Friday, January 3, 2014

The Magic Of Moving Images: Video Marketing on The CraftStar

The Magic Of Moving Images!

http://thecraftstar.com




Last night we did a LIVE broadcast on The CraftStar about The Magic of Moving Images for small business e:commerce.  Two very special guests joined us:  Ronnie Bincer and Ralph Zuranski, both of whom have extensive background and knowledge in the video marketing arena.




If you missed the show, you can catch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdNmRawHV-s

We broke down the psychology of video and how it relates to customers, and the technical / SEO benefits of having videos associated with your shops and items on The CraftStar.  

While we have been doing LIVE shows on The CraftStar for awhile now, we will be ramping these up, along with on site videos in 2014!  

The following is a basic summary, with extra information and helpful links, of the show.

Moving Images … and Why They’re So Important To E:Commerce Small Business



QUOTE FROM REELSEO:

“If you don't have video, you're going to be left behind in the search results--if you haven't been already. The consumer wants video, and spends more money with e-retailers when video is part of the picture. In short, the Sunday Sky findings suggest that video can get you better rankings, which can bring you much more traffic, which can then be turned into increased sales. It's one thing for us to say that all the time when it's just talk, but it's quite another to see these kind of numbers stacked up in defense of that argument.  E-commerce sites: embrace video, and do it in a hurry, lest you be left behind.”

©ReelSEO.com, All Rights Reserved 


The CraftStar:

A picture may say a thousand words, but a few words on video say more than any picture can.

When thinking about starting a site like The CraftStar, I knew it was pointless to just be another creative e:commerce site when there’s a HUGE one already out there.  Here I am, a self-funded entrepreneur … they’re basically a household name, with many years in, and $90 million in their account. 

We needed to do something DIFFERENT … and I wanted to do 2 things.  Those differentiators came from my experience as an Etsy seller, my 25 years experience producing TV and radio shows – along with a recent stint consulting for The Home Shopping Network. 

1.  Create a community of creative small businesses.  I wanted a site that cared about the success of their small businesses and helped them grow … because that “community” was missing on other sites.

2.  I wanted to build something beyond a one dimensional website.  I wanted moving picture / videos.  Right now, each shop has the ability to upload a “video business card” … and soon, each ITEM will have the option to have attach a video.   We, of course, also do LIVE broadcasts:  Monday nights we HANGOUT to talk about what’s coming up, Wednesdays – LIVE SALES, along with (at least) weekly educational shows where we have special guests who are much more articulate than me talking about various aspects to help build your business.

Videos / Moving pictures have a variety of benefits … a personal connection with a prospective buyer, and techy / SEO links that help build your shop’s awareness.

Ralph:

I have been producing videos since 1997 and uploading them to Youtube since 2007. I now have over 966 videos on Youtube. We have produced training programs for clients and conducted Heroes interviews across a wide range of individuals from all walks of life.

I have used just about every Windows based video editing and promotional software. I was an early adopter of VideoGenerator and Traffic Geyser.


As a webmaster, I had plenty of opportunity to see the power of videos in getting my clients to number one on Google organic search.

Ronnie:

The Hangout Helper: Video Content Marketing, YouTube & Google+... I can help! (Video SEO and more).  I did Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) work for the Marketing Department of a Franchise Company called LearningRx. 

Runs a fantastic community on Google Plus - The Hangout Mastery.  It’s a membership based community .. but if you want to get to know the ins and outs of Hangouts … it’s TOTALLY worth every penny!  

BASICS OF BENEFITS OF VIDEO:

** Three quarters of online retailers invest in product-specific videos,

demonstrating user demand for these kind of videos

** The importance of mass-enabling commerce websites with product videos:

• Leverages the benefits of online video to a greater range of products

o Increase conversion rates to product sale

o Increase stickiness


SEO ADVANTAGE OF VIDEO:

** The SEO advantage: The more indexed product videos on the website, the more targeted traffic to the site:

o Video results rank higher.

o Video results drive more traffic due to the attractiveness of the thumbnail in the video result.


YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google and the two play really nicely together. In fact, it seems (although Google’s algorithm is top secret) that a YouTube video with proper meta data (tags, title, description etc.) has an easier time ranking high than just a blog post. Your YouTube listing will also appear with a thumbnail in Google which is very eye catching for someone searching through several results. (https://www.udemy.com)


Current Statistics From YOUTUBE:
Viewership
·       More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
·       Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube—that's almost an hour for every person on Earth, and 50% more than last year
·       100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
·       80% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US
·       YouTube is localized in 61 countries and across 61 languages
·       According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network
  • Millions of subscriptions happen each day. The number of people subscribing daily is up more than 3x since last year, and the number of daily subscriptions is up more than 4x since last year


The user with the most videos on YouTube is CODblackopsPS with 535,955 videos as of July 3, 2011.


INFO FOR VIDEO CONVERSION:

From Treepodia:


Even if there wouldn’t be any proof, I would believe instinctively that video increases conversions. Using just the right images boosts your conversion rate, but a video is so much better than a photo. It’s the closest you can get to seeing the product in person.

Remember that a lot of communication is done subconsciously and a real person appearing in your YouTube videos allows people to connect with your business on a deeper level. Later when visitors are reading your comment replies on YouTube or a written post you wrote on your blog, they can see you in their mind’s eye. You are no longer just words on a paper but instead have become a three dimensional, multi-faceted person that they can relate to.

The Emotional Connection:  Ralph:

Personal marketing is the new paradigm for marketing. Customers want to connect with a human being, not just a company or corporation. They want to know there are real human beings that want to help them fulfill their desire for products and services.

Customers are now able to vote on how provides the best services for the a fair price. Social media allows them to share their experiences instantly.

Most of the top marketers believe the Heroes Marketing model is the most effective. Customers want to know, love and trust you. Videos do not lie. When customers look into your eyes, watch your body posture and hear your voice, they make an immediate decision on whether the will do business with you. 

The new model for marketing is to give away for free your best content so customers will be impressed with the quality and usefulness. They will beg to invest in your other services and products once you have established an emotional bond with them based on trust.

The CraftStar:  

As far as e:commerce goes … YOU .. The CraftStar sellers, have NATURAL great content.  That content is goes beyond the one dimensional web presence ... we need to turn into engaging content … YOU’RE engaging … whatever your specialty is:  handmade, vintage, supplies:  EVERY PIECE HAS A STORY.  And YOU’RE the perfect person to tell that story because YOU created or curated it.

YouTube:

YouTube is a community made of real people and they want to see, hear and interact with other real people. The connection to your business becomes much more powerful if you or someone in your organization becomes the face of your brand. It changes the dynamic of the interaction from looking at videos from yet another company to building a relationship with a human. Relationship building becomes a long term strategy that can acquire your company customers for life.

The CraftStar:

Viewers / customers WANT that connection. They love to get to know YOU – the person behind the shop. We can see that with the reaction we get to the shows we do interviewing our sellers and our LIVE SALES on Wednesday nights. They get to see beyond the listing image and words .. and hear it from you. YOU have the passion … the story. And the stories are unique, they’re fun, most importantly, they’re authentic … that makes the item you’re showing, or the shop you’re talking about – MUCH more inviting and interesting because you’ve made personal CONNECTIONS.

You can’t “pretend” passion … and if there’s one thing about The CraftStar small business sellers … you’re PASSIONATE. Which is great … and which is why we want to show you off on all these videos / live shows we do!

YouTube:

Another powerful strategy is to weave some of your life story into your business, if it makes sense to do so. Let your viewers see you behind the scenes of your business, working on a project or telling how you started your business. All of this transparency adds depth and color to your marketing that is otherwise left untapped.

RalphWhere do you see VIDEO heading in 2014?

It will be huge. The Youtube Creator Academy has produced outstanding training material for youtube and hangouts I recommend.

The playlists of each course are below:

How To Maximize Your Channel.

How To Maximize Your Channel:  Hangouts On Air

Ralph Online:

http://insearchofheroes.com
http://plus.google.com/+RalphZuranski

Ronnie Online:


http://thecraftstar.com


Information and statistics courtesy of:

1 comment:

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