Billion Videos Watched in November 2010 by UK Web Users

Two Key Reasons to Use Video for Marketing

The PUMA Hardchorus

Top 5 Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers in October 2010

4 ways to get ahead of the competition

1. Know the competition

2. Know your customers

3. Know your own people

4. Know your business

What a Video can do for your Business Brand

New Video for the Stani Gallery - Stony Stratford - Great Christmas Gifts

Video Camera Training Video

YouTube Insight Statistics Have Moved

Facebook Video Marketing Strategic Tips

Why Facebook Video Marketing Now?

Facebook Video Marketing Tips

1) Add a Customized Tab and Intro Video to Your Facebook Page

2) Keep Facebook Fans Engaged with a Follow-up Video

3) Find Influencers & Those Most likely to “Share” Your Video

4) Harness YouTube Social Sharing To Facebook

What Is Social Video Marketing?

Robert F. Kennedy Quote

Samsung will become the first UK advertiser to run display ads on YouTube’s mobile site.

What is Affiliate Marketing

Video Over the Written Word

Twit Happens: Tips To Overcome Legal Dangers With Video On Twitter

Simple Key Points for a Great Web Video

Get More Views on Your YouTube Video

5 Video Marketing Tips

Facebook growing importance to Marketing

How to Put Your Video Marketing Message Together

Twitter Video Marketing

The Power of Web Video

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 5 Video Appeals To Most People

Internet Web Video Basics - Part 5 Video Appeals To Most People

Have you ever met the anti technology person … “I’ll never use email, there’s no personality in it…. These new fangled mobile phones, what’s wrong with the good old landline phone….. etc etc…”. Well there are quite a few around still, but they are in the minority.

Adding video to your web site does not have to be an all or nothing venture. You can begin slowly and then progress. Including a few videos throughout your website is a fantastic way to ensure that you are appealing to all types of people that will be purchasing your product or service.

Conclusion