We have quite a few clients who offer products that need tutorials. And almost every tutorial they have is in pictures and written instructions. While this is helpful, it is no where near as beneficial as having a video to watch. Unfortunately, many of them also believe that creating a how to video is way more costly than it’s worth. The good news is that they are wrong – you can create video without a huge overhead cost.

*Disclaimer: This should not be used for large scale videos or ones that are meant to be extremely professional. This is only for small scale videos – the ones that your clients can watch quickly, like tutorials or video blogging.*

So, how do you create a video like this?

• Pick up a small video camera – even the flip would work. You just want something that will tape, and not require a huge camera crew. You will want to invest into a stand too – this will eliminate camera shaking.
• Buy (or rent) a clip on microphone. Most videos fail because they are too hard to hear. Having a strong, clear voice will help the clarity of the video. Also, choose someone who is easy to understand!
• Pick a location in your office with a simple backdrop. Choose either a blank wall, or a wall with only a few pictures on it. You don’t want people distracted by your background.
• Practice. Practice. Practice. With a script! Just because it is an amateur video does not mean you can sound awful You need to know what you are saying, and be concise. Editing can only do so much.
• Use editing software to make the video clean, put it together well and feel free to add text. If there are parts that need more explanation, add diagrams on top of the speaker.
• Store the completed videos on youtube. Creating a youtube channel where all your videos are is a great social branding strategy and will allow your visitors easy access to all your clips.

Finally, remember that no body is perfect, and as long as the videos are clean, clear and concise, it will benefit your business to create them!

The newest ad’s for Pepsi are for their “limited time product” Pepsi throwback. Connecting it with football, and real taste, they are now promoting the fact that Pepsi is made with real sugar. Unfortunately, that’s all there is to the ad. There is no ‘reason’ for the change – it’s not healthier, it doesn’t say it tastes better, they haven’t done anything other than attempt to appeal to the football fans.

So why did they changed it? To compete with Coke? They don’t use real sugar either. To increase their market share? Hate to tell you Pepsi, but I don’t think you’ll ever overtake Coke…The only thing they are going to do is alienate those who do prefer Pepsi over Coke.

I see the headline now “Pepsi should throw back ‘Pepsi Throwback’”.

Last week, Chris Brogan wrote a great article discussing what you should do if you find yourself with an extra half-hour of time. He had many great ideas, but didn’t do much more than just list them out and ask for our thoughts. Unfortunately, if you are just getting started in the social media game, just a list of things to do isn’t as helpful as more detailed descriptions of how to do them. So, I picked out a couple that I think deserve more detail and outlined how to use these steps:

1. Reading and commenting on blog posts
   1. Find new blogs to read by checking out sites like alltop, stumbleupon, and google blog search and searching topics you are interested in. Once you have found ones you like, subscribe to them so that you see new content. It is easy to unsubscribe if you no longer are interested.
   2. When you comment, make sure to always link back to a page on your site or blog that is similar in topic to what you are discussing. If none exists, just link to your homepage.
   3. Add to the conversation – ask a question, pose an opposing idea or add more details to a thought. Just putting “good post” doesn’t benefit anyone.
   4. Comment on bloggers who have less comments. You are more likely to get a response, noticed an appreciated than if you are commenter #100.
   5. BUT…it is also good to comment on extremely popular blogs if you have something important to add for the search engine optimization.
2. Writing a recommendation for someone on Linkedin.
   1. Make sure that you only add recommendations for people you have actually worked with personally.
   2. When you write the recommendation, include specific points, not just generalities. People want details, not fluff.
   3. It is okay to ask for a return recommendation, but it is up to the other person what they choose to do. Do not expect a returned recommendation.
   4. Be picky about whom you recommend, and it is okay to turn down someone who asks, just make sure to have a valid reason why you’ve said no.
3. Investigating websites that may or may not help your business.
   1. Is there one area of your business that you struggle with? Pin-point one area to improve and search for just that.
   2. Too wide of a search will mean you can never filter through all the sites that are there, narrow focus means better results.
   3. If you find a site that may help your business, make sure to check out the company thoroughly before becoming involved, there are a lot of disingenuous people online.
   4. If you find a site that can’t help you, but may help others, pass it on! They’ll return the favor down the road…

What other ways can you improve the time you spend online?

