In his book Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars, Mitch Myerson introduces you to 22 innovators who have redefined the developing landscape of online marketing. Learn how to master proven strategies, avoid costly mistakes and grow your business. In this edited excerpt, contributing author and video marketing consultant Lou Bortone offers an expert’s view on what it takes to create videos that attract your target market.
Video marketing is a powerful tool for getting more visibility more quickly, so you can get your message out, attract your ideal clients, make more money, and have more impact. It’s been reported that your chances of getting a page-one listing on Google search increase by 53 times when you use video.
Video marketing is relationship marketing: crucial for connecting, building loyalty and developing the “know, like, and trust” factor which is so important when doing business online.
To be effective with video, the emphasis needs to be on your marketing strategy. You must ask: What’s the goal of the video? What business objective will it accomplish? Who will be viewing the video, and what do you want the viewer to do after they watch it? Think strategy first, and tools, equipment and technology later.
Use the “Four Pillars” formula to be sure you’ve got a solid structure for your video:
1. Purpose. Think strategically about the business goals for your video. You can use it for creating awareness, increasing your visibility, building trust and credibility, generating leads, launching a product, growing your list, driving web traffic, selling a service—the list is almost endless. Understanding your objectives up front will determine your message, platform and distribution.
2. Premise. The second pillar for your video plan is to determine your message, script or story. Your premise is how you’ll communicate your message and move your viewer to action. What do you want your viewer to do when the video is over?
When developing your message or writing your script, keep in mind the very limited attention span of online viewers. Be clear, concise, and direct. Get to the point quickly and keep your video as short as possible. The vast majority of YouTube videos are under three minutes in length. (Obvious exceptions include training videos, webinars, and other long-form videos.)
3. Platform. While you could argue that there are only really two types of videos—on-camera or off-camera—there are actually many different styles and options. Video has evolved into much more than the traditional “talking head” format. You’ll want to find the platform that best fits your needs and personal style.
Most video creators default to the tried-and-true on-camera video, which can include the direct-to-camera video, a video interview with two or more participants, a video tips series, or a live webcast. On-camera videos are usually best for when you want to make a more engaging connection with your viewers, or when you’re promoting a more personal service and you wish to create more trust and credibility.
Off-camera videos, on the other hand, don’t require you to be on camera, which can be a big benefit to the more camera-shy among us. Off-camera videos can be extremely effective when sharing a lot of information, such as during a video webinar or training video.
4. Promotion. The fourth pillar is promotion, or how and where you’ll distribute, share, and market your video online. Determine where your target market is, and share your video there. Once your video is on YouTube, you can set up one-click sharing to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. You can also use the embed code that YouTube provides to get the video on your website or blog. In addition, YouTube will provide a link to your video so you can send it out in an email to your list.
Be sure to consider other social media sites that accept video, such as Pinterest, Instagram (15-second limit), SlideShare, and other video hosting sites such as Viddler or Vimeo. The more you distribute your video, the better chance viewers have to find it and watch it.
Being consistent with video marketing
Video marketing, like any marketing, isn’t a one-time event — your video efforts need to be consistent and ongoing to get the most impact. Unless you want to succumb to the dreaded “one and done” syndrome, you’ll want to create a plan for using video regularly in your business. Here are some ideas for maintaining your video momentum:
Create an “expert tips” series to share your expertise. Short, one- to two-minute how-to videos increase your credibility and expand your influence. You can record these all in one session, then post your tips video to YouTube once or twice per week. A tips series provides some consistency and gives you added visibility on the web.
If you have a blog, add a videoblog post every couple of weeks. The search engines love video, and your readers will be treated to a dynamic change of pace from your traditional, written blog posts. Spice up your regular blog posts with video to make your blog more engaging.
Get some face time. Use a personal video message or video email to go “face to face” with your clients or prospects. Sending a video greeting, birthday wishes or a thank-you video have much more impact than yet another regular email. Video email services like MailVu, Vsnap and Eyejot make it point-and-click easy to record your video.
Make it an event. Whether you’re promoting a webinar or launching a new product, nothing makes a bold statement like video. Adding video to your promotional plans makes your webinar or launch look more like a special event. It’s the best way to break through the online clutter and make sure your message gets noticed.
Go live. You can do a live webcast or offer a “Q&A” video session using free platforms such as Livestream, Ustream.tv or even Google Hangouts. These web resources make it easy to fire up your webcam and go live whenever you want. A live webcast is dynamic, engaging, and highly interactive.
However you decide to use video, it will put your marketing on overdrive and accelerate your results. The secret is consistency and strategy. Anyone can make one video. The real winners online will be those who make online video a regular part of their marketing efforts.
For more information or to access exclusive audio interviews with superstars from this book visit OnlineMarketingSuperstars.com.
