The Secret of Video Marketing.

__________________________

A big concern for most small business owners is getting found on Google and the other search engines.  And it should be.  If your site is not on the first two pages of Google you will either have to have a very solid social marketing strategy or pay for traffic to your website.

At least that was true until video marketing came along.

What is Video Marketing?

Very basically, video marketing is the process of producing short 30 second to 5 minute promotional video clips and distributing them throughout the web using free video hosting sites like YouTube.

Why Do This?

First, video is the most effective form of marketing that you can use online.  By leveraging site, sound, movement and enthusiasm you’re able to better persuade prospects through video than by the written or spoken word.  Customers and prospective customers can see you and really get a feel for what kind of person you are and what you know about your particular subject.

Second, video hosting sites are very popular.  Video now represents 54% of all online traffic according to ComScore and millions upon millions of people visit sites like YouTube and Google video for information and entertainment.  Out of such volume, some of those viewers must have some interest in what you’re selling.

Third, video hosting sites are very powerful.  If search engine optimisation (getting listed on the front pages of Google) is a concern, then you need to know that the more sites that link to you the more credibility the search engines will give you.  At the same time, the more important the sites are in Google’s eyes the more power each of those links have.  Needless to say, video hosting sites rank very high so links from your videos back to your site will carry a lot of weight and will bump up your site in the rankings.

Fourth, your videos themselves can be listed in the search rankings.  If you set up and name your videos properly, there is a good chance that they may get listed on Google while they’re still on YouTube, Viddler or any other video hosting site.  What this means is that you can benefit from video marketing even if you don’t have a website!  How cool is that?

Finally, video hosting sites are free.  You can upload your videos, have a chance of getting them ranked on Google, have them viewed by hundreds or thousands of prospects and get links back to your main site all for free.

But Making Videos is Complicated… and Expensive, Isn’t It?

It used to be but not anymore.  There are ways of making professional looking videos for next to nothing using nothing but photos and a microphone.  It is so easy these days it is ridiculous not to consider this form of marketing.

I Have a Face for Radio – Not T.V.

So do I but don’t worry.  That isn’t a problem.  It is best that you star in your own videos because you want to position yourself as the expert but you don’t have to.  There are dozens of ways to get around this problem but each depends on what you want to accomplish with your video marketing.

I hope that this little summary of video marketing has you intrigued enough to find out if this form of marketing is right for your business.  Contact me if you would like to find out more.