If you aren't doing this and your competitors are, then they are taking customers from you that don't even know you exist. If they aren't producing video for Youtube or their own sites then you need to make sure you get those customers they are missing.
Compete.com shows Youtube as having 85 million unique visitors July 2009! Just imagine what it could do for your site if you happened to create a viral video that got 100,000 views... 200,000 views.... 1 million views! A certain percentage of those people would visit your site and a percentage of those would sign up for your newsletter or buy something from you.
Now if my math is right, and you get 1 million views for a video and only 3% of those viewers visit your site that is 30 thousand visitors! If 3% of those signed up or bought something, that is 900 signups or sales! Sound good to you?
I know it's very difficult to get a video with 1 million views, but take a look at Youtube and see what videos are that popular. Why are they so popular? What is so good about them? It's not the production value, it's not because they have celebrities or cost a large amount of money to create.
These videos are crazy popular because they are extremely funny, or cool, or amazing for some reason. The videos can be planned or spontaneous, but they are NOT selling something, they are NOT outwardly trying to get customers or build their mailing list. If you want to create a viral video you cannot be selling in the video, let the video sell for you!
There's an old saying from my door-to-door sales days "Sell the sizzle not the steak". Well what does this mean to you? If I'm selling plant food for gardeners, do I tell them how wonderful the fertilizer is and how many nutrients are in it? NO! I am not selling them fertilizer, I am selling them BIG TOMATOES, that's the sizzle!
Give the viewer something in your videos for free. Your customers are looking for something, so give it to them! Teach them something, give them information they are looking for, entertain them. Become an authority on your topic, and they will love you and gladly tell others about you.
You don't need professional quality videos, but you do need to make them viewable and understandable.
* Make sure your camcorder or digital camera records good quality video, and no it doesn't have to be HD quality for Youtube!
* Use a quality microphone. If your audio is awful then nobody is going to stick around and watch.
* Use a solid backdrop, don't show your cluttered basement or office or bedroom unless this is part of your presentation
* Write a script or at least notes regarding what you want to say
* Practice and view your results before publishing it. Ask others for opinions and feedback!
* Yes, you will hate the sound of your own voice, but that is how you sound to the rest of us so don't worry about it.
Just go for it, things will get better as you go!
Now I'm off to try and figure out what my customers are looking for regarding digital camera repair shops for their Sony, Canon and Nikon cameras and then just give it to them.
