Why Use Video For Your Online Business pptx

1 Introduction 3 2 Some Startling Statistics 7 3 Building rapport with potential customers 9 4 Showing off products and services 13 5 Nothing Beats Video for Educating the Consumer 17 6

1

Why Use Video For Your Online Business?

Sigurd Kvernmoen

©2013 by CINéSYN

Published by CINéSYN at Smashwords

CINéSYN is a video production company Visit us atwww.cinesyn.com

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1 Introduction 3

2 Some Startling Statistics 7

3 Building rapport with potential customers 9

4 Showing off products and services 13

5 Nothing Beats Video for Educating the Consumer

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6 Video is More Easily Syndicated 21

7 Increasing Interest in Your Website 24

8 People Remember Video Better 29

9 Engaging customers with your brand 34

10 Video Increased Google Rankings 36

11 Video Increases Sales 40

12 Your Competitors are Using Video 45

13 Finding the Right Video Production Professional

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14 Introducing CINéSYN 49

1 Introduction

In recent years, video has all but taken over the World Wide Web Whereas a few short years ago, it was a technological challenge to put a short, tiny video on a website, making those websites special; today websites are expected to provide video content for their viewers

In fact, for many people, websites which don’t have videos are considered “old fashioned,” “out of touch” and “just plain boring.”

This incredible change has been brought about by two major technological breakthroughs in the Internet The first was the switchover from dial-up modem Internet service to broadband service This allowed the bandwidth necessary to stream video content to anyone who had broadband service The second breakthrough was the opening of YouTube.com Starting in 2005, YouTube provided anyone with the capability of uploading their videos to the Internet, sharing those videos and embedding them in their own web pages

YouTube grew explosively, so rapidly that the Internet giant, Google, bought them out for $1.65 billion dollars a mere 21 months after launching Today, YouTube is second only to Google for the most visits per month This alone should serve as a wakeup call to anyone in business; people want to see videos on the Internet

In fact, video on the Internet has become so popular that there are some remarkable statistics about YouTube which you need to know:

· 35 hours of video footage is uploaded to the site every minute

· Each week, YouTube receives the equivalent of

115,000 full-length feature films in uploads.

· Over 13 million hours of footage was uploaded in 2010

· More video is uploaded every 60 days than the three major US television networks produced in 60 years

· The most popular video of all time on YouTube has had been viewed over 1.2 billion times

With these types of statistics, it’s not a wonder that people are using video for their businesses; what’s amazing that some businesses still aren’t using it While YouTube doesn’t represent the entire video audience on the Internet, it does represent about 47% of it

Many of the most popular videos on YouTube are professionally recorded music videos of the type that are seen on MTV Nevertheless, there are also some popular videos which are poorly recorded videos made in someone’s home with a handheld camcorder Of these, the most popular boasts over 500 million views!

Today’s society wants to be entertained Video is a much better medium for accomplishing this than other mediums used over the Internet While some people surf the ‘Net looking for information, many just do so looking for something that will catch their interest, distract them from life and maybe give them a laugh When companies create entertaining videos and put them on their websites, it provides an incredible hook to bring in potential customers

Entertainment has long been an effective part of advertising If you don’t believe me, take a look at the

second Superbowl competition While the teams are battling it out on the gridiron, other teams are battling it out in the commercials Each of these thirty second spots, for which their companies pay $4 million (for Superbowl 47), is worthy of the Academy Awards.

Millions of viewers watch, rate and vote on those commercials, making a secondary competition that is even more serious than the main event To ensure that they get their money’s worth; the corporate sponsors of those commercials spend a small fortune to make them as entertaining as possible They want viewers to watch their commercials, not to take that time as an opportunity to run to the fridge In 2013, for the first time ever, teasers for the commercials were leaked before the Superbowl, one of which garnered over a million YouTube views before the day of the game

For those who are old enough, who can ever forget AlkaSelzer’s famous commercials from the 1960s? “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz” and “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” gained an instant following, literally going viral, even without an Internet to go viral in The combination

of catchy phrasing and a great job of acting made these commercials an instant success People were going around their offices repeating the jingles and spoofs were part of almost every comic’s routine

More recently than that, companies have developed video marketing campaigns which are created specifically for use on YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” series of videos has been the most successful series of videos advertisements created specifically for the YouTube audience There are over 100 videos in this series, some of which have had over 6 million views, for an aggregate total of over 220 million views (as of January 2013) For a relatively cheap advertising campaign, this one has been highly successful

Not every video created for a website will have the same appeal as the “Will it Blend?” series, but that’s not saying that it can’t Your video’s ability to make an impact on your potential customers depends more upon your imagination and creativity than anything else.

