Wednesday, August 31, 2016

How to Incorporate Video into Your Online Strategy

Anyone old enough to remember trying to stream a video clip from a website back in the days of dial-up before broadband was common would have been forgiven for thinking it would never catch on. Fast forward to the present and we have Forbes magazine, as well as many others, telling us, “2016 is the long-anticipated year of video marketing.”

You might be wondering if video marketing really works, and that’s a fair point. Well, consider these statistics from the Online Publishers Association:
  • 80% of Internet users watched a video ad in the past month, and of that 80%
  • 26% searched for more information about the subject matter
  • 22% went to the website mentioned in the ad
  • 15% checked out the company behind the ad
  • 12% bought the product being promoted in the ad
The great thing about using video to promote your product or service is that you are not limited to only having a video on your website. In fact, you should be spreading your video around as much as possible. Social media now give greater weight in their algorithms to video placement, making it easier than ever to market effectively.

YouTube is certainly the granddaddy of video sites, but Facebook has recently overtaken YouTube in terms of daily video minutes watched – some 4 billion videos watched worldwide per day – and Twitter and Snapchat are also catching up fast. These numbers are only going to grow as people are showing an ever-increasing voracious appetite for video.

Producing Video on a Shoestring Budget
Creating your own promotional video can be fairly easy, even if you are on a tight budget. One of the easiest and most effective ways is to create a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint. You first need to write and record a script, but it doesn’t need to be long, about one minute to 90 seconds of talking time works well.  You can then create your presentation using suitable images and text. Time each slide length according to the relevant part of the script. You can then choose File, Export, and Create a Video to create the video in the WMF video file format. After choosing the video quality setting, you can choose, Use Recorded Timings and Narrations to add the script you recorded earlier.

Consider recording a video blog, with the presenter/host simply appearing on-camera.  Video blogs can be fun, informal, informative and powerful.  The audio and video recording capability found on most modern mobile phones is usually sufficient to produce an effective message, as long as you have access to a quality microphone and have good lighting.

Best Practices and Tips 
  • Avoid incorporating 3rd party logos or images copied online within your video presentation.
  • Remember to respect all common trademark and copyright ownership laws and adhere to restrictions. 
  • If you buy images, fonts or soundtrack content for inclusion into your video, then make certain you follow the usage terms and conditions associated with your purchase. 
  • Don’t forget to post and promote your video on YouTube.com, as well as embedded it within a page on your own website.
  • Include a link in your video description leading back to your designated landing page for more formation and lead capturing.
Want some extra help? 
CC Communications and our affiliate partners offer a wide range of very cost efficient web video production options and services, with some support packages starting as low as $899. Once your video is produced, CC Communications can also help you successfully post and promote the program online, as well as setup an effective landing page that connects to your presentation with a clear “call-to-action” response. At CC Communications we have a highly experienced team of industry experts who can help with all of your online marketing needs, including video. For the best video production and marketing advice or assistance, call us today on 704‑543‑1171, or contact us online. We’d love to hear from you!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

What's Missing? Four Things Every B2B Website Must Have

When consulting with a new B2B client, we often begin the process by reviewing their existing website for the things that are missing - those website components necessary to turn a cookie-cutter website into a robust lead generator. If you're a B2B marketer looking for ways to enhance your online presence and positively impact your key performance indicators, then make sure you have these four elements in place.

Strong Calls to Action
When visitors land on your site, you need to provide clear direction on what you want them to do. Is your goal to get more contact forms completed? Do you want them to download your free e-book? No matter what your primary objective may be, you need to place your call to action (CTA) in a prominent location (above the scroll line) on your page.

When writing your CTA keep it around five to six words, and focus on conveying a sense value and urgency. For example, "Schedule my free consultation now!"


Testimonials
The power of social influence cannot be denied, and nothing gives you online cred like a testimonial from a past or present client. Make it a habit of always asking your clients to put in a good word. If your position isn't client-facing, then reach out to someone on your team who is, and ask them to make the request.

A good rule of thumb to follow is not to create a dedicated page for testimonials on your site. More times than not these pages will be passed over. You're better off sprinkling them across your website for a stronger impact.

Blog
Your website needs a fresh, steady stream of content. Otherwise all you have to offer is a glorified e-brochure. A blog provides a platform to showcase your expertise, it helps position your organization as a thought leader in your industry, it gives your website an SEO boost, and provides new ways for your business to be discovered online. Sure, it will take some resources to produce the content, but either you take center stage online or your competitors will.

Tracking
Data is the key to understanding your customers journey through your website. Google Analytics is an in-depth platform often overlooked as the valuable resource it is. The data is provides helps you learn what content resonates most for your site visitors, and which areas need improvement.

Aside from the top level metrics this tool provides, you can set up conversion goals to measure the success of online campaigns, see which social media outlets are providing the most referral traffic to your site, and discover where people are dropping off in the sales purchase funnel.

Get Help with Google Analytics.

Need assistance with strategic planning for your website? CC Communications has over 22 years of experience in the industry and we're ready to help you take your B2B website to the next level. Contact us today to learn more.