After much anticipation (by us….hopefully by some of you too!), we are proud to release our first Viral Video campaign! The following campaign is for Koval Associates & is intended to help her showcase her Job Match Program - asking the question “Are your employees in the right jobs?”
Viral Video is a specific area of the new viral Marketing initiative. Viral Marketing is a relatively free form of marketing, where you create a campaign that spreads through word-of-mouth like a virus. Someone gets an email with your message, thinks it’s funny & sends it on to their friends. Each friend then sends it on to their friends & so on. Eventually, the virus makes it’s way around the world & everyone knows your message!
Viral Video does this with, well, video! Your video can be funny, compelling, shocking - any video that draws on emotions.
In this campaign, Sue Koval of Koval Associates created three scenarios that placed a good employee in the WRONG job. What happens when the employee and the job don’t match up very well? The results aren’t pretty!
If you liked that video, check out the others at JobMatchVideo.com!How can you help spread the virus? Send this blog post to all of your friends & family! Be part of the next YouTube phenomenon!
I just read in the Ocean County Gazette that May 10-18th is National Tourism Week which is held annually by the Travel Industry Association. According to the Gazette, “Tourism is a top industry in Ocean County, a unique area in the state, with tourism facilities in nearly ever part of the county: north, south, east and west.” Does your company target tourists? In this competitive market, you need to find a way to set yourself apart from the rest and let everyone know “hey, I’m here & I’m ready for your business!” Why not take National Tourism Week as the perfect time to start working on new ways to market your unique offerings?
According to NJBiz.com, the number of tourists in NJ rose 6% in 2007! So maybe residents are bailing out of living in NJ, but it seems people love to come here to play! I know when I left the state for about 8 years, I missed the shore - the boardwalks, beaches & fun summertime activities. While 22% of the tourists came from within NJ itself, people from NY, PA, MD and even South Carolina enjoyed taking the summer vacations on the Jersey Shore!
If your business can benefit from the increase in tourists in the Garden State, now’s the time to act. The busy summer months are approaching & businesses from Sandy Hook to Cape May will be competing for their vacation dollars. Why not get yourself out there & introduce yourself to them BEFORE they even get here? Video on your website and targeted video mailers can entice these vacationers to come to YOUR hotel/bar/restaurant/amusement park/etc. Why not get together with area businesses & create an all-inclusive DVD that highlights your street/block/town?
Video shows you care and that you are waiting for THEIR business. These days people are getting wary of places found online. A good description and a photo taken in the best light can make event the shadiest of places look great on the internet. But a video shows VALUE. If you took the time, energy & money to create a video, you must have something worth seeing. Show your customers that you value them and target the 2008 tourists on the Jersey Shore!
We get many inquiries from Realtors about using our video services to help sell a home. While we find it is not cost effective unless the home is going for 7 figures or more, there are many other ways to use video in this competitive market.
1. Instead of highlighting a house, highlight a town! Most Realtors specialize in a certain area. Why not make a video of that area to provide potential homeowners coming from distant towns, states or countries. Many times when I’ve looked at listing after listing, I’ll fall in love with a house, only to be disappointed by the area that it is in. Or on the flip side, a house may not look like much online, but when I get to the neighborhood, I am embraced by its charm. A video can delve into what makes the town tick - the local hotspots, eateries, schools & more. This little round disc can set you apart from every other Realtor vying for their commission.
2. Focus on YOU, not your products. What makes you different? Are you nicer, stronger, provide more services than your competitors? Make a video about THAT & distribute it virally! Viral Video is video that spreads around the internet much like a virus through a 3rd grade classroom. Make your video funny, shocking or compelling & it just might take the same course. From your 15 minutes of internet fame, you may find yourself turning down offers to sell homes in your local area!
3. Focus on your higher end properties. I mentioned earlier that video is not cost effective if the house is selling for less than $1,000,000. But higher end homes are PERFECT for video marketing. Take potential homeowners on a tour through the 10 bedrooms, sauna and movie theatre all on the home’s compound. When taking this approach, make sure you choose a highly qualified professional company. Remember, you are looking to attract high end clients. Skimping on the production quality says that the home is not worth top dollar.
4. Of course I am going to encourage you to use a professional for all of your video marketing needs, but I am realistic. I watch YouTube & I see how many people think they can save a few bucks & do it themselves. There are a few things to think of if you decide to go this route. First of all, make sure the quality of the video matches the price you are asking for the home. I don’t know about you, but I am not willing to spend $400,000 based on a shaky, dark video where I can somewhat see that there are hardwood floors. Make sure there is adequate lighting when shooting the video (look in your camera’s manual for information about “iris”). Also, don’t zoom in & out excessively. It is better to get steady shots than to be moving around all over the place. Try to avoid the “sea-sick” floating back & forth - use a tripod if you can. Also, watch out for “peanut gallery” comments as you shoot. Idle chatter in the background is rather annoying. Finally, NEVER turn your VIDEO camera sideways to get a “tall” shot. I don’t know about you, but my TV & computer screens don’t have a tilt button, so the shot will only appear sideways.
