Using Video To Market Your Business

Why Video?

Video is a big deal these days. Yet many businesses do not use it at all. Using video to market your business is a great opportunity. Part of the reason it’s a great opportunity is that so many people who could benefit from it are not using it! Much of your competition is not using video!

Video is a great online marketing tool. Many people would rather watch how something is done than read copy from their computer screens.

When you know the routine it’s easy to create videos. The process has a few tricks to maximize results. But it’s relatively quick and easy once you get the hang of it.

Video and Search Engines

When we talk about online video we have to talk about YouTube. YouTube is the largest video website in the world. YouTube videos are uploaded at a rate an astonishing rate. It is estimated that 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute! The site is growing fast.

Google often shows videos listed among their search results. They call this “Universal Search”. Many times there are just one or two among the 10 results listed on a page. But wow do those they stand out. Even if a video is listed at the bottom of the search page it seems to attract more attention than all the other text-only listings. Having your video on a search results page can be a great advantage.

Creating Your Video

Making your own video is easier than it’s ever been before. Thanks to the many choices of cameras and easy to use websites you can begin making videos right away.

Many smart phones can record videos. This is the handiest way to do it since you always have your phone with you. To get better quality you should use a camcorder. Digital camcorders are common and do not require tape or disks. They are easy to use. Copying video to your computer is easier too!

There are numerous resources and video tips online to help you with the creation of your videos. The biggest tip is to use an external microphone or separate digital audio recorder to get good sound. If you don’t try this you won’t even realize the difference it can make. Getting good sound really does add a lot of quality. Lighting is another obvious concern. For indoor videos you should have plenty of lights. Outdoor lighting is best on shady days because shadows can be tricky to control.

Editing Your Video

You can get by without editing your video. But if you want it to be a bit more polished then using a video editor will do the trick. Many editors are available in the under $100 range. I’ve used Corel Video Studio for several years. Other editors in the same price range include CyberLink PowerDirector, Adobe Premiere Elements, Roxio Creator, and Sony Vegas Movie Studio. Check the web for a review of video editor software. With a video editor you can easily cut out unwanted pieces of video, add music and narration, and add on screen titles. After editing you will end up with a polished version of your video. This is the version that will be ready to upload to the internet. I usually create videos in the MP4 format, then upload them to YouTube.

Getting Your Video Online

As mentioned in the previous paragraph I use YouTube. You must set up a YouTube account before you upload your videos to it. I recommend creating a Google account and using that account when signing up for your YouTube account. You’ll have one Google login that will get you into all of your Google products. Once your YouTube account is set up you should create your YouTube channel. Fill it in with all of your business information as completely and accurately as possible.

Use a video aggregator to publish your video to multiple video sites at one time. I don’t use aggregators but many internet marketers do.

I recommend putting your website URL (“http://www.yourwebsite.com”) in the description of your YouTube video. Also put the link to the YouTube video into your YouTube video description. The reason is that some websites copy videos from YouTube and display them on their own website. This helps optimize your Video and can generate more traffic as it gives you a back link.

Integrate Video on Your Website

After you’ve uploaded your video to YouTube the next step is to integrate the video in your website and other online properties. The video below shows how this is done. YouTube makes it very easy to embed videos on your website. Google places and other online business directories make it easy to include video within your business listings too.

More Reasons to Use Video

Besides that benefits of generating more leads for your business, video can make a much more personal connection between you and your potential customers. So much of the Internet is impersonal. There is a big lack of trust online, and rightfully so. To get customers and do business you must build a trusting relationship with your customers. Video can get this done faster than most things. I always recommend a simple, short welcome message on a website home page. One that greets the visitor and makes them feel welcome. Here’s more video tips that will help with your video creation.

