What is Video Content?

What is Video Content?

If you are asking “What is video content?” there’s a good chance that you are either new to marketing and are unclear about the lingo or that you have been living under a rock – or at least in some community that eschews technology.

The simplest answer to the question is that video content encompasses any kind of video that you create for your marketing or advertising. Video is one of the most powerful marketing tools in your arsenal.

It comes in many forms, and it can be in any length. You can share it on your own website, on social media, in your email, and in your ads.

Understanding the different types of video content can help you figure out what might work best for your marketing strategy and learn how to adapt them for your brand. Here’s a look at some of the most popular types of video content:

Product Demonstrations

When a lot of people think of product demonstrations, they think of the infomercials of old that we now make fun of and associate with cheesy products that no one really needs.

That’s not the association you want for your product or your brand.

But online videos are not like those infomercials of old. You can create short video product demonstrations that show how your product has real-life benefits and practical applications.

For example, you sell shoe polish and you create a video about polishing shoes. You don’t have to make claims about how it rejuvenates 30-year-old shoes or gets a shine like you’ve never seen before – you can let the results in the video speak for themselves.

People appreciate these product demonstrations because they show how the product is used in real life and also gives them other useful information. That shoe shining video does more than promote shoe polish – it also gives people great tips for how to shine shoes effectively.

Tutorials

The Internet has become like the best library in the world that everyone can access without fear of late fines.

You can learn anything online, and video tutorials are one reason why.

You can create a video tutorial for anything, whether it includes your product or is just related in some way to your brand. For example, you sell shoe polish, but you can’t create dozens of videos about shining shoes. So maybe you create tutorials about getting scuff marks off white shoes or waterproofing your suede loafers.

Tutorials bring in people who may not be looking for information about your product but who have an interest in a related subject. They help you capture much more of your audience without directly marketing to them.

Testimonials

Everyone shops online these days, but just about everyone looks for reviews online before they make the purchase.

They can’t check out the product in person, so they learn what other people have to say about it before they commit to buy. They want to know the good and the bad.

By posting video testimonials, you help customers do that research and give them positive information about your product. The video also makes the information seem more personal and immediate. It puts a face behind the words, unlike a written review, so it can carry more weight.

Make sure to include the names of the people providing the testimonial and any other information that seems relevant, such as an age or location. The more information you’re able to provide, the more likely the people will appear as real people and not paid actors.

Behind-the-Scenes Look

Have you ever wondered how your shoelaces get those little plastic things on the ends that make them easier to lace? Or have you ever thought about how caramels get packaged in such neat little rows inside their plastic wrappers?

People are interested in what goes on behind the scenes, especially if you have an interesting or unusual product or service. You can create videos that show how your product is made, packaged, or shipped. Or you can create videos that show how things operate in the office, such as how people conduct research, how they package things, and so on.

Think like a viewer when you put together these videos. Some of the more technical details can seem really interesting to you, but they can be very boring to viewers. Highlight the information that is interesting or engaging, and summarize the bits that might lose the average layperson.

Video marketing can help you reach more of your audience, especially those people who are on the go and prefer to consume content when they are commuting or doing other things. Watching a video can sometimes be easier than reading an article. Watching a video can also be much more engaging.

Consider creating some of these video types for your brand marketing. You can also incorporate them into your advertising and social media strategy.

What You Should Do Instead of Facebook Business Page Verification

Facebook business page verification just isn’t an option for most businesses.

The social network claims that only certain pages and profiles are eligible for verification:

  • Celebrities and public figures
  • Global brands and businesses
  • Media

In other words, most of us just can’t verify our Facebook business page.

However, Facebook isn’t the only network around, and there are other ways to verify social accounts online.

Why Verification Helps Businesses

Verification, whether it’s by Twitter or Facebook or another social network, helps both businesses and people stand out online. In general, verified accounts are more likely to show up in search results and feeds than unverified accounts.

This is clearly a marketing benefit, so it’s certainly understandable that a business would want to become verified.

