Let’s start by clarifying this. When referring to “video,” I’m referring to well thought-out, relevant, results-driven video. Marketing video. Because… remember: video that accomplishes nothing is art…. and most of us don’t have room in the marketing budget for art.

Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way… here we go.

Usually we evaluate all line items in the budget by the return it can bring. And returns are made possible by opportunities. So, what’s the opportunity?

Here’s a couple of fun stats from Forbes to get us started:

• 80% of Senior Executives are watching more video than they did in 2010.
• 59% of Senior Executives prefer to watch video instead of reading text.
Ok, Execs are looking for video. They’re clicking the “play” button. This is good news for B2B companies for sure.

More stats about those of us who don’t wear suits every day:
• 80% of us make online video part of our daily internet regimen.
• The average internet user watches more than 186 videos a month.

So, all of this begs the question: are you using video? Actually it’s too late for that question. The real question? HOW are you using video?

Here are some use scenarios for online marketing video:

Website conversion–when it comes to ROI, this is usually the easiest to justify. Its purpose is to convert web traffic into real business. It’s trackable. This is almost a no-brainer. The catch? You need to have incoming web traffic to capitalize. If you do have a decent amount of incoming web traffic, just think what a 5% bump would mean to the bottom line.

Here’s an example from an attorney’s website. This video helped drive the conversion rate to 17% in a special pay-per-click landing page campaign.

________________________________________________________________________________
Resource video–this is more of a soft sell. The call-to-action isn’t overt. The resource video’s role is two-fold. 1) build the website’s profile as a place that your targeted prospects or demo can come to find answers to their problems. 2) cut down on overhead by answering those “FAQ’s” that your staff spends time on every day. If you spend 2 hours/week on a certain reoccurring client issue, what would it mean to your bottom line to have it handled by website video? 2hours/week = 96 hours/year. Here’s an example from a Austin Telecommunications company that sells phone systems.

________________________________________________________________________________
Proof of Performance–this is what it sounds like. After a trade show, public event, charity race, etc., this video will serve to inform and engage targets with the message behind the event. Not all of us can go out to every event we want. Like me. I just had a baby, so I’m not leaving the house for about 5 years. It’d be great to see how it went. This video will take me there. Plus, the video can also serve to stroke the egos of sponsors & partners. This video concept works best when incorporating it into your eNewsletter and Social Media tactics. Also, people who attended will LOVE to see themselves on the video. This is where sharing online will be key.

________________________________________________________________________________
Hopefully you now know more about online video marketing that you did before you started reading this. If not, drop me a line and let the criticism rip. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting the 2nd in this series. It will cover what makes for effective online video. This will include format, length, web page placement, etc.

Cheers.

Ben Cecil is the Director of Marketing Strategies at Unlimited Production Group (UPG). UPG helps business increase revenue by making the most of their online opportunities. UPG is an online video marketing firm that specializes in online video marketing campaigns that increase conversion rates and brand awareness. Engagement is paramount.

Share

To combat this, Google has recently announced a major algorithm change to their search spiders, which is aimed at combatting ‘over-optimized’ websites that modify their content and links to manipulate search engine results. Without getting into the discussion of what Google has recommended in the past (for responsible SEO) versus what they now consider ‘over-optimization’, it’s fair to say that Google’s efforts are noble. It’s a hard, almost impossible task to clean up the web of spam, but they have to do it to maintain their quality searches.

However, does their new algorithm go too far? Numerous reports are flying around the web about ridiculous search results, that contradict everything that Google is aiming to do with this release. Basically, any site that has typical ‘cheap’ SEO tactics, such as keyword stuffing, SEO content, or over-optimized link building, are set to be punished. However, labeling a bad guy is not as easy as simply detecting suspicious links and reading a few paragraphs on a person’s site. Here are my concerns:

