Internet Marketing Tools

In previous posts, I have talked about how easily you can add video to your Twitter and Facebook account directly from YouTube.   Linkedin is often the forgotten social media site.  Adding video to Linkedin takes more steps.  Having video on your Linkedin profile will certainly make your profile stand out.  Here is a step by step process, along with two short videos you can watch to master the process.  NEQ3FV2N574Q

Using Google Presentations Within Linkedin

Add an application from Application Direction–a sub tab on the top of your Linkedin Profile page.

Click on the Google presentation application

Go to application and sign up if this is your first time.  Then

Within the Presentation Application Go to “Create a Presentation”

You can give a Title for first slide first picture in your video.

Click on “Insert” to do a search for a video, It will search your YouTube videos.

You will be give an opportunity to Insert a text to go with your video.

Click on Share Publish and Embed

Your video is being store in Google documents/presentation.

Go to your Profile and click on the Google presentation and find your video.

Click “To add to profile”

Click on the video you want added.

It will be posted to your profile.   You can go back and make changes.

If you would like to see a  2 minute YouTube video for adding your video to Linkedin Profile, go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rTTbDzGnuw.

Slide Show Presentation Application

You can also use the Linkedin Slide Show Presentation Application to add a video.  To see a simply video on how you can do this go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HWWh6ic7Co&feature=related.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

Build it and they will come is great for the movies.  Not great for video marketing.  You must put as much effort into the distribution of your videos as you do into the production of them.  Here are some tips and tools gathered from a variety of authors on ways you can leverage your time and gain more visibility for your videos.  The goal is get your customers saying, “I see you everywhere.”

1. Create your own YouTube channel. If you’re going to shoot a lot of videos, create your own YouTube channel.  People can subscribe to your videos and get updates whenever you upload a new one.

2. Use TubeMogul. Want to upload your video once and send to 20 different channels on the internet?  Then use TubeMogul. It’s free service.  You can also use www.heyspread.com and www.trafficgeyser.com, as inexpensive distributions services.

3. Check out MultiCast Media’s VidegoPro, which is a self-serve streaming video solution for small, medium and large businesses. It’s what we use at the 60 Second Marketer and they’ve been a top-notch solution for us.

4. Put your videos on Facebook, My Space and Twitter. YouTube will automatically do this for you when you upload your video to your YouTube Channel.  Use their system for doing this.  Its easy and automatic.

5. Flowplayer is an excellent Open Source Player for various media types. Although there is some installation required, once this has completed it is a simple case of copy and pasting the provided code into your web page to enable the player. After this has been done once, you just need to change the file name within the code and your next video has been made available to your web site visitors. http://flowplayer.org/

6. Linkedin. You also have the potential of putting your videos on your Linkedin page. Here are two sources to show you how. http://socialmediasonar.com/how-to-post-a-video-on-linkedin and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rTTbDzGnuw.

7. Ask people to share your videos with their friends.

8. Invite people to rate your videos and write a favorable review on YouTube.

9. You can use Google Ad words and Pay for Clip advertising as you can do with a website.

In the next blog post I will provide less know ways of distributing your videos on the internet.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

Here’s a simple video on how to overcome your fears of making videos by one of the rising stars in video marketing, Maria Andros. Enjoy.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8jKEl7Izc

Many details go into an effective video.  Don’t let the details deter you.  You will not be perfect the first couple of times.  Gradually you will develop a system, your own style and a format that works for you.   Expect some trial and error.  It’s part of the learning curve.

Key Ingredients for Your Video Shoot

Let the camera frame you. You’ve taken photography shots of family members.  When you did this, you made sure the people fit into the frame so all could be included in the picture.  Let your video camera frame you. This should be your head and upper shoulders.

How close should you be to the camera?  Make it the same distance as if you were talking to a friend.  With a friend you would never be nose to nose.

Check out your background. Your clothes should be brighter than your background.  Make sure your background is not cluttered or distracting.  Some shoot videos against a plain white wall.  You want to avoid making the background more interesting than you.

