Technology

Get Your Video Marketing Game On   By Pamela Bir

The need to differentiate yourself from your competition has never been greater. Nor has the need to market your services and products consistently, concisely and clearly. Let’s discuss a relatively new tool to help you with both needs--video marketing. It fits so perfectly for the architect, the interior designer, the landscape architect and builder.

YouTube is now the #2 search engine in the world following Google (which just happens to own YouTube). The most popular videos viewed on YouTube are consumer or non-professional short videos. A short video is typically three to four minutes long.

Granted, a lot of video viewing is by the 18- to 24-year-old crowd. They’re watching not only short videos but also music videos, full-length TV shows, movie previews, full-length movies and news stories (top five according to a recent survey). Average weekly viewing is 4.6 hours.

Don’t be misled by thinking videos only appeal to that age group. Fifty percent of all online users watch videos weekly, according to a study by Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc., in conjunction with Metacafe.

People process information and learn in different ways. Video marketing appeals to both the audio and visual learner. They see you and/or your product while hearing your presentation. Another study shows when the combination of voice and visuals are working together, information is absorbed and retained at a much higher level. It’s more than six times that of hearing alone (a phone call) and three times that of seeing alone (e-mails or printed materials).

The really good news for businesses is that the audience actually responds better to amateur videos. They are not expecting gorgeous models, perfect delivery and slick productions. “Authentic” and “transparent” are crucial words for video marketing as for other types of social media.

There are three video tools worth checking out:

• The Flip Camera. For just under $200, you can purchase a camera for quality videos that can immediately be uploaded to YouTube, your website or other multi-media sites. www.TheFlip.com
  
• Mojo Video Marketing. This firm will help you create videos or will use your videos. The critical part of their service is the automation. Do you know the “seven touches” rule to make a sale? Mojo will help you set up your marketing process. Their software will send the videos out on your schedule. Mixing phone calls, e-mails and meetings in with the videos gives you a powerful presence. Equally important is the consistency. All of us have found a business card under a pile of paper on our desks of a good prospect who we met and then accidentally forgot. Mojo is so easy that you can add contacts to your video campaign from your smartphone. The touches continue on schedule! www.MoJoVideoMarketing.com
  
• Gold Mail. There are several companies that will convert still photos into a video. Most provide background music. Some will attach an audio recording. Gold Mail’s genius is the simplicity of their software to let you create the video yourself. You can use still photos, a PowerPoint presentation or one of their templates. You record your message with each slide. If you make a mistake, you can correct a single slide. I tested the software one Sunday afternoon. Being a multi-tasker, I tried the software out and created a message to my family and friends. It took a little more than 30 minutes. www.GoldMail.com

Once you have created your video, you can insert it into one e-mail or into a broadcast message through an e-mail service provider (ESP). Forrester Research has stated that adding clickable media to your e-mails can increase click-through by two to three times. A higher open rate leads to higher conversion rates. If you include a link to your website in the e-mail, you can also increase traffic to your website.

Speaking of websites, all indications are that websites with videos generate more traffic both in new visitors and in keeping visitors on your site longer. Bruce Clay, one of the godfathers of search engine optimization, has even said you basically won’t exist, in search engine terms, if you don’t have video. “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’” Clay says. “It will make you last among equals if you don’t have it.”

Once your video is uploaded to YouTube, it is quite simple to embed the video on your website. You can then measure its success with Google Analytics or other traffic-reporting software.

You don’t abandon text or other graphic content on your site. There are people who want to read details. There are people who want to see charts, technical data, etc. Adding a video differentiates you. It marks you as a technology leader. It shows an openness to new ideas, which is certainly important in the design industry.

Don’t stop with posting the video. Tell people about it. Link from your daily e-mails. Include a link in your monthly e-newsletter. Submit the video to Metacafe.com, StumbleUpon.com, Digg.com or other video sites. Mention the video in all of your social media activities. This isn’t a field of dreams. You need to promote the video, your website, your social media activities. Each marketing effort should support every other marketing effort.

Pamela Bir is president of Your Computer Lady, Inc., a firm that provides computer support including marketing literature, e-mail marketing, website design and maintenance, PowerPoint presentations and more. Visit www.YourComputerLady.com or e-mail Pamela@YourComputerLady.com.