At the most recent Indy Social Media breakfast, I had a chance to hear both  Rocky Walls and Julie Perry speak about video marketing. In their presentations, Rocky and Julie approached the topic of video from two very different perspectives.  Rocky (CEO of 12 Stars Media) focused on how to effectively shoot a great internet video.Julie (VP of Social Media at BlastMedia) picked up where he left off, focusing on how to market those videos.

Some of the major takeaways from Rocky’s presentation:

• Stop using a script-many folks think they need to script all their lines in advance. This, in turn, makes you sound stodgy and uptight. Use guidelines, not a word-for word transcript.
• Have a goal…before you push the red button-Rocky’s mantra is all about being able to answer this question: “My viewer will _______ after viewing my video because ______”. Having goals in advance is critical when shooting video, just like with anything else.
• Smile-Rocky feels when someone is smiling at the beginning of a video, that mood typically carries through the rest of the shoot, which the viewers will be able to sense.

And from Julie’s:

• Users want to view your content on their terms-Now more than ever, the consumer has the power. You need to make sure your videos are delivering what the consumer wants when they need it. Otherwise, they won’t bother.
• If you’re marketing on Youtube, you need to be using the new video transcription option-Google can not accurately gauge what a video on Youtube is actually showing…until now. Users can upload transcripts of their video so that Google can do a full text analysis of the video’s content. This can get tedious, so Julie recommends searching for video transcript services, available all over the web.
• Be complete-Many Youtube marketers neglect taking full advantage of the tagging and description features…at their own peril. By packing the tag and description areas, you’re giving you’re video it’s best shot at showing up in relevant searches. Remember, though…relevance is key. Sadly, tagging our Roundpeg videos with “Lady Gaga” does us no good.

As an Indianapolis web design firm, we often get questions from clients on how to use video and Youtube to achieve marketing goals. After listening to Rocky and Julie, I now feel much more confident in my ability to answer those questions.

What’s your best “Youtube tip”?  Or Favorite YouTube business video? Share the link here

Every small business owner who comes to Roundpeg for help with their web design project says the same thing.  After the site is built, will it be on page one of Google? I hate that simple question because the answer is never simple.  Google has more than 600 elements in their algorithm and they change all the time. And on top of  that, your competitors also effect your position in the rankings.  Every time they do something to move up, they make it harder for you to appear on page one.

So how do you achieve the elusive page one ranking? First, be realistic.  If you are in a very competitive category and you don’t have a large budget for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) activities, narrow your focus.  Roundpeg is a small company with a limited budget, it is unrealistic to think we would be on page one for terms like small business or marketing.  We can however dominate for the term Indianapolis Marketing  or small business Indianapolis.  In our case, geographic segmentation works.

But what if  you are not geographically constrained?  You can still narrow your focus by selecting specific niches, for example we could work on placing keywords such as small business marketing  or longer strings like small business marketing strategy.  There will be fewer searches each month, but you will have less competition for your key word position.  And people are being much more specific these days.  A research study conducted by Hitwise  indicates searchers are using four, five, six and even seven words in a search query to find more  specific results.

The added benefit of focusing on more specific keywords  is you have a higher chance of being considered a relevant result by a potential customer ready to make a purchase.

As we explain  this to clients, their next question is how much work will it take, and the answer is usually more than you think.   We recently tried an experiment and identified 6 terms we wanted to be found on page one of Google for.   We were pleased that for Small Business Indianapolis, Indianapolis Marketing  and Social Media Indianapolis  we were comfortably on page one.    I was surprised for the more niche term Marketing Strategy Indianapolis we were on page three and disappointed that we were so far back for Web Design Indianapolis and Graphic Design Indianapolis that you couldn’t find us.

We decided to focus our attention primarily on Web Design so we began to write more content (1 – 2 blog posts a week) specifically about web design.  We posted comments on forums and other web design discussion groups.  We actively shared content on social media.  We looked for directories and submitted links to our content.   We changed our SEO plug in from All in One to Yoast, and became more exact in our writing to improve SEO.

Did it work?  After eight weeks of almost daily activity, we can usually  found on the bottom of page two for Indianapolis Web Design.  We are close, but not done yet.  An interesting side benefit,  was the climb of our graphic design services, which can now be found on page three.  Why? Because we naturally talk about both services at the same time, so as we focus on one, we pull the other up. Also, as we increase traffic, it makes sense that some of  our visitors will look at a range of services we offer.

So what is next for us? We are testing Scribe SEO to see if we can learn how to be even more focused in our quest for the elusive page one.  Will it work?  Well you will be able to find out, by simply doing a Google search for the key words we have listed above.

Roundpeg, an Indianapolis marketing strategy company offers social media, web design and graphic design services.  We help small businesses become big businesses.

Research shows YouTube is now the number two search engine after Google, particularly for the under thirty crowd who are in increasingly turning to YouTube over Google as their searching needs. But what do YouTube and marketing have to do with each other?

