How To Use Video Marketing

In this section you will have access to easy to understand information on how to use video marketing to successfully promote any business, product or service.

First we'll talk a little bit about what video marketing is, what it can do and how you can take full advantage of everything that it has to offer.

- The future of the web is here, and it’s all about video!

If you have been looking for the right tool to instantly and persuasively communicate your message to your marketplace, literally forcing them to pay attention to what you have to say, then video marketing could be exactly what you are looking for.

If you want to establish expert status in a brand new niche with little to no real effort on your part, then video marketing can make that happen.

If you want to completely and totally dominate a market, build instant trust and credibility, create raving fans that not only buy from you again and again, but also push your message across to new customers and become mini-marketing machines themselves, then video marketing might be for you.

The web is constantly shifting and changing, with new tools and technologies impacting the way we interact, but the biggest change right now is all about multimedia and specifically video.

People are coming to your website with shorter and shorter attention spans, and the simple fact it that the appearance of too much text to read can scare off even the hottest prospects.

- Video doesn't have that problem

People are used to video, they are comfortable with video, heck, they spend hours and hours of their day watching TV or clips on YouTube, to the point where just about any video link you stick in front of them is going to be unconsciously clicked and consumed.

- Rise above the noise with video marketing

The web is a bit of a double edged sword, it’s given us the power to start up a global business in about 15 minutes with nothing more than a laptop and a web connection, but it also offers the same power to anyone else on the planet that wants to do the same thing.

This has caused a flood of competition to hit the marketplace all at once, creating an incredible amount of noise and over saturation. We see so much marketing that we've built up tools to tune it all, just to get through the day!

But video cuts through all of that clutter and forces us to pay attention to the message, especially when it’s done the right way.

If you're serious about learning how to…

- Produce slick and effective videos without spending a fortune.

- Instantly communicate your sales message while connecting with your marketplace.

- Create a real and lasting reputation as an expert in your space in record time.

- And flood your website with traffic and your bank account with sales.

You'll want to read this because I’ll be sharing great information, tips and techniques that will help you learn how you can use video marketing to your advantage!

Getting Started With Video Marketing

Lets first have a look at some of the big benefits of using video marketing to promote your business, products and services.

Did you know that one of the biggest reasons that people avoid video marketing or use it very sparingly is because they just don't understand the power and leverage they can enjoy when they learn how to use it effectively?

As one of the most incredible business tools that you have access to today, you need to learn how the right video marketing solutions can boost your business.

Whenever you’re talking about a tool this powerful, with  the ability to literally produce a video in just a couple of hours and release it to the world with the click of a button, you need to understand that even the slightest misstep can cost you hundreds, maybe thousands of sales.

While your video productions don’t need to be as perfect as the latest Hollywood blockbuster (and why you might not want them to be too polished at all, for reasons we’ll talk about in a future issue), but your planning and your strategy need to be as close to perfect as possible.

- Video is an instant credibility tool

This benefit simply cannot be overstated, especially in a world where most people (your customers included) think that selling online is just a modern form of the Wild West snake oil salesman.

People have been promised the moon and the stars in sales letters and constantly let down, all from faceless entities they’ve never seen or met.

People are (and rightfully so) nervous about dealing with impersonal business and faceless sales letters, but video allows you to break through all of that.

Even if you don’t get in front of the camera yourself, but instead just talk over a PowerPoint presentation or something similar you’ll still be feeding your markets desire for connection and you will get an instant credibly bump for yourself and your business.

- Video marketing helps you grab attention

People can ignore a sales letter, especially if it doesn’t hook them with the headline.

They feel no reason to keep reading on and on, and for most people even just the sight of blocks of text is enough to put them off.

- But not video.

We have been brought up on watching video to be entertained, and we consume so much video on a daily basis that it’s become almost impossible to stop ourselves from getting pulled in.

This is especially true if the content promises us a real and tangible result. And the best part is that we can get all of the content we need without lifting a finger!

