Youtube and Blogs...do they increase sales?

[eventdomain]

I think a blog is essential, Youtube next, then think about a forum and/or facebook and Myspace.

Blogs are fine for Company news etc, but have no evidence that it increases sales though.

Forums for the event sector are tough - trust me I used to run one, until I realised it used up much time and delivered zero extra value

Also used to provide a 'News Page' on various events eg: reporting on happenings at the NEC, RSVP, music events etc. The press were confused why this was on www.eventdomain.co.uk and showed displeasure.

I'd steer clear of news, forums add-ons etc, unless you can get it perfect, and spare the time to do it

 

[Colin Parker]

YouTube is not a search engine. Never has been and never will be. I agree though that it can be a good marketing platform but remember if you are B2B a lot of companies block access to facebook, twitter, myspace, youtube etc.

YouTube may not literally be a search engine but it is now second to Google for those making search queries.

Well worth bearing in mind depending on your market!

Colin Parker

 

[Mellijelli]

Facebook is a good way to go as you are able to post links on there to leading to Youtube, twitter too is becoming ever more popular and is a great marketing tool to use.

 

[sumon108]

i think blog is better for marketing

 

[adventurelife]

It all depends on the search. I haven't seen a single video in the serps today. But I bet if I looked for some celeb there would be a video near the top.

And a lot of the things that people do to get to the top in google are verificable facts. Google even publishes a set of guidelines.

A video is not indexable, it needs some supporting content for google to index. It follows therefore that to get a video to rank well requires standard SEO/SEM techniques.

Rafting River Orchy gives me 9 out of 10 results page 1 and 3 of which are video. Now I know it is a very, very niche term and therefore very low numbers going for it but it drives business via the videos.

It would probably be impossible to do for popular terms but many on here are niche businesses and if you are should should try to dominate your niche and video helps.

 

[MH1]

I use a couple of simple home made videos on a few products and it has resulted in a few orders, not massive amounts but many clients have commented on how useful they found them in coming to a decision.

 

[vzaar]

Here is a link to a case study we did on the vakue of adding video to an eccomerce site or eBay shopfront

http://vzaar.com/blog/2009/05/vzaar...e-impact-video-has-on-small-online-businesses

We commissioned a number of our users to track sales although they sell differing items to differing markets and all with entirely different style videos. The overwhelming feedback was that video engaged and thus helped drive an increase in sales.

Equip2clean, one of these companies, who started using video after being urged by eBay and Google keynote speeches at various trade shows, reported its best month of trading in February 2009, and attributes its success to the product videos they create. Jonathan Paxton, the owner of this commercial cleaning equipment company comments. " Our eBay sales immediately doubled on the products we listed video with. Our Big advantage is that most of our cleaning products sell well on video - we actually show them in use cleaning - we don't talk too much about technical specification - we just let the customer see what it can do."

Another company in the study, Diamond Jewellery United based in Antwerp Belgium, saw their sales increase by 65% four months after implementing product videos.

vzaar power video for businesses looking to quickly and easily add video to their website. We offer plenty of features including HD players, customisable players and unbranded players from just $10 a month. We are based in London.

 

[ll1008]

who can advise for textiles where to advertising?

 

[barclays_ttc]

I second that facebook and twitter are the best platforms available to engage audience.

 

[sophia2009]

i agree with you.

Blogs are fine for Company news etc, but have no evidence that it increases sales though.

Forums for the event sector are tough - trust me I used to run one, until I realised it used up much time and delivered zero extra value


I'd steer clear of news, forums add-ons etc, unless you can get it perfect, and spare the time to do it

 

[sophia2009]

i agree with you

YouTube is not a search engine. Never has been and never will be. I agree though that it can be a good marketing platform but remember if you are B2B a lot of companies block access to facebook, twitter, myspace, youtube etc.

 

[Write My Site]

Blogs increase traffic, so as long as your site actually converts its visitors (not always a given!) you should see an increase in sales.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

We are in the process of setting up a nightclub and internet cafe

A blog could be good for you.

If you write blog posts that are SEO friendly and are stories of things were going on in your club, they could rank well and, at the same time, make your club seem like a fun place.

e.g. if I had a club in Edinburgh, I might hold a fancy dress karaoke night. That would allow me to make a few blog posts:

(1) announcing the event in advance

(2) reminder of the event the day before it happens

(3) photos of the event a day or so afterwards.

And, if I knew a bit about writing SEO blog content (this part is important), these posts would probably rank well for searches like "karaoke bar edinburgh".

Also, by holding weird events like this on a regular basis (and making sure I had a pro photographer taking pics of them), I could probably get a lot of coverage in the local media and build an identity as the fun place in town.

Hope this helps,

Steve