Convert Video Online

When you couple online video with a strong SEO strategy, you can drive results in the form of your website’s search engine ranking, generation of additional traffic, and more video views which can create more leads for your organization.  Join Cantaloupe.TV and Slingshot SEO as they share the value of online video and tips on how to implement video SEO in the upcoming webinar, "Video SEO—the hype and how video can improve SEO results". 

Webinar Details:

• Date:  Thursday, July 29, 2010
• Time:   2:00 PM EDT/11:00 PDT
• (45 minutes)

Agenda:

• What is video SEO and why is it important?
• How to drive more visitors to your web properties and convert them once they're there
• Tips and industry best practices

Sound interesting? Sign up now.

 This short series touches on tips for optimizing your online videos for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Some of these are second nature, but it's always worth the reminder.

Provide Excellent Content
Average time on site is a measure of success search engines take into account when determining the quality of your site. SEO is a fine art and this is just one factor, but it is a factor. The quality and relevance of content will keep people on your site and help you become more attractive to search engines.

As part of your video strategy, take into account who your ideal viewers is, what they will find to be valuable content, and what you can teach them. This is an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and skill and to position yourself as an expert. 

Although the average length of a video online is 3.8 minutes (ComScore, 2009), your video must be able to hold their attention, convey your message and achieve the online marketing goals you have set out for it... regardless of length.

To be successful in today's business environment, you need to have the right team, tools, and systems in place.  When you have all of these components in place and aligned, your company can be nimble.  Being nimble allows you to not only be quick but also agile, quick to understand, and clever.  The same concepts filter down to marketing and then again to a successful online video program.  By being nimble, you are able to get the right message to your audience at the right time, making you relevant.  Here's an example of how a group of volunteers were able to build an entire house in four hours by being "nimble".


Cantaloupe's unique process helps you be nimble with your video online marketing efforts.  We begin by helping you align video with your existing business goals, then produce a great video, publish and distribute to your audience, then finally measuring your online marketing success.  If you're ready to be a nimble online marketer, give us a call, and let us help you build a four-hour house at your business.

Although each video strategy is unique based on your goals, message, audience and company, there are three things that must be in place to create a good online marketing video.

Appealing, quality visuals. Emotion. Simple message. 

Apple has put together a series of video stories deigned to promote applications and give their loyal fans* a look behind the curtain at what makes developers get excited about offering a new service or extending an existing one.

The visuals are quality. They don't look like they were shot on a flip camera. The quality of the video matches the perceived quality of Apple's product.

You as the viewer can feel the emotion and passion the developers embody. The authentic video style lets the characters speak from the heart and give you something you can easily connect to.

With one or two characters in each segment, Apple offers a simple message. They don't talk of all their apps in one video. They keep it simple and help you, the viewer, get it.

As you watch videos online from your own company, your competitors and those seek to do personal business with, take note of which videos you like and dislike. What feels satisfying and what rubs you the wrong way. Then, see if they have these three elements. I would bet there's a strong correlation. 

*That's what we are, right? We've gone beyond being customers to being fans. They've done this through a combination of efforts, offline and online video being part of the overall marketing strategy.

Tourism videos online are all the same, right? Full of local people. Sweeping shots of majestic scenery. People having fun.

Yeah, you're probably right. But for some reason I really want to go to Iceland (Iceland?!?!) now.

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

I came across a great source of futuristist projections:   Cisco's Visual Networking Index Forecast.   Their press release, just released June 2nd, is a great summary of all of Cisco's predictions about the explosion of IP traffic in the future, and the role web video will play.

Fun forecast facts:

• IP traffic will grow over 30% per year through 2010
• The growth in traffic will continue to be dominated by video
• Online video will surpass 55% of consumer internet traffic by 2014
• The amount of video that will cross global IP networks in 2014 every second would take two years for one of us to watch!

So, still not sure about the important role of online video for your business, read more here, and check out Cisco's hightlights video too.   Want to know how to make online video work for you? Give us a call! 

And check out how Cisco is using video in their own online marketing efforts on their website home page.

Recently we talked about how simply having videos on your website will help increase your sales (regardless whether people actually watch the videos). But, is their existence enough?  Is there more you can do to maximize the opportunity?
 
What’s the best way to display video on landing pages?