I hope I have helped you figure out how to use video to sell your next home. If you have any questions about these suggestions, feel free to contact me directly.
This post will take a break from my usual “professional” information that I give on how you can use my services & will be more of a rant!
Please….please….PLEASE….do not have “auto play” video on your website! Did you know most people search the web at work? Now, picture a nice quite cubical farm (you know, those offices where everyone is tucked away neatly in a cubicle) and suddenly some fast obnoxious song comes blaring out of cubical number 29478. What do you think that employee that has only been working there for 2 weeks will do? They will CLOSE the window, program or computer down right away….quickly leaving your website never to return again.
Small business websites aren’t the only ones that drive me nuts with videos that auto play. I’ve been tooling around all of the video sharing sites lately & can’t believe how many of them are set to auto play! EVERY TIME I go to check out how many hits my video has gotten, it AUTO PLAYS! If I hear the first 5 seconds of my video one more time…..
Please, if you have video on your website, talk to your webmaster & make sure that it is “on demand” and not “auto play.” If you don’t believe me, read Larry Bailin’s book “Mommy, Where Do Customers Come From” and he’ll tell you the same.
SENSACIONAL !!!!!!!!
ESTOU EMOCIONADO COM ESTE VIDEO !!!!!!!!!!!!!
PARABENS !!!!!!
ELE RELAMENTE “MATCH” COM A ENTRADA DE VOCES.
Loosly translated, it means: “Sensational! I am excited about this video. Very good! It perfectly matches your entry to the reception.”
Every once in a while, it’s fun to leave behind the world of ROI and marketing measurements to kick back & just have fun with a video such as this. The clients also loved living the Hollywood lifestyle, shooting all around the streets of Manhattan, even if it was just for a day.
You’ve heard the song “video killed the radio star” right? Well, we all know radio isn’t dead, but they had to reinvent themselves. This has happened many times throughout history. The invention of “talkies” forced the motion picture industry to reinvent itself (for an entertaining portrayal of this, watch the Gene Kelly great “Singing In The Rain“). We are watching a new reinvention of how businesses spend their advertising dollars. Many people were grumbling the morning after the Superbowl. Since I live in New Jersey (a suburb of NY as some like to call it), it wasn’t because of the outcome of the game. It was because the commercials fell flat. The big hitters just weren’t putting the same advertising dollars & effort into them! Next, go up to any teenager & ask them what radio station they listen to. Donuts to dollars (sorry, had to use that phrase, I’ve heard it twice in the past 24 hours!), they’ll tell you they listen to their iPod, not a radio station. This is getting more & more apparent by listening to the radio. We had an early morning shoot recently & joined the early rush-hourers (is that a word?). Every commercial on the radio was either a Public Service Announcement or a car commercial. Local businesses just aren’t buying spots on the radio like they used to! They are just not reaching their audiences that way any more.
I recently listened to a podcast (there goes that iPod again!) by Doug Weaver, president of Upstream Group & senior analyst of iMedia Connection. He gave the Keynote Address at their conference in September of 2007. His presentation was about the reallocation of money from TV advertising to the internet. While he was talking more generic internet marketing, I am going to focus on ways to apply this to online video, since that’s what I know best. If you are interested in more specifics on Internet Marketing in general, ask Larry Bailin.
Mr. Weaver made a great statement about innovation. Rather than try to paraphrase & probably miss the point completely, I am going to quote him exactly:
“Innovation happens all the time…Most industries don’t ever make the most of that innovation. They fail at processing that innovation. The main reason that they fail at processing that innovation is a lack of imagination. They are not able to imagine a future that’s fundamentally different than the one they live in today.”
I think this is a great statement. It is always hard to be one of the first to try something new. What if it ends up being a flash in the pan? Will you waste your money? Will you make yourself look silly? What separates a good business person from a great is the courage to just jump up & try it! What if it becomes the most successful business tool of this century? Wouldn’t you want to be the first to use it?
Mr. Weaver goes on to say that your customers are doing these things. They are embracing innovation. They love technology! Business owners are the ones allowing it to “wash over us” as Weaver put it.
Right now, about 60% of business advertising dollars are being used to get their message out to alot of people. This is mostly done in television advertising. Next, companies are focused on targeted frequeency - cable, magazines, radio & a little online. Finally, the smallest portion of our advertising dollars bring in the most profits! Activation is where you are actively turning prospects into customers through a measurable action using in-store ads, coupons, infomercials, etc.
