Akron Bloggers August Meeting

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Montrose Video

There were only five of us who ventured out after last night’s storm to drink coffee and talk about the social media world.  While we greatly missed our very knowledgeable blogging guru, Chris Brown, we still were able to share some new insights and have a productive session.

Here’s what I learned:

  • Jennifer is in the process of creating an great new website on QR codes called Qritters.  It’s a catch-all site the lists QR codes.  Anyone can list their QR code for free on the site.
  • We talked about privacy issues on Google+.  The jury is still out on that one.
  • Monica of Stoned on Happiness, recently attended a seminar and gave us some cool stats on Social Media.  Here’s a few:
  1. Most people who use Social Media are 30 or younger.
  2. Over 50% of those who use Facebook log on via their Smartphones.
  3. Facebook users may reach 1 billion by 2012.
  4. The average age for Twitter is 18-34.
  • We also talked about a few websites that I’ll need to check out:
  1. Socialnomics.net – a website for stats.
  2. Bufferapp.com – a site for controlling your Twitter posts.
  3. Paper.li – site to make a daily paper of your Twitter and Facebook feeds.
  4. Hudson’s Library is a great resource for entrepreneurs

Other than that, we talked about career searches and having your own business when you are over 30.

Hope to see more of the group next month!

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How Can Video Improve Search Engine Optimization?

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Montrose Video

The following guest post is written by Internet Marketing Expert, Chris Auman, from Sanctuary Media Group.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is commonly defined as “the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the “organic” or un-paid search results.”

I’d argue this definition is “wanting” on one key point: Traffic for Traffic’s sake is useless. Search Engine Optimization is only really accomplished when these efforts yield a net increase in engagement with the Web site.  In other words, SEO ain’t SEO unless your bounce rates go down, your conversions go up, and your sales increase as a result of SEO efforts.

So can video improve Search Engine Optimization?  Yes. Hands down, now doubt, yes. And it does so in 3 specific ways.
1 – It increases ENGAGEMENT.
2 – It increases VISIBILITY on search engines
3 – It increases CONVERSION

How does video increase ENGAGEMENT?
Engagement with your site can be measured by your bounce rate, by the number of page views, and by the time spent on your site. Video presents the opportunity to improve these measures across the board. According to a recent study Pew Research Institute, ’As of May 2011, 71% of online adults reported watching videos on a video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo.’ (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2070/online-video-sharing-sites-you-tube-vimeo).  The study goes on to demonstrate how on a typical day 28% of this demographic are accessing video.

Why? Because video is simply more engaging than text on a screen. The ability to see, hear and feel a person – a real person – creates a connection with the visitor. Even simple ‘talking head’ videos offer an opportunity for your visitors to hear vocal inflection, read facial queues, and get a better illustration of the context and emphasis of the information your sharing.  Think about it, how many times have you read (or written) an email that introduced more confusion than talking to the person face to face?

How does video increase VISIBILITY through search engines?
A couple of ways…

First, it increases the amount of relevant content ‘out there’ as presented by your company.  It’s more opportunities for people to discover you and your company through various media channels. The opportunities for people to find you increase if your on the sites the visit and engage with already.

Further, these opportunities present additional, credible entries for search engines to “rank” content you’ve created. The idea here is not to get higher rankings on a specific Web site domain, but getting more organic links on the first page of Google’s search results.

Will this dilute the value of content you’ve already created from your site? Not at all. This is not the same has having duplicate content on your Web site. In fact, and this leads us to our third way it increases visibility…a video entry on YouTube can increase the value of content it links to on your site.  Video sites like YouTube have recently removed the ‘nofollow’ tags regarding links back to a Web site.  So now you get the additional SEO value of increased links back to your site for every video you publish to these video sharing sites.

Add this to the fact that “Video Search” in and of itself is becoming a new segment in the realm of search optimization (http://video.google.com, http://www.bing.com/videos, etc.) and you can see the increasing importance of having video represented in the search engines.

How does video increase CONVERSION?
For small to mid-sized businesses with limited budgets & limited resources, I generally recommend that they not ‘re-invent the wheel.’  By that I mean, sometimes you can gain a lot of ground over the competition, by following the lead of a proven thought leader in non-competitive industry.  It comes down to simply finding a company you admire and assessing if the techniques their employing aptly to your industry.

