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Sales Nation
- Original Poster
- #2
Hi,
I do not currently use Youtube but I am seriously considering it. I read a report recently that video is going to be a big thing in 2012 and with Google now running the show, your business should benefit.
Wouldn't have a clue how to make the video though and so soon after Christmas I doubt I copuld afford it. Definitely consider it though.
I do not currently use Youtube but I am seriously considering it. I read a report recently that video is going to be a big thing in 2012 and with Google now running the show, your business should benefit.
Wouldn't have a clue how to make the video though and so soon after Christmas I doubt I copuld afford it. Definitely consider it though.
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windowman
- Original Poster
- #3
Hi Jonathan,
our first video has just been made and is going to be uploaded to youtube on Monday the 16th of Jan. I have no idea what effect it will have but will definately come back and let you know. I do have plans for more videos however this is only if i can start to see some positive reactions from my first.
have you got any ideas on how you will use your video?
Ben
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EasyspaceUK
- Original Poster
- #4
Windowman - we use video to show our customers how to use various online services/tools we provide, which is helpful to them and reduces the amount of work i.e. answering questions, etc that our our Customer Services Dept has to answer.
I'm curious how some small businesses use YouTube e.g. maybe embedding a YouTube video to their business website in which they are introducing themselves and briefly explaining their services, etc - I'd be interested to know if anybody has tried that and if they got more business as a result???
I think this is good idea - especially for smaller, more personal busiinesses in that they can establish some trust and rapport with potential customers - and thereby win more business..........
I'm curious how some small businesses use YouTube e.g. maybe embedding a YouTube video to their business website in which they are introducing themselves and briefly explaining their services, etc - I'd be interested to know if anybody has tried that and if they got more business as a result???
I think this is good idea - especially for smaller, more personal busiinesses in that they can establish some trust and rapport with potential customers - and thereby win more business..........
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I started a thread same as this a week or two ago,
One chap sent an example of his log fireplace videos and they were pretty good, although maybe a bit too long (8 minutes ish) in my opinion.
Im still trying to convince the directors it is worth our while, but id love to hear the results of anybody's else's efforts.
One chap sent an example of his log fireplace videos and they were pretty good, although maybe a bit too long (8 minutes ish) in my opinion.
Im still trying to convince the directors it is worth our while, but id love to hear the results of anybody's else's efforts.
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I love youtube for business 
If it helps for others to see the kind of things I am doing then my channels are http://www.youtube.com/maxxy129 and also my husbands plastering and plumbing at http://www.youtube.com/float129
These are used completely differently and the benefits have varied for different types of business use.
On his channel he has had over 12,000 views of skimming a ceiling! This is fantastic exposure for a small local business. He has this embedded onto this website and we get comments when we go and see people for quotes that they liked seeing the youtube videos of him working before calling for a quote and it definitely helped to convert their interest to an enquiry.
With my own channel the benefits are different. It's not a lead generator for me as I tend to use the private video function a lot so that I can take videos showing clients how to do something. This is because it is something I want to keep away from other competitors views or from views of their competitors because I am doing lead generation for them. It might be something on social media, updating their CRM systems, sending out bulk emails, updating their wordpress blogs etc, which are the sort of enquiries as support I get quite often so it reduces that effort for me.
I have also done a fair bit of work now with managing other people's youtube stuff for them and it's been really beneficial for all of them with other retaining existing clients, reducing their costs in some way, or attracting new business.
Good luck
If it helps for others to see the kind of things I am doing then my channels are http://www.youtube.com/maxxy129 and also my husbands plastering and plumbing at http://www.youtube.com/float129
These are used completely differently and the benefits have varied for different types of business use.
On his channel he has had over 12,000 views of skimming a ceiling! This is fantastic exposure for a small local business. He has this embedded onto this website and we get comments when we go and see people for quotes that they liked seeing the youtube videos of him working before calling for a quote and it definitely helped to convert their interest to an enquiry.
With my own channel the benefits are different. It's not a lead generator for me as I tend to use the private video function a lot so that I can take videos showing clients how to do something. This is because it is something I want to keep away from other competitors views or from views of their competitors because I am doing lead generation for them. It might be something on social media, updating their CRM systems, sending out bulk emails, updating their wordpress blogs etc, which are the sort of enquiries as support I get quite often so it reduces that effort for me.