Weaver asks “how can I do more & achieve more with the technology I have now?” My answer is ONLINE VIDEO! You have the technology. You have the means of delivery. You have the content. Now all you have to do is execute it. You want to reach alot of people (TV advertising)? Put your video on the over 50 video sharing sites. Post links to your video in blogs around the internet. People will see you. You want to target specific demographics? Search for relevant blogs. Send your video out to your customized email list. You want to turn prospects into customers? Create a unique website & have your video lead prospects to this site. Here you can drive home your message & measure the results! Now, you are competing with the Superbowl ads of the 90s! Get a good video out there & you’ll be the next singing frogs.
Weaver ends by saying that in this point in history, a majority of your advertising dollars should be spent online with the highest amount geared towards activation, then targeted frequency and finally delivering to a broad audience. With video marketing, you can accomplish all three at a small fraction of the price it costs for 10 seconds on the Superbowl.
Of course, I’m here to say Professional wins. What am I talking about? Internet video! Sure, if you look around, it seems like everyone has declared Amateur victorious. But Professional is just taking the route of the tortoise….slow & steady. While the hair, aka Amateur, has rocketed out of the gates, eager to catch his 5 minutes of glory, Professional is taking the time to learn & study the internet, production quality, marketing strategies & much, much more.
Ok, this isn’t making much sense & is now starting to sound like the mad ramblings of a mom that has read the story of the Tortoise and the Hair one too many times. Let me explain my self here…
Way back when, the internet started (insert Al Gore joke here), and businesses all over started realizing they could reach millions of potential customers with one little online brochure written in something called HTML. So they all got their “HTML for Dummies” books and learned how to put a website together. Slowly, companies started popping up all over that boasted that they could create a bigger & better website, and the business owners gladly handed over this tedious task to the pros. Now, look around - websites are either created by professional companies, or at least by business owners that have some expertise in graphic design & web development. When you see a page resembling a 1995 college student’s class project, you quickly move away.
Right now we are in an era where online video is the new kid in town. Amazingly enough, it is following the same path as business websites! First it started w/ kids trying out the new trend. Suddenly businesses realized the potential & whipped out their home video camera to shoot a video & edited it on their teenager’s Mac. While some people actually have the talent & know-how to produce something this way, many are falling short of their actual goals - making their business look better & attract new clients.
Soon all would-be producers will be turning to the professionals to create dynamic, targeted, and PROFITABLE videos for their already professionally created websites.
It is only my suggestion that you make sure you are the tortoise (yes, bringing it full circle) and you take the slow & steady approach to video marketing. Don’t rush out & make your own video - find a professional that will help you make one that truly works for your company.
How do you generate sales BEFORE your business is officially open for business? That is a question that plagues most new business owners. You need revenue to get your business up & running, but you can’t generate sales unless your business is open for service! WhereOn9.com used VIDEO MARKETING to help solve this problem!
The website is up and they have already begun the marketing for this site, so they needed something a bit more exciting than “site under construction” or “site coming soon.” WhereOn9.com hired E Video Productions to produce a fast-paced trailer for their new site that currently plays and entices web surfers to come back in March when the site is officially launched.
“This is a complicated message to communicate. Kris at E Video came up with a masterfully creative execution of a difficult concept. The sales team at Where on 9 applauds your efforts and reports nothing but rave responses to the video that you created. I personally want to thank you for a top-notch job produced in record time. “
How does a shopper find the restaurant, store, or business that they need or want on or around Route 9? Between Old Bridge and Lakewood there are over 3000 restaurants, stores, and businesses located on route 9 or in over 250 strip malls, indoor malls, shopping plazas, and shopping centers. It runs through 6 townships and 3 counties. 85% of the restaurants, stores, and businesses can’t be seen from the road.
Launching on March 1st, Where on 9 and WhereOn9.com, is a hard copy guide / map and an online virtual mall to help the shopper find what they’re looking for.
WhereOn9.com is a 21st century shopping experience. You are now able to window shop in stores by category and proximity to you. Take a look around the premises of shops; check out the ambiance of restaurants or the equipment and layout of fitness centers through the magic of Virtual Tours. Check out the product lines in detail of manufacturers or the merchandise of stores that you are planning to visit by checking their Gallery of products. Top it off by saving money, having been alerted in advance by registering with the Coupon and Sale Alert Club where downloadable coupons are available only in your choice of categories. Watch a Video to learn more about a product or service. You can then link to your destination’s website for more information or stay in the Where on 9 web site and download directions and a map to get you there.
A recent article out of South Africa on Copypastearticles.com ranks “Experiment in Video Marketing” as the 7th most important thing to do this year in internet marketing. Why? They say that YouTube, Internet Television and streaming video are all starting to dominate the marketplace, so now’s the time to get in!
Have you tried Video Marketing in the past? How did it work for you? Are you considering Video Marketing this year? We would love to hear from you! As we are developing plans for keeping up with this ever growing trend, we want to hear your thoughts on this new form of marketing. Please take about 3-5 minutes to take our survey. There is a special bonus at the end to thank you for taking the time to help us out!
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