Two such model companies in my book — Zappos & Amazon.
In 2009, Zappos was already leading the way with video and had seen such success that the following year they efforts to generate 50,000 videos for their site (http://www.reelseo.com/video-demos-sales-zappos/).  The videos have resulted in an increase in conversation estimated as high as 30%.  The launch of the Zappos Video Experience  (http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-video-experience has been a huge success and they’ve leveraged the power of video to not only demo their wares, but to also engage customers by collecting a massive collection of video testimonials from customers as submitted through their Web site.

Amazon Video offers the opportunity for authors, publishers, and end users to upload their own video and attach it to each product page. While Amazon doesn’t share results of its specific marketing tactics, the massive rollout of this strategy throughout its site is case and point for its success.  Amazon wouldn’t include video on its product pages if they didn’t increase sales.  The strategy must be working.

So is video right for your company? Will it help you with your search rankings? Will it increase sales conversion? Is it worth the cost?
That’s for you to decide. But, based on our experience and the overwhelming evidence presented to us, we’re advising our clients to employ video as key part of their Internet Marketing Strategy (www.sanctuarymg.com).

About Chris Auman and Sanctuary Media Group:
Chris Auman is a veteran Internet marketer, website developer and designer with over 20 years of experience in the trenches. As President and Senior Strategist at Sanctuary, Chris has successfully guided the online marketing efforts for companies large and small. Chris’ clients range from family owned & operated retail operations with a local footprint of 1-10 stores to multinational Fortune 500 companies. Through his extensive and wide-ranging experience with design, development and Internet marketing Chris is able to come to the table and solve problems from all angles and continually deliver profitable results for his clients.

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“SAY CHEESE”

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Montrose Video

The following guest post is written by marketing and sales expert, Emily Kelly of Rainmaker Consulting.

I am so delighted with the opportunity to share with you what a dramatic impact using a video has had on my recent business launch, the reasons why, and how to make the most of the videos you post for the greater visibility of your brand.

Adults vs. Kindergarteners:
When giving a speech on branding to women in the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce this week, I shared with them some helpful tips on how to increase their visibility and revenue. One of the key things that I shared in regard to online presence is that adults are a lot like more like Kindergarteners than we would like to admit. And what I mean by that, is that when it comes to choosing content for your online branding, like it or not, pictures go a lot farther than words, and video is even better.

Business Launch using Video:
The Akronist is a citizen journalist website funded, promoted and supported by the Akron Beacon Journal. They were doing a spotlight on Women in Business in March and I was lucky enough to have my friend Monica Baird select me to make a video about my new business, Rainmaker Consulting for their website.

She asked me some questions about my vision, philosophy, roots, and ambition and I was able to spotlight my alma mater, charitable organizations I believe in and local networking groups that I participate in, as well as, my new business. I will share with you a little further down the post, why this content was so important.

I was proactive in getting the “viral marketing” going,
but I never thought that within 30 days,
over 500 people would watch my 6 minute video.

It was an invaluable boost to my company’s launch, and the feedback was overwhelming.  I never could have gotten that kind of exposure with a trifold promotional piece, or even a really great article, because video is so much more dimensional than print.

How to get the most out of your video posting:
My advice from a strategic marketing standpoint in regards to promoting a video on your website, you tube channel, social media or otherwise, is that you don’t want to compromise your brand, but you do want to “share the spotlight” and give some exposure to other topics that connect with yours. And then share, share, share, and ask others to do the same.

Because I had already joined up on Linked In and Facebook with my high school and college alumni group, and the charitable groups and networking groups that I mentioned, it wasn’t intrusive for me to post my video in those groups when it went live, especially because they were spotlighted in the video. This allowed me MUCH more exposure than I otherwise would have had.

If that doesn’t work for the topic of your video, do a little research on who might be interested in your content and share with them. Lastly, add the link to your video on your email signature or business card (if appropriate) for continued exposure. And don’t forget to monitor when the hits come in … what days of the week, what times of day, so that you can have that data available in order to be strategic when promoting your next video to your audience.

Emily Kelly, CEO of Rainmaker Consulting, is a marketing strategist, sales consultant and expert with over a decade of demonstrated success in a broad range of markets. She offers strategic marketing help to companies that don’t have an in house marketing expert. She promotes Montrose Video to her clients as THE LOCAL EXPERT in video marketing.

