Small businesses can take advantage of videos. As a result, as a business owner, you can produce a video which can get the kind of viewership that rivals what you would get by putting a commercial on TV at a fraction of the cost.

The following is three ways that a small business owner can use videos on their website and more.

Promotion

Have you ever gone to a website that had a video telling more about their product? This is an example of putting a promo video on your website. Unfortunately, those websites could do so much more! I am always at a loss for why a company who has a well done video on their website would not upload the video to sharing websites such as Youtube.

Do you have a commercial? With the power of the web, you can upload your video to Youtube and instantaneously share the video in as a commercial. Google has a platform through their advertising program or you can contact an individual website you would like to advertise on and offer to pay for space.

Training

Web based training is become very popular among publishers. How to videos can be very beneficial, and anytime you put the videos on Youtube you can get more traffic as people decide to check out your website for more information. If you are a chiropractor, you can produce a video on stretching and upload it to Youtube and your website. Tell you audience to go to your website for more information and clearly put your website address.

Other people have started video podcasts. Shama Kabani has a video podcast where she offers tips to her audience in a short two minute or less clip. The videos are entertaining complete with a cute tune and animation. Others, such as Kathleen Sullivan, offers video tutorials for her clients on how to use the tools she empowers them with.

Virtual Tours

Are you a real estate agent of do you need to show your facilities. This can be accomplished fairly easy also. Take a video and upload the video as a virtual tour. It is the best way to show around a facility to your potential customers. Customers can get an up-close view of the facility before they ever show up.

Other businesses can do a sample demonstration of select products. Imagine you are trying to increase sales of a menu item at your restaurant. Customers can’t smell your item, but they can see and imagine tasting the item! Make a video demonstrating the product, post it on your website, and share, share, share!

Videos are a great way to continue to market your product online. I am amazed how many people don’t think about videos.

Best–It is absolutely best to hire somebody to do your professional videos. A video is so much better when it is shot professionally. If you need somebody to shoot videos for your website, etc., give us a call. We have added video production to our line of products and services.

Good–For the quicker, more candid shot videos, buy a flip camera from a major retailer. You still may need video editing software, but go ahead and get videos made! If you need someone to edit the videos, let us know as we can take care of that too. Some animation or graphics may be exactly what a video needs to look a hundred times better.

Admit it, you watch both videos didn’t you?

We offer video production for the web.  Give us a call so we can produce a professional quality video for your company today!

Let the power of videos transform your online marketing today!

If you aren’t familiar with kickball, it is played just like baseball only with a big rubber ball which the batter kicks. The league is co-ed meaning each team must have an equal number of ladies playing. The batting lineup has to rotate guy, gal, etc. You can have back-to-back ladies in the order, but not back-to-back guys.

The following are observations I made about kickball that relate to the world of marketing.

1. You have to do more than look good.

One of our fans mentioned, jokingly (I think), that the only thing matters is that you “look good going on the field and coming off the field.” In marketing, and business, looking good is not enough. All the snazzy designs and graphics and other means of “looking good” are pointless if you are marketing to the wrong niche. The key is to find the right message that matches your niche and then create the right, and great, look or logo, etc.

2. Everyone plays with the same ball

One night, the kickball was very warped! (O.K., more than once, but I digress) One of our fans lightheartedly complained about the ball being warped and the umpire wisely told him that “the ball is warped for both teams.” Right now, the economy is bad. The economy is bad for everybody. Now it’s more crucial than ever to have the right marketing message for you organization.

3. The goals are the same

The goal in kickball is to get the batter all the way around to home plate and score a run. The other team tries to get him or her out. It’s simple, and the goal is the same for everybody on the field. The same is true in business and with marketing. As a business, it is your goal to sell your product or your service, and marketing serves as a catalyst to get people in your store, etc. The goal for the customer is the same; to have a problem solved. You can be likeable, you can have the lowest prices, etc., but the question is are finding a way to solve a problem for your customer?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/byronshell/

So, what is SEO?  SEO stands for “search engine optimization.”  Search engine, of course, refers to search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing.  Optimization, is the act of optimizing or “to make as effective as possible” the object which needs the optimizing.  In this case, SEO is the act of optimizing your website to rank as high as possible in the websites.

Over the years SEO has changed.  SEO has evolved along with website design over the years, and now there are a number of ways to do SEO effectively.  Hiring a good consulting firm to manage your SEO can be very expensive.  These folks are really good at what they do and the businesses they help usually have huge benefits from their work.

So, what is a small business like your to do?  After all, you don’t really have the budget to hire a full time consulting firm to begin to handle your SEO.  There are a few options.