Next Wednesday ( July 6th)  we will be talking to special guest Rocky Walls of 12 star media about how small businesses can effectively leverage this resource to enhance their marketing and PR strategies.

Do you have any comments, questions, or tips about YouTube? Post it here, send it to one of us on Twitter or Facebook, or call in during the show at (805) 285 -9865. Remember to use the #hashtag #MTFW on Twitter, so your comments will be added to our Keepstream below.

The call will be live from 10:30 – 11:00 on Wednesday, July 6th. You will be able to listen to the program from my station on BlogTalkRadio.com And  if the time is not convenient for you, listen to the recorded program from the player below or from our iTunes channel.

In the most updated version of the Social media Revolution video, one comment stuck out more then most of the statistics I had seen before: Kindergarteners will learn on iPads not chalk boards. Children, barely toddlers comfortably reach for their parent’s iphones and ipads, navigating their way through the maze of applications to find the ones they enjoy.

We are working with Plow Digital, to help them build a social media presence for  Giggle Bear an iPhone game application geared for girls ages 4 – 12. I don’t know what is more amazing; that the application was actually conceived by a 12 year old girl or that I watched my friends 18 month old daughter snatch my iPhone, giggling as she tried to figure out the application.

Social media, computers, online applications still puzzle some of my peers, but our children and grandchildren dive into the pool as if they have been swimming their whole lives, because they have.

What does this mean for small business owners? If you are not tech literate, your days are numbered. With each year, more and more of your customers will expect you to be online, with websites, online catalogs, customer service and in some product categories even service delivery.  The question:  Will you be ready?

My friends often ask how I stay current on all the technology and where I learned what I know.  The answer is simple, a little bit every day. Trying to learn an entire systems is exhausting, but one new function is child’s play.  So if you want to be in business in the next few years, and you are not comfortable with technology, it is time to go back to school.

If you read my blog post about week ago, you got a basic introduction to QR codes.  That post has lead to some lively conversations on and off line.   On twitter I asked the question “QR Codes – hype or next big thing?”  The responses came from every corner of my follower community.   It was perhaps the most lively conversation I have sparked in a long time with opinions varying widely.   Here is just a few of the comments:

Medical Applications Positive:

JamesAYount The Medical industry started using QR codes because it holds more information   when scanned than a bar code. I see them being used more in the future!

Questioning whether marketing professionals know what to do with them:

chuckgose Giving marketers QR codes is like giving me a power tool. I’m probably not going to do much with it. Neither are marketers.

Some feel they have a place

bckybrwn Used in the right way QR codes can be a valuable part of marketing especially for brick & mortar stores & restaurants.

DebbieMahler I think they are the shape of things to come. It’s a good solution to all the mobile connectivity.

@mobilitycompany: QR Codes Hope to Be This Summer’s Breakaway Hithttp://ow.ly/4RgFB

Become a Fan

The conversation continued off line, after the Social Media Club event.The general theme was that it was too early to tell how far or wide codes would go, but we are in the very early stage, with many consumers completely oblivious to their purpose and marketers missing opportunities by not telling people what the code will do, or how to reach web information if you don’t have a scanner.

What type of scanner will work?  QR code Readers –  On my iPhone I use  i-nigma.   It accommodates images from most camera phones. For the android Barcode Scanner has good reviews.  If you already own Red Laser the price checking application it has been recently adapted to accommodate QR code reading.

So what do you think?  Are you using QR codes yet, and why? What type of results have you seen?

When you go to check out in the grocery store, do you ever grab a candy bar from those tempting shelves near the registers? What if your website could do the same thing?

Small business owners often focus on using social media, search and email marketing to driving traffic to the site, without thinking about what to do with them once they arrive.   We believe adding a little Web Candy or free downloads will boost your marketing efforts, by putting your website at the center of your marketing, you engage prospects with specific offers, and then use relevant email offers to keep them coming back for more in a continuous sales loop.

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Want to learn more? Join us for a session of Web Candy. In this new workshop from Roundpeg, we will share specific strategies you can use your website, social media and email to create an effective sales loop.

Tuesday, April 26

3:30 – 5:00

At the Offices of TrustPointe 6666 E. 75th Street, Indianapolis

There is no charge to attend, but reservations are required.  Seating is limited to 35 people. Register early to insure you have a spot.

 

 

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This was an record setting week at Roundpeg.   We have seen a significant increase in our traffic as a result of our experiments with StumbleUpon and Linkdex.

Prior to March our best month, ever was 5,980 visitors to the site.  This month, we blew past the 10,000 mark.While some of it was “working the system” much of the results were driven by our content.

Once again we have a mix of video, podcasts and blog posts.  If you haven’t been here all week, this is what you missed.

Saturday – Social Media at 25 and 50
It’s time to settle the debate about how age dictates social media competency.Some people lack technical understanding. Some people lack the strategical know-how to monetize social media. Some people are just plain stupid. None of these conditions are age constrained. This post had the most comments this week.  Check out what other’s had to say, and add your voice to the conversation.

