Online Video Uses - Let me count the ways... Part 2

Online Video Uses - Let me count the ways... Part 2
Scott Dennison
2-04-08


As I ponder the ending of an amazing Super Bowl, I want to continue with the theme of sharing with you the many, many ways you can (and should) be using video on your websites. In fact if you watched the game you probably saw a few of these uses, so let's review...

6) "On the street" interviews - do you think that if someone interviewed Giants or Patriots fans last night after the game you would have captured some interesting comments? Now widen the lens and look at how that applies to your business. If you are promoting what you do ask people on the street for a comment about it. Some will have nothing of value to share, but others just might. And the best ones should go on your website. If you are just starting to develop a new product, go ask people to tell you what would make them want to buy a similar product. What you learn will help you, I promise you that.

7) Once you have actual customers using your product, get a testimonial from them. Let them tell future customers what they like best about you, your product and your company. This is called social proof. Prospects and potential customers will believe what your current customers say more than what you say. So put their excitement and enthusiasm on display for the whole world to SEE.

8) "A Day in the Life of" video featuring perhaps one of your customers. Following with the Super Bowl idea, there were lots of great stories to capture of players. I don't think I saw even story of a "Super Fan" for either team. But what if you developed your own video by following a customer of yours through his/her day as they use and enjoy your product.

9) Behind the scenes at an event is another compelling story line you can develop for visitors to your site. Several of my associates host an annual "customer appreciation party" to honor and thank their customers (and court new ones). In fact if you want to see one, go here. But its the back room, behind the scenes stuff that most attendees never see that can be so compelling, enough so that the word spreads without you doing anything other than posting the videos for everyone to see.

10) Highlights of a special event. Not much different than the previous idea, but this one develops "stickiness" by getting your visitors to stick around for a few extra minutes to watch the highlights of something you have done. In watching the big game last night I could not help but notice the number of times that the announcers on Fox reminded us that we could "see our favorite commercials again" by going to MySpace.com. Considering that MySpace is owned by News Corp, who also happens to own Fox Network, that should not have surprised anyone. But it was good cross promotion of their corporate assets nonetheless.

I hope that you are starting to get the picture. Your site is being judged by your viewers based on how interesting it is. The interest is scored by the amount of time that one spends there. (stickiness) Also, the search engines are rating the amount of time one spends on your site as one of the top criteria in ranking your place in the search engines. Video will keep them there, keep them interested and make you more relevant. We'll cover even more ways to use video next week.

~Scott
KeyThing Marketing Technologies