Peter Grandstaff

Web Marketing for Your Small Business

Engage Your Audience with Online Video

Online Video Sites

There are hundreds of places to share your video online. Click above to search for them.

Video is huge. It’s all over the web these days. There’s nothing new about that, but what I see is a lot of small businesses that still aren’t using it. It wasn’t that long ago when having video play right on your website was a difficult and expensive task. Today, there’s simply no excuse: video sites handle the technical side for you and affordable HD cameras can make you look like a pro.

In the average US home, a television is turned on for over 6 hours a day. No matter how familiar someone is with the web you can be sure they’re used to video. No matter how complicated your website is, video is simple. It takes a click to play it, and then your visitor can just sit back and consume your message.

There are a variety of ways you can put video to use effectively.

  • Welcome Videos — These are really good at getting the visitor’s attention and making sure they feel like they’re in the right place. Ideally the video will show a person talking, but it could also just be a slide-show with voice over.
  • Product Videos — If you’re doing eCommerce then product videos can really boost your conversions. Looking at pictures and reading about a product can only make it so real for us. When we see it in motion, with a real person using it and talking about it, a product becomes much more real.
  • Virtual Tour Videos — Show off your facilities and offerings with a video tour of your business. Be sure to highlight things that make your shop unique and get someone passionate to narrate the tour.
  • Sales Videos — Use video on a sales page to drive home the benefits and wash away the objections of your prospect.

You can pick up a pocket sized HD video camera for less than $150 plus the cost of a memory card. I got a Kodak Zi8 for my birthday this past week, and I think that’s the best option out there, right now, for web video.

If you’re camera shopping, make sure it has a microphone jack so you can upgrade your audio equipment as your budget allows.

You can edit your video in iMovie or Movie Maker then just upload it to YouTube, Vimeo, and tons of other sites. Then, just look for the “embed” link and send that code to your webmaster or paste it into your site. Don’t forget to post links to your video on your social media sites as well.

So, when you’re out doing your weekend shopping why not pick up a cheap camera and start playing around with video. Your website will become instantly more engaging for users and you’ll benefit from the increases in visit depth, time on site, and conversions.

 
This post first appeared in my small business e-mail newsletter.

Videos for Your Lazy Memorial Day

It’s a lazy day around here with Memorial Day. We’re having a block party later on, and I’m guessing you’re probably not terribly focused on work either. So, this month I’m not going to write a long, original article. Instead I have some videos for you to check out if you have some time to kill and want some good business brain food.

First, a video of Seth Godin talking about standing out. Some of you might remember a previous newsletter on this topic. Well, I don’t think I ever included this video. It’s worth watching just to find out how Silk brand soy milk tripled its sales. Running time: 17 minutes Seth Godin on Sliced Bread & Soy Milk

This next one is a bit off topic. It’s an interview with Richard Stallman. Never heard of him? I’m not surprised. He’s sort of an underground hero. You see, when he was a student at Harvard and working in the MIT artificial intelligence lab, he started creating free software so that academics could freely modify it to suit their needs. What he started back then, in 1983, was called the GNU project. You’re probably familiar with it. Most people just call it Linux. The correct title is GNU/Linux, as it’s a combination of Stallman’s work and a kernel by Linus Torvalds. Anyhow, Stallman recently gave an interview to Mashable that I think should be required viewing. Running time 3 minutes Stallman on Software Freedom

Finally, for you copywriting geeks out there, here’s a video presentation by Drayton Bird, who, according to David Ogilvy, “knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world.” In it he breaks down and analyses four advertisements — two by him, one by David Ogilvy and one by Claude Hopkins. If you’re a student of the persuasive power of language then you’ll love this one. The link is to a summary, just click through to watch the video. They won’t try to sell you anything. Running time 50 minutes Drayton Bird’s Ad Crunch

Sorry, I can’t embed this last one, and I don’t think it will be available forever. It seems kind of hypocritical to post this non-free video after Richard Stallman, but hey – I’m not perfect.