Microphones. This is not an issue with video cameras with built-in microphones.  These do a fair job of picking up sound.  If you are using a free standing microphone, make sure isn’ seen by the camera framing. Do not place it too close so that any movement you make, such as moving papers on your desk, is picked up by microphone.

Stabilize the camera.  Nothing is more distracting than someone constanantly moving the camera. Using a tripod will eliminate this distraction.

Look the part.  You want your viewers to instantly recognize your credibility.  Wear clothes that support what you do.  If you are a doctor, wearing a white smock would give you instant credibility.

Be yourself. Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.’’  You will need to experiment with your video voice.  It should be a mixture of energy, vocal quality, authentic, authoritative a dash of humor and a dose of salesmanship.  In professional circles this is call your stage presence.

Lighting. As I indicated in an earlier post, (http://budurl.com/VideoLighting) this is something overlooked in most small business videos.  Sunlight is your best light.  If you need to add light, use indirect light.

Here’s a secret.  You want to catch the sparkle in your eyes.  Your eyes open wider when this is more light. Your eyes add interest.  The eyes have been called the window of the soul.  There is a reason professional photographers learn how to capture the sparkle and depth in people’s eyes.

Conclusion

Don’t let the details overcome you.  Have some fun with your videos.  Do you remember as a child, dressing up and playing house?  This is your opportunity to return to some childhood playfulness.  Have fun and it will show in your videos.

In the next video, I will add some additional tips and suggestions for your shooting your marketing videos. Your comments are always welcomed…

Al Hanzal

I’ve been sharing with you reasons for incorporating videos into your small business marketing,  Here’s another reason–videos are easy!  

I know that every expert that selling on the internet uses the words, “simple and easy with guaranteed results”.  Strange how their programs never seem so easy and simple when you do them!

Videos are simple and easy for a several reasons.

First you already have experience with this medium. You’ve taken pictures in the past. You’ve probably had a video cam.  You may even have been the “star” in videos taken by relative at holiday celebrations.

You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. The video I use for my videos is a Flip Video which has a built in USB port that allows me to shoot the video and then directly connect it with my computer so I immediately start editing on my screen.   Many computers have video cams built into them.  You have a camera on your phone where you can upload videos to your computer.  You are not looking at investing in expensive equipment.

Scripting your video is not difficult. It can be as simple as picking a topic in your business area. Write an outline that includes the key point and two or three supporting ideas.  Share with people how this topic will make their life better (a benefit) and give them an action step they should take.  Add an introduction of yourself and a conclusion thanking them for watching your video.  Now you are done with the script.  Make it short, 1-2 minutes. (Most commercials are 30 seconds!)

Editing your video is not difficult. There are many free software editing tools that allow you to cut and edit, include titles and other special sound effects.  You probably already have Windows Movie Maker on your computer as part of your existing software.  This tool will give you plenty of options.  Editing videos is the really fun part of this process.

Distributing your videos.  Uploading to Youtube, your website or blog, including a video in an email are now standardized procedures.  The first time will be slow.  Once you do it, it’s like riding a bike!  You begin using certain distribution channels that are right for your business over and over again.

An average 2 minute video takes me about one hour from start to finish.  This includes jotting down an outline of the content, shooting the video, editing and distributing the video on the internet.

It is easy and simple!  As you continued reading these blog posts, you will find out how more details on making your own videos and using them to market your business.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

The short answer  Search Engine Optimization (SEO)!

Small business owners struggle with ways to create awareness about their business.   The more ways they can make their business known, the better their business will be.

Getting found on the internet is the biggest challenge.  You are competing with thousands if not millions of others for your prospect’s attention.  You may have a wonderful product. However, if you site show up on the 109th search engine page, no one will ever find you.

Google Loves Videos

Videos help expand your awareness on the internet.  Google loves videos and not just because they bought YouTube.  Google’s goal is to provide internet searchers with relevant and authoritative sources to match their searches.  Today Google include text, images, audios and videos to match search terms.

