Internet marketing videos are becoming more popular every day. With more and more people having access to high speed internet, putting your marketing message across using videos has become a powerful and cost-effective way of reaching your target audience.
But as it is rightly said, not every marketing video is created the same. For your videos to achieve your purpose, the video must be compelling enough to make the viewers do what you want.
The question then is, how do you make your marketing videos that compelling? What should you include in your internet marketing video for it to literally take the viewer by the hand and lead him to do what you want?
It will interest you to know that creating internet marketing videos for online distribution does not have to be extremely time consuming or cost intensive. Indeed, for a lot of companies, creating marketing videos seems like too much work. But that is really unfortunate. With the plethora of video creation tools and technology available today, it can really be fun and very cost-effective!
The truth is, as a company with a web presence, properly utilizing online marketing videos can have a huge impact on your business? image and traffic. What more? You don?t even need the skills of a Hollywood cinematographer to create your online marketing videos!
Below are the video marketing tips to creating good business videos from start to finish.
1. Have a Solid Concept
What is difficult about starting a video is that people try to start with the wanting to create a video, and then they try to produce it. Instead, you should have a list of messages you want to get across, and find which ones will do best in video form. For instance, if you need to do a product tutorial, videos are great to get this message across. So instead of having a contrived video message, you work your way to finding that video is your best option. Once you have this all settled, make sure you create a solid script or talking points, ensuring that you have the most important points covered. Also, try to make sure your video is long enough to be informative, but not so long that they lose your viewers. Often 2:30 to 4 minute films are good lengths to aim for.
2. Get The Right Gear
Here is where there is a lot of debunking needed. Most small businesses think that getting great equipment will break the bank. Fortunately with the new lines of DSLR cameras that have video functions, like the Canon T2i, you can get a camera for well under $1000, and you can get great quality for your videos. These cameras are very user friendly and easy to get a grasp on, and even have advanced functions for those that have a little more experience in video producing. While these cameras still aren?t top of the line, it makes it so you no longer have to invest thousands to make a corporate video. After that, you?ll need to find a decent external mic, because great audio is key to these types of videos, soon to be discussed further. Finally, you need something to put it all together, and there are plenty of decent editing softwares that can help you create a final product, and even top of the line products are becoming more affordable, and give you the chance to have a great polish to your video.
3. Get the Basics Down
Again, not everyone needs to be a prolific filmmaker to make good marketing videos, but you should learn about the basics. The biggest thing you should look into is learning the basics of composition so you can at least have a decent look to your videos. This is called the ?rule of thirds.? What this means is that you segment the screen into thirds, horizontally and vertically, and then place your subject, whether it is a product, speaker, etc. in one of the segments (see images). This allows for your image to be balanced as well as having a pleasant, viewable image. When you don?t get this right, it not only gives it an amateurish look, but it is also an ?uncomfortable? image to look at. It is important to nail down some core skills to filmmaking, and there are a ton of online resources that can help you learn the basics in a quick time span. Having these few things nailed down will ensure that you will at least have a solid production effort.
One last basic that you will want to have down deals with your subject if they are a person. A lot of viral videos are products demonstrations, but sometimes they are also essentially short form documentaries about your company. They might have testimonials, interviews, or a number of other ?performances.? In all cases, you want to make sure you have a good eye line for your speaker. If they are doing a product demo, then chances are that they will be addressing the camera, and that is fine. On the other hand, with an interview or testimonial, you want the subject?s eyes just off camera, looking across the frame. This is a more professional interview aesthetic, and if you can do this correctly, it will make you video look great. The best way to pull this off is to have your interviewer sit right next to the camera, and have the subject speak to them.
4. Have Good Audio
This is far more important than people think. When most think about making a video, they want to have absolutely beautiful images, and think that is what makes a successful video. In fact, what is most important is to have good audio. It has been shown that when it comes to viral videos, marketing or otherwise, audiences are far more forgiving of bad imagery than they are of bad audio. Poor audio will turn viewers of because a.) it is more annoying than bad imagery and/or b.) people don?t like watching video when they can?t understand what is being said. If the audience can?t understand your words or message, your video is pointless. It defeats the purpose of putting out an informative piece because no one can understand the point of the video. This is why investing in an external mic, even cheap ones, can do wonders for your productions.
