SuccessLab Podcast 12: Tap the Power of Video Marketing with Stjepan Alaupovic

Jul 29, 2014

In this episode, I’m in The Lab with Stjepan Alaupovic, he is the creative director for an online video marketing agency based in NYC. We talk about why video marketing is so powerful, how to make videos more discoverable and which platforms are best to use.

Highlights from the conversation:

• Video allows you to connect directly with your customer.
• Video marketing will get stronger, because it’s able to travel with us via smartphones. Customers expect to see video. Companies will start using video to communicate more.
• To make your branded video content standout, set out to answer a question or provide a solution to a challenge. Humor can be hard to pull off, so you may want to avoid this out of the gate.
• Choose your channel based on your goal. YouTube obviously has a larger user base, Vimeo is generally associated with higher quality videos, Vine and Instagram are great for short videos.
• Make your videos more discoverable on YouTube, take time to create an engaging title and be sure to integrate your keywords, choose a good thumbnail that is relevant to your video, use keywords in your description. Off YouTube, be sure to utilize video sitemaps, particularly if the video is hosted on your site. This submits your keywords to search engines.
• If you’re going to produce video on your own, invest in decent equipment, but the focus should be on creating great content. Have a goal (set one goal), create a script and keep it short and sweet.
• Instagram is great for creating “short, snackable content.” It also has a lot less noise than YouTube.

 

This week’s Biz Hack: Last Thursday Google quietly rolled out it’s latest change to its local ranking algorithm, which many are calling “Google Pigeon.” How does this impact search? Well it primarily impacts local search results, and fairly significantly. Though still too early to tell it could help or hinder small businesses who rely on local search. One thing that is apparent is local directory sites have gotten a big boost. Now sites like Yelp, Urbanspoon, TripAdvisor and OpenTable are showing up as the top results. You may want to spend some time being sure your business profiles on these sites are accurate and up to date. Also be sure all of your contact information is there. 

The other main focus of this update is Google Maps and Google+. Get listed on Maps if you aren’t already and if you don’t have a business page set up on Google+, be sure to do that. Shannon Hernandez, the Google+ rockstar who was on the show last week, released a post reminding business owners to audit the keywords they have listed for their business Google+ page. Try to weave your keywords and location into your tagline and introduction (Google+ calls it “Your Story”) as much as possible without blatantly stuffing it, which can have a negative impact.

Your website will also come into play of course. If local leads are important to your business, you’ll want to revisit your keywords here too.  

Action Items: Set up your or update your Google+ page, audit your website to be sure you’re targeting the right keywords, and finally get over to Google My Business to get your business listed on Maps. It walks you through everything you need to do become more discoverable in Google’s local search. I’ll put a link in the show notes. 

Quote of the week: “Being aware of your fear is smart. Overcoming it is the mark of a successful person.” Another Seth Godin great

 

Next week we’re in The Lab with Chris Grabe, a fellow SuccessLabr, a realtor, and co-founder of Resource Phoenix and Localati. We talk about community building and how important it is to growing a business. Be sure to tune in! Until then, have prosperous week!