Rather than force your prospect to do all heavy lifting of reading text dense marketing messages, video lets them kick back and relax while we give them the same information.

And when scripted just right and properly pulled off we can suck them deeper and deeper into the marketing, pushing them down our greased up sales slide into becoming buyers.

The top two video hosting sites

Now we are going to be talking about the top two video hosting sites that you can post your promotional videos on.

And we'll also cover some of the more technical aspects involved.

While making sure you understand all of the incredible benefits that video marketing offers you is very important, you also need to know a little bit about the technical side of the process to be successful.

One of the most frequent questions that video newbies ask even before they have any videos produced is where the best places to host their videos are.

This is for a couple of reasons, but the most common is that folks just like to have a sense of certainty about the process before they jump right in with both feet.

I get it, and have put together this list of resources for you to consider when looking to host your videos.

- YouTube

Easily one of the most visited sites on the planet and in the history of the web, YouTube is one of the biggest reasons that video marketing is so effective in the first place, in fact, the odds are good that you’ve probably killed a number of hours of your life just checking out videos on the Tube yourself.

But while most people think of YouTube as a killer tool for finding hilarious videos, crazy parodies, and the latest and greatest music, you'd be surprised to know that YouTube is maybe the most powerful business tool available and you can actually have free access to it for all of your video marketing needs and profit without ever investing a single cent in advertising unless you want too.

Backed by Google, not only will you be able to upload your video for nothing on the service, but you’ll also have the reliability of their serves to make sure anyone and everyone is able to view it.

You can leave it up on YouTube itself or imbed the video on your site, both offering the kind of almost instant access you’re looking for.

There are detailed illustrations on the site here for How to set up YouTube Channel and upload a Video

- Vimeo

If YouTube is the king of the easy video uploading and hosting world, Vimeo is a very close second and for some people and even better option.

While YouTube will take just about anything you upload to the site (within reason), Vimeo is the number one go to option for HD quality videos.

If you’re shooting promotional stuff with Camtasia and a PowerPoint (we’ll talk about the process in a later lesson), then you’ll be alright with YouTube, but if you’re looking to post a polished, super slick and expensive HD video, you’ll want to look into getting a Vimeo account and publishing it that way.

The infrastructure has been designed for big files and smooth buffering, making it ideal for HD.

When it comes to posting your promotional videos online there is no doubt that these two powerful websites are at the top of the heap and the best place for you to begin your video marketing campaigns.

The differences between video marketing and traditional marketing

There is no more powerful tool in the modern business world than the Internet.

Offering all of us the kind of leverage and instant communication capabilities that were never even dreamed of just a decade or so ago.

With it we have the ability to reach, influence and impact our chosen audience in many ways.

Even though much of this influence is still wielded by written content, there is little doubt that business owners and online marketers can see incredible results by using basic video marketing techniques.

Lately I’ve been getting some questions from subscribers just like you that are well versed in the more traditional methods of marketing that are worried about having to learn a whole new skill set to take advantage of video.

A lot of them have had some incredible success in the written sales letters or social media world, have noticed the trend to more and more webinars and Video Sales Letters, and are (understandably) freaking out a little bit that they wasted all of their time and effort learning skills that are no longer relevant.

If this describes you, I can tell you with 100% confidence that you have nothing to worry about; all of those skills are directly relatable to making video marketing work for your business.

- Video marketing is a medium and nothing more!

Sure, there are some technical things you need to know about recording videos and producing them, but the foundational elements of marketing have never and will never change, at least as long as business owner have products and services to sell to consumers.

The key to marketing (any marketing) is tapping into people's wants, fears, desires and passions, showing them that you understand what they are going through, communicating that you have a solution to their problem that can truly help, and then convincing them that you are a trustworthy person to do business with.

Regardless of the tool or medium you are using the process doesn’t change, and while video makes things more effective by putting “you” in the message rather than just a block of text, it’s still selling and marketing.

This is critically important to understand and really ingrain into your mind as soon as possible, because the kind of power you can access when you leverage video marketing properly is unlike anything else you've ever experienced.

