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A lot of people prefer watching to reading, especially on the computer screen. Calling movies a ‘video' is actually a misnomer – it is ‘audio + video' or what is called an AV. Audio Visuals have been seen to have a far greater retention level among internet viewers than written information.
It is no wonder, therefore, that video advertising is fast becoming a major internet marketing tool for selling products and services.
Advantages of Internet Video Advertising
The main advantage of Internet marketing videos over the traditional text format approach is that videos can get to the point much faster. Even a static visual is worth a thousand words, it is taught in graphic design schools. Imagine what a moving visual, or the movie, can do in delivering your message to the viewer.
The viral edge is another advantage Internet videos have over other traditional marketing channels. There is no better marketing strategy than ‘word-of-mouth'. Websites continually share and serve popular content driven by user choice. The speed at which videos are picked up, shared, and distributed is unparalleled to any other.
Internet Video sharing sites like ‘youtube' are a rage today, and this is a reflection of the choice of internet surfers. New sites like LeadsbyVideo are coming up with video sharing innovations which are great for online marketing.
A video ad can actually demonstrate a product's usability, so don't just say it, show it!. A nicely produced visual message with a human touch can do wonders in reaching out emotionally to the customer. Does the quality of the video matter? Yes, of course. Like in other marketing tools, there are experts available who can produce the right movie to suit your product, and budget.
A Few Tips
1. Use the videos on the first page. It's like handing out your business card. The first page recommends you, and the first impression is a lasting one. Don't tuck your marketing video away, on some inside page. Make it visible.
2. Always have a ‘call for action' – something that the customer will feel like doing immediately, like clicking on a link, or filling up a form.
3. Search for the tools that can tell you how much of your video was played before the visitor closed it, how many prospects actually decided to pay your site a visit after watching your video, how many of these visits converted into sales, and so on.
4. Today you can track traffic on the website and analyze results. Make an extra effort to measure the impact that your videos have had on the prospects, and to measure their performance.
5. Use Search Engine Optimization techniques to generate leads. Remember, videos are a gourmet dish for search engines, so give it proper time and prepare it with extra care. Use the right ingredients, so to speak.
Go ahead, share your video!
Video files are WAY to big to send with emails as a standard attachment. Unless your video file is extremely small, I would not advise attempting to email it like you do a still picture or document attachment.
Generally, most videos that do get emailed are in the form of a .wmv file. This stands for Windows Media Video and is one of the smallest video files. It also has pretty bad resolution, which is why it is so small. So for that reason,.wmv videos that get emailed are usually jokes and not professional videos.
Most internet video sharing sites will let you email video, but you can not import a large list, you can only send it to a few people at a time. What does get sent is usually a link to the video, not the video itself. so if this method is good enough for You Tube, it is good enough for you.
What about embed code, you ask? Embed code is generally how you put video onto a website. So will it work in an email? Unfortunately, no. It's not a good idea to add the embed code into your email the same way you embed it into a web page. This is because both ISPs and email software block video embed code so chances are high your email will not get through and it will not play.
SO HOW IS IT DONE?
The easiest way to email your video is to email a link to your video and not the video itself. So if your video is hosted by You Tube, send the link to the You Tube page that contains your video. This is how You Tube does it if you use their share video feature.
A text link would be added just like any other text link, with hyperlinked keywords or HTML messages. A full URL address would need to be used for a plain-text email message.
Of course, many people might think mailing out just a link is too boring. Well, maybe so. To make it look more exciting, use an image link instead of just a test link. The still image will appear to be a video player in your email, but it's not really, it is just the thumbnail.
To do this with an auto-responder service, you need to upload the still image to your website image folder and put a link to that image inside your email message. That should automatically show when someone opens the email. (Not always though, some email clients block images.) So make sure you give your image a title that will make it understood even if the image is blocked. Click here to watch the video would work.
Doing it this way is probably the single best way, although it can get a bit tricky. Including the thumbnail as a still image and having it be an active link to the actual video is the best way to email your video without emailing your video, if that makes sense.
The thumbnail image is instantly recognizable as a video, a plain link is not. So including the thumbnail will instantly tell anyone who opens the email that it contains video whereas if you just have a link, that won't happen.
E-mailing a video is a good idea though, either way. Mailing out the link to the video is certainly better than not using video at all.
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips
Lorraine Grula
Internet Video Gal