Learn more about SEO

As any consumer of a product, you really should learn more about SEO yourself.  That might start with a book which can sometimes go over our head or some other kind of resource.  I would start with Google’s own article on SEO and then move to something a little more specific such as SEOBook.com.   A good book to get would be Search Engine Optimization for Dummies

Talk to your Website Designer

Some of the best SEO folks are actually website designers.  If they aren’t sure how to at least navigate SEO for the purpose of building your website, then you might need a new designer.  They should have set the ground work for a well optimized website, and many offer additional SEO services for a fee.

They will be able to walk you through the process of choosing keywords and inserting them in to the appropriate areas of your website.  Further, if they haven’t already, they should be able to get your website indexed in the “big three” search engines; Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Social Media Saturation

One of the best things you can do is join the social media channels.  Social media sites are some of the best places to get additional “fuel” for your search engine rankings.  A friend of mine refers to this as “social media saturation.”  Make sure the URL to your site is linked to your Facebook, your twitter, your Linkedin and your Youtube accounts or whatever else you use for social media.

Blogging

Blogging is technically part of social media saturation, but it can also be an example for having an active website.  Blogs show activity at your website, making it dynamic, not static.  The search engines are attracted to activity.  When you blog, you create a regular update to your website that is noticed by search engines.

When you blog, you should create good content, and by that I mean content that is in line with the purpose and keywords of your website.  For example, if you have a website for your pet sitting business, then you would blog about pet sitting tips for pet owners.  Create a reservoir of good content that will be searched for and found by a frustrated owner looking for help.

One more thing, I highly recommend getting either your blog or your entire website built on WordPress.  WordPress is built to be SEO friendly out of the box.  Many of the things I mentioned are a lot easier with WordPress.

There is much more to SEO than this such as Pay Per Click and online advertising.  Further, there is also “black hat” and “white hat” methods.  There is also link building which can take time and there is being included in directories.  Nevertheless, you can learn enough to know how to approach SEO with your website.

I am only trying to get you thinking about the subject.  Don’t react impulsively to an unsolicited email or phone call from someone offering to put you on the front page of Google.  Often they aren’t better than the one who designed your website.

“Why should I follow you on Facebook?”

Scott Beale / Laughing Squid http://laughingsquid.com/

I am a little bit of a sucker for following Facebook fan pages, probably because I have set up a few and know how hard it can be to get fans.  I do try to be a little discerning, but the fan page is for a friend, etc., I usually follow.  However, many people are harder to convince.  People’s time is a commodity we should never take for granted, even on Facebook.

Therefore, what kind of strategy do you have in place for your Facebook fan page? Is your goal to get a certain amount of followers?  Once you get your followers, then what will you do?

Many companies set up the Facebook account without any idea what they will use it for.  After all, there are over 400 million people on Facebook.

1.  Give something away

If you sell products, you might have a contest for fans to win something.  You got great products, right?  Everyone who “likes” your page can be entered in to a drawing for a free “fill in the blank.”  It worked well for a client of mine who increased her fans to well over 800 fans just by giving something away.

2.  Post links to your blog posts

You do blog don’t you?  Post the links to each individual blog post to your Facebook fan page.  A blog that offers advice or gives an “insider’s” view to your business has great value for customers.  Make sure your fans know about your blog!

3.  Post links to your website

This is self explanatory.  If your website is built around a blog, then #2 should work just fine.  Offer some kind of special at your website and promote it on your Facebook page.  The goal is, after all, to get people to your website to buy your product or become a member of your community.

4.  Post contact info

Do not neglect this!  Post a way for folks to contact you.  It is a customer service issue.  It can be sending them to your contact page at your website or posting an email address or phone number.  This is especially true if you do not have a website.  People need to know hours and other info too.

5.  Interact

When someone posts on your wall, respond!  This is the unique strategy of social media, interaction with fans/customers.  You can offer fans a chance to win something by posting on the wall, etc., but whatever you do, get your fans to interact.  And, then, join the discussion!  Facebook is a communication medium, and communication is a two-way street!

I hope this helps those of you trying to establish a Facebook page.  Having a Facebook fan page is an active process.  I hope you’re ready!

by bull3t from Flickr

In the light of the number of websites that are online today, simply having a website presence is not nearly enough.

So, what should a person or a business do about the mass of websites.  Many owners have seen little or no benefit from having a website, and it’s no wonder with over 206 Million websites for consumers to choose from.  This leaves us to reason that a business who decides to have a website needs to have some sort of strategy.

A strategy, or a plan, is of the utmost importance when deciding to set up shop online.  Besides, you are going to pay somebody good money to design and set it up for you.  You have to make sure you get the most “bang for your buck.”  That, in business terms, is called Return on Investment (ROI).

A website strategy has to be comprehensive, and there are, I think, three indispensable goals for your website strategy.