So whenever you are feeling unsure of your decision to use video to market your products or services, just keep in mind that all of the skills you've already picked up running your business will be directly applicable to your video marketing campaigns and can only serve to boost your results!

What type of equipment is required to begin video marketing?

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Its time to get into some of the more technical stuff regarding the actual tools you'll need to create a killer video marketing campaign.

Before we go any further though, I want to make sure you know that if you are reading this page on a computer you already have everything you need as it is to make killer marketing videos all on your own.

There are a lot of different programs and sources out there that say you need industry level cameras, sound equipment, and a top of the line Mac with all kinds of editing software to make real marketing videos.

When in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

If you have a relatively new computer you can grab a screen recoding program for next to nothing and get started making truly impactful videos almost immediately.

Don’t think that you have to buy or invest in a bunch of pricey equipment right out of the gate (you can do that when your videos start paying off help you boost your success.

HINT: Perfect videos aren't a must, in fact they may even have the reverse effect and tank your credibility, but we’ll talk about that later.

To make videos for marketing on the web you’ll need your computer.

It doesn't have to be brand new, anything made in the past 5 or 6 years will be more than enough to handle almost all of your video needs, and it doesn’t really matter if it’s a desktop or a laptop, even some of the newer netbooks, iPad's and mobile phones can be used when you are just getting started.

As long as the device you are using has the ability to load some type of video or screen recoding software like Camtasia, which can be used to capture and record your computer screen then you can get started right away.

*Camtasia is top of the line software with a lot of powerful features that can be used to produce professional quality video tutorials.

You can find other similar software by performing a quick search online for "screen capture software".

The important thing is that you’re comfortable using the operating system that you choose, then you can use it to shoot your videos.

If you aren't planning to step in front of the camera you will also need some type of presentation software like PowerPoint or Keynote, so that you can create a slideshow style video.

You will also need a good microphone, while the one that is built into your computer will work in the beginning you may want to invest in an external mic or headset, so that you can produce videos with good sound quality that your consumers will enjoy listening to.

TIP: When recording the audio, speak slowly and clearly and make sure there is no back ground noise. Nothing is more distracting than background noise.

The most important part of making your own videos is creating killer content.

For this part you should take your time and put together a powerful script and then map out the video ahead of time.

That way when it comes time to start recording you will be ready.

Here is a quick list of some other tools you might find helpful:

Snagit - Another powerful screen capture tool that will grab anything showing on your computer screen.

Sony Vegas Movie Studio - Creates videos or slideshows and let you upload them directly to the popular video sites such as YouTube.

Sony Sound Forge - Allows you to record and edit audio and save it in different file formats.

Audacity - Allows you to record, edit audio and convert audio files into a variety of different formats.

Using video marketing to get more traffic to your website

If you’ve been in the online business or Internet marketing space for any amount of time, you’ll have seen that the perpetual powerhouse of driving traffic SEO has become less and less reliable over time.  

While it used to be the most effective way to cheaply and effectively push traffic to your online properties, recent changes to the major search algorithms at Google (Panda and Penguin update, anyone?) and the other major networks have crippled the ability for new marketers to make a big push organically.

Combine that with a skyrocketing price of PPC ads and the multiple new methods for pushing traffic and you have a perfect storm that makes video one of the most reliable and effective ways for getting eyeballs on your page.

- Video is almost too engaging to ignore when done properly.

The big reason that video is so effective at pushing targeted traffic to your website on a consistent basis is because, when done properly, video is too good to be ignored.

You have to remember that people are bombarded with marketing efforts and advertising every single minute of the day with some studies saying that we are forced to see almost 3,000 ads every 24 hours.

It would be impossible to process all of this information, so we have built our own internal blockers that help us ignore anything that even looks like an ad.

But video marketing doesn’t look like an ad, especially when done correctly, and doubly so if you use some of the tricks and tactics we will be discussing later on.

If you have a less than polished video that looks like it is packed with so much killer info you couldn't wait to edit and clean it up, people are going to have no option other than to pay close attention to it.

