video content creationOne great way to market your company online is with an entertaining or informational video. Videos are popular and often shared online, which means your company can get more exposure to potential customers as well as keep your brand in front of your current customers’ eyes with video marketing. Want to make a video but not sure how to begin? Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when creating the content for your first company video.

1. Have a goal in mind. Why are you creating this video? Is it to inform your potential customers about something? Is it to entertain your customers to improve your relationship with them? Who exactly do you want to reach? What measurable results to you want to achieve?

2. Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. What are they interested in? Would they respond well to a funny or educational video? Think about what you would want to share with your friends, coworkers and family if you were your target audience then try to put that into your video.

3. Tell a story. People remember stories a lot better than they remember random facts and figures. People also respond a lot better to something they can connect with emotionally. A story to follow will help you convey your message in a way your target audience is more likely to enjoy and remember.

4. Show your audience what your product/service can do for them. This video is not about your company, it’s about your audience. They want to know how your product/service can improve their lives (i.e. save them time, money, bring them entertainment, etc.). In your video, make sure you show them.

5. Include a call to action. At the end of the video, let your viewers know what you want them to do, whether it be call, visit your website, or share your video with others.

If your company wants to boost your search engine rankings, try video optimization. There is much more text on the Web than videos. This means if you have an optimized video it is more likely to show up on the first page of Google when potential customers are searching for keywords that pertain to your business. If you create a funny, entertaining or informational video that your potential customers share with friends, your video will become even more relevant and more likely to show up high in the search results. So how do you optimize your video for search engines? Follow these directions.

1. Save your video to your computer with a file name that includes your business name and a keyword (E.g., Dave’s Kung Fu Dojo Newport Beach, CA)

2. Open the Properties of the video by right clicking on the file

3. Select the Summary tab at the top of the Properties box

4. Add business name, categories and keywords to the image – these will be picked up by search engines (if you need visual help with steps 1-4, check out our photo optimization blog.)

5. If you don’t already have one, create a YouTube account and add the video to YouTube

6. Choose “Upload” to begin uploading your video. While it is uploading, you can fill in the information box (See image below)

7. Now share your fully-optimized video on your blog, company Facebook page, Google+ page, Twitter, Pinterest, and any other social media networks you belong to.

VideoOptimization1

Title: Add Main business category, location, business name
Description: Add everything that was in the title, your phone number and the description you use in Google Places listing
Tags: Title, Google categories, city and state

According to AT&T’s Local Insights Report, restaurants and automotive are the most popular local search categories in online and mobile searches. Other popular categories are movie theaters, beauty services and hotels as well as real estate, finance and legal services. The top growing search categories are pharmacies, toy stores, department stores, travel agencies and shoe stores.

Mobile searches now represent over 30% of all searches across the YP Local Ad Network and mobile search will continue to grow as more people upgrade to smartphones.  The Local Insights Report found that most mobile searchers used the “click to call” option to get more information about the business where users who were searching online visited the website to further research the business.

For more details, read the full Local Insights Report.