I’m constant amazed at how technically advanced my grandchildren have become, I think because of their early exposure to TV and other visual medias. We’ve evolved into a visually rich society - actually a global community. It begins in the early learning and development years of our children. It imprints their thought processes.

Online Video Providers

Enter YouTube, Google Video and other providers offering video channels, enabling small business to ramp up their marketing venues, giving them the ability to reach global markets, whereas only mega-businesses once ventured. Text is text, and a picture is worth a thousand words, but videos can propel your business to new levels.

Only a few short years ago, television commercials were financially out of the reach for the bulk of small businesses. With the development of high speed broadband networks, TV-like advertising via YouTube suddenly became affordable.

YouTube is a video sharing website allowing its members to upload, share and comment on an expansive database of videos. While you may be struggling to increase page views to your website, YouTube registers billions of page views monthly. Why? Video sells! It’s RED HOT!

What’s the impact of online video?

I’ve seen studies that projected 3 of 4 adults have watched online videos and on average, nearly 20% do so daily - and just not by themselves. Nearly two-thirds of those shared that experience with someone else or a group. Online video ad spending is approaching $1 Billion annually, if not already there.

Why Use Online Video Marketing?

They’re practical for businesses wanting to show demonstrations of products or services.

They’re great for introducing your staff or doing a virtual tour of your facilities.

They can drive prospects to your website, jumpstarting sales.

It’s extremely cost effective compared to other advertising venues.

What is everyone watching?

News captures attention across all generations, followed by comedy or humorous videos. Still over 20% view educational videos, and all markets continue to grow exponentially as broadband expands its reach.

Some Tips

Be Entertaining: To maximize your reach for market penetration, your video must be entertaining and have perceived value to the prospects you’re targeting.

Be Professional: Presently, over 60% of viewers prefer professionally developed videos versus those developed by amateurs. That gap diminishes with the younger generation, but still holds true.

Focus on the core product or service you’re featuring:

If you’re featuring dedicated servers, save shared hosting for another clip. Spreading your message across multiple platforms distracts your viewers.

Be Consistent:

Branding is important. We all know IBM, HP and Dell, but their marketing campaigns drive home their respective messages with regularity. Consistency is KEY to growing traffic.

My Recommendation

Have some fun. Be creative. Think out of the box. Break out of the direct mail, phone tag day after day routine of driving business. Video works! Like every other advertising venue, measure its results, then tweak your presentation and re-measure your results. Practice may not make perfect, but it will improve sales, and your bottom line. And that’s where I want to be, right along with you.

- Steve