1.  Quality Design

There is a whole school of thought on web standards.  Learn more here and here.  Standards keep your designer at the forefront of quality design.  It is best if they have adopted an active approach to using, or at least learning, web standards.  If a designer is trying to design with tables are something from the 1990′s, run and run fast the other way!  Standards also help ensure that your designer will design you a website that will be “search engine friendly.”

talkephotography from Flickr

2.  Traffic

In the movie, Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character was told, “If you build it, they will come.”  While that philosophy was inspirational in the movie, it doesn’t work in the world of websites.  With over 206 Million websites on the web (see above), visitors have more options than they can possible choose.  Skilled webmasters and designers have to work on the website in an ongoing attempt to bring traffic to their website through the use of skills such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  SEO is only part of the solution.  Many website owners are turning to social media to help draw visitors to their sites.  Further, good old fashion marketing has its place as well.

3.  Conversion

Once you have visitors coming to your website, then what?  Conversion is the art of converting visitors in to consumers.  Every business has to do this.  When I worked in a book store, we recommended books and other items to the customer in which we thought would be of interest to them.  Without sales, businesses go away, and conversion is the process of “closing the sale.”  Much of the conversion process is accomplished different ways, but copy writing is very important.  Coppyblogger is one of the best blogs that helps writers with their conversion skills.

In the backdrop of these three goals is communication.  Communication is at the heart of a website, and communication is the basis for building a community–a community which can become customers.

In today’s online world, running a website is a full time job, although most small to medium size companies can’t or don’t hire someone to manage and run their website.  However, given the right person, the benefits can more than pay for the position.  If you are a small business owner and you have a website, you can and should learn what you can to make your website successful.

What will you do to improve your website?  Do you have a plan or a strategy?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thechamberlife/

I think there are many good reasons to join the Chamber, but one thing I like about our Chamber is that they are using social media.  Several of the staff tweet often on twitter and they know how to make use of other social media channels such as flickr and Youtube.  Last year they even held a Social Media Conference.

It is a great way to get your business some much needed exposure as they list in their newsletter, on their website, and feature you in the member newsletter.  They also do “ribbon cuttings.”  I participated in one for my church, oneChurch.  If you don’t have a marketing team, this is a “no brainer.”  If you do, well, you can still benefit.

Thanks to Whitney Farris (@ChamberWhitney) and Jamie Ekenseair (@chamberjamie) who helped me get signed up.

Check out the Chamber trying out the latest models from Caldwell Toyota.

Check out Rochelle’s website when you get a chance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanpol/

The power and flexibility is enormous, and i have become a believer in it as a product.

Therefore, I am listing ten reasons to build your website on WordPress.

10.  Syndication

If you are an online publisher, you know that getting your content in front of as many eyeballs as possible is the name of the game.  One of the best ways to do this is through syndication.  WordPress has RSS feeds built in to its framework.  It automatically parses your content in a raw RSS feed.  This makes it easier for other readers to find and import your content in to their favorite reader.

9.  Theme Customization

If you are concerned about having a bland-looking website that looks like 250,000 others, you shouldn’t have to.  There are tons of amazing designers who can customize a theme, or build a new one from the ground up just for your company.  So, you don’t have to share your look with thousands of others on the world wide web.

8.  Categories

The posts you publish have a unique URL, but you can use the power of categories to make them easily accessible for your visitors.  Categories can be customized as a gateway to that particular content, and your visitors may not know the difference between them and a regular static page.  You categorize posts chronologically, or by subject.

7.  Community

WordPress builds a comments template in to each post (each page if you want to) allowing visitors and readers a chance to “comment” on a post and making them feel like they are a part of the community.  Inherently, it is one of the best community building platforms since the message board, and I, for one, like the comments better than the message boards.

6.  User-friendly Publishing

If you can use a word processor, you can use WordPress.  In fact, most blogging platforms are built this way.  If you are a writer, the easiest way to publish online is with a blogging platform, and the most powerful of the blogging platforms is WordPress.  The learning curve is not very hard.

5.  Blogging Website

A website that shows up in the search engines well is one that has activity.  A blogging website allows publishing to happen quickly and often giving a website built around it all the activity it needs to be “seen and heard” by the search engines.  Build your website as (see @Shama The Zen of Social Media Marketing) a blog and you will be “found” easily by Google and the other guys.  WordPress is uniquely made to do this well.

4.  Large Support Community

Most folks who are regular users of WordPress are very helpful.  You will find the support you need, particularly from WordPress.org.  People are always writing tutorials and their are WordPress groups across the country.  Linkedin even has a WordPress group.  There is no shortage of help.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamperegrino/

3.  SEO Friendly/Standards Compliant

The themes are usually written on the latest website design standards.  This, along with activity I mentioned above, makes WordPress very Search Engine Optimization friendly.  It kind of helps with the search engine thing.

2.  User Friendly CMS

WordPress, as I mentioned before, is very user friendly for publishing online.  This makes it a very easy-to-use CMS as well.  It allows writers to do what writers do best, write and publish.

