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Video has really been hitting the headlines recently. YouTube celebrated its seventh birthday last week, Viddy (a 15 second video mobile app) is hotly tipped to become the next Instagram, and this week TheNextWeb first broke the story that Facebook is rolling out a new feature called ‘Trending Videos’.

But how does this impact on your online marketing strategy?

Similar to ‘Trending Articles’, the Facebook ‘Trending Videos’ feature will appear as a slideshow in a user’s newsfeed, highlighting videos that are popular among their friends. The viral benefits of this feature to brands are undeniable – videos will be circulated to a wider audience which will increase brand visibility and encourage engagement.

YouTube, acquired by Google in 2006, has seen its popularity steadily increase over the past seven years, proving that video sharing is not just a passing phase.72 hours of video are uploaded to the site per minute which is rapidly consumed by the 800 million unique global viewers that visit the site each month. According to Google’s head of advertising operations, John Herlihy, Ireland’s 1.1m daily YouTube hits puts us ahead of the global average for consuming material on the video sharing platform.

So now that we know more about the vast social scope and potential reach of video, let’s take a look at our video checklist below for tips on how to create quality videos and maximise their effectiveness:

1. Create unique, compelling content

It’s the age old advice that never changes – give your customers something that your competitors cannot. Decide what sets you apart from your competitors and use this to leverage engagement with your audience.

2. Attention first, brand later

The first 15 seconds of your videos are the most important. If you don’t capture a viewer’s attention within the first couple of frames, they are likely to switch off.

Stuffing the opening frame with company logos, branding and lengthy messages about your products may seem like the ideal opportunity to generate awareness of your business; however, this is not the case. Video audiences want to be entertained by clever graphics and effective imagery, not bored by a pushy company profile of monotonous info!

With this in mind, the first clip should be designed to entice the viewer and arouse their curiosity to watch more. Once you have captured a viewer’s attention, then you can incorporate branding and messaging throughout the video in a less intrusive manner.

 3. Calls-to-Action

Lead a customer down your desired path with call-to-actions. Let viewers know what you want them to do once the video has finished. Call-to-actions are a great way to prompt and direct viewers away from YouTube and over to your main company website to learn more or make a purchase. Remember to choose the timing of your call-to-actions carefully. Don’t lead viewers away before they even have time to watch the second frame!

4. Don’t Confuse Viewers

While it is true that videos should entertain, it’s also important to remember that the primary purpose of the video is to attract your target audience. This may be your only opportunity to communicate with a potential customer, so don’t leave viewers confused and perplexed about what message the video was trying to convey or what product/service it was advertising.

Google Adwords reveals that play rate significantly drops off after 45 seconds of play, so don’t wait until the last frame to display your most important message. You have 15 seconds to capture a viewers’ attention, which gives you an additional 30 seconds to explicitly deliver your message and convert viewers into customers.

5. Use YouTube Tools

Once you have uploaded your video to YouTube, make sure to take advantage of YouTube’s editing and monitoring tools.

Clickable Annotations are an excellent tool provided by YouTube that can be added to your video to provide additional information or instructions. Make sure that the text and colour of your annotations are consistent with the overall theme of your video. Bear in mind that too many annotations can look spammy, so experiment with different types to find a pattern that best suits your video. For example, the ‘Spotlight’ option is an effective tool to include additional pop-up text without obscuring the onscreen image and message.

The position of the annotation is another important factor to consider. Avoid placing annotations in the lower third level of the video, as it may become hidden by independent display advertisements.

Track your video using YouTube analytics which will give you a detailed overview of viewer demographics, viewing patters, traffic sources and audience retention rates.

http://www.t2.ie/blog/?p=710

Publishers and marketers will be expected to take advantage of the capacity. As a practical test, try to use a 10-year-old laptop with a wireless connection to visit any modern and media-rich website, like Sports Illustrated‘s SI.com. As bandwidth increased, publishers and marketers have butted the ceiling of that capacity, meaning that rich media will become a norm in 2016 even in display advertising.

An increase in the number of devices will drive that traffic, including tablets, mobile phones and other smart devices. By 2016, the VNI forecast projects there will be nearly 18.9 billion network connections, about 2.5 connections for each person on earth, compared with 10.3 billion in 2011.

By 2016, there are expected to be 3.4 billion Internet users ― about 45% of the world’s projected population according to United Nations estimates.