If you’ve spent much time browsing websites, I’m sure you’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Sites that make you want to cringe and others that you can’t help but appreciate. Some sites have huge levels of information, and others make it impossible to find details. I would say that it was industry specific, but it isn’t. Car manufacturers have both beautiful and “what the …” sites. As do tech companies, clothing stores and restaurants…

The questions I leave you with (and what you should consider when your site needs a re-vamp):

What is the point of your website?

Why do people visit your website?

What do you want people to leave your site knowing?

Having the answer to these three questions will make sure that your website is among the successful sites, not the “what the …” sites.

And of course, we are happy to go through these questions with you!

Traditional searches for companies/services/etc in the big heavy yellowbook are gone. I think the last time I event used the “real” yellowbook was 1998 and yellow book knows this. So, rather than attempt to revive the book, they took themselves online and created a new ad campaign.

The ad campaign for yellowbook online is extremely well done, and I have to applaud them for creating something that not only got the point across but were able to create a series of clever ads that we all can relate to. For those who haven’t seen a new yellowbook commercial, all of their ads are similar – something happens and leaves the protagonist looking for a solution using yellowbook online. This is my favorite:

How does this ad help you? There are 3 main pieces of the ad that make it (and can make you) more effective:

1. It sets you up from the very beginning. The first time I saw this ad, I was intrigued within the first few second because they told me I should be. I knew that something was going to happen, but because I didn’t really know what a “yellowbook moment” was, the surprise wasn’t ruined, it left me wanting to find out more.
2. It is honest, direct, simple and unbelievably clever. While I doubt many of us have had our dog eat a canary at the vet, we have all had moments where we feel like that guy does. It pulls at our human instincts of embarrassment/fear/worry/shock and tells us that they can help when we need it. They are there for us in every way.
3. It doesn’t have corny music, doesn’t draw on too long and doesn’t treat us like we’re stupid. Too many commercials are aiming for “pretty” or “creative” instead of being simple and to the point.

What did you think of their commercials? What can you learn from their style?

Just 15 years ago, these guys would have gone unnoticed and under appreciated. Their creativity and hard work would never have been past around through tweets and blog posts. If they were lucky, they might have gotten one or two newspapers to notice. But, with the upswing of technology and the ease of access that the general public has to sites like youtube, these guys have become an Internet sensation. Currently, there are over 150,000 views in the last 12 days and the number continues to rise. What impresses me the most is that this was not done to raise money or make them famous, the first screen even tells us that we are free to send it, share it and talk about it. All they want is for people to see what they do, and hopefully enjoy it. So, enjoy it, share it and have a wonderful weekend!

Social media, social networking, web 2.0. Whatever you call it, it is here to stay and those who figure out how to use it and capitalize on it will be better off in the long run. But before you can use it, you need to understand it, ask questions and figure out the details. So, let’s get started with the 3 top questions we get asked about social media.

1. What IS social media/networking? The technical definition from Wikipedia is, “Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media supports the human need for social interaction with technology, transforming broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.” But really, social media is the tools that you use to communicate with a large group of people very quickly. Social networking is the creation of a group of people who want to know what you have to say, and listen when you create content. It is a combination of marketing, communicating and listening to each other to build a stronger web base. For some great insight on the power of social media, check out the social media revolution.
2. What are the most popular social media channels? Depending on your goal with social media, this answer will shift a bit. We have talked extensively in the past about the benefits of each of these tools, and what you can do with them. But, for the majority of businesses (whether B2C or B2B) the top tools to take a look at are: blogging (wordpress is the most used platform), twitter, facebook, linkedin and youtube. These 5 tools will be useful for almost all companies, regardless of who you sell to, it’s just the way they are used that will change. For example, if you market to consumers, you may use twitter as a channel to connect with your buyers and tweet about sales. If you sell to businesses, you may use it to ask questions, share links and create a brand. You can have a blog that goes out to the public, or use a blog internally in your business to promote within.
3. How much time should be dedicated to social media? This answer is a little more difficult, as the amount of time that you spend is going to be directly correlated to the results that you want and in the time frame you want them. Looking for fast results and have the financial capacity? Many companies will hire an internal person that’s full-time job is to manage their social networks and create content. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to find the perfect person, it can be a full-time job for your marketing agency (like us) who has a staff that will take care of all the details and just provide you with the results. If the problem is the financial capacity, you may have to start on a slower scale, and once the results start to come in, you can dedicate more time to social media. The point, whichever you choose, is consistency. Stick with it, and the results will be there.

