*UPDATE* Now you can watch ALL 5 parts of my recent RFL Day 2010 Social Media Keynote Presentation in hi-def flash video.

Here’s the first part of my Social Media presentation from the May 7th, ‘Referrals For Life Day’ hosted by the Referral Institute of Peel Halton. I’ll be uploading the other videos shortly to ‘stay tuned’

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To find information on how video marketing is best conducted, however, requires a lot of digging. Stepping away from the usual “gurus” and “get-rich-quick” types and looking at what’s really working and happening is something that isn’t often done by commentators. Mostly because these commentators are usually part of the guru stream themselves.

In trade journals and marketing conferences, though, professionals are talking a lot about video. It’s the current “big thing” to capitalize on and is usually done hand-in-hand with social network marketing.

What Really Works in Video Marketing

Whatever your size or budget, there are some fundamental things that appear to work with video online. First and foremost, aim for quality, but don’t over-emphasize it. Studio-quality production is by no means a requirement for successful video marketing. Outright garbage video, however, is just trash.

Quality video has several elements: picture clarity (not perfection, just clarity), good sound (again, not perfection), strong content, and a short duration.

The longer a video is, the less likely it is to be watched all the way through. Optimally, most good online video that gets noticed and goes viral is almost always of commercial length ñ anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. Some exceptions occur, of course, but 5 minutes appears to be about the limit.

Content is still King on the Internet, though, so above all else, be sure your video is packed with it. You don’t have to motormouth like an auctioneer, but keep on topic and deliver good information.

What Doesn’t Work in Video Marketing

In preparation for writing this article, I went through YouTube and watched a ton of videos based on a search for “product” and “opportunity.” All I can say is that there are a lot of really, really badly made videos out there.

A lot of them.

Most have two things in common: they over-emphasize the “news” appeal of whatever they’re attempting to sell and they often put too much or too little effort into production. If your customers wanted the news, they’d turn on CNN. If they want low production values, they’ll watch cable access. Be realistic with your production values, but don’t be so cheap that you attempt to make your video presentation using a 1Mp camera made in 1990 and your PC’s internal microphone.

The Future of Video Marketing

Video is not going anywhere. It’s online and it’s here to stay. It’s only going to get better, in fact. So every marketing strategy, no matter its goals, will have to incorporate video in some way. That might be directly, indirectly, or both. Often, a video campaign can take place without the input or effort of the benefactor, in fact.

Apple Computers is becoming a master at this strategy as part of their overall mastery of Web 2.0 marketing. Note how they manage to “leak” timely news and then sit back and watch the blogosphere, social networks, and video commentators take over and do their marketing for them. For free. The recent release (and lead-up to it) of the iPad is a great example of this in action.

Video marketing is definitely an integral part of the overall marketing strategy for future sales. Broadly, it’s a part of the Web 2.0 revolution. What do you think?

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Such is the power of web video marketing. So the question becomes “How do I capitalize on this?” Here’s the good news, and it’s not as difficult (or as expensive) as you might think. You simply need a …

The Secret to a “60 Second Video” ™

Contrary to popular theory, you don’t need expensive video production to take advantage of this powerful new marketing channel. The secret lies in one small detail… YOU ONLY NEED A VIDEO FILE FORMAT. That’s the key. Size does not matter either, in fact smaller is better!

OK, there are a few other secrets like how you tag the video, what you say in the description and so on, but armed with just a simple video (*TIP* the content should be useful but Hollywood Directors need not apply!) you can upload your entry onto Google’s video platform YouTube and benefit from the 20 Million plus people trafficking that site each month.

Second Largest Traffic Source

YouTube is the 2nd largest (Western) search engine in the world and serves up more video content than any other portal to date and visitors on YouTube typically consume at least 17 minutes of video every time they visit!

What you need to do is “sneak” into this massive traffic pool with your “60 Second Video” that provides a professional video message at a fraction of the cost, but still gives you all the power of the medium.

No Expensive Equipment Required!

And one of the simplest ways to make a video without the overhead of ‘typical video production’ is to use the following:

• Screen capture software — Records your computer screen and lets you turn it into a video (complete with sound and/or your narration!)
• Convert your presentation — Popular presentation programs have the ability to export your presentation (with your narration) into a video format.
• Convert your slideshow — Popular photo programs have the ability to create a slideshow and export it as video, some even include the ability to mix in music and special transition effects.

As you can see, creating a video is not so much about “sound, lights, camera, action!” and more about creating the right file format and uploading it to powerful portal sites like Youtube.

Remember, don’t let misconceptions about video production stop you from leveraging this amazing new web marketing opportunity.

Get Your Blueprint Today!

Download the Web Video Marketing Blueprint and discover just how easy it is get in on the web video marketing phenomenon today. It’s easier than you might think!

Included:

• Blueprint Special (7 Page) Report complete with step-by-step instructions, and best practices. NO SPECIAL SKILLS NEEDED to implement.
• Checklist diagram – one page easy desk reference. See it all in one glance. Key concepts and more.

Price: $19

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Video capability was the fastest-growing website feature for small business advertisers over the past year, with 19% of advertisers showing video on their websites in Q4 2009, versus just 5% in Q4 2008. The data represents nearly $22 million in U.S. small business advertisers spending in Q4 2009 from more than 12,000 individual advertisers.

Conversion rates also improved for small business advertisers, with 35.3% of clicks resulting in website conversion action, compared with 32% in Q3 2009 and 26.6% in Q4 2008. Actions are predominantly calls, and also include sending emails or SMS texts, form fills, printed driving directions or video views. The average keyword count per small business advertiser increased by 21% in Q4 2009 over Q3 2009, to an average 67 keywords.

WebVisible CEO, Kirsten Mangers, says “… these numbers show increased confidence by small businesses in using search to gain leads, and increased ability to turn those leads into sales… “

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There are a lot of tasks you have to learn in this industry and it can get overwhelming trying to decide which to focus on and which to ignore. You need to know how to conduct niche and keyword research, how to set up an email marketing campaign, how to cash in on social networking.

Video marketing is just one more important component of your online strategy. It’s powerful. But to date, only top marketers who had the money for tools and the technical savvy to master them had been riding this wave of success.

In 2010, every marketer will be searching for video marketing methods that help them dominate in their niche. Because of increased demand, developers have been working on tools that help the average consumer.

Video marketing will help you brand your company in a positive and professional (not to mention cutting edge) slant. It helps you highlight the benefits of your products and services. It increases the stickiness of your site, which is how long your visitors stay on your domain. And it also help you connect to your audience for sales conversions and instructional tutorials.

Some marketers have yet to invest in their copy of Camtasia. Editing video was deemed too hard. But there are free tools like Camtasia Studio that can help you get started and get comfortable before immersing yourself into more complex recordings.

You can even invest in simple point and click technology where you aim, click the button to record and stop, and upload it online via your USB port. You can do this with a Flip Video Camera.

In 2010, there will be more tools dedicated to helping marketers use video marketing as an SEO support system. Video advertising will be one of the increasingly used media formats in the social networking world, too.

Not only will your target audience be seeing a video played automatically on sites like Facebook, but there will be mobile video advertising, too. It’s not too late, but you want to educate yourself ASAP about this form of marketing so you won’t be behind the times when it comes to capturing the attention of your consumer base.

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