• Penalizing people for something they didn’t do. As far as we know, link building can’t be traced to an individual or company. Recent evidence shows that websites with suspicious back links, ex. Links from spammy sites with exact keyword text, or tons of links built in a small amount of time, can be used punished using the new algorithm. If it doesn’t look ‘natural’, it’s suspicious. However, ANYONE can link to any site they deem fit. The company or website has no control over who links to them. So this brings in the rise of Negative SEO. Black Hat SEOs now have the chance to use malicious, irresponsible link building techniques on their competitors sites, causing Google to potentially punish those sites, clearing the way for the SEO’s money site to rise. Essentially, anyone has the potential to ‘frame’ another site. If the news is true, then we might be in for a very dirty time in the SEO industry.
• Google sets unrealistic expectations. There’s no doubt that the best tactic for a website or business is to write great content, build great online relationships, and spread their brand across the web. This builds natural, high quality and relevant links which will eventually reward the website with great rankings. However, when the SEO world is already so integrated with powerful domains, with amazing reach, or years of natural (and unnatural) link building, how are newcomers supposed to compete? The fact is, that for years, Google has recommended an action plan that’s less effective (for most people) than the conventional SEO method of gaining a large mix of both low and high quality links. Whether Google has liked it or not, it’s works. To see clients spend months trying to build naturally, while their competitors use less natural method of linking but reap the rewards of high rankings (and higher sales) is frustrating to see. I haven’t seen any evidence to show that the new algorithms are helping the ‘little guys’, if anything, it’s seeing a rise in rankings for large corporations, who have massive sites and tons of links. How is the small business supposed to compete with that?
• Black Hat SEO will always outsmart the Algorithm. From a pessimistic point of view, those that develop the ‘black-hat’ methods of link building that Google despises will always be one step ahead of the algorithm. In the end, it’s a computer attempting to distinguish what’s relevant for humans. Once a certain type of link building is deemed ineffective, SEOs will find ways to appear natural to Search Engines, and continue to dominate in rankings. By giving more arsenal to the bad guys (by punishing ‘bad’ link building), Google may be heading into a period of odd, strange rankings dominated by clever spam artists and major corporations.

I’m by no means against Google’s move to combat the SEO villains. However, I’m concerned that this latest move is a bit too harsh, too aggressive, and may be punishing the wrong people. Google has a very very hard task ahead of them, I just hope they tackle it responsibly before they cause the complete opposite of what they want.

What do you think Google should be doing to help clean up our search engines?

Share

The “Two Truths and One Lie” Game

This activity is a great way for employees to get to know each other while having a lot of fun in the process. The game starts out with everyone in the group writing down two truths about themselves and one lie on a piece of paper. The next step is to then go around the room and have each person read their three statements out loud to the group. The group will then vote on which of the three statements they believe is the lie. The employee who gets the least number of votes for their “lie” statement wins the game. This game can get hilarious and employees think it’s a lot of fun. Even though the object of the game is to lie to your co-workers, the activity results in employees learning a lot about their fellow employees.

The Classification Game

This activity is a great way to show employees that labeling or stereotyping people is not always accurate or very useful. The participants should be first split into teams of four members. The exercise starts out with the participants introducing themselves to the group and providing a quick overview of their various likes and dislikes. Following the introductions, the teams will be told that the goal of the activity is to decide how they should classify themselves – as a team and then into two or three sub-groups by utilizing only positive and nondiscriminatory criteria or methods. Examples of these subgroups could be people who prefer steak and people who prefer chicken, or people who like vanilla ice-cream and people who prefer chocolate ice-cream. This activity encourages employees to get to know each other in detail so that they better understand all of the attributes and characteristics of each member within the team.

The Sneak a Peek Game

This activity is a lot of fun and can become pretty funny at times. This is basically a problem solving activity that requires the use of children’s building blocks, Legos, or something similar. The activity’s facilitator will construct a small sculpture or pattern with the building blocks and then place it so that the participants cannot see it. The participants will then be divided into teams of four. The participants will be given enough blocks so that they can duplicate the sculpture or pattern that the facilitator has created with blocks. Next, one team member from each group will approach the facilitator and be allowed to view the sculpture for 10 seconds and attempt to memorize the pattern before they rejoin their team. Upon returning to their teams, they will have 25 seconds to verbally instruct their other team members how to duplicate the block sculpture/pattern with the group’s blocks. After the team has attempted to duplicate the sculpture for one minute, a different member from each team will get a chance to come and look at the facilitator’s sculpture and try to instruct their team how to duplicate it. Each group member should get a turn and go around though the rotation until a team successfully recreates the exact pattern of the facilitator’s sculpture. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how important it is to communicate clearly and effectively when dealing with other people and in a group setting.

