Interactive Marketing

Online video marketing is fun and exciting, for sure. It's also important to ask if your video is working for you as best it can. To assess the impact of incorporating your video stories and content into your social media marketing strategy, here are five metrics to keep an eye on:

1. People. Think quality over quantity. Are people viewing your videos? Are the right people in the right places viewing your videos? Are they sharing your video stories and helping you extend your reach?
2. Stories. Have you told a variety of stories that paints a well-rounded picture of who you are and what you do? Are they tied to goals that are, in turn, measurable? Are your stories being talked about by clients, prospects and viewers you didn't even know were listening?
3. Perception. How has the sentiment toward your brand changed since using your video stories? Have your videos helped to handle objections normally encountered during the sales process or at other points in your relationship.
4. Actions. Have your viewers responded to your on-screen and in-video calls to action? Are these stories aiding their buying decisions?
5. Profitability. What product sales can be traced to your product stories? What are the costs related to the production of your video stories compared to the benefits you have experienced?

Your stories provide the basis for brand affiliation and make people want to use and interact with your product or service. Getting your video with the right message in front of the right people in the right places will help you to meet your marketing and overall business goals. 

To see how Cantaloupe's Backlight provides you with insights into the metrics of your online video, request a demo here.  

We've talked about how to make your online marketing videos talk-worthy or prepare them to go viral (on a moderate scale). It's important to integrate stories into all of your content marketing - on your site and across social media channels where dialogue, interaction and sharing occur.

Here are five ways to create and use video stories online:

1. Determine trending topics. Relevancy is key. Leverage interest around hot topics with new, creative insights. Remember that your story has to be consistent with your brand and messages and allow this to enhance your other online and offline efforts.
2. Source stories from customers. Let others tell stories related to your product and brand. Create brand advocates and highlight the real-world impact of your product or service.
3. Incorporate a human-interest element into your videos. People are attracted to people like themselves. Be authentic and help your audience put themselves into the shoes of your customers.
4. Allow for interactions and additions. Using social media outlets as distribution channels allows your audience to interact with you and your brand. It provides the opportunity to post comments, share with friends and become personally invested. 
5. Enable easy sharing quickly and broadly. One of the major attractions of social media and online video marketing is the ability for users to share your content when and how they desire. Using a video player, such as the one included in the Backlight video management platform, that includes share features encourages and assists with the sharing of videos.

Want more tips on making video content compelling?  Contact me and we can discuss the process we use for developing a video strategy for clients, and how we do our story development process to ensure we produce engaging, compelling videos.

When we work with clients to develop their online video success strategy, we not only plan for the stories they will tell, but how they will distribute them. It sounds easy, right? Post the video on your website and they (the magical, mysterious they) will come and buy your wears.

It isn't so simple. Not everyone who looks alike on paper behaves alike online. There's more to a potential customer than meets the eye. Each brings an individual personality and set of preferences in how and where they can effectively be communicated with.

Our friends at ExactTarget have put together a study to help us understand our audiences and how we can best get our messages in front of them. Check out their Subscribers, Fans and Followers report, "The Social Profile", designed to help you:

1. Get to know your audience based on their personal motivations, not just their age, income or gender;
2. Learn why consumers' use of social media is dictated by their individual motivations, not by the channels themselves; and
3. Realize the importance of understanding your audience, so you can predict what they want from your brand, meet their expectations and increase your ROI. 

The more we understand about your target audience and what drives them, the more effective your online video distribution strategy can become.

What have you learned - from this report or your own experiences - about your target audience?

For some time now I've been stating that it will get to a point where every business will need at a minimum an "about us" video on the home page of their website to compete (now I actually think it's more like a video on every page that has a major topic or offering). I ran across this article by Mark Robertson from ReelSEO that featured an online video that speaks to the fact that Google is now being aggressive about indexing the videos on your website making more than ever a need for marketers to jump over the "we don't need video" line.

For you non-internet "geeky talk" folks, this means that the king of SEO is trying to help people find your videos easier and will reward those that do it right by pushing your relevant videos "up" on the search page. But, it's only for those companies that actually have videos on their web site along with some know how on how to publish them with the correct sitemap.

Just watch the video and you'll get what I mean:

 Need further proof that authenticity is the way to go?  Well check this story out.

LOFT, a popular retailer, decided to leverage their Facebook page to promote a silk cargo pant.  So, they decided to do it the traditional way -- with a tall, blonde model; an attempt to blend traditional and social, interactive marketing.

