The Power of Video Marketing

Everyone these days is looking to incorporate video into their Internet efforts. With the advent of video e-mail and YouTube, not to mention video being shot directly for corporate websites, there are an abundance of methods to get your message across. The mistake that a lot of companies make is believing that they need to budget thousands of dollars to take advantage of these marketing tactics.

The reality is that you can participate in all of these marketing channels with a powerful and visually attractive video while spending less than it would cost you in one direct mail campaign.

The added benefit is that while a direct mail campaign is a short term lead generator. Video that is developed for Internet marketing is constantly working for you, nurturing prospects and creating new relationships.

Now make no mistake, this is not a “bash” on direct mail. We still believe in direct mail as long as it is used in concert with other home improvement marketing tactics. The purpose of the comparison is to get you thinking about a new way to attract prospects. Many of your competitors are already utilizing these tactics and those that aren’t will be in the near future. It is critical that you don’t miss out on this competitive advantage.

In order to create an effective viral video campaign, we recommend the following steps:

1. Map out your overall strategy and goals. What do you want to accomplish with your video campaign? Would you like to sell more of your product or service? Get more prospects to your website? Generate more referrals?
2. Decide how you would like your video filmed. In most cases you don’t need to invest in an expensive videographer. See if anyone in your organization has a quality video camera. If not, you can purchase one more affordably than ever before. Websites such as TechBargains offer discounted camcorders, and also scour the Internet looking for the best deal possible.
3. Block out a half a day to shoot your videos. Barricade yourself in your office or leave your office to avoid distractions. This will allow you to finish the project quicker.
4. Take the time to edit your videos. Why is this critical? Because your videos should ideally be no more than 5 minutes. Research has proven that the average viewer will lose interest in anything longer than this. Of course there are exceptions, but wouldn’t you rather be on the safe side and make sure that the majority of your prospects watch the entire video?
5. As stated earlier, there are an abundance of ways to market your videos once you have created them. However, you always want to start with YouTube. Out of all the methods it is by far the quickest and easiest, and remember, you want to get this content on the Internet as quickly as possible.
6. The next step is to post your videos to your website. Videos on your site are effective for multiple reasons, but their biggest benefit is that they keep the prospect on the website longer. The longer they are on the site the more likely they are to buy something or give you their contact information.
7. After you accomplish these first two tasks, you want to look into other ways of getting your video out to the general public. Keep in mind that the video content you post on the Internet will not go away, so it is always out there, working for you to create new leads.

In the next blog posting I will go over in detail how to market videos effectively. But the onus is on you to take the first step and shoot some valuable and entertaining content.

To hear from experts in utilizing video marketing in your business, don’t forget to attend the upcoming home improvement summit in Baltimore!