Travel Tips No Matter Where You Go

We all get a little crazed at times when we are about to head off on vacation. When we travel, we think we remembered to do something, but then we find that we did not do it. Others might find that there are some things which people have heard to do for so long that we just brush it aside and never take these travel tips. Here are a few for you.One of the biggest things we have seen is that people do not give themselves enough time to plan. When you plan, you need to be able to book things far enough in advance as there might be times when they fill up. You need to know when these times are and start getting dates so that you can make it there in time.Making sure you have everything you have to have can seem like a tedious task. We have all been there before, but here is what we have learned from traveling. We have learned that it is usually just best to buy a new toothbrush just for travel so you do not have to worry about if you remembered yours or not. Buying travel size is usually well also. Make a list of the things which you need to get.Arriving early and leaving early is always a good suggestion too. Too many people leave at the last minute or so forth. However, when you do not factor in road construction or long waits, then you might find that you miss a flight or show up late. This can ruin your plans greatly. We even suggest bringing with you a book so that you can read and if you have kids, bring something that can keep them entertained.As you look at how you are going to pay for things, one must know of a few tips we have for this as well. One such thing is to make sure that you go to call in your cards. If you spend too much money and they cannot call you, they might cut off your limits. Others think they can just carry cash, but that is not a very good idea to carry that much cash on you.While this should be something you already know, your safety as you are a tourist should be a priority. Therefore, you should carry ID with you in case something does happen. The other thing to remember is that women should never travel alone. You should try not to walk places after dark as well.One of the very last things would be how to stay safe at the hotel. You need to be sure you lock your door. Make certain to carry things that might be of value with you. If not, you need to ask for a safe. This ensures that you do not get ripped off. While you want to assume that you would be safe, you could never be certain. Do not even take the chance.These are things to remember. When you travel, think wisely. There are tips that people will tell you over and over again, but many do not stop to listen. Read about the area and read about the things they tell you to be mindful of and be prepared of. This can allow you to have a fun time.

Automotive Advertising Agencies Focus on Consumers Vs Auto Dealers to Sell Cars Because Google Does