If I look at it from another perspective altogether, I’d perhaps equate it to the fact that while I may not be an opera fan, I like the idea of living in a city that has an opera.  It’s about options. In other words, while I may not use a particular service, I like to know that it’s there. I can recognize its benefit without the need to use it, and it says something positive about the place, or site, I’m visiting. 

Is just having video on your site enough? In an upcoming post, we'll explore the best way to display your videos to optimize conversions and maximize user experience through online video management platforms.

A special thank you to Mark Robertson, online video marketing and search engine optimization (seo) specialist, for showcasing the power of video placement.

Many video upload sites Backlight, Vimeo, and YouTube (if you are a partner) allow you to upload custom image for your web video thumbnail.  Below is the easiest way to make that happen.







1. Get a Mac
Most likely you are going to have to deal with some video marketing, and you are going to be dealing with lots of media content, especially web video. Your life would be a lot easier if you own a Mac...I promise. Alright, off the soapbox..


2. Get Quicktime Pro (Mac or PC)
It's powerful and cheap. You can download it for $30 and you now have the power to convert your media into almost any format you like (I'll leave those details to another blog) Most importantly, for this blog, you can export a high quality frame directly out of your web video. -->






3. Open the file in Quicktime Pro and choose your frame
Hopefully, your video source has provided you with a quality version of your web video.  Scrub through and choose which frame you would like to be your image.



4. Export to Pict
File>Export and choose Movie to Picture in the drop down menu. I use .png compression.


5. Change file to .jpg or .png
The default file extension is .pict, which probably won't be recognized by the uploader.  Change the file extension to .png or .jpg


6. You can use Preview to adjust the contrast, crop and size.
If you'd like to tweak the image, Photoshop would be the best.  Preview is a free app on OSX that can give you a few options.


7. Upload!
Go to the site's uploader and upload your image! 






Justin Gutwein

I originally wanted to interview Michael Davey, Cantaloupe's Project Manager, (and overall great guy) but he was using the restroom so I opted for the closest person in proximity to me, Stacy Billanti, our CEO.  I guess it's fitting that my first vlog would be an interview with our CEO.  We talked about the usuals.  Authentic Storytelling, our frustrations in getting people to tell good stories, what is a good story, etc. etc. 

Honestly, I just watched it and even though I caught her off guard and it wasn't rehearsed I still felt like she came off a bit "markety."  No offense to Stacy.  She's not your typical CEO and definitely not over "messagey" or "markety."  But, it's hard not to be when you're on camera and you know this video will, in some way be used for marketing.  That's the trick.  How can you plan and produce video for the web without it being the same old regurgitation of marketing messages?  It's hard enough when it really is candid. That is where Cantaloupe comes in.  

I'm not going to explain it all here but this vlog will hopefully give you a little insight into how Cantaloupe thinks about using video online to your best advantage.  Hopefully through some candid interviews around the office, unannounced and unedited we can cut through some of the marketing crap and get some real comments from the heart. 

You can expect some more difficult questions from myself as these vlogs keep going. This one was hopefully just a warm up.

Also, I mention in this vlog that software companies are generally boring and have the same marketing messages.  Please don't take offense:)  All software companies do cool stuff.  BUT, it's hard to talk about it without it being boring.  But have no fear, it's our job to make sure you don't get stuck in a rut when you market with video online. 

Do you have any plans for your clients this holiday season? Heck, you can take it one step further. Are you doing anything this holiday season for ANYONE that is coming to your website? You see, your clients don't want the same ole' holiday card that you always send them. They want to see YOU. And if you are going to take the time to put yourself out there, why not use it to thank all of your website visitors.

After reading a recent blog post from Kyle Lacy of BrandSwag, you better be exposing your brand online and what a better way to do that, than with online video. Online video marketing is a quick and easy way to show your clients and followers the REAL you. With Cantaloupe's special holiday video offer you can engage your clients and friends with a fun and entertaining short video. Hear what Cantaloupe founder, Jon DiGregory, has to say about this below and learn more about the offer.

Check out this article by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) on crisis communication.

There big takeaway, and I quote exactly: "Video dominates as online communications tool"

The article goes on to say:
Organizations need to already have an established video channel that informs — or entertains — your key publics so that you have built an audience and goodwill before a crisis hits. Having an online Web presence will increase the speed of distribution and reach of your crisis response.