Have more questions about social media and how you can use it? Post them in the comments!

It just takes a minute to browse through the current most popular to realize that the formula for a stand out youtube video seems to be ever changing. But, with a little digging (and a lot of watching), I noticed a formula begin to emerge:

E+A+P=S

E – Emotion. The video needs to stir something inside the viewer. Whether you are getting them to laugh out loud, sing along or scream at their screen, they need to do something. This reaction is what makes them want to share it.Obviously, if your goal is to promote your product, the reactions are going to be a little more mild than those who are just creating a video specifically for a laugh or the gross out effect. But, you still must bring out an emotion. You have to get them invested into the video, feel the need to pass it along.

A – Audience. You must know your audience. If you are making a video that pokes fun at all the stupid things a president has done, your viewers are probably not going to be his supporters. This is okay. You can’t expect everyone to watch it, but your goal should be to get everyone that does fit your ideal audience to want to watch it. There are some videos that will span almost all audiences (and is probably the reason that the evolution of dance is one of the most watched videos ever) but this is rare. The only way for a video to really hit almost all audiences is if the video doesn’t have an age barrier and it stirs a positive emotion. In this one, it resonates with all ages and is appropriate for anyone to watch and you just can’t help but want to get up and do the dances with him.

P – Promotion. If you can get the emotion, and the right audience, promotion should a no-brainer. But, sometimes you need to give it that extra push. Ask your friends to view it and send it out, promote it through social media channels, ask for comments (always easier if the material is worth commenting on) and make sure that it gets noticed. The more views you get, the more comments you get and the more that continue to come. People want to see what others have seen, they don’t want to be left out of the trend. It is just up to you t oget the video to ‘trend’ level and then let the snowball effect take over.

If you can hit all 3 above, then you should be on your way to = Success. Simple as that.

And as a great added tip, if you are ready to make that youtube video, make sure that you are getting the best quality out of your film by learning to optimize your video properly.

What do you think? Is there a formula for great youtube videos? What makes you want to watch?

Youtube is just for funny videos and bad spoof’s right? And Flickr is just one more place to put my photos?

No and no.

Youtube and Flickr are two channels that enable companies to connect with their target markets in a new and unique way. By sharing images and videos rather than just words, you can introduce your business and your product more 3-dimensionally and create more interest. Videos and pictures are just as easy to send out as a website link, which means that they can become just as popular – if not more so. People love watching and observing…visual experience can be much more powerful than a written experience. Have you ever shared a youtube video or a flickr photo with someone? The only thing stopping your video from getting shared is not creating it.

Here are a few businesses that can benefit from participating in flickr and youtube:

• Restaurants/Chef/Food industry – A video can show of the way to cook specific items, the pictures can show off fabulous menu items and the inside of the restaurants. The difference between McDonald’s and Morton’s? It’s not just the food. It’s how the place looks, the opulence of the environment, the presentation of the plates and the feeling you get when you’re there. Don’t just tell people you have killer food and a beautiful atmosphere – show it off!
• B2C Technology – How many times do you get the same questions from your customers? Make a video that answers that question and direct people to your you-tube channel for the answer! Not only are certain things easier to understand visually, but a good video can power up the SEO of your brand as well. The most common videos to go viral are comedy skits and well done how-to’s. What’s stopping you from making the next great youtube video?
  
• Graphics/Web Designers – really? I have to explain why? Ok, it’s pretty simple…you make visual items, how else are you planning to show them off? I know a lot of designers fear giving away too much online, but that’s just silly. Show people how you create an amazing graphic, and leave off the last couple steps. Make them contact you for the rest! It is one of the easiest ways to get people intrigued and amazed.
• Niche designers – Do you create something unique? Blown glass, artwork, wood working, clothing? If you design a unique product that is either hard to find, hard to do or both, you should be showing it off through all possible channels. As mentioned with graphic designers, many ‘creators’ fear their work will be stolen if they show it off online. This fear should not stop you from promoting your work online, it should make you want to share it even more. Items that are difficult to create or duplicate are the best items to show the world.

…any other business who feels they can benefit!

While the 4 types of businesses  mentioned are a natural fit for youtube and flickr, it doesn’t mean other business types can’t make it work as well. Find something worth sharing and go for it – see what happens. There is no harm in trying something new, especially when it is aimed at growing your business.