Video Can Make You a Business Superstar

Video is taking over the web. With more people enjoying high-speed Internet connectivity, and Web 2.0 bringing new capabilities to our browsing experience, video is more important and more pervasive than ever. Equally important is taking advantage of video to boost your SEO, engage your clients and prospects and deliver your message in the most effective way possible. There are many types of video out there, but we will discuss three types of video that your business can put to effective use.

1. Website video. Using video on your website has several purposes: It will improve your SEO; it allows executives to deliver concise, targeted messages; and it improves website “stickiness.” This last item is a measure of the amount of time people spend on your website; more time is obviously better.
2. YouTube video. YouTube, for anyone who hasn’t heard, is an extremely popular website. In fact, it is the third most visited website in the world, right behind Google and Facebook. YouTube visitors average nearly 20 minutes on the site, far longer than the average website visit of 5.4 seconds. With so many people spending so much time on YouTube, it is inevitable that your clients and prospects are spending time there as well. It is important to establish a presence on YouTube in order to “hit them where they live,” to be able to deliver a targeted message to your market in the place where they spend the most time. YouTube is also very highly indexed by Google and posting video content to your own YouTube channel will have a dramatic impact on your search rankings.
3. Vlogs. Vlogs are simply video blogs—they can take the form of a “talking head,” where an executive reads information directly to the camera, or they can be a short slideshow with a voice discussing points displayed on the screen. In any event, vlogs are a cooler way to impart information to your prospects and clients, while adding another reason for them to spend time on your website and not on a competitor’s site.

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Mike Lauducci is the head of client services for StartUpSelling Inc., where he works with small businesses on lead generation, sales, marketing, website design and branding. For more information on Web marketing topics, go to www.StartUpSelling.com and visit Lauducci’s blog at http://startupselling.com/blogs/mikelauducci.