What to Do Instead of Facebook Business Page Verification

If your goal is to create social accounts that stand out when your customers are looking for brands, products, and topics, then there are a few other steps you can take:

Complete every last detail of your business pages and profiles across all of your social media accounts.

Facebook states that this is another way to improve your rankings in Facebook searches. And it’s also a way to help yourself stay visible in Twitter, on Pinterest, Tumblr, and virtually every other social network.

Like Google, social networks’ internal search engines rely on keywords. So when you fill out your profile descriptions, your about tabs, and even your business name, consider packing in as many relevant keywords as you can think of.

Whenever and wherever possible, connect your accounts to telephone numbers, websites, and other pages or profiles. This will help the social networks know that you are authentic and serious about your accounts.

Be active and authentic.

This may sound basic, but many people mistakenly believe that they can put up a page and start getting clicks. The less active you are, the less likely you are to appear in front of other users.

When you are active on the sites and interactive with other users, the social networks interpret this as real, human activity. They are therefore more likely to feature your content in feeds and search results.

Get involved in the Facebook Place Tips program.

Place Tips for business is a new program that’s still in testing, but it can certainly boost a brick-and-mortar business’s visibility on the social network. This feature allows businesses to feature user-generated content when people are close to a business’s location.

The feature is still experimental, but it is opening up to businesses. To get Place Tips for your business, you’ll need to order a Facebook Bluetooth beacon, which tells the network when customers are close by. The beacon is free, so if your page is full of content, you might be able to request one from Facebook.

Verify your Twitter profile.

Though not everyone can be verified on Twitter, it’s possible to become verified, even if you aren’t a celebrity or a global brand. That’s not to say that it’s easy – it often involves having connections with someone at Twitter or getting noticed by Twitter’s @Verified account.

Verify your Google+ Business Page.

Fortunately, this process is much more straightforward. Verifying a local business on Google+ will allow your business to appear on maps, and it will most likely improve your search rankings. The process usually only involves a postcard or a phone call.

Verify your YouTube account.

This simply involves giving YouTube your cell phone number and typing a code into YouTube. Benefits include the ability to upload longer videos, appeal copyright claims, and use custom thumbnails.

Verify your YouTube name.

YouTube name verification is slightly different from YouTube account verification. Like Twitter account verification or Facebook Page verification, this credential places a small icon next to your account name, proving that you are who you say you are.

To verify your YouTube name, connect your YouTube channel to your Google+ Page or Profile, which must be authorized by your brand, company, or product. As long as your Google+ page links to your company website and your YouTube channel has a large number of subscribers, you should be able to verify your YouTube name.

Verify your Pinterest account.

When you verify your website with Pinterest, it automatically adds your website to any picture or pin that is sourced from your site. The process for Pinterest verification is relatively straightforward: you can place a custom meta tag on your site or upload a custom HTML file.

 

Social networks continue to search for ways to demonstrate authenticity on the part of their users. Whether it’s Google’s now-defunct authorship status, Facebook’s Page verification status, or Twitter’s verification badge, these status symbols can help you stand out in search results and prove to customers that your business is real. When these types of verification aren’t an option, it’s always a good practice to demonstrate authenticity through other means, such as cell phone connection, website connections, and completed profiles. 

Facebook to Local Businesses: You Should Still Use Facebook Pages

According to Facebook, local businesses should still use Facebook Pages to market their services, despite ongoing decreases in organic reach. Mark Zuckerberg recently gave several reasons why SMBs should stay on Facebook and even consider using Facebook as their primary marketing tool.

Facebook to Local Businesses: Keep Your Pages

At a recent town hall Q&A, a small business owner asked Zuckerberg,

“Given the decline in organic reach, how should businesses like ours or any business think about the role of Pages?”

Zuckerberg replied that Facebook Pages were still the best option for most businesses. Despite the overall decline in organic reach, which was due to Facebook’s ongoing effort to optimize the user experience, he claimed there was no better way to reach customers.