We have established that the Internet is a visual medium, which is becoming more and more video oriented on a daily basis But what about you and your business? Can video help your website promote your products and services better? Are potential customers more likely to find you if you have video on your home page? Will they spend more time on your website and spend enough money to make your investment in video pay off?

The simple answer to all these questions is “Yes!” Video pays off in countless ways Of all the content you can put on your website, the one which is going to have the greatest possibility of increasing traffic and business

is video In this book, we’re going to look at how

2 Some startling statistics

Just to help you realize how big an impact video is having

on the Internet, I’ve compiled a few statistics These come from a variety of sources, many being experts on the Internet and Internet marketing

· Viewers watched 75% more videos online in December 2010 than in December 2008

· By sometime in 2013, it is expected that 90% of all Internet traffic will be video

· Advanced forms of video, such as 3D and HD, is expected to increase 23-fold between 2009 and 2014

· By 2014, 3D and HD Internet video is expected to

be 46% of Internet video traffic

· In February 2011, the average video length was 5.1 minutes, the average online video ad was 24 seconds

· Video ads account for 12.4% of all videos viewed and 1.2% of all minutes spent watching video online

· As of February 2011 there were 3.8 million video ads, which averages about 30.2 ads per viewer and reached 42% of the total U.S population

· As of 2010, 73% of online retailers were using some form of video on their websites

· 60% of people surveyed have stated that they would watch video on a web page before seeing

what else is on that page.

· 75% of business executives said that they watch workrelated videos on business websites at least once per week

· 65% of business executives surveyed by Forbes in October 2010 visit a vendor’s website after viewing a workrelated online video; 53% have conducted a search for a vendor, product or service, for more information; and 42% have made

a business related purchase

· A report by the Online Publishers Association states that 46% of those who see video advertising take some action based upon the advertisement; 22% visited the website, 26% looked for more information, 15% visited the company and 12% purchased that particular product

· 40% of the online video traffic is through YouTube

· 94 of AdAge’s Top 100 Advertisers run ad campaigns on YouTube

3 Video Builds Rapport with

Potential Customers

One of the problems inherent with e-commerce is the lack of personal contact While that personal contact may not be necessary to grab the first, low-price sale, it is essential for converting a first-time customer into a long-term one

With so little personal contact, customers don’t typically develop brand loyalty, the bread and butter of any business It’s the repeat customers who make a business grow and prosper, not the one-time purchasers,

no matter how much they spend in that one purchase.Video puts a “face” on your internet business; specifically your face Viewers start to identify your business with you Along with that, they start thinking of you as “their plumber,” “their consultant,” and even

“their friend.” All of that is important When they connect your face to your business, then business goes from being impersonal to being a relationship

Never forget the importance of personal relationship

in business In much of the world, people will go to a particular store, not because they have better prices, or because they have the model the customer wants, but because they know somebody in that store

You have to see that to truly understand it In Mexico, for example, people will drive across town to a pharmacy

or hardware store, just because the proprietor is the brother-in-law of a friend of their third cousin People the world over prefer doing business with somebody they know, and in many parts of the world, you can’t do business at all without first forming a relationship

That’s what made the old mom and pop shop of the last generation so successful Everyone knew their corner

grocer, and the grocer knew all his customers When people came in, he’d greet them by name, tell them when he had a special deal on one of their favorites, and even save a special cut of meat for a family who he knew had an event coming up People appreciated that and were loyal to his store.

