Online Videos for Local Companies
According to comScore there were 157,137,000 unique online video viewers in the U.S. as of June 2009. This is 53.17% of the U.S. population and 81.04% of the U.S. online users. With 2/3 of U.S. homes currently utilizing a high speed connection online video is a cost effective tool for local SMBs to convey their message to a prospect anytime he or she is looking for their product or services. If you are a local company and you don’t have an online video then you are missing out on a potentially lucrative segment of the market.
Television advertising is not often an effective marketing approach for SMBs due to the large investment, frequency needed to be effective, and inability to tightly control your target audience and geography. Studies show the advantage of a Television ad over a print ad: We remember 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, and 70% of what we hear and see. Having a search-able online video to explain your unique features and benefits, has a much higher conversion ratio than just casting the net with tradition mediums such as newspapers and television advertising.
The best way to market your local online video is by placing your video in areas where a potential client may be looking for what you do. Some of the most effective areas to start are your website, YouTube, and all of the major search engines. Google and some of the other major search engines are now indexing search-able online videos in their search queries. What this means is that along with websites you will also start to see videos being returned in your search queries. If your video is formatted and indexed correctly users will be able to link directly to the video through the search results.
Wouldn’t you enjoy the luxury of giving a potential customer a 30-90 second elevator pitch of who you are and what you do right when they’ve taken the time to sit down and research your industry?
Want to find out more about local online video, or maybe you have some additional questions? To schedule a consultation, give us a call today or click on the Contact us page and we will contact you within one business day.
Here are some basic tips to make your video effective:
- Be yourself and explain what differentiates you from your competition.
- If you produce a product or offer a service then show what you do. For instance if you remodel homes show live video of a home being remodeled and speak to the qualities that differentiate you from your competition.
- Keep the video within 30-90 seconds. This holds the persons attention. If you feel that this is not enough time that you can break the video into multiple segments.
- Make sure your online video is optimized properly and listed in the appropriate places according to your industry. The point of creating a searchable online video is maximum visibility. If a potential client cannot find you then it becomes ineffective.
- If you are only producing one video, be sure to cover as many of your services as possible. You would not want a potential prospect to disregard you, because they didn’t realize you offered what they were looking for.
- Make your video portable so that it can be emailed and shared with others who may have an interest in your product or services.