This is exactly what our online video magazines at Cantaloupe.tv do. We specialize in producing authentic, online video content which is the exactly what you need when communicating a crisis situation. And our web video platform, Backlight.tv, makes it easy to get that video up immediately.

The last thing you want to be worried about in a crisis is about how to get your video online. Backlight handles everything you need to get that video up immediately. Things you don't need to worry about with Backlight:

• The file type. We handle mov conversion, mp4 conversion, mpeg conversion, flv conversion, and more
• The online video player. Backlight provides you with that as well as an easy to use embed code
• Online video hosting service. That's also included out of the box.
• Distribution. Backlight helps you get your video on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, email campaigns, Twitter, partner websites, or wherever else you distribute online
• Video analytics. Backlight provides you with all the online video tracking you'll need to determine the effectiveness of your story.

So don't wait for a crisis to hit before you start thinking about online video marketing and the video platform you need to distribute it. Take a look at our offering now.

Video formatting is a complicated subject to understand, especially when you aren't in the video business. That's one of the reasons why we are here at Cantaloupe -- to help you make the most of your online video. Let me explain a little more.

I came across a web video a couple of days ago. The picture was stretched and pixelated (meaning boxy, unclear), and the sound was unbearable. To say the least, this video looked and felt unprofessional. If you are going to put video on your website, you want it to look sharp. If you disagree, let me know. It doesn't matter how great your site is, if their is one ugly video on their, it could ruin the entire experience. Here is an example snapshot of a video that is poorly posted to the internet:



Like I said, the video is stretched and pixelated, and the one I watched was jumpy (caused by a really low framerate). There are also two black bars on the sides of the video for no reason. Another thing that catches the eye is the video player. It is clunky and not very functional. There are a small amount of options, and a few a them I would never even use. I know this seems extreme, but search the internet and you will find videos similar to this image. So, now that I've addressed this poor video and poor web video player, let me talk about what Cantaloupe offers in these areas.

Cantaloupe's videos are always great quality, and look professional. We also have launched our own web video platform called Backlight that will do the online FLV Conversion for you and give you our sharp looking and great functioning video player. If you want to learn more about everything it can offer you, go here.

Now, let's look at a few snapshots of a Cantaloupe video so we can all vizualize this. These are from our most recent CantaSeries video.




The videos are clear, even the text. You can make it full screen, higher or lower the volume to any level, or use the menu to share, embed, or link to the video. There is much more the software can do, including tracking and converting, so I would suggest looking further into it.

If you are looking to strengthen your online video marketing, give us a holler and we will help you out. We shoot everything in High Definition, expanding the possiblities, and are constantly working on updates for our software, Backlight, which will eventually include HD internet streaming of your online videos. Of course, we know story and content are of utmost importance, which we also deliver, but don't underestimate the quality.

It seems Bluelock has found a way to establish themselves as experts in cloud computing, and it seems a big part of that is their internet video marketing strategy.

I recently wrote a post about how their videos have shown up on a social network for cloud computing. Now it seems that someone else has grabbed the embed code for their LEGO demonstration of server virtualization and embedded it in their blog.

The ability to let others grab this video and spread it around is made possible through Backlight, Cantaloupe's online video platform. What kind of impact is this video having on Bluelock's business? Well, Bluelock can see exactly how many views their getting from this video placement by checking out the online video analytics report also provided through Backlight.

Another valuable feature is Bluelock's ability to change the ads in this video, that is, to change in-stream calls to actions. Even though this video is already embedded, Bluelock can control and change the message to viewers. (Check out the 2:20 mark in the video) Now they can actually convert these viewers into prospects or even customers.

I also think it's worth mentioning this quote from the blog:

It took less than a week for two of our videos from our video newsletter to rise to #2 and #3 in Google's video search for "Indianapolis video production"

Check it out for yourself.

I have to find out if our clients are having the same results or if they're even getting the full use out of Backlight and it's video SEO capabilities. As a video management system, it's such an easy tool to use and it's the perfect answer for so many internet marketers who are trying to figure out how to use video online.