Essentially, video gives you some of the same capability that the old mom and pop shops had While you won’t be getting to know your customers through your video, they’ll be getting to know you No longer will your business be something impersonal, it will become a relationship between you and them

Although here in the United States we publicly deny the idea of personal relationships and business relationships going hand in hand, we still accept it on a subliminal level Everyone is more prone to do business with somebody they already know, rather than doing it with a total stranger Those relationships make businesses flourish and ensure a steady flow of repeat customers; the backbone of any business

Think of it this way When you walk into many brick stores and restaurants these days, the employees say

“welcome.” Why do they do that? They do it to make you feel good You probably acknowledge their greeting with one of your own, then go on to do your shopping But, that short interaction, even at a distance, has already made you feel welcome in the store and that there are people who are noticing that you are there

That simple action implies that the people in the store are ready and willing to help you with your needs You don’t feel that it’s an imposition asking them a question, because they’ve already let you know that they’re not too busy to talk to you So, when you need help, you ask for it

Ultimately, that means more business for the store, because people appreciate superior customer service, rewarding it in the best way possible, by buying products and services That makes it worthwhile for the management to insist that their employees make the effort to greet every person who comes through the door.Okay, now to your online store or business Obviously, you don’t have the manpower to have somebody sitting there, waiting for a potential customer to land on your site, just so that they can greet that customer However,

if you have a video greeting there, it has the same effect The customer feels like you have paid attention to them, even though it was all triggered electronically

While a video can’t totally overcome the advantage of

a face-to-face meeting, it can go a long way towards making customers feel welcome and building rapport with them

When people communicate in person, there’s a lot more going on than just the words they speak Tone, body language, facial expression and more are all part of conveying the message On the other hand, written communication is limited All that people have is the words on the page in front of them They have no way of knowing the writer’s mood, seriousness, attitude or tone, except by the words that they read Unless the writer is extremely good at putting those things into their writing, the reader is often left wondering

Visual communication is such an important part of any interpersonal communication that people who know one another well are able to carry on an entire conversation, expressing complex thoughts, without using words Have you ever seen that? A couple is out together shopping and they communicate everything they need to, without saying anything Or, how about a mother who scolds her

children in that same store, just by how she looks at them?

If all your website has is words, then the reader may not get the whole message that you want them to get Your passion for excellence is hard to express on the printed page Your commitment to customer service is equally hard to convey Your expertise in the area is hard

to get across, even if you have 100 articles on your website to answer their questions

When your potential customers see a video greeting from you on your website, they are doing much more than just hearing your words Just like a person-to-person conversation, they are looking at your body language, seeing your facial expression, and hearing your tone of voice All of this helps convey the message that you want

to get across to your customers

This personal aspect of a video can make the difference between someone staying on your website and buying your products, or going to another website because they are bored

By greeting your website visitors via video, you implicitly invite them into opening a dialogue with you You can take this a step further, by actually inviting them to contact you, either through e-mail, telephone or online chat if you have it available

Establishing that dialog is an important part of selling Every sales training course I’ve ever seen talks about starting a dialogue with the customer, establishing rapport and finding common ground Why? Because those things build the necessary relationship needed to close the sale

The same thing can be done online, although some modifications need to be made Instead of answering their questions directly, you could invite them to read

articles you’ve created to answer their questions Or, if you have your expert content in the form of videos, you can direct them there to find the information they need Ideally, you want them to find the answers on your website, not ask you directly, as asking you directly eats

up time and resources

4 Video Gives the Ability to Show off Products and Services

One of the advantages a brick and mortar store has over the Internet is that it provides the customer the opportunity to physically touch the item they are contemplating buying It doesn’t matter if they are looking to buy a car, an article of clothing or a diamond ring, people like to be able to touch it, feel it, try it on for size and look at it from all angles Unfortunately, until the Internet adds the capability of remote senses, that’s not really possible

Of all the senses, sight is the one we depend upon the most So, while we can’t give people the opportunity to physically touch products via the internet, it does lend itself very well to showing them the product

Video is an excellent means of showing off products and services over the Internet Whereas a picture is static and only shows the product from one angle, a video can show the product from all angles, and the results of using that product Overall, video gives the consumer a much better idea of the product and its capability than still photos ever could

I don’t know about you, but when I look at a picture

of a product on the Internet, it seems like I always want

to see some detail that isn’t shown Either the picture is from the wrong angle, or it’s shot from too far away to provide the necessary detail Regardless, of the reason, there are often limitations on what those pictures show.With video, it’s possible to show all angles of the product, zooming in on details and providing a much better view of how the product looks and works The product can also be shown installed and with any options that might exist