You can read her blog here: www.rainmakermarketingandsales.wordpress.com.

Posted in Networking, YouTube Tips | 2 Comments

What does a 30 second video cost?

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Montrose Video

People who are not familiar with video production, will sometimes have a misconception about how much a video costs and how long the process takes.  I’ve had people ask me, “How much do you charge for a 30 second video?”  Well, that is not an easy answer.  It all depends on what you want to do.

Most video production companies charge full-day or half-day rates and an hourly rate for editing.  So when I’m planning a video, I estimate how long it will take to record and how long it may take to edit.  When it comes to making a 30 second video, I need to know what the client wants to show during that time because the price could vary greatly.

Let’s take the example of an quick, easy, inexpensive video.  The video would consist of a CEO talking for 30 seconds.  This may take one to two hours to shoot, which means I would charge a half day rate.   That would include time to set up the lighting, audio and camera with time to tear down after the shoot.  The actual time to tape the CEO may take only twenty minutes.  We would do several takes and use the best one or combination of takes.  It’s difficult for anyone to say what they need to say straight through without making a mistake, for thirty seconds.  So a teleprompter in this case would help and that would be an additional charge and require extra time and people to set up.   For editing, all I need to do is fade up from black and fade down at the end.  Also, superimpose the CEO’s title.  This would take about a half hour to edit and to create a file for a website.  It may take longer to edit if the CEO did numerous takes and I needed to sort through them all and chop it together for the best look.

Now for a more expensive 30 second video.  If a company wanted to show their five different services, each located at a different office with employees saying the company’s tagline.  The video would also include fast moving animated graphics, voice-over and high energy music.  First, a video like this would need a script, written either by a professional scriptwriter or someone at the company.  A producer would also be needed to coordinate and schedule all the people and locations involved.   The taping may take 2-3 days, depending on where the offices are located and how well prepared the employees are for their lines.  Each employee and all the extra shots needs to be properly lit, which takes time.   Besides the cost for editing, which would take hours because of the amount of footage, there will be additional costs for music, voice-over talent and graphics.

Each is thirty seconds long, but the second video could cost ten times more then the first one.  If you have a set budget, discuss it with your videographer.   They will be able to help you achieve the best video you can afford and let you know all the costs involved.

So how much does a 30 second video cost?  It all depends.

Posted in Video Production | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is a viral video right for your business?

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Montrose Video

A question I is see every now and then that pops up on Linkedin or at networking events is, “How do you make a video go viral?”  The answer I usually hear is, “Make it short and funny”.  OK, In a very broad sense, I agree, but just because a video goes viral does not mean its an effective marketing piece for a business.

Let’s start with the question. “How do you make a video go viral?”  A viral video gets thousands or millions of views and is seen world wide.  Sounds good, right?  Great exposure for your company.   Most viral videos are of something naturally funny like a wedding party dancing down the isle or something cute, like a kitten playing with a mouse.  You’ll find fewer viral hits of funny videos that have been scripted or purposely made to be funny.

A  good example is the Old Spice commercials.  Those are the result of a concept developed by an ad agency that tested the spots with focus groups.  I mention that because most small businesses don’t have the budget or time to do that.

You don’t want to create a funny video to promote your business just for the sole reason of going viral.   If you don’t have the budget to test your video, it could backfire.  Not everyone shares your sense of humor.  You want your customers to view you and your company favorably, not be turned off by your comedy.   Also, if your customer base is local, does having views from New Zealand really help your business?  You’ll be more effective if you get the right message, and image, out to your customers.

It really depends on what is appropriate for your business and what your customers want to hear.  If your business lends itself to something fun, then go for it.  Consider contacting a comedian from your local comedy club to help with the humor.  Otherwise, consider a different approach.  For instance, as a customer, I would want to see something from a real estate agent that shows that they are experienced and that they are looking out for my best interest.  Buying a house is the largest investment I will make and this is no time to be silly.  While I may watch a funny video from them, that would not make me want to do business with them.

So before making your video, start with knowing what you want to achieve, what demographics make up your targeted audience and  what perception you want your customers to have of your company.  You can then design an appropriate message for them.

If you need help in developing an idea, ask yourself these three questions before making a video.