Combine that with the right script and message to market match and you’re looking at locking them in for the duration of your video at the very least and with a subtle little pitch at the end you can push them to your site in record numbers.

When applied to the front end of your sales funnel as a lead generation tool you would be hard pressed to find anything that can push traffic like a well-planned video marketing message.

Combine that with the traffic source of most of the major video networks you’ll be hosting on as well as your own promotions and you have a sure fire winner on your hands.

Producing and sharing your first video online

Let's now look at the actual creation and publishing process of your first video, something I’ve broken into three major steps.

- The first step – Planning, Pre-Production, and Producing

This is the area that the least amount of people focus on, and also where your biggest results will be created.

Without proper planning you’re going too really struggle executing will be sure to hit stumbling blocks along the way.

I’m not saying you have to script everything out (though it wouldn’t hurt) but you should be working off of an outline.

You’ll also want to make sure you have all of your stuff together and ready to rock.

This means you’re PowerPoint is done, you’re screen recording software is installed and you’ve played around with it enough to understand the basics, and have all of your notes close at hand.

From here on out it’s as simple as hitting the record button on your screen recorder, shooting through the PowerPoint, and making sure your audio is crystal clear.

Don’t be afraid of multiple takes or run through, keep in mind that leaving some hiccups can actually boost your credibility by making you appear more human.

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Once you have made your eye popping video with this software you go to the next step...

- The second step – Signing up for video hosting accounts and uploading the files.

This is the second phase, where you actually take the finished video and upload it to the different video hosting plans we’ve already talked about.

If this is your first video, you might want to look into creating a fresh YouTube account and uploading it there just to get some basic feedback – this could serve as your marketing test before the big launch.

Keep in mind that each different hosting site will have their own steps to go through for the uploading and embedding, but the on screen prompts will walk you through the process and provide you with help if you get confused.

- The third step – Promoting your video

From there you’re all set and good to go – your video is live and ready to be shared with the world.

But you have to remember that even though YouTube and other sites will do their best to help you get exposure, the video marketing world is not The Field of Dreams.

There’s no such thing as “If you record it, they will come”; you need to do your part when it comes to promoting your work so that you can be sure it becomes a powerful part of your sales funnel.

Tips for creating a solid video marketing plan

Sometimes we can get easily distracted by the latest and greatest effects, tools, or technologies at the expense of the bedrock skills that make a real difference.

Hopefully we can address that here so you’ll be able to leverage all of those interesting and exciting options, while still having a powerful video at the core of your marketing push.

- Your video needs laser like focus

This can't be understated, and is the most critical concept I want you to take away from today’s issue.

If you learn nothing else from all of the emails I’ve sent or will send you, it should be this – you’re video (and all of your marketing) needs to have a single focus that can be summed up in a single sentence.

Nothing could be more important or more difficult for new marketers and video marketers in particular to really understand.

We as people have a tendency to want to throw the kitchen sink at people in an effort to persuade them, when in reality all we do is serve them a bowl of information overload that confuses or frustrates them.

And confused or frustrated people do not buy.

Think of your video as a first date, you would do everything in your power to be attractive and interesting so that you can get a second date.

It’s important to give your video an object and a single message to convey (Get more leads by offering tips on how to close complex sales) and then stick to the plan.

- Understand the videos place in your sales funnel

The other area that is critical to understand is where your video fits in the grand scheme of things.

Marketing in the modern world, especially on the web is not a onetime or island style effort.

Everything you do will be and can be tied together, and you need to properly plan and understand where your video fits in that plan to boost its effectiveness.

- Ask yourself these questions:

Is this a video sent to a cold list of people you are trying to start a relationship with, or is this something going out to your oldest and best customers?

Is this a lead generation video or a pitch meant to pump up sales on the last day of your launch?

All of your videos will have a specific mission and place in the structure of your sales process, and planning that out ahead of time will make everything you do, video or otherwise, so much more effective.