The easiest place to see this difference is in clothing

A dress hanging on a rack looks shapeless, that’s why models are used Even though models don’t have the same bodies that most women have, they at least fill the dress with a body, showing how it hangs That makes a huge difference Taking that model and having her move, walk and turn around provides a way of seeing all aspects

of the dress, how it looks, how it shows off her body, and how it flows when she moves

This same concept exists to some extent with any product While a customer may not need to see how a power tool looks when it’s in somebody’s hands, they do need to see how it works Being able to see that provides the potential buyer with valuable information to help them make their decision

At the same time, showing the product in use provides an excellent opportunity to show off its capability Take something simple, like an electric fan, for example The biggest thing that anyone wants to see is how much air that fan moves, or how powerful it is You can’t tell that from a picture and trying to convert what specifications say into something that you experience is difficult at best

On the other hand, a video of that same fan operating shows clearly what it can do Place a pile of paper in front of the fan and let it blow the paper around, and they’ll almost feel that wind in their imagination Even though the person doesn’t physically feel the air from the fan, their experience allows them to easily convert what they see into what they would feel

It is possible to use this idea of showing potential customers what a product or service can do for them with almost anything you can think of That’s why television advertising is so effective More than any other medium,

television ads convey to the consumer an idea of what they gain by spending their money on whatever the ad is talking about.

Granted, many television ads show a false image of what the product will do for them, rather than a true one, but that doesn’t negate the value of those videos Take the Marlborough cigarette ads for example The

“Marlborough Man” portrayed the idea of total masculinity Men would see that ad and subconsciously want to be like him The message that the ad was sending was, “Smoke Marlborough and you too will be this masculine.” A false message, but one that got through nevertheless

Consumers have become more aware of these sorts of fallacies in advertising They are much less likely to fall into accepting this sort of message today than they were

30 years ago For this reason, advertisers must be more careful about how they present their products The marketplace is more skeptical now than it was before, and can recognize truth in advertising much more easily.That recognition of truth in advertising can be to your benefit if you use it properly A video on your website, which shows your product or service in operation, provides valuable information to the customer and adds

to your credibility

Smart consumers tend to read claims about a product with a grain of salt Many automatically reduce the capability of that product in their mind, expecting less of

it than what the seller claims However, when they see the product actually do what the seller has claimed, their skepticism is reduced While that won’t totally remove it,

it will go a long way towards making them believers.Those same videos can also provide valuable instruction for how to get the most out of a product or service If you

read product reviews on Amazon.com, you will always see some percentage of people who are totally dissatisfied with a product In some cases, they received a defective product; but in many cases, these people weren’t using the product correctly.

Customers will never be satisfied with a product that they use incorrectly No matter how good the product is,

it still has to be used in accordance with how the manufacturer intended Even so, most people firmly believe that they should only read the directions when and if all else fails

Providing videos of a product in use can go a long way towards increasing customer satisfaction, simply from the instruction that they provide A video doesn’t have to be

an “instructional video” in order to instruct A simple demonstration can do a lot of instruction, especially if the instruction is done in such a way as to show setting

up the product as well With products which have been designed in such a way as to have a breakthrough in setup ease, this can be a major selling point as well

Taking this one step further, instructional videos on your website can provide valuable information that can help sell your product or services Once again, it doesn’t matter what type of business you have, what matters is how well much information you provide to the consumer.For a heating and air conditioning company, a video of

a technician cleaning and servicing an air handling unit (the heart of a HVAC system) will get people thinking about their home’s HVAC system They may try and inspect or service it themselves, based on the information

in the video, to the extent that they can While this might seem to take business away from the company, it doesn’t When that same consumer runs into something that they can’t do, they’ll be much more likely to call the heating and air conditioning company whose video they

had watched.