I have also done a fair bit of work now with managing other people's youtube stuff for them and it's been really beneficial for all of them with other retaining existing clients, reducing their costs in some way, or attracting new business.
Good luck
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EasyspaceUK
- Original Poster
- #7
Multi-store - I checked your old post on this, and yes the video "How to light a fire in a wood burning or multi fuel stove." is just want I mean - this is a good example of a small business using YouTube - it doesn't need to be expensively made, or have high production value, but it can still be good for your business.
I wonder what effect this video had on getting new customer???
As for length of a video, I agree though 8 mins for a video is usually too long - probably 3-4 mins best on average, but it all depends.......
I wonder what effect this video had on getting new customer???
As for length of a video, I agree though 8 mins for a video is usually too long - probably 3-4 mins best on average, but it all depends.......
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EasyspaceUK
- Original Poster
- #8
Maxine - Great example, I think you husbands plastering business is a perfect example of how a small business can use youtube and benefit from it. Has he tried adding a youtube introduction video on his homepage i.e. brief video of him introducing himself and what he does? - instead of just linking to YouTube from the home page? I know they're on his blog too......... excellent
Obviously it depends on the type of business - i think tradesmen i.e. plumbers, joiners - something in which the work can be practically demostrated via a video could be very popular
Obviously it depends on the type of business - i think tradesmen i.e. plumbers, joiners - something in which the work can be practically demostrated via a video could be very popular
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Have heard a lot about youtube and the extra traffic it may bring to your site if you have a video made and it helps with the seo side of getting found and linked to your site, etc. Just finding someone who can provide a decent service and not being on the usual we can get you on page 1 bandwagon.
Not sure whether youtube and the seo benefits from it is all last years news now though, but probably still worth doing.
Not sure whether youtube and the seo benefits from it is all last years news now though, but probably still worth doing.
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BDR_London
- Original Poster
- #11
YouTube videos are great for driving traffic as long as you create videos that are going to interest people. We are planning to use video a lot more in 2012 for bdrlondon, (we just added a new video to our home page which is hosted on YouTube). And our clients have seen success from this channel. I am not sure YouTube videos are going to have a huge impact on your SEO rankings but it can drive relevant targeted traffic. Videos are a great way to demonstrate products and services. The new YouTube channel features makes it an even better tool to use than before.
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I've put together some tips on some of the things you need to consider for YouTube such as title, tags, annotations, etc.
http://www.thedigitalpost.co.uk/201...-for-improving-the-visibility-of-your-videos/
I'm working with a client and their YouTube videos but I haven't really used it much for myself but that is going to change this year.
In terms of topics there are lots of things you can do but you need to think about what customers want to see and what is going to be useful for them. I would suggest creating videos which answer clients (potential clients) questions and queries. What issues do they have and can you help via a video? These are likely to be required by non clients too. This way they are more likely to share it, like it, subscribe, embed it, etc.
Don't forget YouTube videos feature in Google results so if they are well optimised you can get traffic to your videos which you can drive to your website or elsewhere depending on what you're trying to do.
Here is one example of someone using video who I like. As said above the videos don't need to be perfect but the production values here are very good. She is using video to get her personality across so she can connect with her audience.
http://marieforleo.com/
http://www.thedigitalpost.co.uk/201...-for-improving-the-visibility-of-your-videos/
I'm working with a client and their YouTube videos but I haven't really used it much for myself but that is going to change this year.
In terms of topics there are lots of things you can do but you need to think about what customers want to see and what is going to be useful for them. I would suggest creating videos which answer clients (potential clients) questions and queries. What issues do they have and can you help via a video? These are likely to be required by non clients too. This way they are more likely to share it, like it, subscribe, embed it, etc.
Don't forget YouTube videos feature in Google results so if they are well optimised you can get traffic to your videos which you can drive to your website or elsewhere depending on what you're trying to do.
Here is one example of someone using video who I like. As said above the videos don't need to be perfect but the production values here are very good. She is using video to get her personality across so she can connect with her audience.
http://marieforleo.com/
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windowman
- Original Poster
- #17
It is interesting to hear how people are using youtube, our first video is a collection of stills from our portfolio and i had immediately thought to just use it as tool for driving traffic. a fairly short sighted approach i feel.