Posted in Video Production, YouTube Tips | Leave a comment

Online Directories

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Montrose Video

Since I personally have not use a phone book in about five years, as a small business owner, I feel its important to list myself in online directories.  It’s an opportunity to market my business because you never know what route a customer will take on the internet to find you.

Now there’s a lot of directories out there and some are better than others.  I recently added myself to Thumbtack.  What I like about it, is that they allow you more than just a your business name and number.  They give you the opportunity to add a description of your company and answer insightful questions to give your customers a sense of who you are which will differentiate you from the next business listed.  Best of all, they allow you to add video.  As you know, being a video production company, I’m all about that.

So check out my listing for Video Production Services in the Cleveland and Akron areas on Thumbtack.

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Video is a Window into Your Business – Video Marketing

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Montrose Video

Your customers can find out a lot of information about your company before they ever make contact with you. They’re finding you through Google searches, your website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin, directories and other related sites. They are also finding your competition there too. While you can’t control what other people are saying on some of these sites, you’ll want to make sure, as much as possible, that your customers are reading and seeing the messages you want to convey.

Photo courtesy of Mark Shapiro. The old Akron Music store that was located where Canal Park is today. Used with permission.

Video is like a window into your business. It gives your customer an opportunity to do some old fashion window shopping.   Just as department stores dress up their windows to attract customers and draw them in, video can play the same role on your website.  It can serve several purposes by:

  • establishing your company and/or employees as an expert in your field.
  • keeping your customer on your website longer which will give them more exposure to your business.
  • creating a presence on YouTube, currently the second most popular search engine, next to Google.
  • increasing your SEO results by having a media rich site.

When it comes to creating a video, you don’t want to put all your messages into one video. If your customer doesn’t hear what they want to know within the first minute, they’ll move on. Its better to make several short videos addressing a single topic each. Plus, several videos gives you more opportunities to reach your customer.

So what kind of videos should you make for your website? Think about what kind of questions your customers ask you early in your sales process and create videos that provide those answers. Depending on what is appropriate for your business, you may want to consider videos that:

  • highlight finished products
  • show how your product is made
  • address the “green” factor of your product
  • show before and after shots
  • illustrate the professionalism of your employees
  • describe your services
  • provide a short history of your company
  • have a short, personal message from the president or owner
  • describe the dangers of not using your product
  • show them a solution to a problem that your product solves.
  • Give short tips or create how to videos

If you are still not sure where to start when it comes to online videos, check out Three Questions to Ask Before Making a Video.

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Hiking Near Las Vegas – Part IV Mary Jane Falls at Mt. Charleston

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Montrose Video

The Mary Jane Falls Trail at Mt. Charleston is quite a contrast to the lights and activity of the Las Vegas Strip. Only thirty minutes northwest, it’s a beautiful drive and hike. We went in early December right after a snowfall. We’re from Ohio, so the snow didn’t bother us but the altitude sure did. It’s starts off 7000 miles above sea level and goes up from there. We were out of breath within the first ten minutes.

NOTE: If the video does not appear on your smartphone, click this link:

http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v76509-Las_Vegas-Hiking_Near_Las_Vegas_Part_IV_Mary_Jane_Falls_at_Mt_Charleston-Video.html

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Hiking Near Las Vegas – Part III La Madre Trail at Red Rock Canyon

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Montrose Video

Half-way through Red Rock’s Canyon 13 mile scenic drive, you’ll find the Willow Springs area. Here you’ll find a a small parking lot and a gravel road for 4×4′s. You need walk this road a short way before you’ll see the La Madre Trail. Here’s a short video of the trail:

NOTE: If the video does not appear on your smartphone, click this link:

http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v76508-Las_Vegas-Hiking_Near_Las_Vegas_Part_III_La_Madre_Trail_at_Red_Rock_Canyon-Video.html

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Hiking Near Las Vegas – Part II Red Rock Canyon

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Montrose Video

Red Rock Canyon is a beautiful place to visit. It has a combination of mountains in shades of red and beige next to open desert terrain. Here’s an overview of what you can experience.

NOTE: If the video does not appear on your smartphone, click this link:

http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v76507-Las_Vegas-Hiking_Near_Las_Vegas_Part_II_Red_Rock_Canyon-Video.html


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