YouTube Your Business With Online Video

Online video advertising and marketing is experiencing rapid growth with the popularity of YouTube. Take your small business marketing to the next level with online video ads.

We live in a visual-rich society. Before we even began to understand text and reading at a young age, our exposure to TV and other visual media begins it’s imprinting our brains. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth ten thousand more.

Join the YouTube Online Video Revolution!

The advertising vehicle of television commercials has largely been out of reach and beyond affordability for the bulk of small business owners. The tipping point to affordable TV-like advertising changed with the development of the high-speed broadband network and the rise of YouTube.

Created in early 2005, YouTube is a video sharing website allowing members to upload, share, and comment on a large database of videos. In one month alone, YouTube had a staggering 2.4 billion page views.

Online video is hot. Kelsey Group's research revealed that 59 percent of survey respondents watch online video. Emarketer estimates online video ad spending to reach over $700 million this year.

Who’s Using Online Video Marketing?

SignWareHouse.com’s YouTube videos are less than entertaining but practical for those wanting a video demonstration of products such as Q-Series Vinyl Cutters. Any product leading itself to demos is a good candidate for online videos.

Skateboard retailer, Willy’s Workshop owned by pro skater Willy Santos in San Diego uses a simple in-store video on YouTube introducing his staff and providing a tour of the premises. Although the online video received 7,000 views which pales in comparison to Blendtec’s results, it still helped build the stores brand to a select target of skateboard enthusiasts.

Blendtec, a small business based in Orem, Utah budgeted under $100 for a quirky video showing their commercial blender pulverizing iPods, golf balls and other everyday items. The funny viral videos were a big hit; driving millions of viewers to the Will It Blend website. Wall Street Journal reporter Laura Lorber wrote how Blendtec sales were up 43% in 2006 alone.

To harness the power of online video marketing and advertising for your small business, keep in mind the following tips:

Online Video Production Tips

Entertainment Rules: To create a viral online video marketing campaign, it must be entertaining. Take a lesson from the Will It Blend playbook and find a way to make your product, service, or company entertaining or humorous for maximum reach and market penetration.

Be Professional: Nothing can quickly turn off your target audience as a poor quality, slow loading video. No need to rent an expensive studio to create a top-notch online video. Incorporate basic stock photography and video clips from sites such as Getty Images.You can also enlist the help of video production services for easier and cost effective production and distribution such as SpotRunner who charges $500 for a 30 second ad.

Stay Focused: An online video isn’t meant to convey your entire product line or multiple features. Hone in on one key message with the strongest lead benefit. SignWarehouse.com uses one video to demonstrate one product. A simple clip is more likely to be viewed in its entirety for today’s distraction driven viewers.

Broaden Your Reach: YouTube isn’t the only site to submit your video production to. New competitors have emerged including Google Video or Blinkx, a video search engine with over 18 million hours of video. Another tool introduced by the company allows advertisers to place targeted text ads in any video embedded in a website.

Online video advertising and marketing is here to stay. Don't get left behind join the YouTube video revolution today.

Internet Referral Marketing Will Make A Difference

If you have not done much marketing on the Internet, it’s time to get on board. There’s not a huge investment, and if you are consistent it will help grow your business. If you are invested in building your business, your business will be growing not slowing! If you are an owner or officer of your company don't forget about a linked in profile!

1) Get a Website

A professional and user-friendly website does not have to cost thousands of dollars, but it can. While most of our clients have a website and a blog site, some just have a blog. It functions as their primary website. This is totally acceptable. If you chose to go with a custom website that is not a blog, be sure that your web design company has experience and results with search engine marketing. If your site is not built to be search engine friendly, it will be slow to move up the Google rankings, where potential clients can see it. In fact, it may stay stagnant on page 10 for eternity. SEO is very important.

2) Get a Blog and Post Regularly

 Blogs through Blogger are inherently SEO friendly since Google is their parent company. If your website is a blog, then you don’t have to have a separate blog. Without a blog, you limit your potential for ranking high on Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages). You see, a blog is considered news by Google, so it gets priority over traditional website pages. Additionally, every blog entry is archived by category and date, so over time, the blog site accumulates a huge library of dental articles. This is also great for search engine optimization (the things Google looks at when indexing websites). Your blog should have original content posted weekly, at a minimum. Posting daily will yield better results and posting regularly lets your clients know that you care about your business. In the blog posts, be sure to include links from keywords to related information on your main website or other blog posts. The original content in your blogs, the number of blogs, and the links in your blogs factor in to your Google SERP placement. Make sure that your blog and your website are linked and have the same logos. It is also important to make sure the names are related. If you website is http://http://leawood.tobiznet.com then your blog should be http://leawoodtobiznet.blogspot.com/

3)      Get a Newsletter

Specifically, you should get a Newsletter that looks professional and is distributed quarterly, at minimum. Start by sending your newsletter to your client’s emails. Also, add an opt-in form on your website and blog so that interested people can subscribe. In the newsletter’s text, include links to your website and blog. Each newsletter should have interesting, timely information about your company, products/services, clients, and community involvement, if applicable. The idea here is to keep your products and services in sight of your clients. 

4)      Get a Business Facebook Page

Again name this the same as your company and use the same logos you used on your website and blog. This brands you so people know who they are dealing with. Make sure you link all of your sites together so potential clients can wind their way through your companies web. The longer a potential client stays on your sites the chance of them becoming a paying client is increased.

5)      Become a Member of a ToBizNet Network

When a network of non-competing businesses starts working together to help each other, the results can be amazing. We have seen business owners more than double their businesses in less than six months when they use the system and catch the ToBizNet vision. As your network grows, you and your fellow business members continue adding promotions, coupons, and rewards for others to take advantage of.

People will start to tell one another about your ToBizNet marketing efforts. One person tells another and that person tells another and soon, clients will be attracted to your company. Now your marketing power is multiplied. As you get to know other businesses in your network and they get to know you, they begin passing referrals.
Sending and tracking referrals is quick and easy with ToBizNet’s referral tracking system. Referrals don’t come just from other businesses. If you have an effective referral rewards program, you’ll also begin getting referrals from the clients or customers of other businesses as well as your own.

When you put it all together you will have more clients and will have lowered your cost of getting and retaining your clients. If you are interested on learning more about ToBizNet contact me @ 913-735-5614.