Consumers prefer to go to the Internet to shop for a vehicle to get information to make a buying decision without having to visit a dealership. Sometimes they turn to the World Wide Web vs. their local car row to avoid being pressured by a self serving car salesperson — real or imagined. Other times their objective may be to save gas and time before they jump into the real world where they may be pressured into making a premature buying decision based on emotion and limited information. Frankly, in many cases, they are right; can you say — spot delivery.Job one for search engines, like Google, is to provide relevant information to their online customers to help them narrow down their list of vehicles of interest and answer associated questions like trade-in value, payment options and the many items that must be addressed before they can select — the — vehicle vs. — a — vehicle. Once those issues are resolved, they need to help their online shoppers find an auto dealer that can provide a vehicle that best satisfies those terms and conditions; in that order — vehicle first and dealer second. My point is that when Google first directs their customers to the most relevant source for their desired information it is not necessarily limited to a particular dealership. Today’s car shoppers are much better educated than yesterday’s. They know what questions they need to ask before they can make a buying decision so their online search words are more able to target vehicles that warrant their consideration rather than limiting their search to their local car dealerships. For better or worse, auto dealers can’t put that horse back in the barn!The adversarial relationship between consumers and auto dealers that governed old world selling processes originated in the real world to help auto dealers control the shopping and negotiation process and they survived briefly on the virtual showrooms being built one on the Internet, but — today and tomorrow — not so much! Once auto dealer’s realized — or more correctly — once customers told auto dealers that they no longer controlled the access to the information that they needed to purchase a vehicle the dealers tried to control the information on the Internet; how is that working out for auto dealers!Automotive advertising agencies first assumed that S.E.O. and S.E.M. was a way to put Google on the auto dealer’s side of the Internet Super Highway. If they placed the right search words, meta tags, URL names — and the various manipulations of the Google search algorithms that automotive advertising agencies have memorized as fast as Google changes them — then they could manipulate the search results to place their auto dealer clients as the most relevant source for the information that customers were searching for and earn the auto dealers a position on the car shoppers short list. Given the vertical priority placed by Google to position a listing on page one based on relevancy to their customers search words or phrases, that technique certainly has value. However, since customers are prioritizing finding a vehicle before a dealer and/or to answer related questions before they open negotiations on a specific vehicle at a particular auto dealer, auto dealers that base their online marketing efforts to accomplish that priority are positioning themselves mid-sales cycle and they may be a day late and a dollar short for a large portion of today’s and tomorrow’s shoppers/buyers.Automotive advertising agencies have attempted to answer customer’s questions on their auto dealership’ websites in an attempt to earn them a top position on vehicle based searches. Their assumption is that the more information the better — as long as it is relevant — however, once at the auto dealer’s site the more accurate priority is “transparency!” More time on page, and more page visits used to be considered a good thing but today, once again — not so much! The easier and faster the online car shopper can find the specific information that they need to make a buying decision the better! Site designs are being simplified with more intuitive user interface and dedicated landing pages or linked micro sites to allow customers to limit the amount of “clicks” or wasted exposure to information that may be relevant to the dealer but not necessarily to the customer; at that time in their shopping cycle at least.Once the shopper actually ventures onto an online showroom the plan is to keep them there by providing direct or linked access to anything that they need to move themselves further down the sales/buying funnel. The dealer may see these information resources as a conversion tool or a lead generator but if they lose track of the truth — that the customer is still in charge — they risk losing them with the click of a mouse. Sorry, but throwing their trade-in keys onto the roof won’t work in your virtual showrooms!The solution is for auto dealers to listen and learn from their online customers before they presume to sell them anything! Human nature has survived on the World Wide Web and relationship based selling still has a strong influence on consumers. Today’s online shoppers are being directed by Google and the other search engines to social networking sites because the marketplace is a conversation and people are social animals. Auto dealers who want to attract customers with a message that they are the best source for information to serve the customer’s interest vs. their own are better served to have their customers make that case for them.Next generation inventory based search portals — like ronsmap.com — accept an auto dealer’s inventory for free with the ability to push their vehicles into social media using their vBack application to Ask-A-Friend or Tell-A-Friend about the vehicle — and the dealer –that they are considering within their social networking communities of online friends. Google has already admitted that they are prioritizing real time social media to establish relevancy, and automotive advertising agencies already know that more vehicles on a site provide more relevancy to more online car shoppers. As a result, they have found that the way to attract more online customers to find their auto dealership as the place to go to get all of their questions answered will be the message that is carried along with their individual vehicles listed on this communal consumer-centric site; which is what the customers are looking for to begin developing their shortlist of dealers to do business with!Customer friendly applications that distribute the information on an auto dealer’s individual website which have the secondary value of functioning as a conversion tool or lead generator are also key differentiators that quickly build branding value for an auto dealer’s virtual showroom and enhance their online reputation as the place to go to get customer’s questions answered vs. their being sold something. For example, GetAutoAppraise.Com is a next generation appraisal tool that provides credible third party trade-in values sourced through NADA with integrated inventory information that allows the customer to review the entire transaction more efficiently. Their trade-in appraisal form includes vehicle, price and payment information to and from both parties to the transaction in one easy transparent and customer friendly process.Video platforms, like SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot, is another transparent Google friendly application that converts pictures on an auto dealer’s website into interactive videos with human voice that are also pushed out onto the World Wide Web through their dedicated API to You Tube and soon to be announced applications that push their vShock platform onto social networking communities like Face Book. Their proprietary video platform is fully index able for the search engines and it provides relevant information to the customer from within the video as well as direct links through their vShock application that opens a dedicated micro site with similar vehicles chosen from the dealer’s inventory using algorithms and business rules custom designed by the dealer to improve the customers vehicle selection. This process is another example of a customer friendly information delivery system that will improve transparency for the customer once they find an online dealership which will also extend the auto dealers S.E.O..The point is, the more information that an automotive advertising agency provides through their auto dealer client’s websites in the most relevant and transparent manner the better. However, auto dealers need to get online car shoppers to find and visit their virtual showrooms first, and since information is a key differentiator between them and their online competition — or according to Google and online shoppers, it should be – then the information alone won’t make it! Automotive advertising agencies must focus on consumers’ interests in order to best serve their auto dealer clients because Google does; and Google does it because their customers demand it!