What ensued was an excellent example of authenticity and an open brand.

"Fans" started commenting that the pants only looked good on the tall, slender model and would look terrible on average women.  So, the LOFT responded by taking pictures of their own employees wearing the pants, and posting them to their Facebook page.  Their "fans" were ecstatic, some purchased the pants for themselves, while others were further convinced they wouldn't look good in them.

Chalk this one up as a win for the LOFT.  Their open embracement of criticism and their candid, authentic response made their "fandom" a lot bigger and a whole lot stronger.






To learn how to merge authenticity with your video marketing campaign, email me at bevans@cantaloupe.tv.  Cantaloupe TV is more than a video production company; we are online video experts!

With the combination of HTML5 and modern browsers, interactive marketing professionals now have an amazing set of tools at their disposal.  In particular, the HTML5 video tag greatly expands the ability of online video marketing by allowing web developers to incorporate video content into web content with JavaScript events and CSS and will likely eventually eliminate the need for a Flash player. 

But how will this change impact email marketing?  The answer is that it won't in the short-term.  Currently, the iPad, iPhone, and Apple Mail 4 support the HTML5 video tag, but all other mail clients strip it from the source, requiring interactive marketers to use fallbacks, such as video play buttons or animated gifs.


As more mail clients recognize and accept the HTML5 video tag, video in your inbox will become increasingly prevalent, but for business purposes, Microsoft Outlook will continue to be the gorilla in the room with current market share of 43% (34% Outlook 2003 and earlier).  This means that video play buttons and animated gifs will continue to be the best method to incorporate video into your email campaigns, and by doing so, you will reap the benefits of higher subscriber engagement and improved click rates.

I recently read an article - paraphrased below - entitled "Ways to Build Loyalty". Most of the tips hold true on and offline marketing efforts - through textual communication, one-on-one interaction and especially online marketing videos that put a face and feeling to your message.

Marketpath's Content Management System and Video Management Software from Cantaloupe.tv provide users a more engaging experience.


Content management solution provider Marketpath, Inc. has just announced the addition of VideoHere to its SaaS web content management solution. This integration offers Marketpath users the ability to seamlessly utilize video in their web pages therefore providing highly relevant and engaging content. VideoHere allows users to point-and-click to upload, customize, embed, and track videos in their web pages. It is licensed from Cantaloupe.TV, LLC, an online video solutions company that provides an end-to-end solution for marketing with online video.

Directly from their Marketpath account, customers can easily manage a video library, add video to web pages, and track video metrics. Users can upload MP4, MOV, FLV, MPEG, WMV, and AVI videos to an online video library. Further, impressions, clicks, views, drop-offs, view times, and viral sharing can be measured so that marketers know how their videos perform.

“Adding video to web pages provides website visitors a more engaging experience and allows marketers to better meet their goals,” says Matt Zentz, CEO of Marketpath. “Studies show that 65% of viewers watch online video to completion, while less than 10% read a text-only site in its entirety. Keeping visitors glued to their content helps companies better deliver a message to their intended target.  VideoHere is a powerful tool to help ensure that our client’s audiences engage more deeply and longer on their websites.  And with Marketpath’s VideoHere integration, it is now just as easy to add video to your website as it has always been to add images and image galleries to landing pages.” 

Other added advantages of VideoHere are that an online marketer is able to enhance SEO efforts and also increase their social media footprint. VideoHere includes an out of the box tool that tags videos for search engines, and the video player includes features which allow the viewer to easily share videos with their network and post to social media outlets.

“Videos are delivered to viewers via well known and respected Content Delivery Networks, ensuring the best viewing experience possible,” says Stacy Billanti, Cantaloupe’s President. “Marketpath customers will now have an advantage over their competition by being able to effectively and easily use video in their websites. Further, they will have access to a video hosting library that is reliable and scalable to support large spikes in web traffic.” 

Check out this video featuring a case study of one our clients, Interactive Intelligence.   They have used video to more deeply engage their audiences, and have enjoyed increases in email CTR from 7% to 17% using video emails.   I know that sometimes seeing and hearing others talk about how online video marketing works for them is the easiest to relate to.  Take a listen to what these guys have to say.

The biggest mistake most people make in video marketing is trying to do all of the 'heavy lifting' themselves.  There are millions of people out there online, create something that even people outside of your target audience can enjoy.


