6 Reasons Online Videos Work So Well

October 30, 2013

If you’re a business owner, chances are you already know that your company needs a great deal of exposure combined with effective marketing techniques to be successful online. Video marketing is a powerful way to reach consumers while at the same time increasing your online exposure.
Whether you’re looking for added online display or if you’re just getting started, take into account the following ways that videos can help boost your company’s online presence:
1. Search Engines
The major search engines are now indexing videos with the appropriate keywords. Internet users are no longer limited to search results containing only web content. In fact, Google places high priority on videos.
What this means for your business is that if someone is searching for a product, your video may come up, increasing your exposure. Keep in mind, however, that a video should always have an SEO-optimized title, a detailed description, and relevant keywords. This will help get your videos listed high in the search results.
2. People Love Videos
With over 3 billion hits a day on YouTube alone, it’s evident that a lot people like to watch videos. In fact, YouTube is the 2nd most-used site for searches, trailing only behind Google. Creating your own videos, whether they are tutorials, product information, or testimonials, will increase the chances of your online exposure significantly growing.
3. Millions of Videos are Shared Online Daily
Whether through emails, texts, or social media sites, millions of videos are shared on a daily basis. Video sharing will continue to grow as more and more users are sharing videos via smartphones as well.
4. People Stay on Websites Longer That Have Videos
Website visitors tend to stay longer on websites that have videos. The longer people stay, the more likely they are to remember your company. In fact, most viewers will remember your brand and your key product and/or service features if they find your videos entertaining and helpful.
5. Videos Are More Personal
When you create a video, you are giving consumers a more personal experience than they would get from reading content alone. This will help boost your online exposure as viewers may feel a better connection towards your brand.
6. Videos Attract Visual Learners
Along with the entertainment and personal factors that come with videos, those who are visual learners will seek out videos before anything else. Creating and sharing videos allows you reach these types of people who may have otherwise skipped learning about your business if you didn’t offer visual content.

10 Video Marketing Stats You Should Know About

October 28, 2013

With high-speed Internet and an array of categories to choose from, online video viewing has exploded. In fact, YouTube alone receives more than three billion views on a daily basis, and a good majority of these views are on products and services videos.
In order to determine how videos affect consumers, a series of studies and polls have been performed in recent years. The statistics have clearly revealed that not only are videos the preferred choice by an overwhelming amount of consumers, but people tend to remember the companies that create engaging and/or helpful videos, and usually end up purchasing a product or service as a result.
If you’re considering video marketing for your business, the following stats will give you a good idea of how much online video viewing has grown and how having your own videos can help your company:
1. An average one-minute online video conveys what a 1.8 million-word essay would convey, which equals over 3,500 blog posts.
2. People visiting websites spend an average of 88% more time on sites that include videos.
3. Over 70% of shoppers prefer to see a video on the products page while viewing a company’s website.
4. Close to 60% of shoppers in the United States state that watching a product video helps them feel more confident before purchasing. In the addition, these shoppers also feel less inclined to return a product if they viewed a video prior to purchasing.
5. YouTube is currently the leading platform in which consumers watch product videos, at 60%.
6. Although computers are still the primary way that most consumers view videos, over 50% said that viewing videos on their smartphones is a quick and convenient way to find product information. Mobile users represent a large portion of consumers.
7. By 2016, experts estimate that at least two-thirds of the world’s mobile viewing will be videos.
8. By placing a video on your business landing page, your company website is 53% more likely to show up on the first page of Google search engine results.
9. Companies that use videos in conjunction with email marketing see an average 75% decrease in email opt-outs.
10. In a recent survey geared towards hundreds of executives, 85% stated that they view business videos, and 65% typically view the company’s website after watching.
Sources:
4Q: How Consumers Shop with Video: http://www.shop.org/sites/default/files/invodo_etailinggroup_-_how_consumers_shop_with_video_may_2013_v2_0.pdf
Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012-2017: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html
Forbes INSIGHTS: Executives Embrace the Non-Text Web: http://images.forbes.com/forbesinsights/StudyPDFs/Video_in_the_CSuite.pdf