They will be streaming video, ceaselessly. By 2016, 1.2 million video minutes―the equivalent of 833 days (or over two years) ―will travel the Internet every second, between advertising, entertainment and amateur video. Globally, there are expected to be 1.5 billion Internet video users by 2016, up from 792 million Internet video users in 2011.

The networks will be able to handle that volume, just fine. The average fixed broadband speed is expected to increase nearly fourfold, from 9 megabits per second (Mbps) in 2011 to 34 Mbps in 2016. In fact, the average global IP traffic in 2016 is expected to reach 150 petabytes per hour, the equivalent of 278 million people streaming an HD movie simultaneously.

Mobile devices will grow, but not take over. In 2011, PCs generated 94% of consumer Internet traffic. This contribution is expected to fall to 81% by 2016―demonstrating the impact that an increasing number and variety of devices like tablets, smartphones, etc. are having on how consumers and businesses access and use the Internet.

Still, those who stream video on a mobile device versus broadband will find the bandwidth and connections plentiful. By 2016, over half of the world’s Internet traffic is expected to come from high-volume Wi-Fi connections.

Computers and mobile devices will account for all of the traffic. By 2016, TVs are expected to account for over 6% of global consumer Internet traffic (up from 4% in 2011), and 18% of Internet video traffic (up from 7% in 2011) ―demonstrating the impact of Web-enabled TVs as a viable online option for many consumers.

A couple of caveats, as TechCrunch describes. Cisco is invested in data usage because it “sells a bunch of networking equipment. So it’s a good thing for Cisco if network operators see this report and decide they need to buy a bunch of new gear.” But, Cisco’s VNI forecasts have been historically “pretty conservative relative to the amount of traffic that eventually showed up.” Cisco in its first VNI forecast (2007) forecasted 28.4 exabytes of traffic per month in 2011, when the actual number was 30.7 exabytes per month—still colossal, and in the ballpark.

http://www.marketingvox.com/cisco-video-will-drive-internet-growth-four-times-by-2016-051120/

That they are using Youtube to promote their case study for their small business. Classic.

Naturally, many companies are still intimidated by the prospect of video marketing. How much does it cost? Do we have the right skills to pull this off? How long will it take to create something? Is it worth it? And if large companies still have these questions, you can bet that some startups and small businesses are doubly skeptical.

The good news, however, is that these days, video marketing really isn’t as scary as some might think. In fact, as content marketing guru Joe Pulizzi puts it, the “sheer cost of video production has come down to a point where there are no barriers to entry.” This means that for small, young companies, video marketing represents a huge opportunity – they just need to be willing to take the first step.

For startups and small businesses interested in taking the video marketing plunge, here are a few things you should know.

#1. Video marketing doesn’t have to break the bank. I’ve seen great video companies that were shot with expensive cameras, professional lighting and polished on-screen talent. I’ve also seen even better videos shot on flip cameras and smartphones. You don’t need world-class equipment to create powerful video messages these days. There are even amazing things you can do with PowerPoint slides and animations that can be converted to voice-enriched videos to share with your audience.

Add that to the fact that cloud-based solutions and web hosting have made video more practical for even the tiniest of companies, and the cost benefits start to become very clear. Speaking of benefits…

#2. Video can open up your small business to a whole slew of potential customers. YouTube isn’t the only video sharing platform on the web, but it’s certainly the biggest. With billions of views each day, creating video marketing content for YouTube can do wonders for extending your brand’s reach and visibility. Obviously, this is critical as you’re just starting to get your company off the ground. YouTube videos also hold high authority in Google search, making your SEO efforts of a heck of a lot easier.

#3. Everyone else is doing it, so why not you? I already mentioned how video has become a popular target for online marketers, but there’s also hard data to prove it. Social Media Examiner recently reported that of all the things marketers plan to invest more in for 2012, video ranks number one. That’s ahead of blogging, social media and other marketing tools and channels. Over 3,800 marketers can’t be wrong, can they?

#4. Video is a haven for creativity. As Video for Dummies co-author Bettina Hein points out, companies shouldn’t be afraid to have some fun with video. Humor is a great tool engaging your audience with your products or solutions, and a funny video has a better chance of going viral.

Believe it or not, I’ve found that it’s actually easier for smaller companies to get creative with their marketing materials, as there are fewer “cooks in the kitchen” when it comes to developing marketing materials. Get together with your small team and brainstorm some ideas that you find entertaining; chances are, your audience will like it too. Starting a company from scratch is a risky endeavor already – don’t get sheepish with your marketing. Come up with something fresh or different, and go for it!