 
Above is a video from a contest Interactive Intelligence held. They took the simple idea that "Brilliant Technology can't solve every problem" and had a series of entertaining and funny web videos created.  I will say that most of them are a little long, but it's still better than 2.5 minutes of someone talking about their software.

This is a perfect video for video marketing because it speaks to a wide audience. Anybody that watches this can relate to it and will more than likely find it funny. That increases the chance that they will share it with their friends.

That means that even if they aren't Interactive Intelligence's target audience, one of the 5 friends they share it with may be. People like to be entertained, give them what they want! 


Justin Gutwein

One of my extracurricular activities is working with older Girl Scouts in Central Indiana as they earn their Gold Award, the highest award in Scouting. At the end of their projects, they each must present to and be interviewed by my advisory board. One question asked of most of the young women is: what advise would you give a girl who is thinking about or just starting to work on her Gold Award?

The answers vary. Some say "start early". Others say "lean on your advisor". Many say "stay focused on what you're trying to achieve." All very good answers and ones that show insight into what they learned.

The more I think about it, the more these lessons carry over into the real world, into my world at Cantaloupe and into the roles of many of our clients.

We learn from each experience we have - good and bad. So here is my question for you: Having been through the online video strategy and production process internally, with us or with another firm, what do you wish you had known going in? What wisdom would you share with your counterparts who are thinking of undertaking a web video marketing project?

[This begins the interactive part of the blog. Please post your "if someone had only told me" wisdom in the comments.]

To wrap up the series on common web video mistakes marketers make, I thought I'd hit on the most fundamental - failing to ask for help when you need it.

Asking for help is super scary and failing to do so may be the biggest mistake we - as professionals and as people - can make. Whether it's crafting your company's new marketing message or determining that web video is a good tool for getting that message out, you are never expected to have all of the answers. 

Producing, distributing and measuring interactive, engaging, authentic web video is what we do day in and day out. Take advantage of Cantaloupe.tv's experience and expertise to round out your team - whether its in strategy, story development, online video production best practices, or interpreting analytics of your website and online videos.

If you don't know... ask.

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.

Four Years ago, I saw the beginning of a transition on the web from marketing companies trying to implement traditional "permanent" content to what audiences really wanted in "disposable" content. What? Simply said... we treat the web like a magazine rather than a novel with our "I like this, but what do you have for me next" mentality.

This type of transparent online marketing coupled with an increase in bandwidth, the popularity of YouTube, and the fact that computers make it easy to "do it ourselves" have made it possible and OK for online, authentic style, devalued video to make it into the marketing mix of big time companies.

Four years ago I had a client that paid me $1,500 to do a "man on the street" story about their company. See it here...

Today, we have produced over 3000 video stories for the likes of Lilly, Roche, Tony Stewart Foundation, Real Simple Magazine, Baker and Daniels, Brightpoint, Blackboard, Interactive Intelligence, Golden Rule, and more. 

Four years ago, I was talking companies into doing video marketing. Now, they call me. Tomorrow, companies will go from "I don't need video stories on my website" to "I not only have to have web video but need it to accompany every major page / point / concept on my site."

Video SEO: Phase 1 – The Basics

When spending time and money implementing a video SEO strategy, it’s important to implement techniques that will make the biggest difference first.  Start with the basics first: 

Submit a Video Sitemap to Google

Submitting a web video sitemap to Google is the best way to get your videos listed within Google search results.  Your videos will not only get listed within the video search results, but people can watch your video directly from Google. Now, with Google’s integrated search results, your video has a chance of showing up as a video result within the main Google search results.  Make sure to include all the basic metadata along with a video thumbnail location, player location, and “yes” for the allow_embed attribute within the player location row.  It’s also important to spend time setting targeted video titles, descriptions, and keywords within your video sitemap.

Traditional SEO Techniques Still Apply

Create descriptive, relevant video titles, descriptions, and keywords.  It’s best to have one place to manage video metadata so that you can easily update it as you continually optimize your videos for search.  Think about your target audience when setting your keywords and other metadata.  Take advantage of the description and keywords HTML meta tags on your video pages.
Just as with traditional SEO, links back to your content are also very important with video SEO. Link to your videos from your website, blogs, partner sites, forums, etc.

New Content is King

Posting new video content on a regular basis not only keeps your online audience engaged, but also affects how search engines index your videos.  Newly published videos show up much higher in video search results on Google.

“Contextualize” Your Videos

Embed your videos next to relevant HTML content.  Consider including video title, description, and keywords in close proximity to the video player embed code.  Since search engines cannot read video content yet, this contextual text content enables your video to be indexed properly.