I am new to this and our site is very young, i do however strive for a site that people will use and interact with us so i think our next vid will be a time to introduce our sales director and give an overview of our factory. Hopefully this will help customers get to know what our company is about. Kind of mirror what our blog is trying to do.
I am new to this and our site is very young, i do however strive for a site that people will use and interact with us so i think our next vid will be a time to introduce our sales director and give an overview of our factory. Hopefully this will help customers get to know what our company is about. Kind of mirror what our blog is trying to do.
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We use videos for software tutorials, etc.
We pay for and use a pro Vimeo account, rather than YouTube, however - the quality is much higher, there are no ads, and the player can be customised with our own logo.
A bonus of using video like this that I didn't entirely foresee is the vertical search results we're getting in Google - people are searching for payroll features and directly finding our videos, which is pretty cool.
We pay for and use a pro Vimeo account, rather than YouTube, however - the quality is much higher, there are no ads, and the player can be customised with our own logo.
A bonus of using video like this that I didn't entirely foresee is the vertical search results we're getting in Google - people are searching for payroll features and directly finding our videos, which is pretty cool.
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Sophia Myles
- Original Poster
- #23
Our company have made some videos to introduce our company as well as our products. I like them personally since they make our highlights more attractive than plain text. However we only embedded them on our own website so far, also considering about YouTube but haven't made the decision yet.
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chrisbuckley
- Original Poster
- #24
YouTube is great. I don't have a traditional bricks and mortar business but I do have a series of educational videos out there for which I make around £400/month. The great thing about YouTube is that videos on there rank well in Google AND it is very easy to rank in YouTube. Ranking in YouTube depends on many factors but primarily number of views. Simplistic, I know, but that's the way it is. I'm currently experimenting with a views booster. Normally I wait of the order of 6 months for my videos to rank but that is obviously a long time to test a market out - this time I'm hoping my views boosting will yield some answers within a matter of weeks.
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sitandstay
- Original Poster
- #25
We have one of our videos on youtube, to be honest I dont think it has brought that much work at all, but we also have it on the website.
I think it has been a little bit effective, but only time will tell.
dont know if I can post links here but here is the video incase you wanted to look at it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnRU8AAOTF0
I think it has been a little bit effective, but only time will tell.
dont know if I can post links here but here is the video incase you wanted to look at it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnRU8AAOTF0
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ILilja
- Original Poster
- #26
We started producing YouTube 'how to' help videos about 2 1/2 years ago covering all functionality in the E-conomic accounting system, and the customer feedback has been really positive.
We've now uploaded about 200 videos in English to our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/economicuk) with new videos added regularly with the release of new functionality.
Alongside the happy customers, we have also seen a significant decrease in the number of support phone calls, leaving us more time to produce even more help videos . The only flipside is that you have to update the videos regularly with any change in design or user interface, but that's definitely a price we are willing to pay.
We've now uploaded about 200 videos in English to our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/economicuk) with new videos added regularly with the release of new functionality.
Alongside the happy customers
, we have also seen a significant decrease in the number of support phone calls, leaving us more time to produce even more help videos . The only flipside is that you have to update the videos regularly with any change in design or user interface, but that's definitely a price we are willing to pay.
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Jeremy Bentley
- Original Poster
- #27
Hi guys,
Its great to see more and more people becoming aware of the importance of video for web and a channel such as YouTube should be considered as a strong marketing tool these days. YouTube is also a brand itself and more than likely it will be a brand that is better known than your own so integrating it into your business marketing strategy can only be a good thing. As it is under the Google umbrella you will see high page rankings if you use SEO techniques effectively, this alone is a huge bonus.
I have a lot of clients that come to me for this purpose as video production is one of our specialities, funnily enough though, we don't have our own YouTube channel as yet! It is on my list of things to do but the problem that I have is that our company has thousands of hours worth of video footage and I don't just want to be putting up random videos, there has to be a strategy involved if you wish to use it for marketing purposes...
Its great to see more and more people becoming aware of the importance of video for web and a channel such as YouTube should be considered as a strong marketing tool these days. YouTube is also a brand itself and more than likely it will be a brand that is better known than your own so integrating it into your business marketing strategy can only be a good thing. As it is under the Google umbrella you will see high page rankings if you use SEO techniques effectively, this alone is a huge bonus.
