In a recent blog post on leveraging SEO benefits of video, I mentioned how YouTube is an excellent way to drive visitors to your website.  Equally important is allowing individuals to access your YouTube company page through adding a YouTube link/button on your website.  From an SEO perspective, frequently adding fresh content to your channel and properly tagging your videos will allow you to utilize YouTube as an SEO channel.   

Properly “Tagging”? Just remember this: “TDK”…Title, Description, Keywords.
 

1. Title-Make sure that it’s enticing and keyword rich.  Go back to your video and determine the main subject or topic matter in the recording.  The word or short phrase that you decide on should be included in the title.  This is because the search engines weight anything in the title very highly.  Another tip: remember to keep your title to 70 characters or less.
2. Description-Creating a persuasive description and putting it in sentence form are two key items to keep in mind.  While it is best to keep the description around 155 characters, it is more important to make sure that it is compelling, so that individuals will click through to your page.
3. Keywords-Select two or three keywords to be featured as tags. Your keyword or keyword phrase should mirror the main topic of your video and should be included in your title. 

SEO benefits are the greatest payback from coordinated efforts to frequently produce video content and properly tag them.  While it does require resources, mainly time, using YouTube is an inexpensive way to gain brand visibility and rank in search engines for your important keywords.

While recent hot topics have centered around mobile and social media in the interactive marketing industry recently, there are a few marketing tools that have received less attention that are worth mentioning.  One of these is the use of video.   Videos are unique as they can be used on your company site, on YouTube, and through email marketing.  All of these opportunities allow you to drive viewers to your website, ultimately improving your chance of converting a prospect into a client.  Video has proven helpful for boosting conversions and can be a relatively inexpensive marketing tool.  

According to a Nielson report released in August 2010, 70% of global online users watch video.  Knowing that statistic, why not try it out? If your company is using video, you may have noticed that your videos show up in Google search results.  This is because Google actually puts video production into its search placement algorithm.  Frequently adding new video content to the channel will strengthen your rankings in natural search results.

If you are considering video as a marketing tool, here are five useful tips for a successful campaign:

1. Keep your videos short.  According to Visible Measures, users tend to drop off after viewing 10-60 seconds of a video.  In fact, 20% of viewers drop-off after ten seconds of video and 44% drop-off after 60 seconds.
2. Optimize your video players.  Increasing the video player and adding action buttons (“Play” or “Click to View”) may increase view-through-rates.
3. Make sure people can find your video.  To increase the likelihood of your video being discovered, submit a video sitemap to the search engines and leverage other channels to feature it as well.  Using YouTube and Facebook can help drive viewers back to your website.
4. Don’t forget about mobile.  With the increase of mobile users, many viewers will try to view videos over a small screen.  Therefore, ensure your videos are accessible from mobile devices.
5. Video content can be educational.  Introducing new services or products through video is a great way to get the word out.  Demos and “How-To’s” can give your company credibility, as people will look to use as a resource.

It has become increasingly understood that having a Facebook presence for your business should be among the top things to be included in your 2011 online marketing efforts. The question is no longer why Facebook is a valid channel, but how to capture leads and generate a return on your investment (ROI).

Creating a loyal fan following within Facebook takes a lot of ongoing commitment, dedication, consistent engagement and strategy. Engaging fans to like your page by offering incentives, promotions or exclusive rewards is one of several ways to build your fan base. But the question that remains is: what do you do once you have your captive audience? Being able to capture fans’ email addresses, names and possibly phone numbers is a great way to get to better know your audience and build your database for other possible marketing efforts.

(Below is a screen shot of how you can capture your Facebook fan’s credentials)

The above custom Facebook tab has a lead generation form built into the design that allows you to easily capture your fan’s information. Building up and creating a Facebook fan base is step one, but it’s how you capitalize on your Facebook fan base and convert them into a sale that is key. Creating a custom Facebook tab that allows your fans to engage by asking questions as well as providing their contact information is great way to continue to build a relationship with your customer base outside of Facebook.

According to a recent article by eMarketer, “US marketers will spend $3.08 billion to advertise on social networking sites this year. Spending will be up 55% over the $1.99 billion advertisers devoted to social networks in 2010 and will rise by a further 27.7% next year to reach nearly $4 billion.”  Amazingly enough, spending in social media is $1 billion dollars greater than what was projected back in August 2010 (a mention that I made in a previous blog post).  What’s the disparity?  One word.  Facebook; the biggest player in the field.

Often times, businesses seek guidance in trying to formulate a “magic number” to set aside for online advertising.  While there isn’t an easy way to project this number, one thing to consider including in future budgets is paid advertising in social media networks.  According to the same study done by eMarketer, “Social network advertising is to account for 10.8% of the online market.” 

With the increasing number of people participating in these social channels, coupled with the amount of time spent throughout a day (either personally or for business), this data actually begins making a lot of sense.  People are spending more and more time on social media.  Paid advertising through these networks enables businesses to get in front of their viewers, hypothetically, all day long.  If you would like additional insights, check out this recent article from BusinessNewsDaily on 5 Ways Businesses Will Use Social Media in 2011. 