5 Nothing Beats Video for

Educating the Consumer

Google has stated that their average user doesn’t get on the Internet to search for a product, but rather to search for answers to their questions and solutions to their problems Once they find the answers that they need, they then move on to buying, often from the same website that answered their questions

This idea has been the impetus behind the last several changes that Google has made to their search-engine algorithm, especially the famous Panda change Their intent is to filter out the sales only websites and the websites that are filled with “fluff” that doesn’t educate the consumer, and focus on putting websites that contain

“expert content” in the top ten

Expert content is content which educates the consumer It doesn’t matter if the content educates them about how to install an attic fan or how to select a diamond, as long as it is educational At the same time, they have given preference to websites which have a lot

of related expert content, over websites which have only

a few pages devoted to expert content, or those which have a large variety of unrelated content

This has made educating the consumer one of the most powerful sales tools on the Internet Companies worldwide are hiring writers to provide expert content about their areas of business and how their products will answer customers’ needs As one company which connects businesses with writers has said, “Content is king.”

In this process, Google also gives high rating to websites which have video content The assumption is that if a company is putting video on their website, they

are doing so to inform and educate the consumer, not just

to entertain them or promote their products

Taking all of this into account, it behooves you to have videos on your website which answer your potential customers’ questions and educate them about your area

of expertise As this is much easier than writing lengthy articles about the same subject matter, video becomes a powerful educational tool

There have been a number of educational studies performed which show the value of video as an educational medium The major argument in favor of video is that it captures and maintains learner interest much better than any other medium

I don’t know about you, but I still remember when I was in school and we saw a video in one of our classes It didn’t matter what the subject matter was, the fact that

it was a video was enough for us Well, guess what? We don’t change out of that mode just because we are adults If you want to educate your potential customers, video is the most effective way to do so

It is easier to teach a subject over video because of the ability to show the viewer examples, demonstrations, graphics and data, instead of just telling it to them The National Education Association has long said that students learn better when teachers are able to involve more of their senses in the learning process In other words, telling somebody something has a limited impact, while telling and showing them at the same time has a much greater impact The most impact comes from when you can tell them, show them, and have them do the task all

at the same time

While it is essentially impossible to have potential customers use a product over the Internet before they buy it, it is possible to have them experience that

product vicariously, via video Not only will they see the product, but at the same time they will see it in action If the video is shot from a viewpoint that “puts them in the driver’s seat” it augments the experience, making it much more like they are actually using the product themselves.

There are many things that cannot be explained as well as they can be shown Written instructions for how

to install or use a product almost always leave some doubt in the mind of the reader It really doesn’t matter how well written the instructions are, the reader will always have questions that aren’t answered Yet, in a much shorter amount of time, a video provides a much more comprehensive instruction for how to use the device

Video also provides a means of showing materials which otherwise aren’t visible It is almost impossible to show someone how the inside of a car engine works with text While it can be done to some extent with still pictures, it can be done much more effectively with video

The same can be said of many other things, such as how a septic system works or how an air conditioner cools air Things which are not easily visible can be captured on video, explained and provided to viewers so that they can gain a better understanding of how products work and why they need those products

This is one of those places where 3D animation is the way to go It’s virtually impossible to run a cutaway engine or air conditioner But with 3D animation, a virtual cutaway can be created, with all the parts moving as they should

Using video to educate your potential customers provides

an excellent way of demonstrating your expertise to

them As you are educating them, they are gaining confidence in you.

Most people want to do business with someone who knows what they are talking about They want that expertise available as a resource, something available to them in the case that they have problems Through video, you can prove to these customers that you are a true subject matter expert in your chosen area That ultimately results in more sales

To a large part, everyone is selling their expertise It doesn’t matter if you are selling a product or service; many people buy it from you because you have knowledge in an area where they have ignorance The man who goes to the hardware store is counting on that store having the necessary knowledge to stock the parts

he needs to complete his project The woman who goes

to the beauty salon is expecting the hairdresser to know how to make her hair look beautiful Likewise, the person who goes to the butcher shop is expecting the butcher to know how to cut the meat, grade it and keep it fresh for them They also expect that butcher to be able to answer their questions and tell them which cut of meat will work best for what they are planning on cooking

More than any other medium, video provides an easy means of expressing your expertise to potential customers As an expert in your field, you can answer their questions, providing solutions to their problems You can also make recommendations for products and services which will meet their needs

The confidence to accept those recommendations comes from the consumer recognizing you as an expert in your field If you haven’t gained that recognition in their eyes, you have to convince them that the product you are recommending is the right one for them Once they recognize your expertise, they are likely to accept your

recommendations with many fewer questions.

