Successful web marketing companies know that there’s nothing wrong with text or audio when it comes to promoting your business online. But if you really want to show the world what you’re about, the most effective way to accomplish this is through the use of video.
YouTube is one of the most popular sites on the internet. Facebook and other social media sites allow members to post videos on their pages. Videos are showing up with increasing regularity on the search result pages.
There are many ways a business can promote itself in the world of internet video. Marketing videos that take advantage of search engine optimization can be an effective tool for promoting any business online. Businesses can take advantage of this new medium by utilizing the same SEO website marketing techniques that you would use on a text page. They would utilize the same keywords as an article or blog entry by including them in your videos’ titles, tags, and file names and would have to make sure that the content is fresh and engaging, and updating videos often.
Quality video production can be very expensive and many companies can’t afford the high cost of video production equipment. Thankfully, there are many companies that provide video production services. Local Houston SEO company Directory One Marketing uses the services of Artistic Video Productions to produce client videos. This Houston video production company has the experience and state of the art equipment to produce a high quality effective video that can really sell your business. For more information on how to market your company through videos call Houston website developers Directory One at 713-465-0051.
Houston SEO Services know that one of the fastest growing methods of web marketing is online video promotion. Did you know that online video sharing is growing exponentially? Here are a few specs to put things in perspective:
As of May 2011 YouTube receives approximately two billion views per day. Only 6 years old, YouTube is currently the second largest search engine to Google, and growing. As for Video Ads, the audience is approximately 4.6 million people in the U.S., reaching 45.4% of the population.
The most popular kind of videos on the web are training or educational videos. If you work in an industry, you are an expert on the services you offer. Many people turn to Internet videos for the kind of industry knowledge that can only be gained through experience. Training and educational videos showcase a small niche of our vast wealth of industry knowledge, gain respect from potential customers, and also have the potential to go viral. The videos can also double as training material for new company employees.
Web sites that contain promotional video look better, more professional, and on top of the marketing game. Not only does a video make your web site look more professional, it also increases customer trust by showing potential clients exactly what you have to offer. You may want to highlight the facility, equipment, products, or a promotional clip from your company CEO.
Our Houston Internet Marketing Service, Directory One, specializes in building unique and professional web sites that implement quality video. The video services we offer are broad in spectrum, and include company commercials, video facility tours, promotional or training videos, green screen videos, and testimonial videos. Our company also accommodates custom requests. Contact Houston Video Production Company Artistic Video or our Houston SEO Service, Directory One, at (713-465-0051) for more information.
In previous blogs, we’ve talked about ways to use Social Media to interact directly with potential clients. I’ve shared how Facebook Advertising can get your message in front of potential customers for very little cost ; and how a Facebook Business page can grow your business – but today I’d like to talk about some ‘alternative’ uses for social media.Many of these examples are platforms (such as YouTube) that can be used for more traditional social media marketing uses — but I’ll also introduce you to several unique platforms that allow you to collaborate with business partners and work more efficiently.
Social Media Tools for Collaboration
Social media creates great possibilities for real-time collaboration.You are likely already familiar with Google Docs – which allow you to share documents with your colleagues for instant revision, editing, and general collaboration. You may not be aware of other tools that allow you to collaborate via wikis. You’ve probably heard the term “wiki” before in reference to “wikipedia.” Imagine a private “wikipedia” of information on your clients, services, ideas, etc… pretty neat, eh?
A wiki can be part of your internal site, but that requires you work with your website developer or IT guy. This may be a solution for you , but you might want to experiment with external wikis first to see if they are a good fit for your collaborative needs. Online, hosted wiki sites allow you to create and edit multiple wikis on so-called “wiki-farms.” These external wikis, like an internal wiki platform, can be as private as you like.
Why is this helpful for small business?
Wikis allow you to centralize and grow information related to a specific topic. Say you have a new business idea – you can create a wiki and allow your partner to edit it. On the other hand, perhaps you’d like to create a wiki about your competition. You can share information and knowledge within the wiki – and attach links and files as well.Wikis can either be public or private(even if they exist on a wiki-farm) so you can keep some information close-to-your-chest and share other types of information with potential clients, customers, or partners.
Example sites include Wikispaces& Wikia
Social Media Allows You to Manage Your Clients and Your Time
Several social sites have sprung up to allow you to manage your clients. A new one that is garnering a lot of attention is BookFresh. Bookfresh allows you to manage your client appointments online – and to access that information via a smart phone when you’re away from your computer. More than just a calendar, BookFresh allows your clients to actually schedule appoints (and be reminded of them,) online.
Another time management tool is Remember the Milk, a site which allows you to not only create tasks online for yourself – but to share them with other people on your team.
Why is this helpful for small business?