How Videos and Social Media Work Together

October 26, 2013

Social media and videos are two of the most powerful outlets that companies have online for gaining new business and increasing brand awareness online. When the two are combined, the possibilities are limitless.
Social media sites are known for sharing information. For instance, millions of pictures, songs, videos, and comments are shared on Facebook every day. In fact, Facebook recently created a new interface that’s targeted more towards videos since the popularity of videos has increased so much in recent years.
The reason videos are viewed more often on social media sites is because they typically are posted and/or shared by friends and followers who are trusted. However, a trusted company can have the same results.
All of the major social media sites allow companies to create their own business pages. Once you have an established business page and a trusted presence on social media sites, your videos are more likely to be viewed frequently.
Before you can share videos, you’ll of course have to post them. Fortunately, the popular social media sites make this process relatively simple.
* Facebook: Facebook allows you to embed links to your videos directly to the site without any need for third-party plugins or other tools. To post an embedded link, you’ll just need to copy your video’s link and paste onto your business page’s “status” section.

* Twitter is all about short, concise messages, and the same goes for sharing videos. You’ll want to use a shorter URL when “tweeting” the link to your videos, which can be accomplished by using Google’s URL shortener. Once you have a shortened URL, simply paste it into your Twitter feed and tweet it. However, YouTube makes sharing on Twitter a bit easier by creating shorter URLS directly below each video. So if you’re sharing a video from YouTube, you’ll only need to copy and paste the premade URL. You can also utilize YouTube’s sharing widgets, which is discussed in more detail below.

* YouTube: YouTube is a social media site in itself; not only will you have your own business profile, but you will also have an effective way to upload and share videos on the world’s most popular video sharing site. To share your YouTube videos with other social media sites, simply click the appropriate sharing widget located directly under every YouTube video. Currently, YouTube has 10 social media widgets to choose from, including Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pineterest, and more.

Why Video Marketing is Cost-Effective

October 25, 2013

Quality written content and professional photos certainly play an important part in promoting your business online. Yet, video marketing is another powerful tool that some companies tend to overlook because of myths surrounding the high prices that come along with it. However, on the contrary, video marketing is a cost-effective option that local businesses should consider investing in.
The Power of Video
Videos hold a certain power that no other type of online marketing can offer. In fact, nearly ½ of Internet users view at least one video per day. Along with entertainment videos, a large portion of online video viewing is tutorials, referrals, product and service information, educational information, and testimonials.
In addition, 90% of retail shoppers have made purchases based on helpful videos in which companies demonstrated and/or advertised their products. Furthermore, the majority of shoppers who made a purchase after watching a video report that they still clearly remember the videos that helped them decide on their purchasing decisions.
What this means for businesses is that given the low cost involved in creating videos, there is a great chance of the payoff being significantly higher than what was invested as millions of people now turn to videos for product and service information.
Video Marketing Isn’t as Expensive as You Think
Since social video networking sites have blown up in recent years, such as YouTube and Vimeo, it’s now more affordable than ever to create professional, high-quality videos and easily get them in front of millions of eyes. There’s no longer a need to hire an expensive production and advertising company to boost your videos, as there are affordable marketing professionals who can guide you and help you see a high return on investment (ROI).
Many businesses are under the assumption that creating a professional video entails investing in expensive equipment and pricey editing tools. However, this is no longer true.
In fact, most point-and-shoot cameras today can create the same type of high-quality commercials that used to cost companies thousands of dollars. This also applies to editing tools, lighting, and other equipment needed.
Furthermore, several types of videos can be created without an actual camera at all.
With video marketing, you have an inexpensive way to reach viewers across the globe. The Internet has changed the way companies can reach consumers forever, giving local businesses a successful chance to create high-quality videos at an affordable rate.