Sunday – Next Big Thing, Episode 2: Alex Baker
Jay continues his foray into the world of podcasts with this interview with Alex Baker, Chief Executive at Infinistorm.  As I caught up with Alex in a very noisy coffee shop, he was very excited to talk about “virtualization”. While large corporations have taken advantage virtualization for several years, it is now a viable alternative for smaller businesses, which make up the core of both Alex’s (and our) clientele.

Monday – The Modern Home This move to simplicity is common in most interior design books right now.   Gone are the heavy, ornate pieces of furniture, replaced by simple, geometric designs, open spaces, and bright or calm colors.  This same design style is migrating into web design, particularly sites for home services companies.

Tuesday – Email has a Role in Social Media Plan The flashy newcomers to Social Media, Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, do not replace a solid eMail Marketing Campaign. When done right, email will allow you to stay in front of your prospects till they are ready to buy.   What do I mean by done right?

Wednesday - Links:  The Company You Keep - In business, as in life, you are judged by the company you keep.   People look at your associates and assume you share similar values.   The same is true of the internet.  Google and other search engines assign values to your website, in part, based on the inbound and outbound links.

Thursday – Internet Marketing by the Numbers When the numbers talk,  I listen.  Anyone who knows me well, knows I am a numbers person.  Despite the fluffy marketing exterior, I am at my core, an ROI add up the numbers kind of person.   I love graphs and charts which turn numbers into pictures. And I believe if you “listen” numbers will tell you stories.

This was an record setting week at Roundpeg.   We have seen a significant increase in our traffic as a result of our experiments with StumbleUpon and Linkdex.

Prior to March our best month, ever was 5,980 visitors to the site.  This month, we blew past the 10,000 mark.While some of it was “working the system” much of the results were driven by our content.

Once again we have a mix of video, podcasts and blog posts.  If you haven’t been here all week, this is what you missed.

Saturday – Social Media at 25 and 50
It’s time to settle the debate about how age dictates social media competency.Some people lack technical understanding. Some people lack the strategical know-how to monetize social media. Some people are just plain stupid. None of these conditions are age constrained. This post had the most comments this week.  Check out what other’s had to say, and add your voice to the conversation.

Sunday – Next Big Thing, Episode 2: Alex Baker
Jay continues his foray into the world of podcasts with this interview with Alex Baker, Chief Executive at Infinistorm.  As I caught up with Alex in a very noisy coffee shop, he was very excited to talk about “virtualization”. While large corporations have taken advantage virtualization for several years, it is now a viable alternative for smaller businesses, which make up the core of both Alex’s (and our) clientele.

Monday – The Modern Home This move to simplicity is common in most interior design books right now.   Gone are the heavy, ornate pieces of furniture, replaced by simple, geometric designs, open spaces, and bright or calm colors.  This same design style is migrating into web design, particularly sites for home services companies.

Tuesday – Email has a Role in Social Media Plan The flashy newcomers to Social Media, Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, do not replace a solid eMail Marketing Campaign. When done right, email will allow you to stay in front of your prospects till they are ready to buy.   What do I mean by done right?

Wednesday - Links:  The Company You Keep - In business, as in life, you are judged by the company you keep.   People look at your associates and assume you share similar values.   The same is true of the internet.  Google and other search engines assign values to your website, in part, based on the inbound and outbound links.

Thursday – Internet Marketing by the Numbers When the numbers talk,  I listen.  Anyone who knows me well, knows I am a numbers person.  Despite the fluffy marketing exterior, I am at my core, an ROI add up the numbers kind of person.   I love graphs and charts which turn numbers into pictures. And I believe if you “listen” numbers will tell you stories.

Anyone who knows me well, knows I am a numbers person.  Despite the fluffy marketing exterior, I am at my core, an ROI add up the numbers kind of person.   I love graphs and charts which turn numbers into pictures. And I believe if you “listen” numbers will tell you stories.

So what stories are the numbers telling us about how small business owners are using social media? A study by  Network Solutions and the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business found many of the same trends we saw in our own study last spring.  Small business owners are expanding their online presence, with plans to continue to grow that presence this year.

More than 56% of small business owners have websites.  That is up 10% from a year ago, and another 10% expect to develop their websites this year. Surprisingly, the number of companies using online advertising and directories actually dropped in 2010.  My guess is this has more to do with economic pressures to contain cost then a move away from the medium, because projections for 2011 jump significantly.

While still lagging behind other internet mediums, social media is experiencing explosive growth, with use of both Facebook and LinkedIn almost doubling in just one year.  Location based services are gaining traction as well.

In contrast, twitter seems to be growing much slower then other media counterparts.  We saw the same thing in our local study.  While we had plenty of response to our Facebook study, we could not collect enough data to make the twitter survey results meaningful.  I think this is because twitter is the hardest of the tools to understand.  Used for personal and business, I think business owners struggle to find the right voice, and the results take longer to see.

What lies ahead for small business owners and internet marketing, I am not sure, but the “numbers” give us a glimpse of what is to come.

Want to see more of the statistics, be sure to check out the rest of the article on Marketing Profs.com