The interactive nature of these tools makes them superior to say, a calendar application on your iphone. In addition, these products are either free (Remember the Milk) or low-cost alternatives to expensive software solutions.
Example Sites: BookFresh, Remember the Milk, Ta-Da List
Social Media Can Help You Train Employees & Clients
Media sharing sites can be great for marketing – but they can also be a great way to share training information or to make a pitch to your client.This can be done either in video form (and then post to a video sharing site)— or you can use powerpoint to create a slideshow (and then upload it online for viewing and embedding.)
Why is this helpful for small business?
Product demonstration or detailed instructions can often best be conveyed via video or a Powerpoint with animation or additional text. While these products can certainly be emailed – posting them online creates ease of access and it creates opportunities for comments, feedback, and even SEO.
Example sites: YouTube is the preeminent video sharing site. Videos from YouTube can also easily be embedded in websites and blogs and shared on other social media platforms.Slideshare is a great platform that allows you to upload Powerpoints and other documents – and as an added bonus, it is integrated well with Facebook via a special application.
Simple social media solutions can help your business become more effective and efficient. For more information on how to utilize social media to help your business grow, contact a Houston social media marketing company today.
Questions about this or other social media marketing topics? Use the comment section below, email me at jenn@directory.com , or go all SMM on me and contact me @SMMjenn on Twitter ; and I’ll do my best to address your question in an upcoming blog. You can also consult Directory One today at 713.465.0051
You’ve probably heard that you have to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter. You’ve probably also heard a success story or two about some lucky business and the YouTube video that put them on the map. But is social media some sort of magic tonic that will instantly help your business get more customers? Is it really as simple as just “being there” when it comes to social networks?
The short answer is no. The longer answer is that social media marketing in Houston is just like traditional internet marketing in Houston – it must be done smartly to have an impact. So what is “smart” when it comes to your social media strategy? I’ve marinated on this question for a couple of days now, and I’ve come up with three suggestions for a savvy (and successful) social media campaign.
Social Media Marketing Rule #1: Know Your Strategy
It’s easy to get carried away by the excitement of all that social media marketing can mean for your business. It’s also easy to view other people’s success stories through the lens of the particular tool (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,) that they used to accomplish that success. While these platforms do provide a unique and exhilarating way to connect with your customers – we can’t lose sight of the fact that they are the means, not the end. Just as owning a lawn mower won’t ensure that your grass stays short; neither will merely having a social media presence ensure that you are connecting with your customers. Social media is a tool – what’s your strategy for leveraging that tool to meet your marketing goals?
Social Media Marketing Rule #2: Know Your Tools
While we can speak of social media marketing as a tool – we might go one step better by envisioning all of the different social platforms and capabilities as individual tools on our social media marketing toolbelt. Just as a wrench performs a different task than a screwdriver ; so does a Facebook application perform a different task than a blog. Once you understand your strategy and the tools available to you – you’ll be able to truly utilize these “social tools” to meet your goals.
The challenge is that (unlike a screwdriver,) the capabilities and facets of different social tools change on a regular basis. Social networking platforms like Facebook are constantly adding new functionalities such as “business pages” to help their users make the most of the site. Additionally, third-party developers are getting in on the game and regularly creating new utilities and services. This turns our straightforward “screwdriver” into a virtual Swiss army knife of capabilities. While this is exciting – it can also be overwhelming. Consulting with a social media marketing company in Houston can provide you with the necessary insight on what “social tools” are available to your business. You might be surprised by what can be done!
Social Media Marketing Rule #3: Keep at it
One of the biggest mistakes I see businesses making in the social media arena is the failure to maintain their presence. This comes back to the notion that “being there” is not enough. Engagement and conversation isn’t just a benefit of social platforms – it’s actually a requirement. You will only reap the valuable rewards of your social media presence if you actively maintain it.
This third suggestion may be the hardest for some businesses to follow through on. Time and energy are premiums– and making the most of your social media marketing can take up both. Working with a Houston social media marketing agency can help you save time and energy by assisting with your social media campaign on a regular basis.
Questions or comments? Leave a comment here — find me on Twitter @SMMJenn, learn more about me, or email me at jenn@newnectar.com
The following videos, produced by Directory One Video, appear both on the Busby & Associates website and on the newly created Busby Attorney Channel on YouTube:
In less than 24 hours the Directory One SEO Evaluation Videoappeared in the search resultsof the following video sharing sites with more on the way:
YouTube
Daily Motion
Blip TV
Veoh
Yahoo Video
AOL Video
Even better, when you search the key phrase Free SEO Evaluation on AOL Video, the results from from the other five come up, which leads me to believe that after YouTube and Google Video, AOL Video may actually be the next most powerful video sharing site.