He argued that:

  • All or most of SMBs’ customers were on Facebook
  • Most SMBs probably had more connections through Facebook than through any other online channel
  • Most people aren’t going to download small business apps
  • Many small business websites weren’t optimized for mobile
  • Facebook was acting as a go-to directory tool, where people went to look for store hours and updates

Zuckerberg argued, as other Facebook executives have before, that Facebook Pages should act as landing pages for many small businesses.

Facebook’s Relationship with SMBs

Since Facebook Pages first emerged on the social network, small businesses have been lured in by the free marketing potential offered by Facebook Pages. Many businesses have, in fact, built large followings on Facebook and used Facebook to reach out to and engage with customers.

However, over the past several years, the organic reach of Facebook Pages has declined. That is, businesses’ posts show up less and less frequently in users’ News Feeds, in favor of friends’ posts.

These decreases in organic reach eventually prompted Facebook to tell businesses to pay for advertising. Suddenly, the SMBs who had spent so much time building audiences were left in the cold. In order to reach the same audience they had engaged with, they were being coerced into paying for advertising.

According to Jonathan Czaja, Facebook’s director of small business for North America, “There’s still a lot of value to the Page apart from distributing content to your fans.” He stated that more information was forthcoming and local businesses should still “create a presence on Facebook and demonstrate the value they bring to their customers.”

Czaja also stated that Facebook is very committed to improving support tools for its 2 million advertisers, many of which are local businesses. In the future, expect to see voice support, online courses, and other help tools.

Hints of Facebook’s Local Business Agenda

While Czaja acknowledged that Facebook has “underinvested” in local businesses and SMBs, there are signs of change.

Facebook Place Tips

Recently, Facebook introduced Facebook Place Tips, a feature that uses geo-targeting to display local business-related social content to people in the vicinity. A person close to a restaurant, for instance, may see their friends’ photos taken in that venue, weekly specials from the restaurant’s Facebook Page, and so on.

The feature isn’t completely rolled out yet, but local businesses shouldn’t expect a free lunch with this feature. In crowded areas, for instance, there will likely be several local businesses competing for users’ screen space. This could easily result in another opportunity for Facebook advertising.

The Find

Facebook’s acquisition of The Find, a database that aggregated products from a variety of retailers, now gives the social a foothold in the local retail industry. A user searching for “black shoes,” for instance, could compare prices from a large number of retailers. And if the user wanted to make a purchase immediately, The Find would provide local retailers selling those products.

Facebook’s acquisition seems aimed at “direct marketers, e-commerce companies, and fashion brands,” according to TechCrunch. However, with the capability to incorporate local retail in the mix, Facebook may be looking to swallow up the local business market as well.

Instant Articles and Native Video

Facebook already dominates much of its users’ online time, but recent developments suggest Facebook wants an even bigger time share. Two recent features indicate that Facebook wants to become the only content source for its users.

Facebook Instant Articles, a new feature that allows major publishers to publish articles natively within Facebook, will allow people to view and read these articles without ever leaving their iOS app.

Facebook’s native video platform also allows users to host their own videos in their Timelines. These videos, and Facebook video ads, will show up in News Feeds, just like the rest of Facebook’s multimedia content.

What This Means for Local Businesses

Though these two features are currently rolling out on a large scale, for large businesses, it’s easy to look ahead to see how these changes – if successful – could impact local businesses.

With the decreasing cost of video ad production, and the increasing necessity of video marketing for all businesses, it’s not hard to see how both these features could impact local businesses:

  • Local businesses can and probably should be using Facebook video to market their services. And soon, video advertising will become a possibility and a necessity for all businesses, large or small.
  • Native articles, if successful, could just as easily extend to local newspapers and local news blogs, many of which are run by large media companies.

 

Despite the fact that Facebook Pages’ organic reach has declined, Facebook still claims to be committed to their success. If Page continue to remain a viable marketing option, which they may if Facebook’s ongoing feature developments prove successful, small businesses should expect to pay if they want to remain visible.  