I have a lot of clients that come to me for this purpose as video production is one of our specialities, funnily enough though, we don't have our own YouTube channel as yet! It is on my list of things to do but the problem that I have is that our company has thousands of hours worth of video footage and I don't just want to be putting up random videos, there has to be a strategy involved if you wish to use it for marketing purposes...
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CallManagement
- Original Poster
- #28
We are a contact centre and we have created a small video/audio on youtube. Well it is not really a video. We had for ages (actually since 2010) a audio on our website (a radio program) where our Director took part in. This is the audio and we just added the Logo as background. It is not really a video as you can see. However it allow us to monitorise the quantity of people that click the link and it help us to see if it will be worth for us to spend money on this area.
The result: since dec 10th 38 views and it makes our website look prettier. You can check it in <removed by mod> website
So we decide that it may worth it to invest a bit of money there and do a proper one.
We are planning to create one as "virtual tour for our offices" that may help us to show who we are and how we work.
The result: since dec 10th 38 views and it makes our website look prettier. You can check it in <removed by mod> website
So we decide that it may worth it to invest a bit of money there and do a proper one.
We are planning to create one as "virtual tour for our offices" that may help us to show who we are and how we work.
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hdwedj32
- Original Poster
- #29
I use You Tube for my business and we have been using web video since 2008.
My customers really like the videos as they say it makes the web site more personable.
You Tube helps us with SEO as well, showing our videos on the front page of a Google search and listing us in the video search.
My customers really like the videos as they say it makes the web site more personable.
You Tube helps us with SEO as well, showing our videos on the front page of a Google search and listing us in the video search.
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MediYeah
- Original Poster
- #30
Something I haven't been doing enough of myself, until very recently as I start to create some more video content. I have actually got quite a few 'unlisted' videos up on my channel. I want to get myself a bit more clued up on links, descriptions, tags, keywords, captions, etc before go ahead and make them public. So that is what I am starting to educate myself on.
Youtube is technically one of the largest search engines in the world - you'd be missing a trick to not use it!
Youtube is technically one of the largest search engines in the world - you'd be missing a trick to not use it!
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CallManagement
- Original Poster
- #31
We have just launch a new video in Youtube on relation with our "Holiday Cover Telephone Answering service". <edit by mod>
We uploaded this morning and we got so far 9 views and 1 enquiry for this service! So it may be working but I update you next week...
We uploaded this morning and we got so far 9 views and 1 enquiry for this service! So it may be working but I update you next week...
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CoretiumMedia
- Original Poster
- #32
At Coretium we use Youtube to show our work, which mostly is advertisements for clients. This will surely be nothing surprising considering that we are design and marketing agency.
I think that almost every business can find a way to show their corporate identity or products on Youtube. Just be creative and think beyond simple product videos. If you think that your products are not suitable for videos, you can still make a video about your company.
This is not just a great option for corporate advertising, but will also result in good internal communications and of course will be great material for website.
I think that almost every business can find a way to show their corporate identity or products on Youtube. Just be creative and think beyond simple product videos. If you think that your products are not suitable for videos, you can still make a video about your company.
This is not just a great option for corporate advertising, but will also result in good internal communications and of course will be great material for website.
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AmiMarketingLtd
- Original Poster
- #38
We have just launch a new video in Youtube on relation with our "Holiday Cover Telephone Answering service". The price is 75€ per week. You can find it checking in Youtube for "call Management holidays cover".
We uploaded this morning and we got so far 9 views and 1 enquiry for this service! So it may be working but I update you next week...
Keep upload ending different videos with different titles and tags and your get more
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Frogspawn Creative
- Original Poster
- #39
The danger with putting video on YouTube is that the competition is fierce. You need to make sure that the production qualities are top draw whilst keeping your message clear and targeted correctly. A lot of amateurs and even some professional film production companies don't understand the importance of keeping to brand and telling YOUR story and tend to get mixed up in their own creative juices. I would definitely recommend going to a good and well respected film production company to make a video. They will understand what you need in relation to the size and scale of your audience whilst producing something inspiring and heartfelt.
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