Top reasons why your visitors may not be watching your videos

Here we’re going to talk about a major problem that all too many video marketers have to face on a daily basis, which is people ignoring or turning off their videos.

Now, there are a million and one different reasons this could be happening to you, but things really boil down to the two major areas I’ve described below.

It’s important that you pay close attention to each of them and find ways to elevate your videos in both categories. Let’s go!

- The most common reason people are ignoring your videos is because they are boring.

Plain and simple, this cannot be described any other way than I have above.

Too often we stop thinking like world class marketers and begin thinking like those corporate drones we most associate with businessmen.

You know, the kind that talk about fiscal responsibility, synergy, reaching out to new and diverse markets with a dedicated, collaborative, quantitative, and highly elevated strategy, and so on and so forth.

Don’t do that with your videos.

The biggest mistake people make is they stop being themselves and start to put on the business persona. Few things could cripple your videos like this can.

Your market wants killer content, but they also want to be entertained.

The modern day attention span is already incredibly short, and with people struggling to focus as it is you need to be engaging. 

Droning on like Ben Stein will not cut it. You need to be engaging and entertaining.

Though many of the reasons people are not watching your videos will be your responsibility, sometimes you’ll be facing external and technical obstacles that need to be overcome.

But there could be another reason that people ardent watching your videos, and it might not have anything to do with you.

There could be any number of technical reasons that they ardent getting served the video, and you need to address as many of them as possible.

Keep in mind that the larger your file (and HD videos can get pretty big) are going to take longer and longer to load.

Long loading videos are almost never watched through to the end unless they are world class and engaging all the way through, and the best you can do to compress your video ahead of time the better response you’ll receive.

Some costly video marketing mistakes you should avoid

One of the biggest problems that people face when first getting into the video marketing world is that they spend too much time stumbling around looking for an easy fix, which leads to little to no success without ever knowing why their video marketing campaign isn't working.

There are a million and one different things that could go wrong when you’re doing video marketing and keeping on top of things is mission critical.

When you’re seriously considering video marketing services to boost your business, you cannot afford to make simple mistake.

It’s often the smallest stumbling blocks that can derail major projects unexpectedly, and having an idea of which of these “video marketing landmines" are out there will help you avoid them at all costs!

- Not tracking your video data

This is the number one factor when it comes to optimizing your video marketing, as the data you collect from viewers and visitors will tell you everything, and I mean everything, you need to know to fix trouble spots and improve areas that are already crushing it.

There are a bunch of top flight data trackers that you can pay attention to, but the most effective ones would have to be the tracking software your video host provides and Google Analytics.

You’re looking for any spots where people leave the page, where the video stops buffering, how long they stay engaged on the page, if they are messing around with the controls of the video, how many people convert, the list goes on and one, but you get the idea.

Keeping consistent track of the results and impact your changes have (no matter how subtle) is the only way you can know if you’re improving or crippling your video.

- Going any longer than absolutely necessary

This is a little more difficult to quantify, but something you can “see and feel” when you’ve watched your rough cut videos a couple of times.

Always remember that you are dealing with an audience that is looking for any and all excuses to get off your page and forget about you forever.

It’s your job to keep the message short and tight while making it super engaging.

It’s a tight rope to walk, but with a bit of effort you’ll be able to pull it off with no problems.

How to get more people to watch and share your videos online

In this section we're really going to focus on some tools and tactics for boosting the viewership of your videos and getting people excited to look for your content.

Promoting videos (and your business) is one of the hardest things to do today, specifically because you’re up against so much competition.

Everyone is in a fight for more customers, knowing that the more traffic you can drive the more likely you are to convert people to customers.

With these two tips you should be able to do just that quite easily!

- Share content that is actually worth sharing

First and foremost, you cannot have a video that is just middle of the road and expect to hit it out of the park.

The only content that gets shared is content that is actually worth sharing. Don’t ever forget this.

Too many people are looking for some script or trick to artificially create a tipping point, but I’m telling you right now hats an uphill battle you’re going to lose.