Share

Almost certainly, a person’s actions and attitude, and not their resume, define whether they make great bosses or not.

Great bosses typically exhibit the following five traits/behaviors:

1. Mentors and provides growth opportunities – Great bosses provide their employees with mentoring, training, and opportunities to learn new knowledge and skills. Employees really notice and appreciate when bosses do this because they are able to see and track their own improvements, progress toward goals, achievement, and professional/personal development. High performance and high performing employees are a byproduct of the time and effort spent mentoring and developing employees. Bottom line, Great bosses want their employees to succeed and help them to do so.

2. Provides continuous constructive feedback – Great bosses make a point of regularly making employees feel appreciated, while also providing them with regular constructive feedback. This allows employees to know what they are doing well, how they could perform better in some areas, and areas where they need to significantly improve and focus their effort. Recognizing and acknowledging employee’s performance and accomplishments is an important part of keeping up both employee and team morale. There shouldn’t be any surprises during performance review time that could have been corrected through regular feedback.

3. Addresses problems promptly – By knowing what is going on in their department, great bosses address problems as quickly as possible. Problems that go unaddressed can destroy morale and eventually create feelings of resentment among employees. Additionally, problems, no matter how small, don’t disappear by themselves. Instead, they become larger obstacles to face, and employees who witness a boss ignoring a problem usually begin to lose respect for the boss, which makes it very hard for the boss to effectively lead.

4. Communicates effectively with employees – Great bosses keep their employees informed of industry and internal currents events, and what they should expect to happen in the near future. They recognize that a company is an investment for everyone involved, including employees who invest their time and effort. The more informed the boss keeps the employees, the easier it is for the employees to effectively support the goals and objectives of the boss and the company.

5. Shows compassion and understanding towards employees – Great bosses recognize that employees face the same issues and themselves. They want to provide for their families, and build a strong career for themselves. They’re aware that things can happen in people’s personal lives that can affect their attendance and performance. Sometimes issues arise in employees’ personal lives that need to take priority, and great bosses understand that there are things that are more important than work. A great boss doesn’t see his employees as a ‘means to the end’, in fact, he seems them as investors and stakeholders in his company. 

Throughout your working career, you will encounter both great and terrible bosses, or maybe you’ll be one yourself. Most great leaders weren’t born overnight and have to work hard to earn the trust and respect of their employees. If you’re in a leadership role, you have the unique opportunity to change employees’ perspective, work ethic, motivation, and drive to succeed. Believe it or not, employees with great bosses want to make the boss look good and just might go out of their way to do so. Bottom line, respected leadership can make or break a company since great bosses attract great employees.

Share

Google Panda 3.2 Update

The Panda 3.2 update occurred in mid-January and served as a data refresh of Google’s Panda algorithm and Google indicated that there weren’t additional changes to the algorithm. Shortly after the Panda update took effect, some webmasters had commented about losing rankings, but others mentioned that sites originally affected by the Panda update had recovered their traffic levels that were occurring prior to the Panda update. This supports Google’s explanation that this update was a data refresh in that Google ran the data refresh and updated sites based on whether or not they should have been affected by Panda or not. There is speculation that Google actually issued a Panda update back in November of 2011, but there hasn’t been a great deal of information regarding this. The reason stated for the large gap of time in between updates was due to Google’s promise of not launching any updates during the holidays.

Google Updated Privacy Policy

There has been a lot of buzz about Google’s updated privacy policy around the globe stemming from questions regarding whether or not the new policy violates domestic rules in Europe and Japan. The updated privacy policy went into effect on March 1st and the advocacy group EPIC has made attempts to block the new privacy policy on the grounds that it violates Google’s earlier Buzz case/investigation settlement with the FTC. EPIC’s effort to block the policy has so far been unsuccessful.

Representatives from Google state that the new policy is intended to simplify privacy issues across Google’s many properties and enable the company to roll-out a host of new consumer products and services. Some have suggested that the simplification of privacy being carried out by Google’s new policy is actually in response to mandates resulting from the settlement in the Buzz case investigation by the FTC. Representatives from Google have said that users will still have control over their browsing and search history and that the policy won’t change existing privacy settings or the manner in which personal information is shared outside of the company.

