You Oughta be in Pictures

bydhayman

1.8K followers

Updated 10 years ago

You Oughta Be In Pictures

Do you have this problem? – When I look at my website statistics, I can't believe how quickly people leave my site. They stay for a minute or two and then boom - they surf away.Is there anything to keep them around longer?

I have one word for you, my friend: Video.

Consider this amazing statistic: Website visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not. Wow. And the good news is that you don't need to make a full-length commercial to get the kind of results that will draw people in; most online videos are inexpensive and easy to create.

Look, marketing is all about getting people to remember and trust your brand. Yet, in this ever-increasing e-world of ads seemingly everywhere you look, that is getting harder and harder to do. That is where video comes in. Video captures people's attention.

Video works. People like watching video online, and video is the type of content that is easy to share. They will be linked to Facebook and Twitter, and they also end up on YouTube.

And consider this too: How often do you get someone's undiluted attention online – for three full minutes? Answer: rarely. That's also the power of video.

So yes, there is just so much to be said for creating and posting videos on your site:

■ it personalizes you and your business by giving you an opportunity to put a friendly face to your brand.

■ you get to share information using a popular format.

■ it is SEO friendly – search engines love video content.

■ you can post videos on Vine, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Indeed, on social media, video really is content gold.

Here then are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Remember, you don't have to be Spielberg. You're not making a feature movie; you are making a quick video. Keep yours short and say everything you need to say in, preferably, three minutes or less. That said, rules are made to be broken and maybe longer form interviews or product demonstrations will work for your business. In that case, still try to keep it at 15 minutes or less.

2. Do your research. You can make a video yourself or you can hire someone to make it for you. Either way, look for examples online of videos you like. Check out businesses similar to your own and see if they have videos.

3. Don't blow your dough. You can easily make a great video on a low budget. You can even use your phone. Just remember that sound quality, lighting, staging, and makeup do matter. Pay attention to these details and you can obtain a quality video

4. Use analytics: Don't guess. YouTube and other video hosting sites provide you with great analytics data. Find out what kind of consumer is watching your video.

So go ahead, smile for the camera!

Steve Strauss, @Steve Strauss on Twitter, is a lawyer specializing in small business and entrepreneurship and has been writing for USATODAY.com for 20 years. E-mail: sstrauss@mrallbiz.com. Website: TheSelfEmployed.

The above is an excerpt from this article by Steve Strauss:

http://usat.ly/1yovx3a

Tips for Adding Video to Your Blog for SEO

1. After you create your video, make the video filename the keyword.

2. Don’t forget to put the keyword in the title description and tags.

3. Use Handbrake or similar to compress the file for faster loading.Surfers are not patient.

4. As described above, try to make your case within 3 minutes.

5. Add a 200-400-word description on your upload to YouTube.

6. Say your keyword slowly and distinctly at the beginning of your video.Naturally, of course.YouTube does do audio search now.

7. Don’t include too many tags, just the best ones for your topic.Excessive tags can be seen as spammy.

8. You may also want to upload a transcript of the video.If it is great info, your customer may want that as well.Name your transcript your keyword(s).

9. Upload a thumbnail of the video.(That little box next to the search result)It can grab attention as well.

10.Embed your video on your blog.Remember, the videos on a subject are ranked just like your blog text.Google owns YouTube of course, so one helps the ranking of the other.

11. Use your social indicators for your video.Don’t forget to encourage viewers to Like and Share!This is your “word of mouth” advertising.

12. Use your channel to develop a playlist of similar videos of topics on your sites.Build your authority.

Remember, It’s a visual world now.Take advantage of it.

Doug & Debbie