5 Tips for Choosing a Video Marketing Consultant

October 24, 2013

Getting exposure to your online videos is just as important as creating them. With millions of videos being uploaded daily, you’ll need an effective way to stand out from the crowd.

A video marketing consultant is a trained professional experienced in helping companies boost their marketing videos and online presence.
However, video marketing specialists come with a wide variety of skills and knowledge; so it’s crucial to do your homework before choosing one to work with.

Consider the following tips when deciding who is right for your company:

1. Proven Track Record: Be certain to ask for samples and client references. Experienced video marketing consultants typically have no problems providing you with previous work experience and credentials.

2. Strategy and Execution: A competent video marketing consultant should understand the types of strategies that will work for your particular industry and how to successfully execute them.

Ask questions about how the consultant will carry out an effective video marketing campaign. For example, you can ask about SEO optimization, keyword placements, and what social media strategies will be used.

3. Be Cautious of Guarantees: Although we all love guaranteed results, the Internet is a constant-changing environment and the algorithms used to find information online is never set in stone. Therefore, a video marketing consultant who promises you that your videos will stay in the top spot on search engine results forever or that your videos will be the most viewed on YouTube isn’t being forthcoming with you.

It’s an ideal situation, but it’s not something that can ever be guaranteed. A professional video marketing consultant will explain to you how they will increase your views as well as provide a strategically-planned operation on how to boost your sales, but will never promise you things that they cannot deliver.

4. Social Media Experience: Social media marketing goes hand-in-hand with video marketing and a qualified video marketing consultant will not only know all about the major social media sites, but will also have proven experience with social media.

Make sure to ask about plans involving advertising on social media and how your videos will be marketed on the popular social networking websites.

5. Knowledge of Your Industry: It’s a good idea to have a video marketing consultant that understands your industry. Keep in mind that they don’t have to be experts in your field; however, they should at least ask in-depth questions about your company goals, products, and/or services. This way, they can make the best video marketing choices for your business in particular.

How a Good Website Design Creates a Great Impression

March 26, 2013

It goes without saying that your business needs a strong web presence to be successful in the Age of Information, and that your website is integral to your web presence. However, do you realize the importance of good Reno web design, when it comes to your business brand? That’s right – it’s not just enough to have an aesthetically pleasing site with good content. Good design is more complex than that, and it can mean the difference between having an effective or ineffective website. Want to know why design is so important? Here is how a good website design creates a great impression:

Professionalism. When you take shortcuts, it shows. Don’t make the mistake of taking shortcuts with your web design. Sure, your teenage cousin knows a thing or two about creating websites, but unless he can create a top-notch, professional-looking site for your business, your site is just going to look amateurish . . . and your site visitors will get the impression that you are an amateur. Spring for a good website design.
Navigation. Good design is centered on creating an effortless experience for your site visitors. You don’t want people to have to work or make guesses to find their way around your site. By providing them with straightforward, simple, and well-organized site navigation, you are not only giving your visitors the impression that you care about catering to them, but you are also ensuring they can find (and read!) all of the valuable content you have on your site.
Branding. Your website design should be in line with your business branding in every way – from the colors to the fonts. That means that good web design, with your brand in mind, will elevate your brand and increase brand awareness, thereby creating a lasting impression for your visitors.
Attention grabbing. You have a very limited window of time in which to grab new site visitors’ attention and pique their interest enough to want to stay and explore for a while. As a matter of fact, studies show that a first impression in the web world may take as little a fraction of a second to form. Good web design will snag your site visitors and enable you more time to get your message through to them. In a world where first impressions are so vital, you can’t afford not to invest in good design.
Don’t skimp when it comes to building your brand. Contact the experienced professionals at Truckee Web Designer to handle all of your logo and web design needs. We can be reached by phone, at 530.582.7420, or email: david@truckeewebdesigner.com

Truckee Web Design featured in the Sierra Sun

December 10, 2012

Truckee Web Design has been featured in the Sierra Sun newspaper. The Sierra Sun newspaper serves Truckee and all of the North Lake Tahoe region. You can read about the services Truckee Web Designer offers from custom web design to search engine optimization.