Create a Descriptive, Unique URL for Each Video

Just like traditional SEO for web pages, you need to create a unique URL for each video.  This doesn’t mean a unique URL to the video file, but a unique URL to the HTML page where you embedded the video.  Also make sure to make the URL descriptive.  For example: http://www.cantaloupe.tv/videos/backlight-video-platform-overview-video.html

Stay tuned for more tips in my future Phase 2 posting, or, download our free video SEO white paper here. 

The vast majority of your web videos will find a home on your website for obvious reasons - they may complement a product page, help build the reputation of your leadership team or underscore your customers' opinions of you through testimonials and case studies. But is that all you need to do to distribute your videos to your target audience? No.

Depending on your product, brand or video's purpose, select the social media tools and outlets that are a fit for you. Businesses are finding that Twitter and blogs provides a platform for interactive marketing folks to become authorities in their rhelm. Using these two to drive viewers to the videos on your site is a no-brainer. 

Facebook, LinkedIn and other such social networking spaces should also be considered as they make sense. These help you to be proactive in getting your video and message in front of your potential customers, employees and supporters.

Use social media outlets where they make sense in your marketing campaign and with your specific audience.  And to learn practical tips and best practices on how to make your social media footprint better using video, download our free whitepaper by clicking here.  

Calls to action are an effective way to leverage your web video when your purpose extends beyond simply entertaining or branding alone. As you develop your web video strategy with your producer, remember to focus on the goals of the specific video and of your interactive marketing campaign as a whole.

Calls to action are just that - they prompt your viewer to take a specific action that - ideally - will lead them to buy your product, engage in your service or evangelize for your brand. Three simple ways to include calls to action are:

1. The web page content surrounding your video. Put the video in context and tell your visitors what you want them to do next. (Remember, though: people don't read. At best, they skim) 
2. Spoken within your video. Your "characters" should remind the viewer what to do - call our customer service reps; attend Tuesday's webinar; whatever. This is harder to change, so proper planning is important.
3. Embed visual calls to action within your video. Much like Cantaloupe does at the 17-second mark in this CantaSeries video, small, non-obtrusive calls to action can be overlaid on the video to engage your potential customers in a unique way. Plus, these can be changed with a click of the mouse, when using the right video management tools.

Don't make your visitors think about what to do next. Lead them where you want them to go with calls to action in and around your online videos.

 YouTube is a popular and effective distribution channel for your interactive marketing videos - especially those you hope to go viral. But it is just that - a distribution channel. It is not your far-reaching online video platform solution for video hosting, publishing, distribution and measurement. I digress... YouTube is an effective distribution channel and a great way to drive traffic back to your site.

We've already talked about SEO as it relates to getting your website and your online video messages found - getting found is critical, yes? Yes. Think about the other factors in getting a high placement on a search results page - number of visits, relevant content throughout a site, Google Page Rank (specifically for Google searches).

Think about this - YouTube gets millions of page views a day and has a high Google Page Rank (9). When someone searches the web to find a video tagged with your keywords, do you think they'll end up on your company's website, surrounded by your messaging and calls to action or do you think they'll end up on YouTube, surrounded by other distractions or worse - your competitors' videos and offerings?

YouTube is a good distribution channel, but is no substitute for good web marketing practices, well produced and well tagged videos provided to your customers on your website, and through your controlled distribution methods.

We all tweet, tweet now.    One way to gain more Twitter followers is to use engaging videos in your tweets.  But one big challenge you face is that you only have 140 characters and it has to be text.  How can you possibly share your web videos with your Twitter followers and monetize it?

Here's how:
First, place your video on your website and then grab the URL of the video and shorten it with bit.ly.  Once you have the shortened link, you can tweet your message with the link included.  Be sure to use interesting taglines and text to entice your followers to follow the video link. 

Below is an example of how you can measure the clicks on that video link: 

This graph shows clicks on a video link that was sent out via Twitter by Cantaloupe.  Also, bit.ly archives your information, so you are able to use the same link over time and measure results over time.  Now, to find out if they watched the video, you will need an online video platform like Backlight to measure impressions, video completions, viral video sharing, etc...

Your web videos aren't just for your website....use them in your social media footprint, in emails, and in your blogs.    And make sure you measure how they are working for you.   Hopefully, this tip helps you monetize your web video use on Twitter.    Good luck!