Google also states that it will not be selling the personal data of users or collecting any new or additional information about users. Google is taking responsibility for its mistakes in the past and appears to be making quite an effort to ensure users that its intentions remain guided by its principles of control, notification, and transparency in its attempts to balance the interests of both consumers and its advertising interests.

Share

Pinterest is a social photo sharing website that connects its users through theme-based virtual pinboards. The site’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” Pinterest users organize, save, and share images of everything ranging from recipes and craft projects to home décor ideas and vacation destinations.

How do I create pins and pinboards?

Individual images, or “pins” can be grouped by topic into folders or “boards.” Users can upload photos directly from their computers or add online images by using the “Pin It” feature. By adding the “Pin it” button to your internet browser’s bookmark bar, you can quickly save any image you find online. You “pin” the image to one of your themed “boards”, and Pinterest bookmarks the webpage so you only have to click on the picture to return to the site. It’s that simple—no more scrolling through endless bookmarks you don’t recognize. Just browse the thumbnail pictures on your boards and easily find the website you’re looking for!

Where can I get ideas for pins and boards?

Pinterest is similar to social bookmarking sites in that you can browse through pinboards created by other users and “re-pin” their images to your own boards. Pinterest allows its users to “follow” other users and view shared interests. When you log onto Pinterest, you see a “Pin Feed” of recent pins saved by the users you follow. Pinterest essentially enables you to browse the internet and bookmark the links of others with interests similar to yours.

How do I get started?

Pinterest is an invite-only website. New users must receive an invitation from someone already registered with the site, or they can request an invitation directly from Pinterest’s home page. Once you receive the invitation via email, log in and select a few interests from the options provided. You will see a list of suggested users who share your interests. Browse through their pinboards, and start pinning!

Here are just a few things you can do with Pinterest:

• Redecorate. Whether you are remodeling your bathroom or just looking for a new accent table, you can search Pinterest and save images and websites that strike your fancy.
• Window shop. Pin now, buy later. Pinterest can be a virtual wish list for anything your heart desires.
• Party plan like a pro. Pin ideas for every aspect of your big event, from invitations and menu ideas to decorations and party favors.
• Get beauty and fitness tips. Pin make-up tips, hairstyles, and workout how-tos. Any website with an image is fair game.
• Find crafty inspiration. Search Pinterest for new do-it-yourself projects, sewing tutorials, or handy fix-it tips. The possibilities are endless!
• Try out a new recipe. Search Pinterest for new recipes or even share some of your favorite recipes. If you find some that you like, you can just “pin it” and check them out later.

Now that you know what Pinterest is and how you can use it, start pinning!

Share

The relationship between search engines and websites is constantly changing due to new technologies that allow them to communicate better. Back in the ‘early’ days of the internet, this relationship was pretty simple and straightforward. A website had content in it’s pages, Google read the content, the page title, the domain, and determined what the website was about. The website told Google what it was about. If you had a website about Los Angeles Insurance, by simply writing that phrase within content, you were informing Google the page is about Insurance in Los Angeles. With the introduction of spam, and abuse by webmasters trying to manipulate search engine results, Google’s algorithim got smarter, making the communication between them and websites more complicated. Hundreds of factors, in addition to on-page content, now play a vital role in succesful SEO. However, this is where the semantic web can play a role.

Microformatting, a semantic markup used within the HTML web language, is an accepted form of communicating certain asepcts of your business or website to search engines. In mid 2011, Google, Yahoo, and Bing, the top three major search engines, agreed on using schema.org, a certain kind of HTML markup, as a form of better retrieving information about business websites, such as physical location, address, production information, and customer reviews. In essence, Search Engines want businesses to input their information using this special code, so that they have a better idea about the specifics. For Local SEO, this is fantastic, and the majority of websites out there, have no idea this exists.

For example, if you were to search in Google for Auto Transport, you’ll notice that uShip.com has an additional line under their title with information about their star ratings. By using the schema.org Aggregate Reviews mark up on their website, they’re able to tell Google specific information about their customer reviews, which is being displayed on the Google search result page. The fact that these stars appear for uShip most certainly results in an increase in click-through-rate. Those yellow stars simply pop out on a text-filled search result page. Reviews are only one example of many tidbits of information Google uses to gather more information about a site.

Whether you sell products online, are a locally-based business, have customer reviews you’d like toe feaure, or are promoting an event or object, schema.org should definately be on your list of things to implement soon.

