Obviously, online video is here to stay. With 79% of businesses surveyed currently employing some type of website video tactic, it’s clear that most businesses are beginning to embrace internet video advertising. But there is a lot more that can be done with an online video ad than just sticking it on your website. In fact, if used correctly, a web video will increase your sales exponentially – generally a minimum of 38%, and an average of 71%.
By taking the steps below, you will ensure that your internet video performs more like an advertising agency, and less like a simple website video.
1. Add video to your website homepage – This is obviously the first thing you should do with a video that is designed to generate interest about your business. Many website visitors are looking for, and expecting, a video on your website. And those who are not looking for a video are going to watch it anyway out of curiosity. No one can resist a ‘play’ button. Place your video prominently on the home page, preferably at the very top, for best results.
2. Use the ‘DIME’ method: Dazzle, Inform, Market, and Educate – DAZZLE visitors with a professional quality video. A higher quality video adds more credibility than simply you in front of a webcam. INFORM visitors about your products and/or services. MARKET those products and services by including a call to action, and EDUCATE visitors on the benefits of choosing your business to supply their needs.
3. Answer Frequently Asked Questions – You know your customers better than anyone else, and you probably get the same questions over and over again. Those questions that you and your staff laugh about because you get them so much…answer those questions in a short video before your visitor can even ask. Now you’ve taken all the guess work out of their visit to your site, and they’re ready to buy.
4. Product Demos – Whether you sell a tangible product, or an intangible service, create a brief video demonstrating the product in action, or the process of the service. Seeing things in real-life situations makes the idea of utilizing it more real, and many times can also make a complex product or service easier to understand.
5. Post a Tweet on Twitter or an update on Facebook, and add a link to your video in the post. Not only will everyone on your list get the link, but the search engines are now indexing FB and Twitter, so your video will get even more exposure. The cool thing about this is, you can come up with a different reason everyday to link to your video. Or better yet, make it part of a signature that’s included in every post or tweet.
6. Create a Squidoo Lens – Basically, Squidoo is a powerful site that Google and other search engines love. The pages (called ‘Lenses’) can be listed in the search results very fast when created well. This subject is a bit complex, but exploring it further is definitely worth your time.
7. Post to multiple video sharing websites – This is one of the best ways to increase search engine rankings and website traffic. Utilizing a service like Tubemogul, you can simultaneously post your video to several video sharing websites at once. Doing so will give your video massive exposure very quickly, and will also dramatically increase search engine placement due to the multiple sources hosting it.
8. Video SEO – When posting your video to multiple video sharing websites as discussed above, use video SEO techniques. This simply means creating your titles and descriptions using the keywords related to your business that you want to target. Taking it a step further, try creating your descriptions using your most frequently asked questions. This way, when a prospect types in that question in a search engine, it will bring up your video right away.
9. Post comments on blogs with link – Find blogs with a related theme to your business, and post a comment that includes a link to your video. For example, if you were a website designer reading this article right now (as a blog post) you might comment “Gr8 tips on video marketing! I just posted a video about interactive website elements including video. Check it out at (add your website address). Besides exposing your video to a whole new audience, you also generate quality backlinks that boost search engine placement and increase traffic.
10. Make a DVD of your video – Why? Have you ever received a free DVD and not watched it? Probably not. There is a perception of value attached to physical DVD’s that should not be overlooked. Spindles of blank DVDs are super affordable, and DVDs can be burned right on most computers nowadays. Prospects can watch your DVD on a TV or computer, DVDs build credibility since they are perceived as ‘expensive’ and ‘quality’, DVDs are more interactive and involve more senses than a brochure, and the list goes on and on.