Jeff's Online Marketing Thoughts

How To Use Video, Even If You Are Less Than Cool

I've talked in the past at how cool Video is and some possible ways to think about it. The hardest part with video that I hear many people talk about is that they don't have an exciting or viral product, so who would want to view a video. While that is the first answer that most people think of when it comes to video, it doesn't have to be the only answer. No matter what your product or service, you have to talk about it and you probably do on a daily basis, to customers, prospects and others. Why not put these words and thoughts on videos that can be viewed by many people? Ever feel like you've said the same thing a hundred times to all of your contacts? Why not make a video of it and make it available? If you are talking about your business you have subjects for video.

The other big stumbling block that many people run into is that they think they need to have these videos professionally shot and edited. Try it simpler at first and see if your users respond. My suggestion is to take a personal digital video camera (a fairly nice one that can get the job done is $300) and just shoot someone talking about a subject. Make sure the sound is good and you put the camera on a tripod so you get a good picture. From there you can edit the video down on any Mac, or if you need to most Windows PC's come with Video editing software now as well. Get the segments down to 10 minutes or less so your audience can consume them in bites. Now upload them to YouTube, tag them with your company name and other relevant terms and you have video online. If you want to take it a step further it is easy to embed the videos so they are served by YouTube but available on your own Web site. With very little money invested, mostly just time to create these videos and put them out for others to see you have video and appear that much more cutting edge.

Is this a viable solution for you?

Your Web Site Doesn't Have To Be Flashy

I've talked previously about Flash and other rich media features on a Web site and how they can enhance your usability. An article by Josh Hay on results for a site after removing the flash got me thinking. Would you expect your grocery store to have flashing neon signs around the entrance and advertising the have strawberries on sale in a scrolling marquee around their entire store? Would you shop there? I know I wouldn't. It would just seem like they are trying to hard, or they charge too much to afford all those useless extras. It is the same thing that can happen with Flash and rich media. I'm all for effective use of any tool that enhances your users experience, but you have to be smart and make sure it doesn't turn users off. Does it work on your site or is it over done? The results in the study weren't that surprising to me, in fact I think this tends to often be the case. Many see the rich media on a site and think they are trying to hard, are over-priced or it is just distracting and leave. First impressions are made in seconds these days, or quicker. A good way is to study the data on different design elements and see what performs better.

The Future Can Be Found In A Baseball Game

I'll probably get in trouble posting this but it is too interesting not to mention. Today is the start of Major League Baseball Playoffs and I'm cheering for the Twins. I was bummed at first because they are playing a day game so I wouldn't be able to watch. However, thanks to the folks at ESPN, there is a link off of their site to the GameCast of each game. It is a great way that I can keep tabs on the game but continue to do my job.

I have always been an avid baseball fan, I love the nuances of the game, trying to out-think pitch location, etc. The thing that amazed me was how fast and detailed it was in following the action. Not only do you see who is up and the pitch count, but there is a box that shows where each pitch is located in comparison to the strike zone and if someone hits it into play, a little ball flies across the field. Then in between innings, commercials come on. All of this is actually pretty easy to do, it is done in Flash.

What does this have to do with online marketing right? Well, this technology is going to be applied to more and more applications in the future, soon it will be on many eCommerce or other commercial sites that are looking for a better way to market themselves. Beyond that, the advertising aspect was pretty cool to see also because you almost didn't notice it, yet I obviously did.

What cool sites are you seeing where they are just fun? I would love to hear from you.

If management is reading this, it was on my lunch break.

Go Twins!

Rich Media Sites Popularity Growing

I've talked about the future of Internet sites moving to Rich Media and we are seeing that with more sites adding interactive elements in Flash. Even if it means sacrificing some from a search engine standpoint. Internet Retailer had an article about JupiterWells.com being designed for customers, not search engine spiders. The reason, they felt that it was a better way for their customers to shop their site. When you look at the JupiterWells.com the experience is very engaging. This is the future of shopping online and as you can see it isn't far off. For another example you can see what Cambria is doing with their design studio for their users to select the color for their new Cambria counter-top.