Share

According to a new study released by eMarketer, online ad spend will finally surprise print spend as it reaches the $40 billion annual spend mark in 2012. That’s a lot of money!

This is just one more major indicator of the importance of online marketing and why you should be implementing it into your sales efforts if you haven’t already.

The study shows an estimated increase of 23.3% over the next few months, from the $32 billion spend in 2011, to roughly $39.5 billion in 2012. Print advertising, which includes magazines and newspapers, is estimated to reach around $33.8 billion.

Emarketer has reason to believe that this trend will continue. According to the chart above, online ad spending is estimated to continue increasing at a steady rate, eventually reaching up to $62 billion in the next four year. Print advertising, on the other hand, is facing a definite decline, dropping slightly over the next few years.

With the amount of opportunity there is for businesses of all sizes to market online, and the relative ease to get started, there simply should be no question. You need to start promoting your business online if you haven’t already. More and more people are spending money online because it can be cheaper, it’s reach is much larger than print, and you get more information about your customers and visitors than ever.

For a great overview of marketing opportunities out there, and how you can get started, check out Unbounce’s “Noob Guide to Online Marketing“.

Share

Live chat is one of the most neglected online marketing tools available to virtually every business owner.

The system is simple, imagine having an instant messenger (similar to AOL Instant Messenger, or Skype), where the people you chat with are visitors on your site.  As people browse your site, they can either opt into sending you a quick question, or you can directly message them with your question (ex. “How can I help you today?”)

Here are five good reasons why you should use Live chat:

Easy to Set Up – The majority of modern day live chat systems are easy to set up. Services such as www.olark.com, provide easy-to-follow instructions on how to install their live chat script on a variety of different systems. Anyone with some basic HTML knowledge should have no problem installing the system in a few minutes. Once installed, many of these services allow you to integrate it with popular instant messaging systems, so you can monitor visitors and questions right from your own desktop.

Some people don’t like to call – Many online visitors are most comfortable browsing the internet without calling a company for more information. For visitors looking for immediate assistance (rather than waiting for an email response), their options are either to find more information on your site, or go elsewhere. Don’t risk losing visitors who don’t like, or can’t call you. By offering a simple live chat option on your site, visitors can send you a quick question and receive their response in seconds.

Great ‘market research’ – Although it’s thought of as a customer service tool, Live chat is an excellent market research tool, allowing companies to get first-hand insight into what visitors expect, how they like their site, and what improvements needs to be done. So for example, if you chat with several people a day, and notice an ongoing trend of questions, you can use this information to make changes to the website and improve the user experience.

3x more likely to return – Market research shows that visitors who engage in live chat are 3x more likely to return to your site for more information.

Users spend 40% more time on your site – In addition to returning more often, many people, roughly 40%, spend more time browsing a website after engaging in live chat. By having questions answered directly, visitors are more informed and trustworthy of a website, encouraging them to learn more about you and your service.

Live chat is easy to use, accessible, and relatively inexpensive to set up. With the amount of information that it can provide, there’s no reason why companies small to large shouldn’t implement it on their site.

Share

1) Have a website. In the year 2011, it is not very difficult to create a website (or find someone who does for a relatively inexpensive price). Even if you own a business that requires people to physically walk in the door and do not sell products online, it’s a great way to let visitors know of what you offer and what makes you different. If anything, it will help potential customers find your physical location and your phone number.

2) Create a business listing on Yelp.com. Over the past few years, the Yelp community has grown tremendously and is a great source of generating new customers. Yelp is a review website where people can rate businesses and restaurants on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. I have personally used Yelp to map the best restaurants to check out on vacation. Also, there is a Yelp app that people can download on their smartphones and find nearby businesses which helps get even more exposure for businesses. If you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to local search engine exposure, this is something that is a necessity that has been a game-changer for successful business owners.

3) Create a business listing on Google Places. With Google commanding about 65% of searches on the internet in the US, it makes sense to do stuff with the giant. Google Places is Google’s way of pushing relevant local results to the searcher. Creating a business listing here would ensure you’re in their system and gives you an opportunity to get visitors calling you.

If these 3 things are implemented, as a business owners, your chances of getting more exposure to people in your area will greatly increase over time!

Share