As the expert, you are a consultant to your customers They gain expectancy that you will look after their needs, provide them with valuable information, and answer their questions In exchange, they will provide you with loyalty and sales

6 Video is More Easily Syndicated

One of the problems which every website owner faces is the need to promote their site Website owners spend hours of their time and/or many dollars creating content for their website or blog, much of which is only seen by a limited number of people

Blogs are much worse for this than websites Essentially, articles that are placed on a blog are seen that day and maybe a few days afterwards While some blog visitors will go back through the archives looking for interesting articles, the vast majority won’t So, those great articles that you sweated over may only be seen by

a limited number of people

The obvious answer to this is syndication This is a fancy word for getting other people to use your content There’s only one problem with syndication, most people won’t do it The copyright laws state that when you publish something, it is yours If anyone else wants to publish it, they need to seek your permission in writing to

do so Since people don’t want that hassle, they usually don’t bother

There’s another problem with syndication of articles

as well; that is that Google penalizes websites that have copied content So, if someone else publishes your wonderful article on their website, they run the risk of lowering their website’s search engine ranking That’s the last thing that anyone wants to do

The exception to this problem is video Video can be placed in multiple locations without the problem of plagiarism Since Google’s search engine spider can’t actually “read” the words in the video, they’re not going

to know that it’s the same video in multiple locations.Actually, there’s an even better way to do this than

copying the video in multiple locations, that’s to embed the video Embedding consists of attaching some HTML code to the web page, which causes it to show a video that’s in another location So, other people can embed your video on their website, and it will show on their website, just as if it will on yours Even better, the link between the two websites will help increase your website’s ranking.

Countless companies use this capability for their videos Instead of hosting the video on their own website, they host it through YouTube and embed their own video

on their website This allows their website to operate faster, as it doesn’t have to stream the video, YouTube takes care of that It also allows the same video to be embedded in a variety of places, such as on social media sites

When you create a video and embed it on your website, don’t limit your thinking It doesn’t cost anything more to embed that video in a number of places So, think of everyplace you can put it, where people will be able to see it, and put it there Some of these would include:

· YouTube

· Other video sites, such as Vimeo

· Your business’ Facebook page

· Your friends and colleagues Facebook pages

· Your website

· iTunes, as a video podcast

· The websites of friends who are in similar businesses

Allow me to amplify on the last one of those for a moment If a “how to” video that you create is going to help your business, it is easy to sell the idea to others that the same how to video will help their business Let’s say that you’re a plumber, and you’ve created a video showing how to unclog a clogged up sink, which is on your website The other plumbers in your trade association need that same content on their website So, as a service

to the organization, you could offer to allow them to embed your video on their website as well

I realize that sounds like I’m telling you to spend your time and money to promote your competition’s business, but I’m not There are three things you’ll gain from them using your video First of all, there will be a link back to your page, which helps your website’s rankings Secondly, people who are looking for a plumber and stumble upon your video on their site will start building a relationship with you, not them When they find you, they’ll feel like they already know you Thirdly, your competitors can’t cut out part of your video, they have to use the whole thing So, your statement of “For more how to plumbing videos, visit us at: www.plumber.com” at the end of the video is going to send them to your website

7 Video Increases Interest in

Your Website, Keeping People

There Longer

Let’s face it; our society is getting lazier by the year The younger generation growing up has little interest in reading, preferring to get all their information via video Give them something to read and they’ll get distracted texting their friends on their phone; give them the same information on video and they’ll watch it till the end.Attention spans of students in school are becoming shorter, as they become more focused on video You can even see the results of this in feature films, which have shorter scenes today than they did 50, or even 20 years ago The shorter scenes and increased action are necessary to keep their attention and keep them watching

This phenomenon isn’t just affecting our youth, although they are the most affected by it Adults and even older people are reading less today than any time in the last 100 years As television and video have become more prevalent in our society, they have replaced reading

as a means of entertainment, as well as a means of gaining information With the Internet having so much video availability, many people do all their “research” via video

While a lot of the video on the Internet is of poor quality; with poor lighting, improperly captured sound and people speaking who don’t really know their subject matter, there is still a lot of high quality content available The public in general tends to find that high quality content, largely ignoring videos that don’t provide them with the information that they need