Important question for those using video in their marketing

[ronr]

There have been many posts and some good threads lately on the value of using video to drive traffic and make sales.

However, many of the videos I've seen and are used as examples are just short videos with catchy music, splashy graphics, maybe some text that zooms in and out. In other words, almost no substance just a lot of "cool" factor.

Keep in mind I'm not talking about videos where a product or service is actually described with the benefits given, a product review, or other similar videos.

Maybe I'm old school, but do those short MTV style videos actually increase traffic or produce sales? They remind me of creative commercials on TV that the ad agencies win awards for, but they don't do a thing to increase the clients business.

They also remind me of the flash intros we used to see on websites. They were really cool, web designers loved them and everyone wanted them because they were cool at the time. They faded quickly because they did absolutely nothing to increase sales and 95% of people just bypassed the intro.

So please help me understand. Are these short little glitzy videos just to drive traffic because a search engines like them? Are they the next shiny thing like flash intros used to be? Or do they really work?

Ron

[David]

Originally Posted by ronr

There have been many posts and some good threads lately on the value of using video to drive traffic and make sales.

However, many of the videos I've seen and are used as examples are just short videos with catchy music, splashy graphics, maybe some text that zooms in and out. In other words, almost no substance just a lot of "cool" factor.

Keep in mind I'm not talking about videos where a product or service is actually described with the benefits given, a product review, or other similar videos.

Maybe I'm old school, but do those short MTV style videos actually increase traffic or produce sales? They remind me of creative commercials on TV that the ad agencies win awards for, but they don't do a thing to increase the clients business.

They also remind me of the flash intros we used to see on websites. They were really cool, web designers loved them and everyone wanted them because they were cool at the time. They faded quickly because they did absolutely nothing to increase sales and 95% of people just bypassed the intro.

So please help me understand. Are these short little glitzy videos just to drive traffic because a search engines like them? Are they the next shiny thing like flash intros used to be? Or do they really work?

Ron

I'm not sure what you're selling or what niche you're shooting for but I can tell you this for sure:

for local SEO a youtube, "ANY" youtube is better than nothing.

my testing bears out that if two websites are competing for the same slot, and they seem equal by almost every metric, the one with the most youtubes wins. Just keep pumping them out.

A slideshow created in picasa from still pics and use picasa to turn that slideshow into a video still qualifies as a youtube.

case in point: I have a Maryland janitor service as an SEO client. I gave the crew my camcorder to take videos while there were working... so the crew learns how to do the video and they realize no one speaks english!

so the video is of some guy cleaning an office, no voice over, no text, no nothing, just video of a guy with a vaccum cleaner on his back

it ranked #3 in Google

so ANY video is better than no video

[Jill Carpenter]

They work as far as dropping a link somewhere that can lead to more information.

The imagery and right music can work to create curiosity or a mood that will hopefully encourage the viewer to want to learn more.

A lot of times people don't want to be immediately bogged down with a really long video. A taste or teaser works perfect for this. Effects can be used to keep the short content entertaining.

I don't think these are a "fad" just for that particular reason.

There are definitely some that are better than others.

[Jason Anderson]

Even though I produce "call to action" videos for a living...

I highly recommend these "filler" type videos to all my clients as well. Site's like Animoto or similar video creation sites are great for these types of videos...even if they are free and watermarked somehow.

Obviously, you need to use your brain a little bit when you create these types of videos. Let's use Animoto as an example:

When you create an Animoto video with all the cool transitions that they provide for awesome eyecandy...make sure you mix in compelling text in your transitions. If it tells a story and speaks to the audience you are trying to reach, the eyecandy factor will probably keep your audience watching the video a little bit longer. However, if there is no compelling message, your visitor will get bored and will take no action.

The reason these types of videos are effective is two fold:

1. If you use the correct tags (keywords) and place these "free" videos on sites like Youtube, Metecafe, Viddler, etc...they are more likely to be picked up in a search than your actual website that the video sits on. This is because the "authority" of these sites are so high. This is why it's critical to make sure you include an obvious call to action (visit my site, subscribe at..., etc). If your visitor actually ends up at a video sharing site instead of YOUR site, you really want to make sure that these videos tells the visitor what to do or where to visit for even more information.

2. You can re-purpose the SAME video and simply rename the title and the tags. This will attract different browsers who are searching with different keywords.

You can use these "filler" eye candy free videos to send a visitor to a more informative professionally produced video which may be on your website or even a video squeeze page.

Bottom line. In today's day and age, the more videos you have the better off you are. It's really expensive to have ALL your videos produced by a pro, and it's really time consuming to do them yourself even if you know how.

That's why I recommend these types of videos to all my clients. I don't consider these sites as "competition". I look at these types of sites as game changers which actually help in a total advertising campaign.

[freudianslip27]

Of course a professional video company could come out to my local client (restaurant) and produce a super-cool commercial that could be aired on tv, youtube, etc.

BUT for just X dollars a month I create a video for my clients monthly, that is then uploaded on youtube and other social sites. Is it a professional commercial? No, but like others said, the fact that its on youtube (and ranking I might add) is very beneficial for my client.

Matt

[DogScout]

You tube (and Googles other video site for that matter) can be a huge draw. A video that cannot be seen by the search engines, so it doesn't matter what it is of, can zoom to page 1 of Google WITH the url to the money site in the description.

So, Yeah, even dumb videos can be helpful. Obviously, the better the video (and by that I do NOT mean the quality... people seem to gravitate towards more 'real' videos than super slick studio ones -IMO) can be even more helpful.

[chrisgarrett]

There are different goals with videos, most are just there for "YouTube as search engine" or for the "video ranks above text listings" effects, the video itself just needs to attract clicks in sufficient numbers. There are other videos where the intention is to pre-sell or sell, those need to be produced like real direct response ads using copywriting techniques

[Frank Bruno]

Keep in mind its not just about the quality or content of your videos tht will get you views or traffic but also how you setup your account/profiles and the tags and keywords you select for your videos.

Frank Bruno