3 Things to Give Your Web Design the Cool Factor

October 29, 2012

3 Tips to Give Your Web Design the “Cool” Factor

These days, it’s not enough just to have a website design, easy to navigate website. There’s a lot of competition out there, and if you want to stay relevant with today’s finicky tech-based consumer market, you must find a way to stand out on the crowd. Fortunately, if you are committed to broadening your web horizons and packing a real punch with your business website, there are some straight-forward things you can do to give yourself a hip edge. Here are three tips to give your website the “cool” factor:

A – Z index. Navigation is arguably one of the most important factors influencing your site’s success, and for that reason, you

should always be on the lookout for cool new navigation features you can add to your site. One such feature that is really catching on when it comes to site navigation is the A – Z index, which is exactly what it sounds like: a way for your visitors to easily find things on your site simply by clicking the corresponding letter of the alphabet (or number).

Image galleries. Gone are the days when simple graphics could attract major attention and cause some audience “oohs and ahs.” Now there are a number of sleek ways you can incorporate a variety of images into a single web page in order to get the most bang for your buck. Consider a sliding image gallery that allows users to view new images by simply clicking a left or right (or up or down) arrow, or a neat tiled image gallery with a hover-box preview feature that allows users to simply hover over any single image to enlarge it. A variety of image galleries can be inserted into your site via a CSS stylesheet, or by way of plug-ins (if you use a site-building platform like WordPress).

Alert box. As previously mentioned, navigation is tantamount to the success of any website. One way you can help your visitors navigate through the information on your pages is to organize your content so that the order of importance is very clear. An alert box is a cool, eye-pleasing way to draw a visitor’s attention to content that is most pertinent.

When it comes to building your brand, your website is one of your most powerful tools. Make sure you get the best of the best by contacting the experienced professionals at TruckeeWebDesigner.com to handle all of your web design needs. We can be reached by phone, at 530-582-7420

3 Easy Ways Google Maps and Google Places Will Deliver Customers to Your Door

July 10, 2012

If you know anything about business web marketing, then there is no doubt that you’ve heard of two powerful offerings from the Internet powerhouse, Google: Google Maps and Google Places. Google Maps is an interactive map application that encompasses features like driving directions, zoom in/out, multiple map views, business location and contact information, and more. Google Places is an extension of Google Maps, bringing points of interest from Google Maps to life with individualized Places pages. If your business is not using both Google Maps and Google Places to attract new customers, then you should work on setting up your Google presence, and right away. Want to know more? Here are three easy ways Google Maps and Google Places will deliver customers to your door:

Highly targeted marketing. When you complete your Google Places listing, you have the option of targeting your listing for your ideal consumer market in a number of different ways. You do this by enriching your content with keyword phrases that are aimed at reaching the very people your business serves, by choosing categories for your business that will attract those who are most likely to become paying customers, and by creating ads and deals that are specifically designed with your primary market in mind.

Your Google Maps place marker. When you create your business listing on Google Places and have the corresponding business location marked on Google Maps (with that familiar blue pin that Google users have come to know and love), you are literally making your business available to everyone who searches for a business like yours in your area. That means that even if someone doesn’t know the exact name of your business, or that person is searching using general keywords that pertain to your business, your business’ location marker will show up on the Google search Map results.

Two powerhouses, working together. Think of it this way: everyone who searches the Internet using Google (and let’s face it, that’s practically everyone who uses the Internet) sees both Google Places page listings as well as Google Maps results. This means your business has an even greater chance of standing out and getting the attention you want it to when you take advantage of using Google Places and Google Maps together.

Take advantage of everything Google Places has to offer by enlisting the help of competent professionals like us, Web Marketing Masters. We can be reached by phone, at 530-582-7420, or via email: info@truckeewebdesigner.com

3 Tips to Give Your Web Design the “Cool” Factor

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