LinkedIn Monetization: Learn How to Make Money via Your Personal Brand or Business

LinkedIn monetization is less about content monetization and more about smart networking.

Other forms of content monetization focus on affiliate marketing, advertising, information products, and so on. While LinkedIn does have a publishing platform, it’s more about professional networking. And though it’s more difficult to make money with affiliate links – and impossible with advertising – there are ways to monetize LinkedIn.

Understanding LinkedIn Channels

As you probably know, LinkedIn is a professional network. And there are several features that allow you to connect with others, promote yourself, promote products, publish content, and so forth.

Each “publication outlet” offers different possibilities in terms of monetization.

Here are the major features to be aware of:

LinkedIn ProfilesProfiles are the place to showcase yourself, your company, your products, and your services. You can link to websites and promote whatever you wish.

Long-Form PublishingYou can publish long-form blog posts on LinkedIn, just like you can on a blog. These posts are a great way to promote whatever you wish. And they can be a great tool to build your thought leadership.

GroupsLinkedIn Groups are forums. People can create, moderate, join, and participate in groups as they wish. Some are open to the public, others are private, but all are excellent opportunities to connect with others.

AdvertisingLinkedIn allows targeted advertising to anyone within the network. You can target your ads based on a number of factors, including job title, company title, industry, and so on.

Using LinkedIn Channels for Monetization

There are several standard types of ways to monetize content online:

  • Placing ads in your content that earn you money
  • Using affiliate links to earn commissions
  • Selling your own products and services

There are plenty of other derivations of these models, but these three are the most common.

Generally speaking, “monetizing content” simply means using that content as a sales vehicle. You may be selling someone else’s products or services or your own. But to make money, you need to sell something.

Here’s how to use LinkedIn’s publication channels to make money:

Promote yourself, your business, your own products, or your own services. This is by far the most common way to monetize LinkedIn. After all, that’s what the site is designed for – professional networking. So this should become the core of your LinkedIn monetization strategy.

Everything you promote and publish on the site should help build your brand and your authority. And it should all help promote your business, your products, and your services.

Promote affiliate products through your profile page, through groups, and in long-form posts. Affiliate links can be placed in most places throughout the site. Some groups, however, may prohibit affiliate links – or any links at all. But you are allowed to place links in long-form posts, in your profile, and in groups that allow links.

Bear in mind, however, that many people may find affiliate links distasteful if used improperly…or too often. Another drawback to using affiliate links is the fact that your posts won’t get that much traffic.

A website can generate thousands of visitors per month, week, or day. But it is highly unlikely your affiliate links will see that much traffic on this network.

Use LinkedIn advertising to grow your brand or your business. You can’t really make money by placing ads on LinkedIn, like you can with a website. But you can use the network’s built-in ad service to focus on highly targeted audiences.

The best way to use LinkedIn advertising – and the network in general – is as part of a larger marketing and monetization plan. Develop a strategy that focuses on a standalone brand with a standalone website, then use LinkedIn as a tool to build that brand and website.

If, for instance, you are creating a website that caters to a crowd of targeted professionals, then LinkedIn is the perfect tool to help you build a following.

Create email lists from your contacts and market to those prospects. It’s possible to download your email list from LinkedIn, import those contacts into an email marketing program, and market directly to those prospects. Be careful with this technique, however, because misuse of this tactic can irritate people and cost you some connections.

But when used properly, you can generate an email list directly from your LinkedIn contacts. And you can then market to them via email, which offers more direct monetization potential in terms of advertising, affiliate marketing, product sales, and so on.

Summary

LinkedIn is best used as a tool to support your business, which should have its own core profit structure. Monetizing content on LinkedIn publication channels – groups, long-form publishing, profiles, etc. – just doesn’t earn as much traffic as a website might.

However, when you use LinkedIn as a professional networking platform – which is what it was designed for – then you can build an audience, a reputation, an email list, and enhance your existing monetization efforts.