5. Lighting
This is another aspect that will touched on quickly. Investing in lighting is not necessary, but make sure that you do have an area that is evenly lit, and has enough light to get a good picture. Rooms with a lot of natural light are ideal because natural light looks better than office fluorescents, but as long as you have plenty of light, you should be okay. Like bad audio, poorly lit, indistinguishable images are often deemed unacceptable by audiences. This doesn?t require a big investment, but it does require an eye for detail and effort.
So these are the basics to getting a good video made, but you?re not done here. After you?ve created the video, it is now time to utilize the video well. While creating a good video is step number one because people need something to watch, the SEO and traffic benefits that you can harness are amazing for your business. Google already ranks the use of video on pages very highly, and self-hosted and created videos can do even more. For instance, a satellite channel provider might share video clips of programs they support, but if they can share unique material they produced, they can have even more success. So now that you have your unique video created, it?s time to utilize it.
6. Properly Tagging Your Videos
With the ability to add video descriptions and a file name, you can add search terms to your video to help it get found in searches like on Youtube and Google. The reason you do this instead of making your own search terms is because you want to find out what people are searching for. You can have the most relevant search term in the world, but if it is not something people are looking for, then you?ve missed. So start to search for a video like the one you?re creating, and as Google or Youtube autofills showing the most relevant searches, you this as your guide. Once you have that keyword, use it in your video file name like anchor text, and use the description to augment your efforts. Also, just like anchor text and keyword targeting in written content, try not to overly optimize your videos terms. The more you keyword stuff, the bigger of a red flag will be raised by searches.
7. Self Hosted Video
Self hosted videos are optimal to get the SEO benefits back to your site. When someone decides to share your video, they have to embed it from your site. When they embed it from your site, your link becomes a part of the HTML of the site on which it?s shared. This link is much like a typical backlink to your site, except that as earlier mentioned, videos are more highly regarded. After the video is initially shared, if it keeps getting shared, the more links you are passing around. This can lead to an amazing link building campaign if your video has that viral ability.
One reason that self hosted videos are great if you have the ability is that people go to your site to find it. The video is therefore more branded because it is surrounded by your own website material, and is not playing on a branded media site like Youtube or Vimeo. This makes people feel like they are looking at a more professional production because it is on your sight. This has a lot to do with the mindset people have when they think about Youtube, and other videos that may pop up on there. Those other outlets aren?t bad options, but this option is ideal.
8. Non-Self Hosted Sites
Just because your site doesn?t have the ability to host video doesn?t mean that you can?t link build. If you upload to Vimeo or Youtube to put on your site, try to create a custom embed in which you can put your link in. So even though the host will also get credit for your video, your link is still present as it gets shared. This can be a good option because you won?t have to worry about getting a site with video hosting ability. Youtube and Vimeo also have good media players and design, not to mention people are already familiar with these players. So with this option, all you have to focus on is creating great videos, upload them to a video hosting site, and then wait for it to get passed around.
Internet Marketing Videos Take Away
So these are the best ways for you to utilize video content for your marketing efforts. All of the content creation tips are universal for online and offline videos, but it is important to also know how to properly use it for online distribution. While great videos are important to get your company?s message across, it is also important to make sure you get the traffic back to your site. Videos are important assets in online and digital marketing, and while it doesn?t take a film genius to be successful, it does take some hard work and focus on the message you want to get across to your audience.
Over to You:
Are you marketing with videos? Is there any other online video marketing tips not mentioned in this article you would like to share with us? Feel free to do so in your comments below.
Image credit: Freedigitalphotos.net
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Author: BThom
Bill Thomas is a social media and SEO blogger and enthusiast. He is also a media producer, often writing about content creation.
Source: http://webincomejournal.com/5905/internet-marketing-videos.html
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