Brendan Cournoyer is a Content Marketing Manager with Brainshark. You can follow him on Twitter @brencournoyer, and visit the Brainshark Key Uses page to learn more about how video presentations can benefit your overall marketing strategy.

This post is published by a Channel partner:

These five steps are outlined further in our executive briefing, but wanted to add a simplified version here.

1. Web Commercial Video- you need a video showing what text doesn’t Who you are, how you started, how you help out the community, and why they should buy from you.

2. Sales Video- Sales video is meant to sell. Since text is only part of the ways we learn, video uses the visual and vocal to cement your message. Customers are bombarded by websites, texts, discounts, deals, and more. Use a sales video to sell for you 24 hours a day.

3. FAQ Page- You answer the same questions everyday, wouldn’t it make sense to add video? When you answer questions you are not only saving yourself time, but when you answer questions on video you are adding credibility/expert positioning.

4. Testimonials- Testimonials are proven to convert more sales. Add video testimonials to your site and watch your conversion soar. Video is more believable, and will solidify social proof.

5. Video your products, services, and your weekly experiences. This will sell for you, and add free traffic as you put up these videos on YouTube, and other networks.

Is your competitor using any of these? If not do it, and you will own the market, make easier sales, and ensure success. Hope this helped we are ready to help you with all of these five steps. Call us for more information.

3 seconds: Length of time to engage every visitor on any website page.
3 stages to every purchase: Research needs, discover options and select vendor.
22.7 billion USA search queries in 2009 – 131 billion globally.
95% of all surfers locate everything they need with organic search.
400 million Facebook users: Social media poised to unseat Google as #1 in search.
46% website sales lost to poor ability to build value and trust with visitors. (Stanford)
75% of all search users never look beyond page one.
63% higher PPC conversion rate with ad to page relevancy created by web content.
70% increase in sales conversions by reducing prospective customer anxiety.

You need to stand out and have high visibility today. This need will increase with each month and year we stride through into the future. The competition online continues to grow rapidly, not dwindle. The ultimate solution to visibility and growth online in the 21st century is video.

We’re ready to help you with your video needs.

Through his website SixPackAbsExercises.com, personal trainer Carl Juneau teaches men the best ab exercises for getting six pack abs. Carl heard his top competitor doubled his sales after he started to use video to market and demonstrate his products so he decided to use Visual Website Optimizer to test video on this website. Carl carried out three split tests which conclusively proved that videos increased conversions on his website by as much as 46%.

A/B Test #1 (call-to-action test)

In first split test, he tested two variations of the “call to action” on his sales page.

• The control was: “Next Page Read Sample of Book”
• Variation 1 was: “Watch Video Preview”
• Variation 2 was: “Watch my #1 Abs Exercise On Video”

Variation 1 of Carl’s sales page. Call to action: “Next Page Watch Video Preview.”

Here are the results for this test (goal being click on call-to-action and go to next step in funnel). Both calls to action that hinted at a video significantly increased the number of visitors who clicked to the sales page (step 3). The best-performing variation (variation 1) increased conversion by 14.18%.

A/B Test #2 (salesletter test)

In second split test, Carl tested one variation of the sales page:

• The control was a long-form salesletter, which had been tweaked extensively over two years
• Variation 1 was a one-minute professionally produced video where Carl demonstrated his best abdominal exercise. At the end of the video, the “call to action” said that more exercises could be found in the manual and the workouts

Variation 1 of Carl’s second sales page

Here are the results for test #2 (goal was to go to next step of funnel). The video sales page significantly increased the number of visitors who clicked to the price/guarantee page by 46.15%.

A/B Test #3 (follow up test)

Third split test was a follow-up test. In it, Carl tested:

• The winning video only
• The winning video at the top of the page plus his longstanding control salesletter below

To his surprise, the video-only page won. Here are the results. Adding the long salesletter below the winning sales video significantly reduced the number of visitors who clicked to the price/guarantee page by 35%.

Carl couldn’t explain these results. He shared his best guess:

I’m guessing visitors were intrigued by the sales video and clicked through to the price/guarantee page to get more info. They may have been turned off by the long salesletter when I added it to the video and lost the excitement created by the short, punchy video.

Lessons

Video converts! It did so when mentioned in a “call to action” (a 14.18% increase) and also when used to sell (35% and 46.15% increases in two different tests).

As more and more surfers have broadband Internet and powerful computers, video seems to be slowly taking over the web. Carl increased his conversions with video… why not test it and see if it increases yours?

Full article

http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/video-conversion-rate/