Understanding the benefit of the social media channels can greatly impact your ability to gain new customers and increase ROI in 2011. As a side note, always remember that it’s never too late.  If social media advertising isn’t within your budget for this year, begin with what you can afford. Creating social media accounts for business, if you haven’t already, is the first step in gaining a presence in the space.  Including social media accounts onto your website will help with your SEO rankings.  Lastly, always find a way to measure progress.  Quantitative data in social media channels through analytics, will allow you to understand which efforts are successful.  Use this data as a guide to making optimal business and marketing decisions for the future.

A lack of organization can really impact the success of your social media marketing efforts. Although the need for organization and password centralization have been written about several times by our staff, it really bears repeating that disorganized social media marketing can turn simple, daily tasks of updating Twitter or Facebook, into all-out nightmares. Following are some points to keep in mind to better organize your corporate social media marketing efforts:

1. Account Setups: One of the biggest mistakes businesses make for their social media marketing account setups is having staff use personal accounts or logins tied to personal email addresses to set up corporate profiles. Create a centralized, corporate email address or login credentials and use it when possible. In addition, be careful, channel by channel, to create business accounts and not personal accounts when setting up new profiles.
2. Password Management: Avoid losing passwords by ensuring they are saved in a secure, but accessible manner. Be sure to change passwords if those responsible for social media marketing efforts leave the company at any point in time. In addition, if you utilize third-party apps, such as HootSuite, to update your social media channels, be sure you update any saved passwords if you change your channel passwords.
3. Scheduling: Maintain a schedule to ensure that you are both: posting to channels regularly and often, and posting content that relates to your marketing calendar and pre-planned subject matter. For example, if you have a promotion running for back to school, plan in advance the kinds of content you want to publish for it and be sure they are posted in a timely manner. Lacking a schedule can mean missed opportunities for spreading your message to your social media followers.
4. Centralized Management: To avoid lapses in brand messaging, unnecessary repetition between channels, or “forgetfulness” when it comes to what’s posted or promoted where, create a centralized team (which can be comprised of one or several people) responsible for the business’s social media marketing, who meet and communicate on a regular basis. Limit the number of people posting to channels and centralize it to one person who multiple writers (if you’re lucky enough to have several) are funneling content to. This can be especially helpful for cohesiveness with blogs.
5. Repurpose with Purpose: Use content in multiple places judiciously. Every channel – blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. – doesn’t have to have unique posts every time since most followers won’t be engaging with you in each place. By the same token, however, if each channel is a cookie-cutter reiteration of the other, your users will become bored and frustrated pretty quickly. Balance unique content – directed to your unique user base in each channel – with repurposed content, for an even distribution of information and well-juggled time management.

Not surprisingly the key to quality social media marketing is communication – internally and externally within your channel content. Be organized, know what you have set up and how to access it, protect your logins, centralize your posting, review your management strategy over time to ensure that it’s addressing your channel needs and, ultimately, maintain a consistent brand voice and tone.

I, like most cost conscious consumers, love loyalty or reward programs, and easily achievable rewards are on the top of my list. Thankfully, my family’s favorite restaurant offers a nice 10% discount. Couple this fact with an award winning brew master and I’m more likely to agree to their request to eat out.  Here at MoreVisibility we rotate responsibility for bringing in bagels, so why not frequent the shop that provides me with a free dozen after purchasing twelve.  I simple present my card at time of check out and they stamp the next number on the card until I have filled up, and then the dozen is free.

A new e-loyalty system is now in its infancy and growing in popularity, using Foursquare’s application for smart phones.  Foursquare combines social networking and location by awarding users that “check in” at bars, restaurants and other business via their smart phone.  The application leverages your smart phone’s GPS and allows participants to identify where they are via checking-in.  If the location exists and is participating in the program the person checking-in may be accumulating loyalty points they can use for goods or services offered by the business. If the business is not participating, the person checking-in can leave a “tip” for others using Foursquare to read up on and possibly drive traffic for the business.  Becoming the Mayor of a particular store is a title you earn via having more visits in a period of time than any other “friend” also using Foursquare.  You may lose your title of Mayor to one of your friends who learned about the business and Foursquare would let you know that via email. Competition between your friends could easily escalate.  For instance the “Mayor” of the local ice cream shop, may also be in running to be the “Mayor” of the local gym.

Considering the huge adoption in smart phones, it makes sense for firms to consider using Foursquare’s service for promoting their goods and services.  The hospitality industry folks are going to lead the early adaptors, since it provides a trendy method to promote their goods and services and allows for an inexpensive way to create a buzz.  In today’s tough economy any marketing initiative that rewards your customers with discounts and freebies will be a winner.  The process to “claim” your business and join is straightforward.  If you know your customers’ demographic includes these early technology adaptors, get started with the latest loyalty program and see ‘em “check-in”.