Rather than try and find new ways to game the system you should be looking for ways to boost the value of the content you have created.

You’ll be tipping the scales in your favor while also building your own expert status.

Nothing will have a more of dramatic impact on getting your videos shared than this.

- Explicitly tell your viewers that you want them to help spread the message.

One thing you’ve learned in this series is that it’s the small details that make or break a video, and this is a detail that is almost always skipped or ignored.

When you want to promote your stuff (whether it’s a video, blog post, or otherwise) you need to specifically tell your viewers that you want them to share the content.

It seems like a no brainer on the surface, but you would be shocked at the amount of videos out there that aren’t promoting themselves and trying to get people to push them at the same time.

Your viewership might love the content, might find it to be totally and incredibly life changing, but they are going to be so much more likely to pass the word on if you give them a little push.

Make sure they know you want this stuff to be shared, tell them you need their help to get the word out, and really give them a reason to get on your side.

This is the fast track to getting super promotion without any kind of scam or backdoor dealing.

A simple call to action will boost results through the roof.

How to significantly improve your video marketing results

Now that you’ve made your video, uploaded it to the world, and have pushed and promoted it to the masses you’re probably ready to reap some rewards from your hard work.

And while all of the foundational material you’ve been learning while working on building your campaign will go a long way towards helping you boost the effectiveness of your video marketing, the two tips we are going to go over today will help you take things to an entirely new level.

If you use everything you’ve learned on your journey along with these two tactics, you’ll be able to use video marketing to maximum your results and giving yourself the best chance of creating the real success you’re after.

- 90% Content, 10% Pitch

When planning out your script and how you’re video is going to be composed, always keep this rule in mind.

Video marketing may put a personal touch on things, but you have to remember that for much of your audience this is the first interaction they will have with you.

They don’t know you from Adam, and if you jump right into a pitch alarms are going to sound.

They'll take you for a sneaky, slimy salesmen and click off your page so fast you won’t know what to do.

That is why it is important to pump up your videos with real, valuable content and then and only then pitch your offer at the back end.

And if you really want to see things kick off, rather than sell them during the pitch, push them to another part of your marketing (maybe even another video).

The deeper you can get them into your sales funnel the more likely you are to heat up their buying buttons and nothing does this better than multi-step marketing with video.

- Outline exactly what you want them to do after they’ve seen the video, and make it super simple to do.

We’ve touched on this concept before when talking about promoting, but it bears pointing out again.

You need a call to action in your marketing videos or you’ll be wasting your viewer’s time and your own.

This is not the time to be afraid to ask them to do something for you, especially if you have been providing them with world class content in exchange.

But when you do ask for something in return, make sure you clearly and simply outline exactly what that is and then provide them with the easiest path to accomplishing it.

The fewer obstacles you place in front of them the more likely they will be to take action, and the more likely you are to see the results you want.

More Resources

This section has provided some comprehensive tips and training on how to use video marketing, so that you can get a good start on your campaign.

But there is always more research to do, and new tools to consider upgrading to, so when something newsworthy comes along, I'll feature it here for you.

THIS is a tool you need to be able to make videos that will get you the click and the SALE!!

One of the products that I have available for my readers here is a video training pack that covers most of the internet marketing and social networking platforms and gives a step by step guide for how to set up your accounts and how to get content loaded to them.

One of the products that I have available for my readers here is a video training pack that covers most of the internet marketing and social networking platforms and gives a step by step guide for how to set up your accounts and how to get content loaded to them. Here are some products you can buy online that I think look very useful:

Learn more here about how to succeed as an Internet Marketer, by using the tutorials in the Internet Marketing Video Vault Training Course

Get the "Affiliate Marketing - Simple System" Guide Book - on sale!

Below here I'm featuring more pages with helpful how-to-do-it  tips on how to use video marketing for your business. 

Feel free to submit your own story or article about it, and I will create your own page here with your contribution for the community to read.

Back to HOME PAGE of this how to use video marketing section of the site.