1.  Free/Open Source

WordPress, the software is free to use under open source!  Everything about designing a website costs money from the domain registration, to the hosting, to the designer’s fees, so why would you want to add to the expense by paying thousands of dollars for the CMS software?

These are ten reasons I came up.  You can find a full list of features here.

My job was to help improve her search engine rankings.  My goal was to get her on the first page in one or both of the keyword phrases I mentioned above.  I set out to accomplish this by taking a look at what improvements could be made to the SEO of her site as well as other “tasks” which we might implement.

Google Ranking for Amy Jones Design, May 22, 2010

I want to mention three of the tasks we implemented which are easy for anyone to implement.

1.  Set up a Facebook fan page--This might have been the single biggest task.  I set up a Facebook fan page and Amy took the task to heart and grew her fans to over 800.  Amy came up with the idea in which she would give away a package for her “funniest kid picture” contest.  To vote, a person had to “like” her page (Facebook changed from “fan” to “like” during the middle of the contest).

2.  Set up a blog--Unfortunately, we were unable to put a blog on her domain with Photobiz, so we set up a blog on WordPress.  Nevertheless, I coached Amy to post at least once a week, and she began to create some posts which had a strong link to her website and her Facebook page.

3.  Tweak keywords–We tweaked the keywords on her website making sure that they were present on every page.  Amy’s site at Photobiz is flash based, but they provide an html mirror making this a very important task.  As I said, the keywords I targeted were “photographer, Conway, AR” and “photography, Conway, AR.”

There were some other tasks we implemented as well, but these were the three main strategies, and they worked!  I checked the keywords on Google today and her website is on the first page for “photographer, Conway, AR.”  We are on the second page for the other keyword phrase.  It took a little less than three months.

We also have great placement in Google for some other keywords.

Just having a website is not always enough.  Having one that ranks well can lead to more traffic, more sales!

How much do you value your website?

Yesterday, I saw the company truck of a business that I know has a website. While looking at the truck, complete with all logos, etc., I noticed it did not have its website URL listed.  I was flabbergasted.  I asked myself, “Why don’t they have their website listed on their truck?”  Then, my next thought was, “I guess they don’t really value their website.”  Which makes me wonder why they went to the trouble of building a website to begin with if they are not going to promote the site.

In this day and age, we are lead to believe, a website is indispensable, and I believe it is.  However, if we don’t value the website, we might as well not have one at all.  There are three ways (at least) that businesses don’t value their website.

First, a business does not value its website if they do not promote the site. Not putting your URL on your business card/company vehicle/stationary, etc.?  Then, you really don’t value your website.  You are not putting the website to good use if that is the case, and what other tool of business would we invest money (you did invest money didn’t you?) in and not use as it was meant to be used?

Second, a business does not value its website if it does not utilize it to generate leads or customers. Would you invest money in retail space and not bring customers in to buy your product?  That is what you are doing with a website if you do not learn how to bring in traffic and convert them to customers or, at the least, a good lead.

Businesses put up websites because “everybody is on the internet.”  However, when we let the website become stagnant, then we have wasted the money that we invested in to begin with.  This brings me to a third way that businesses fail to value their website.

Businesses fail to value their website by having it built for free or cheaply. If you don’t believe it is worth investing in the website up front to get it designed well, then, then you do not value your website.

Businesses often wonder why their website becomes useless, but they fail to value it enough to invest properly in it’s use.  That leads to little to no results.  If you don’t invest up front, then what incentive to do you have to promote the website or use it well.

People who are good at this cost money.  However, the rewards are many.  Have you wondered what it would be like to be on the top of the first page in your major key words?   How about what would it be like getting quality leads from your website without sending a salesperson?

Solutions

First, you need to invest up front in a good website.  Find a good website designer who has done good work, and get over the sticker shock because he or she is worth the money.  If you don’t know anyone, contact me and I will help you find someone.  Having this done right up front can save you a lot of time.

Second, you need to either learn or pay someone to optimize your website for maximum performance.  This involves skills such as search engine optimization (SEO) and copywriting.  The copywriting can be tricky, but you need to find somebody who knows how to do it for the internet.  A good place to start is with Copyblogger.  They have a lot of articles to help you learn on your own.

Third, you should consider a social media marketing campaign.  This involves setting up social media profiles for the purpose of marketing your business.  You need to know that you cannot market the same way you do in traditional channels.  In the realm of social media, people mostly listen to those they trust.  A good to place to start is with Shama Kabani’s new book The Zen of Social Media Marketing which I have reviewed here.

If you need help in mapping out your new website strategy, don’t hesitate to contact me.  The fuel that runs the engine of these three solutions is having a strategy.

Photo Credit:  Dude With Camera on Flickr

All the best,

Todd