Twitter is about to roll out ads to it’s users.  After four years of data mining I would imagine that these ads will be highly targeted.   Approximately ten advertisers, such as Starbucks, Virgin American and Best Buy will participate as they ramp up from yesterday’s roll out to 2% to 10% of their users according to the Wall Street Journal.

The San Francisco firm will leverage a new service, Promoted Tweets, in which ads will appear at the top of the search results.   Advertisers will be charged per thousand impressions, with plans for a more complex model based on users interactions with the message to come.

It will be a valuable tool for the marketers anxious to engage Gen Y or Millennials, the demographic most technologically connected in every aspect of their lives.    Brands have had a tough time reaching Gen Ys, since they use the Internet for all aspects of their lives and are not likely to be heavy readers of printed material or viewers of traditional commercial based TV shows.  Millennials get it all on the Internet with guidance from friends and consumption of content at all times and places during their day.   Some believe that this generation is the most coveted buying group due to their consumption rate being  five times that of  Baby Boomers.   Marketers will be anxious to court this generation on their own turf, and Promoted Tweets will be a highly measurable  method to achieve this goal.

Social media has to be a component of one’s overall marketing strategy and probably already is even for those not actively pursuing.  These social media communities will discuss your goods or services either with your contribution or without, its your choice.

At $3.99 to download, I would be hard pressed to pay for an application that provides me with (enhanced) CPR instruction.  While I can certainly see the value in having access to potential life-saving information there is 1 key factor (outside of limited discretionary income) stopping me from making the purchase….I use a Blackberry.  Where is the love for Blackberry users?  After all, we Blackberry users still account for over 40% of the Smartphone platform market share, according to comScore. 

The iphone application (Pocket First Aid & CPR) that proclaimed to have saved Dan Wolley’s life and helped pull him through the earthquake in Haiti got a lot of play in the weeks following.  There have been tons of articles – retweets, blog posts, etc all creating enormous buzz for the iTunes app store and American Red Cross.  This online conversation helped move the application to its own all-time high #49 on apple’s Top 50 Paid Applications List.  This is clear evidence that word of mouth / viral / social media marketing works well and can show quick results.  However, it is not the end-all answer for getting more visibility for your iphone application.  According to a recent article, “that bump may be short-lasted; as of Jan. 27, it has fallen back to No. 76, and sales seem to be on their way back down.”  Unless there are plans to capitalize on the buzz created around this app, we can expect to see its popularity decline, along with the overall drop in web search query volume relative to the earthquake in Haiti.  Google Insights for search illustrates this point below in charting the Worldwide search query popularity for the phrase “Haiti iphone”.

While the iphone and Android Smartphone provide allow developers to use more bells and whistles, the adoption of these devices is still taking hold.   If you have application development on your radar for 2010, be sure your plans include existing customers and visitors to your website.  Many of your existing / potential customers may be limited by service providers in their area, added expense of upgrading a device, ongoing monthly expense, etc.  To see which devices your customers and prospects have been using to access your website, tap into Google Analytics Mobile Reports.  Refer to Emily McNair’s post, titled Mobile App Considerations, for other key items to think about in developing mobile applications.

As social media marketing is becoming increasingly prominent for businesses, so is the development of applications, such as those that can be downloaded for the iPhone and other smartphones. If you are thinking about developing a mobile application, there are a few things that you should take into consideration.
 
First, think about what someone will do with the app.  Will it serve as a tool or will it be for entertainment? What is the value that users will receive from using the app?  In other words, what will entice them to come back?  If you have an iPhone, you probably know how it works. You download an app, use it three or four times, and then about a month later, you realize that you haven’t used it since the day it was downloaded.  So, from a marketer’s perspective, what will you do to entice downloaders to use the application more than once or twice?  Perhaps you’ll roll out a new and improved version after a few months. Or, maybe it will make sense to continuously add new content or features to the app.  Lastly, one of the most important considerations is whether or not a mobile app is appropriate for your company or business.  A lot of people have iPhones, but a large portion of your customers may not.  iPhone users are typically younger and more technically savvy. If you find that this is not your audience, consider waiting to build a mobile app and focus instead on creating a presence within established social channels, where your audience is already participating.

With the thousands of applications available for download, below are a few that are widely popular.

Kraft iFood Assistant
The Kraft iFood Assistant continuously builds brand awareness from the kitchen to the grocery store.  It offers how-to videos, easy recipes, tips and a built-in shopping list.

Chipotle Ordering
You can order favorite Chipotle burrito, pay for it from your iPhone, and then pick it up from your local Chipotle with this handy app.

B&N Bookstore by Barnes & Nobles
This app offers everything from book recommendations to finding events at your local store. It also allows you to use your camera to take a photo of a CD, book or DVD cover, and receive product details, reviews and ratings of that product.

SitOrSquat sponsored by Charmin
This app contains information on where to find bathrooms, changing tables, handicap access and other amenities that you may need on the go.