("Backlight Tip" and "Clarian" are ours and the cool thing is if you click through to the actual video, it leads you to our blog)

Not only is Bluelock one of our clients, they are also a leader in "cloud computing," which at Cantaloupe we clearly get since our very own online video platform brings all kinds of cool things to the cloud like a video hosting service, video conversion online (many types including but not limited to mov conversion, mp4 conversion, flv conversion, mpeg conversion), video analytics, video uploading etc.

Well here is an example of how Bluelock has leveraged their videos to further their demonstration of expertise in the field of cloud computing. Using Backlight, they've embedded their videos into a community site specifically for networking around cloud computing.

What's really cool about this is that because the videos are embedded using Backlight, Bluelock maintains control over the messaging in the videos.

What do I mean? Check out the 56 second mark in the first video. Bluelock has inserted a video "ad" with a link back their website. This is the perfect way to convert otherwise casual viewers into potential customers.

There's no shortage of ways that Backlight can help you get more use and value out of your videos. Check out a demo today to see what Backlight can do for you.

So for the moment it's a self-described accomplishment, but it's an exciting topic to rally around which is why I think so many high-profile people from the Indianapolis tech community have contributed comments to this blog thread. (Internet marketing software city? by Norm Heikens)

Cantaloupe's own contribution to the Indianapolis online marketing community includes Backlight, a Saas video solution for helping marketers utilize video online to strengthen their businesses, engage prospects, and sell more stuff.

It can be difficult to know what to do with your web videos when you are first starting, or even if you have done a lot of videos before. Too often I find people who are just coming up with videos by grabbing someone, and having that person talk about a random subject. This may turn out to be a good video sometimes, but there are much more effective ways to go about your video marketing campaign.

I will use my post today to show an example of a great web video series that Cantaloupe has produced--Clarian Health's "Hero" series.


This series shows how effective your web videos can be. They accomplish exactly what they're supposed to by presenting all of the information in a consistent style that supports the overall theme of the series. They are raw and fast-paced, capturing a day in the life of a nurse, then finishes with a clear and bold call to action. The whole series of videos have a unique style that fits in with the message and goal.

When watching these videos, there is no confusion about what is being said. There is no talking about Clarian and why they are better. Everything is visual, and all of the videos in the series support the same thing. They know who they are trying to reach.

I also think these would be a strong candidate for our new online video platform, Backlight. People will search for nursing and nursing positions. If these videos were converted in Backlight to other sites such as Google video, they might come up and help people find what they are looking for.

Watch these videos, and think about ideas that you could use for your video marketing strategy. The more you use your internet video as a marketing campaign, the more effective it can be.

I just want to congratulate Denise Meyer and team at Interactive Intelligence for successfully launching their first video playlist using Backlight. You can check it out for yourself here.

These are some very powerful videos and I'm glad our online video platform could embed them on their website. I'm not currently in the market for a call center software solution but I found myself watching this whole video all the way through. (Note how easy it was for me to grab Interactive Intelligence's video from their website and embed it in my blog using their online video player)





If you haven't heard, Backlight is Cantaloupe.tv's new online SaaS video management system that makes it easy to upload all your videos, convert them to web-ready formats, embed them on your website, and then analyze the online video tracking.

Check out our website to learn more about Backlight.

As a runner, I don't think I've ever seen a more inspirational advertising campaign than the New Balance LOVE/Hate. I think it has something to do with the subtlety of the inspiration and their ability to make tangible the psychology of running.

Instead of showing blood, sweat, and tears or flashing up words like "pride" and "toughness" and "win" they show runners going through the psychological hurdles we all go through, like the challenge of leaving the comfort of your bed to train, or the fact that the first mile alway seems like the hardest.

I caught one of these traditional video marketing pieces (ahem...tv commercials) and wanted to share it with a friend. I searched on Google. No luck. I did a Google video search. No luck. (well, I got some YouTube results but they were poor quality) I went to New Balance's website. Still nothing, but they did lead me to their Facebook page...

There they are!

New Balance has done a great job using their facebook page to distribute online video, but they could be doing a better job with video search engine optimization. At Cantaloupe, we think Facebook is a great way to get some extra eyeballs (we're starting to see quite a few leads for our own business come through our facebook page) but we're still more optimistic about the power of video search.

The key to both video search and distributing video on facebook, or any other social networking site, is having a tool that makes it quick and easy to convert video online, manage it, embed it, and distribute everywhere you market. If you haven't seen it yet, Backlight is a tool to help you do just that.