When you create a video and place it on Youtube, that same video can show up on other social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, your blog, your website.  Now you have many places where you will be seen.  Unlike a newspaper ad where your presence goes away with the current issue, your video resides on the internet 24/7 with a variety of roads leading to it.

Key Words

Like all internet searches, your key words are the fuel that makes the search engine go. Placing a video on Youtube does very little.  When you give it an interesting Title, use your key words in the Youtube Tag and place key words and your URL in the Youtube Description, you have the supporting ingredients that will allow videos to create awareness for your business.

Here’s an example of a these elements on a video I added to Youtube last summer:

Title:

Introduction to social media marketing

Tags: (My key search engine words)

“social media marketing” “small business marketing” “Web 2.0 marketing”

Description:

www.successfulinternettools.com Social media marketing is the future for small business marketing. This video introduces you to the seven most important rules for small business social media marketing. http://www.youtube.com/alhanzal

Conclusion

Getting found on the internet is critical to your small business branding.  By using the search engine rules to your advantage, your videos on Youtube will expand your awareness so prospects can find you.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

In the last post, I demonstrated for you search.twitter.com‘s ability to search Tweets to find good candidates for your products and services.  Let me show you another tool that gives you even more search power for your Twitter marketing.

Search.Twitter.com provides searches on the Tweets that have been made on Twitter.  What if you use your same key words to search Twitter bios to link up with people who share your same interest?  Tweets are constantly changing; bio’s are more stable and express the person’s brand and business.

Here’s an example.  If you want to find people who are interested in graphic design, you would look for people who have the term “graphic design” in their bio.  Words that show up in a person’s bio are more relevant than something mentioned in random Tweets.

Http://tweepz.com gives you this searching power.  It’s a another free program.  Just click on the address and type in your key words and it will display for you the bio’s of people on Twitter who have that key word in their bio.  In short, instead of searching random Tweets, you are searching in Twitter bio’s.

Try it yourself, click on Http://tweepz.com and put in key words and it will search for matches found on Twitter bio’s.  Thanks to Scott Prock for his insights on this tool. http://mashable.com/2009/09/05/twitter-advanced-search/#comment-16016526

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

Compare Twitter to other popular social media programs like Facebook and Linkedin.  If you want be a friend on Facebook or a connection on Linkedin, you must ask permission of the other person.  It can be days before you receive a reply.

To learn from others on Twitter requires no permission.  You can choose to follow another person and you don’t need to get their permission to follow their tweets.  No permission needed.

For this reason, some experts have called Twitter the greatest networking tool ever.  You can follow and learn without permission.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

Now that you have a Twitter account and have made a Tweet, let’s start to reshape your Twitter presence to make it an effective marketing tool for you and your business.  In the next several posts, I will look at the various structural pieces of Twitter and give you tips on how each of these can be changed to create an effective small business marketing tool.

The Goal

You are on Twitter with over 20 million people.  This number is doubling almost every six months.  At this point in time, Facebook has over 200 million participants.  Already Twitter has more businesses using its site than Facebook has with its 200 million participants.  Clearly businesses are recognizing Twitter as a marketing tool.  Bottom line, you have plenty of competition for attention on Twitter.

With this type of competition, you need ways that make your Twitter presence (think of your Twitter account as another website for your business) interesting and attractive.  People will be looking at your Twitter website 24/7.  How can you make these Twitter structural elements interesting and attractive to get people to follow you?

Your Picture

I already suggested using a head shot picture of you on Twitter.  People buy from people not from a logo. Studies have shown that a picture on Twitter out performs a logo or a company name in getting more followers.      

The tone of Twitter is causal.  This is not the place for a slick corporate marketing document.  What type of picture would people expect from someone in your profession?  You picture needs to be a balance between professionalism and casualness.  Make sure people can see your face on the picture.  People relate better to faces than bodies.  You will have an opportunity when you customize your Twitter background to have a larger picture of yourself.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal