Joe shares the story behind the Content Marketing Institute and explains why content marketing is not a fad and is here to stay.

You’ll also learn how a multi-author blog can help your business and what you need to know to develop one.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• Why there will always be stories to be told
• How a multi-author blog helps to create community
• How to recruit authors for a multi-author blog
• Why it’s important to connect with experts
• Why it’s best to think about giving without thinking of what you want to get back
• What makes for great content
• Understand the connection between content and social media
• Why you need to figure out your content mission
• Why you need to focus on building great content and then adding a social sharing strategy
• Why there’s value in physical events

Connect with Joe on Twitter @junta42 and check out the Content Marketing Institute.

How does your business use content marketing? Do you have any content marketing tips to share? Please leave your comments below.

He has a unique experience with both Facebook and Google.

Jesse shares insights behind Google+ and how it compares to Facebook. You’ll discover what Google is doing, how Google+ is different and why Google+ is a social media powerhouse.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• How Google’s focus on Google+ impacts social media
• What Google is getting right and what their biggest challenge is
• How Facebook’s approach is different
• Tips to get your Google+ strategy right
• Discover the opportunity today for businesses on Google+
• Why you need to group your audience into different Circles on Google+
• How mobile impacts Google+

Connect with Jesse on Twitter @Jesse and check out Jesse’s Google+ For Dummies Facebook Page and blog.

Are you on Google+? What tips do you have to share on using Google+ for business? Please leave them below.

John shares great tips for small businesses to get more out of social media. He also identifies the key social media trends to focus on to make your marketing simple and effective in bringing in more money.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video. Also keep reading to learn how you can win private coaching with John.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• How social media has impacted small business marketing
• How to more quickly build deeper relationships with prospects
• How to increase your referrals
• Why you need to create the expectation of referrals
• How to get your small business to show up in search results at the early discovery stage
• How to drive customers to your business
• Why it has never been easier or cheaper to start a small business
• Why you need to embrace today’s online tools
  

Connect with John on Twitter @ducttape and check out John’s website: Duct Tape Marketing.

Want FREE private coaching with John Jantsch?

Check out our Small Biz Dream Contest.

Do you have a small business? If so, how do you use social media to market your business? Please leave your comments below.

Most business owners test the “YouTube waters” by uploading a few videos, then walk away.

They return in a few weeks to notice each video has only a handful of views.

Is that your experience? If so, fret not! All is not lost…

In this article, I’m going to reveal to you five of the most powerful steps that you can put into action today to literally breathe life back into your existing videos, so your YouTube marketing efforts won’t be in vain.

Ready? Here we go!

You can watch this video for a step-by-step of these 5 Ways Your Existing YouTube Videos Can Triple Their Visibility (or keep reading…)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9eO9L8oJ5U

#1 Action-Step: Identify Your Keywords

Reworking keywords is the best place to start when working with your existing videos.

Using Google’s Keyword Research Tool, you can quickly uncover the exact questions, topics and issues your buyers are searching for, and you can market your videos accordingly.

Let’s start by picking just one of your videos. Did you use a highly searched keyword in the title and description? If not, add it to the beginning of your video’s title, your description and your tags. It’s OK to change your video title information at any time if the video has not been “pulling its weight.”

Once you’re logged into YouTube, simply click the “Edit” button above your video and you can change, tweak and improve your video information in seconds!

This video is ranked #1 on YouTube for "Video Salesletter." The keyword is in the title AND description.

Do this properly, and your video will start to get ranked at the top of YouTube and Google for your keyword. And this will obviously result in more targeted views!

#2 Action-Step: 3x Call to Action

If your video does not tell people what to do or where to go after the video ends, your viewers are simply going to move on and forget about you completely. You need to tell people precisely what to do next and exactly how to do it.

Here are three ways you can add a call to action to each of your existing videos to convert each view into highly targeted traffic.

1. Use the Call-to-Action Overlay: This powerful, fully customized banner ad allows you to direct viewers straight to your site by clicking on the button right inside your video. It takes a few minutes to set this up, but it’s totally worth the extra effort!
   

   The call-to-action overlay.

   To add YouTube’s call-to-action overlay to all of your videos, sign up here.

2.  Put your domain in the description: Don’t forget to add your domain name (with the “http://”) at the beginning of your description. It is simply another place people can click to go directly to your website.
   

   Notice the full domain name is at the beginning of the video description.

   To add your URL, simply click the “Edit Video” button at the top of your video’s page once you’re logged into your account.

3.  Add Annotations: Annotations can be extremely beneficial if used properly. They take about 30 seconds to create, and can do wonders for your videos. You can’t turn annotations into clickable links that direct visitors to your website, but you can get people to subscribe, like your video or watch the next one in your playlist.
   

   Use annotations to direct viewers to your next video.

   Adding annotations is fun and easy. Once you’re logged into your YouTube account, simply click the “Edit Annotations” button directly above your video.

#3 Action-Step: Upload Your Transcript

This is one of my favorite strategies, because 99% of video marketers simply fail to do it! Head on over to Fiverr.com or pay 12-year-old Billy down the street to write out a complete transcription of your video and save it as a .txt file.

Then, upload the transcript to YouTube so they can sync it with your video. Once you’re logged into your YouTube account, click the “Edit Captions” button directly above your video and follow YouTube’s instructions for uploading.

Using magical software, YouTube will now index every single word of your transcript (your video’s dialog) and incorporate it into its search algorithms. You’ve just put your video SEO (search engine optimization) on steroids!

Uploading your transcript is as simple as selecting the .txt file and uploading it to YouTube.

Most people will never upload a transcript, and YouTube is forced to determine what a video’s topic is based solely on the video’s headline and description. You’ll have the upper hand with a complete transcript of your entire video!

#4 Action-Step: Get Backlinks

Anyone who has ever had experience with SEO knows that Google loves backlinks to your website. This same concept applies to YouTube and ranking your videos at the top of search results.

Whether you hire someone to do this for you, use a service or do it yourself, adding a few backlinks or inbound links to your video AND your channel URL will make a considerable difference in where your videos will rank, and ultimately how many views you’ll receive.

Getting to the #1 spot in YouTube search results can make a difference of several thousand views!

#5 Action Step: Promote the Video

Once you’ve completed all of the steps above, it’s time to go back to your sphere of influence and share your updated video with your friends and followers.

I like to embed my video on my blog and share the blog post with my email subscribers and my social media followers.

Remember to share your videos on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Make sure to include a simple call to action and ask your friends and fans to share the video with their friends for that extra boost. This is the easiest step, but if you want more views, sometimes you’ve just got to ask!

Final Thoughts…

At the end of the day, the time, effort and energy you put into creating an incredible “video of value” is far more extensive than sending out a quick tweet or updating your Facebook profile.

Your video marketing efforts should never be in vain, and if you spend a little time on the “video aftermath” (everything you need to do AFTER your video is on YouTube), you’ll begin to see your video work for you for a long time to come!

Take the time to revamp all of your existing videos using these five simple action-steps. As long as you have created a “video of value” that is worth seeing and worth sharing, the views will happen!

What do you think? Do you have any tips to share? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Dennis shares tips on how to set up a successful Facebook strategy for local businesses.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• How to use Facebook to capitalize on reaching local markets
• The number of fans brands want to have on Facebook
• Why you need to build a critical mass for successful Facebook marketing
• Why you need to leverage the existing friends your business already has
• How to know whether the Facebook fans you have are a worthwhile investment
• How social lead generation is different
• What analytics you need to track social lead generation
• Why small brands are better at Facebook marketing
• How to start with a solid marketing strategy
• What you can learn from communication problems already encountered on email marketing

Connect with Dennis on Twitter @dennisyu, check out BlitzLocal on Facebook and get your free BlitzMetrics dashboard.

Does your business have a successful Facebook strategy? What tips do you have to share about leveraging your Facebook marketing? Please leave them below.

Shashi shares how Twitter became a core component of Network Solutions’ social media strategy.

You’ll learn how Network Solutions uses Twitter to monitor and improve their reputation. And Shashi also shares some valuable tips for you to monitor your brand’s reputation online.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• How to figure out if your customers are on Twitter
• How to turn around a negative reputation through Twitter
• Why you need to harmonize customer expectations across the different social platforms
• Why you need to respond within 29 minutes when something breaks on social media
  
• How to prepare for a social media crisis
  
• How to look at social media as a tool to build human connections

Learn more about Network Solutions’ DomainStorm app. Connect with Shashi on Twitter @shashib and check out the Network Solutions blog.

Do you use Twitter to monitor your brand and connect with customers? What tips do you have to share about using Twitter? Please leave them below.

Do you need some ideas to improve your videos?

We asked our writers to share their best tips on how to make video marketing easy for you.

How to Get Started Creating Videos

Chris Garrett @ChrisGarrett

#1: Try video now

My biggest tip is to try video out, see if it works for you. I resisted video for so long due to my shyness, but when I did put some videos out there my audience reacted so warmly (and forgiving of my goofs) that I wish I had tried sooner.

You don’t need professional gear, expert editing skills and software, and you don’t need a fancy script. You don’t even need to be super-confident in front of the camera.

Just make a good point and deliver content people can use and enjoy. There is no time like the present. Get started!

Chris Garrett, author of the popular blog chrisg.com.

Kristi Hines @kikolani

#2: Use Google Search Stories if you’re shy

If you’re shy about videos and not ready to put your face (or voice) on camera, there are still options!

My particular favorite is using Google Search Stories to show viewers your best online properties by simply searching for them. You can see mine below that highlights my blog and guest posting contributions.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOMFMmbpNUw

If you’re having a hard time getting particular results to show up, use some more advanced search queries. For example, one of mine was Kristi Hines site: socialmediaexaminer.com, which showed results with just my posts here on Social Media Examiner.

You can get really creative too, incorporating results from Google image, maps, news, blog, product and book search to feature photography, a business location, blog posts, stuff you sell and books you have written!

Kristi Hines, author of the popular blog Kikolani.

Stephanie Gehman @airport_girl

#3: Find your company’s best cheerleader

Find your internal cheerleader to be the person you put in front of the camera. Your marketing and sales professionals are not always the most likely candidates to be the star of your company/brand’s videos.

Consider the person in the office who encourages and has a smile for everyone, as his/her natural exuberance may be just the on-camera talent you’re looking for!

Stephanie Gehman is marketing manager for Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania.

Lewis Howes @LewisHowes

#4: Start publishing regularly

Video can seem like just another challenge to overcome, but I see a major increase in my business and brand awareness all from the power of video. There are a number of tips I could share, but the best one is easy. Simply put, it’s important to start publishing video on a consistent basis.

Don’t worry about what camera to use (I use the reverse camera on my iPhone often) and don’t worry about editing it to make it look perfect (the “mess-ups” will make you look more genuine and real) as the most important thing is to simply get your message out there on video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6969zB1WpYg

Start with shorter 1- to 3-minute videos that educate your audience, then as you get more comfortable, you can make them longer or do more editing, but for now, the best thing you can do is take action and produce videos on a consistent basis.

Lewis Howes, author of a popular blog and soon-to-be-launched Video Traffic Academy.

Neal Rodriguez @notifyneal

#5: Be transparent and authentic

You want to be as transparent and authentic as you can be when expressing yourself on video; talk with a naked tongue.

I have generated business through video by communicating passionately and honestly on the topic of social media marketing. I have touched on topics and tactics that other people with whom I operate don’t discuss, like the successful use of social bookmarking platforms like Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon.

Success with such platforms is perceived as black magic by most social media marketers and strategists, but I have communicated how I have been successful in detail through video.

The other critical component is the marketing of your videos. I have developed relationships by helping other bloggers and webmasters in my niche, who have allowed me to post guest contributions on their websites. This way, a proportion of people who visit another website will visit mine, and a proportion of people who visit my website linked from the guest post will subscribe to my email list, RSS feed, Twitter, YouTube, Digg and Facebook digital assets.

Once you have built a community of engaged friends with whom you keep in touch through social channels, some of these people will help you promote your content by sharing it on social media, buying your products or services, or referring you to somebody who will buy your products or services.

Neal Rodriguez is an online marketer who teaches companies how to use social media marketing.

How to Create Videos With Others

David Garland @therisetothetop

#6: Include other people

My #1 tip for video marketing is to include other people in some way. And these folks will become your best marketers. Let me explain.

There is something powerful about video unlike any other medium when it comes to connecting with our core. Remember the Old Spice guy? The audience flipped out because he was responding to people on Twitter via video. If he had done it in text, it would not have been nearly as effective or interesting.

What are some ways you can implement the power of others?

• Try shout-outs in your videos to other people. A little love. People love hearing about themselves (we all have a little ego, right?).
• Interviews are another great way to bring others into your videos. Remember, the more interesting and unique your interview is, the more likely your guest will share it with his or her community (especially if your subject is interviewed often).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_dDXOaLslc

These are simple ideas you can use right away.

One more piece of simple advice: Never try to force others to share your videos (even when you mention or interview them). It gives off that “ewww” feeling. A better approach? Try simply mentioning to them that they are in the video or thank them for coming on as your guest. Good things will happen. Trust me.

David Garland, founder of The Rise To The Top.

Leo Widrich @leowid

#7: Create compelling content collaboratively

Although I am fairly new to the topic of video marketing, the results we’ve achieved so far are amazing. The lesson I regard as the most important is that videos are a fantastic opportunity to create compelling content collaboratively.

This worked well for us for many reasons. If, for example, you are doing an interview, you can tell a story and create content in a very personalized way. Sharing your experience or thoughts in a conversation with someone else makes it a lot more fun to listen to.

Another reason is you will get everyone participating to actively promote this content. In my case, my interview partner did a hell of a job reaching out to people in his niche with me doing the same. The results were that the video posting was the most read post of the month, in all measures of pageviews, sharings and comments.

Leo Widrich, co-founder of BufferApp.com.

Michael Stelzner @mike_stelzner

#8: Use trade shows to interview experts

Go to trade shows and conduct video interviews of a handful of experts. You have them all in one place!

You may not think this is a video marketing tip, but getting experts in your industry on camera is a great form of marketing. It allows you to meet that expert and creates great content. Often the expert will link back to your video interview, driving more traffic to your site.

Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner.

How to Create Different Kinds of Videos

Andrea Vahl @AndreaVahl

#9: Create video tutorials

Video tutorials are a great way to create content that is going to be searched for, consumed and shared on the web. So many people love the visual, step-by-step learning that video can give them. If you have a computer and a webcam, you can easily create video tutorials that include your screen.

There are several tools available that range from free to rather pricey. Camstudio and Jing are my favorite free versions. Camstudio has the ability to add an inset of yourself on a webcam, which I think can help people get to know you as you are presenting the tutorial. My Grandma Mary has a Camstudio tutorial:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-QH-vvx_Kw

Camtasia is my favorite paid version but is a bit expensive at $299 (Mac users get a nice price break of $99). The investment is worthwhile because the features and editing incorporated into the product are superb! You can easily zoom in and zoom out to highlight areas of your screen and it does have capability of a video inset.

Once I do a video tutorial, I upload it to YouTube because so many people search for good how-to material on YouTube. Then I embed it into my blog post so it can be found both on search engines through my blog and through YouTube.

Andrea Vahl is a social media coach, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and the Facebook community manager for Social Media Examiner.

Janet Aronica @janetaronica

#10: Demonstrate how to use your product

My tip for startups launching software products is to use Screenr for screencasts.

Professional marketing videos sell your vision, but screencasts demonstrate how to use your product by focusing on the interface.

Screenr screencasts are easy and free to make, they engage beta testers or trial users and help people better understand what your product is for and why they should try it.

Here is a link to a screencast that I made of SocialBase:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=izSjGtpoDBU

Compare this with our (brand-new) marketing video (a little more about vision):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9TsGuU7T1g

Janet Aronica, director of marketing and community for oneforty and author of a social media blog.

Ekaterina Walter @ekaterina

#11: Use video to respond to your customers

When consumers create a video (either to highlight your product or criticize it), it is a perfect opportunity to engage in the conversation and either thank them or turn them around or highlight some of the best features of your product.

In either case, your quick response might attract more traffic and create more conversations than the original video itself, as well as offer you an opportunity for creating yet another advocate. But you have to be agile and open to being creative and innovative in the way you provide your response.

One great example would be Tiger Woods’ game—when the customer found a glitch in the game where Tiger walks on water, he posted the video on YouTube describing the glitch. And this is how Tiger responded:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ1st1Vw2kY

Absolutely brilliant marketing! Agile and innovative and connects with the customers on emotional level.

Ekaterina Walter, a social media strategist at Intel.

Ben Pickering @bpicks

#12: Tap into the power of the masses

Crowdsourced marketing made a big splash when Doritos launched its ground-breaking Crash the Super Bowl campaign, which I had the pleasure to be a part of. Since then, many marketers have tried to emulate this through video-based competitions of their own.

Even if consumers aren’t creating commercials for you, by running a video contest you can get access to content that you can use in your video marketing. A successful video contest requires planning and execution, but when the effort is put in, the results can be quite rewarding.

Ben Pickering, CEO of Strutta.

Richard Spiegel @crowdtogether

#13: Run a video contest

How can you take advantage of this abundance of user-generated content (UGC) and create a social video marketing campaign? One way is to set up and run a video contest.

Not only is the contest format a great way to get UGC, it’s also a great way to make the campaign social as participants share submissions they like and then vote for the winner.

The majority of folks who will participate in your video contest are amateurs, so put solid guidelines in place to help participants produce a better-quality product. This is key to making your video contest a success.

Richard Spiegel, founder and CEO of Crowd Together.

Carla Dewing @CarlaDewing

#14: Create a series of videos

One-off videos are great, but the key to attracting a larger audience is to create series of several videos that deal with certain topics. Plan each video to follow on from the next, in a logical manner. When you do this, you encourage viewers to watch one video after the next, which means more views and more clicks to your business website.

This is especially effective for educational videos in specific niche markets. It also gives you the opportunity to promote the entire series, instead of a single video. People will spend hours watching your videos, like they watch series on television—and all because you’ve made the effort to package them like this!

Carla Dewing of Contrast Media.

Amy Porterfield @amyporterfield

#15: Use videos to grow your email list

To keep the momentum going in your business you need a growing list of people you can regularly reach out to via email. To help grow your list, create videos to encourage your prospects to give you their name and email in exchange for something you will give them.

You can give away an eBook, an article (tips, strategies and how-to are always popular), a tutorial video, a free consultation, a type of assessment, etc. Figure out what your prospects would find most valuable and create a giveaway around that.

Here are 3 steps to quickly make this strategy work for you:

1. Create a 3- to 5-minute video telling your viewers who you are, what you can do for them and the benefits of your free giveaway. End your video with a call to action by saying something like, “Enter your name and email now and I’ll be sure to send you your free report instantly.”
2. Embed your video on a page with an opt-in form. To create the opt-in form you can use services such as AWeber, Constant Contact or Mail Chimp. For an example of a video opt-in page, check out this page here.
3. To drive traffic to your video opt-in page, post a link to it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and your other social networks. The key is to make sure to tell your fans and followers what’s in it for them!

By going the extra mile and creating a short video to entice your visitors to give you their name and email in exchange for a valuable giveaway, you are dramatically increasing your chances they will sign up and get on your list.

Amy Porterfield, a social media strategy consultant and co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies.

How to Create Videos People Like

Mari Smith @marismith

#16: Make your videos personal

Shoot impromptu, personal videos to spark deeper engagement on your Facebook fan page. Keep the videos short in length (under 90 seconds) and don’t worry about getting it perfect. Usually the first take is just fine! When you look into the lens of the camera and you talk directly to your fans as if you’re in a room with them, this creates more intimacy and connection and builds better relationships with your fans.

Mari Smith, a widely recognized social media speaker and trainer and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day.

Mike Essex @Koozai_Mike

#17: Be the first

Our best video marketing tip is simply to be the first. Ensure you can adapt quickly to relevant news and topics in your niche and streamline the video-making process to help you respond quickly.

When Google+ launched, we dropped everything to make one of the first videos. It received over 5,000 views in 48 hours and that’s for an account which usually only gets 100 views per video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaLjB1AsGiY

Although it helped that we could promote the video through our Twitter and Facebook accounts, this paled in comparison to the traffic arriving directly via YouTube. Although lots more videos have been made since, because the video was one of the first it’s amassed a good number of views and Likes which are holding it above the other clips.

Mike Essex, a search specialist for digital marketing agency Koozai.

Ann Smarty @seosmarty

#18: Get inspired and find interesting video topics

These days, when online video is everywhere, it is hard to come up with an interesting and catchy topic and perspective. Here are a few tips on how to brainstorm great video ideas using various search tricks:

1. Use YouTube Comment Search

Use YouTube Comment Search (within TestTube project) that works as a real-time tool for searching through most recent video comments.

The YouTube Comment Search tool provides a great insight into what viewers are most interested in.

2. Use YouTube Suggest

Use YouTube Suggest to get a glimpse into users’ video search behavior.

YouTube Suggest works wonders for expanding your initial search query and giving you more ideas on what to search for.

3. Use YouTube Search creatively by utilizing advanced search operators

• Use Wildcard * search: It prompts the search engine to insert any words in place for it. It may trigger quite unexpected results, help you to brainstorm and even change the initial focus of your research. For example, “how to * hair” will find “How to cut your hair,” “How to curl your hair,” “How to: Avocado Hair Mask Tutorial” and many other interesting tutorials.
• Use Synonym ~ search: The ~ operator (without the space) prompts the search engines to use various synonyms of the word. It can thus help you come up with various neighboring topics and other ways people describe your main focus. For example, “~money” will also find “cash,” “financial,” etc.

It all comes down how creative you are and how deep you are able to dig!

Ann Smarty, owner of MyBlogGuest.com.

Jeff Korhan @jeffkorhan

#19: Jump right into the action

Grab the attention of your viewers by jumping right into the action. Introductions of any kind undermine the purpose of video, which is to communicate a message through action.

Captivate the attention of your viewers by planning an opening scene as if it were a major motion picture.

Jeff Korhan, professional speaker, consultant and columnist on new media and small business marketing.

Charlene Kingston @SocialMediaDIY

#20: Plan your greeting and sign-off scripts

The best videos will look and feel like a spontaneous conversation. However, what separates a good business video from a great one are little bits of information that must be planned and written in advance.

It’s a smart idea to start every video with a greeting, your name and your business name. It’s friendly and it tells people who you are.

The way you end each video is also important. The ending gives you another chance to mention your business name along with other information that would help a potential customer find you, such as your address and city. It’s also a great place to add your business tag line.

Write out these pieces in advance, and practice saying them until they are completely natural and you can say them without thinking about it.

Charlene Kingston, author of the Social Media DIY Workshop.

Debbie Hemley @dhemley

#21: Follow Ted’s 5 useful ingredients

One of my favorite video marketing tips has to do with the five useful ingredients commonly used in TedTalks: music; interviews; and showing before, during and after scenes from a live event.

You can see how wonderfully they all work together in the video “Behind the TedTalk 2010″ and how much they add to a video.

I believe the five ingredients help add visual and human interest to videos of all lengths. (This was tip #13 in my SME post, 26 Ways to Engage with Customers Using Video.)

Debbie Hemley, social media consultant and blogger.

Lori Randall @lori_randall

#22: Make it surprising and delightful

How? Do something completely unpredictable. In this fun video by the Rockstar Video Game, a baby sitting on the sofa and watching his scruffy dad playing Rockstar reaches for the game’s guitar and proceeds to play an amazing guitar riff on it in front of his amazed parents.

This video ad is particularly delightful because it winks at the idea of a random home video gone viral.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsQudFjXXE

Corning Glass created the viral success “A Day Made of Glass” with clever, unexpected visual effects on everyday objects, showing just how much they contribute to modern living. It’s set with driving music to carry the idea forward.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38

Lori Randall, online marketing strategist.

How to Get More Out of Your Video Marketing

Linda Coles @bluebanana20

#23: Check your audio equipment

You can make a great-looking video very cheaply and easily but the one thing you do want to spend a few bucks on is the audio equipment. If you are using a camera with built-in audio, make sure you are within about 3 feet of the mic so we can hear what you have to say.

Test it, and make any adjustments. You can be forgiven for bad lighting, but never for bad sound. If the viewer can’t hear your message, he hits the stop button.

Linda Coles of Blue Banana.

Rich Brooks @therichbrooks

#24: Use YouTube Annotations

Use YouTube Annotations to direct traffic to other videos, your YouTube channel or a call to action to subscribe to your channel.

This is also very helpful if you made a popular video that now has out-of-date information. Just add an annotation to direct viewers to the new, updated video without losing any of your visibility.

Rich Brooks, president of Flyte New Media.

Corina Mackay @corinamackay

#25: Follow up

For any new tool or strategy you test as part of your social media marketing campaign, there is no better way to learn from the experience than through follow-up. Rather than doing all the hard work getting your video made and promoting it, and thinking the journey is over, taking action after posting your video online will give you an idea of the reception it is getting, and whether the venture has been successful.

Try these ways of following up your video campaign:

• Monitor comments and then reply. Develop a conversation about your brand, your industry, your team and your products, as well as the video specifically.
• Measure the statistics. If your video includes links to your website, or a call to action for viewers, monitor the increase of sales, website visits or blog subscribers you receive.
• Answer questions. If viewers want to debate the topic you discuss in your video, or ask for more information, allow them to continue the conversation with you.
• Take feedback on board. Listen to what industry leaders, customers and your own staff say about your video, and make notes to use next time.
• Try again. Using the information you gain, develop a more successful plan for next time.

By taking on board feedback and monitoring which areas of your video marketing strategy worked each time, your videos will become more engaged with your target customers and hopefully, more successful overall!

Corina Mackay, an entertainment-based social media manager and writer.

Lori Taylor @lorirtaylor

#26: Improve your video marketing

The most underutilized space on YouTube is the description below the video where you can describe your service and put in your URL that can be clicked through. Add a call to action at the end of the video; for example, “If you liked this video, please click through my link below to find more information.” This is a great way to increase engagement. Also add the Annotations feature from YouTube to create links in the videos. This is very powerful.

Use captions and subtitles, not just for people who need them, but they also anchor your message if the words are there to read. In fact, YouTube has an underutilized feature that will allow the video to be translated for multi-languages. Using Google Trends, you can find the non-U.S. areas that have high interest in your topic.

Any video you upload to YouTube should also be uploaded to Facebook. The embed code from Facebook should be used in your blog or website because if the viewer is not a fan of your Facebook page, he or she can click on video and it drops the user to your page to Like you. This is very powerful and provided a major increase in fans at my page and my client’s page.

Lori Taylor, an award-winning marketing veteran.

Jim Lodico @jlcommunication

#27: Optimize your video for SEO

Make sure that the search engines can find your videos. The search engines can’t crawl a video like they can a text-based web page, so you’ve got to give them a little extra help. Use a couple of keywords in the title of your videoand be sure that it matches the title tag of the page.

Also be sure to submit a video sitemap just like you would an XML sitemap. This creates an index of the videos on your site, making it easier for Google to find them. If you’re using WordPress, there are a number of plugins that make it easy to create video sitemaps.

Jim Lodico, copywriter and marketing consultant.

Nick Shin @shinng

#28: SEO your videos and make them shareable

We all know that YouTube is the most popular video site, but did you know that YouTube’s search algorithms are different from search engine algorithms like Google? Five quick tips:

• Create your video title to engage users while keeping in mind the SEO aspect.
• Use keywords in the video description, title and keyword tags.
• Include a link in your description of the video back to your site. You will not get SEO link juice, but you will get referral traffic.
• Share your video on YouTube and post it on your website. Remember to keep your titles SEO- and social media–friendly.
• Include a transcript of all your videos when posting them on your website. This process can be manual, but in the long term, it will help your SEO.

Nick Shin, online marketing strategist.

Denise Wakeman @denisewakeman

#29: Create a podcast feed for your videos

As you integrate videos into your marketing plan, don’t make the mistake of thinking YouTube is the only game in town. While it is considered the second-biggest search engine on the web, you have many other avenues for getting your videos in front of your target audience.

To extend your visibility and tap into millions of potential viewers, add a video podcast to your syndication tactics. ITunes has 160 million users in 23 countries, so adding your video podcast to their directory should be at the top of your list.

You must have a web host for your video files and create a podcast feed. Then, submit that feed to the iTunes store for approval and listing in their directory.

Check out Podbean.com for free podcast hosting and publishing. To get the best exposure on iTunes, create an eye-catching graphic and a keyword-rich description that will attract and entice users to subscribe.

Here's where to find the link to submit a podcast on iTunes.

Denise Wakeman, business blogging and online marketing advisor.

Now, Over to You

What do you think? Do you include video in your marketing plan? What video marketing tips do you have to share? Please leave your comments in the box below.

In this article I’ll share 8 actionable tips to enhance your YouTube marketing.

Why YouTube?

The most recent statistics on online video and YouTube are mind-blowing: Nielsen reported that Americans streamed 15 billion videos in the most recently recorded month (May 2011). While traditional TV viewing was up only 0.2% over last year, Internet video viewing was up 35% and mobile video viewing went up 20%.

Before you throw all your marketing dollars into YouTube, however, you might want to consider this other statistic: 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube… every minute. In the time it takes you to read this article, about two weeks of fresh content will be posted. Watch the video below and add another three days.

In other words, there’s a lot of competition for those eyeballs. So, how do you maximize your YouTube marketing results?

#1: Create compelling videos.

Most of us will never create a “viral” video with millions of views because we don’t own a piano-playing cat or a sneezing baby panda, but thankfully those aren’t required for success. In fact, most of us couldn’t handle a million new customers all at once, anyway. “Now serving 3,424,022. No? Now serving 3,424,023. Please, everyone, form a straight line. No pushing.”

This is not your competition. Thank God.

Instead, you should create content that addresses your audience’s needs. Your goal should be to create videos that are helpful, valuable and compelling to your prospects and clients. If you can blog about it, you can create a video about it. Your video content may consist of how-to’s, answers to frequently asked questions, expert interviews, screen video captures, slide shows and more.

Mari Smith provides some great suggestions on content creation in How to Integrate Video Into Your Social Media Marketing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U2BWA0QsYo

While many people may have questions on the technical aspects of video creation, I’ll leave that to people more skilled than myself. Be sure to check out video guru Steve Garfield’s site and Dave Kaminski’s WebVideoUniversity.com.

#2: Make your video findable.

Your videos should be findable both within and outside of YouTube. Videos often appear on the first page of search engines, and are a proven method of leap-frogging your competition to the top of the search results page. The fact that Google owns YouTube can’t be overlooked.

Create a video that targets your audience’s searches and you’ll grab their attention.

To make your video more findable, you’ll want to focus on three key areas:

• Title: Make sure your targeted keywords are in the first few words of your title. Another trick is to add a colon after your initial keywords and rephrase your title for maximum effect. For example, your video on saving money for college might be called “College Savings Plans: The 529 Plan and Your Child.”
• Description: Two things to keep in mind here: 1) start your description with a full URL, and 2) don’t be stingy with your description—more is… well, more. Be as descriptive and keyword-rich as possible. This will help you get found more easily by people searching YouTube for your type of content. You can also include more URLs throughout your content.

Create links from your video description (as Amy Porterfield did here) to a page you want to drive traffic to.

• Tags: Be sure to include any and all related keywords in the tags field.

These aren’t the only variables in getting found, but they’re the easiest to manage and control. Page views, subscribers, comments and likes can all affect your video’s visibility.

#3: Brand your YouTube channel.

Even without spending the big bucks for a brand channel or becoming a YouTube partner, you still have the opportunity to create a branded experience on YouTube.

Consider your YouTube channel your “home away from home.” In other words, you can turn your channel into a destination. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Create a custom background and choose your colors to match your branding. As with every social media platform, the more branded and “lived-in” your profile appears, the more credibility you appear to have… warranted or not. A generic or default design makes you appear fly-by-night.

Be sure to brand your YouTube channel appropriately.

• Choose “Player View” as your layout. Unlike the Grid View, the Player View features one big video that can be set to autoplay. Because total views can positively impact your visibility, you want to make sure your featured video is set to autoplay.

Choose Player View and Autoplay Featured Video for maximum effect.

• Create Playlists and feature your best content in the right column. Playlists are a way of organizing videos on YouTube. Although you can create playlists of any video—whether you made it or not—for your channel, consider creating a playlist of your most popular videos, or ones that best represent your products and offerings.
  For example, if you offer bicycling tours of New England, you might create a playlist that consists of “Bike Tours of Maine,” “Bike Tours of New Hampshire,” “Bike Tours of Vermont,” and so on.If you own a pet store, you might have a Care & Feeding playlist with such hits as “Taking Care of Your Iguana,” “Feeding Tips for Your Parakeet,” and “What Will Your New Pet Snake Eat?”Just as you have a home page on your website and silos of information for your different products and services, you can replicate this on your channel through clever use of the Featured Video and Playlist.

#4: Use annotations to build subscribers.

You can add annotations to your YouTube videos that include clickable calls to action. These annotations appear on top of your videos for a specified length of time and can include links to other videos, playlists or channels, or include a subscribe option.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=toqC5Ut3GJA

This is also helpful if you have created a video with out-of-date information. Rather than deleting the video, you can create a new video. Then go back to the original video and embed a link that takes people to the updated, corrected version.

(If you make Facebook how-to videos, you should expect to use this trick quite a bit.)

#5: Post a bulletin and alert your friends and subscribers.

At the top of your channel is the Post Bulletin tab. You can create a bulletin and a link to a video that will appear on your subscribers’ and friends’ home pages. This is a great way to draw extra attention—and traffic—to your video.

Increase your visibility by posting a bulletin.

Bulletins appear on subscribers’ and friends’ home pages.

#6: Use YouTube Ads.

Julie Perry, the social media director at BLASTmedia, calls these the “last frontier” of online advertising.

She reports, “People are coming [to YouTube] and directly entering in search queries of what they’re looking for… You can bid on those keywords just as you would Google pay-per-click. But instead of a text ad coming up on the right-hand side as it does on Google, you get a video and a thumbnail of a video.”

“The best part is that you can bid on keywords for pennies on the dollar compared to what you pay for a Google text ad or even a Facebook ad.”

You can bid on keywords in YouTube just like on Google.

Julie also talks about another type of YouTube advertising, “Once you have your video submitted as a Promoted Video, it then has the opportunity to run what are called ‘CTA’ ads. CTA stands for ‘call to action.’ They’re clickable and they allow you to click right over from a video to a website.”

For an in-depth interview with Julie Perry, check out Killer YouTube Marketing Tactics for Small Business.

#7: Leverage other social media platforms.

YouTube is a social media platform, not an island. Here are some ways to extend the reach of your video and make it more shareable:

• Blog it. Every time you post a new video, you should create a blog post around it. Use a keyword-rich title, and fill your post with appropriate, complementary content. This will deliver your video to your blog subscribers and increase its chances of being found in a search. Plus, you can add your own sharing buttons on your blog, making it easier for other people to share your content.
• Post it to Facebook. Whether on your profile page or on your business page, you can reach a much wider audience on Facebook. Plus, video is a great way of increasing your EdgeRank.
• Tweet it. Good content goes farther on Twitter.
• Submit it to StumbleUpon. This social bookmarking site has always been a powerful referrer, and recently surpassed Facebook (yes, that Facebook!) for driving the most U.S. web traffic for social media sites.

#8: Review YouTube Insights for more, um, insights.

YouTube has some powerful analytics that give you insight into who’s watching your videos and how they discovered them. You can gather information on an individual video or on all the videos you’ve uploaded.

Reviewing your most-watched videos or the videos with the most community feedback (comments, likes, etc.) can point to what type of content resonates most with your target audience.

Spend time reviewing your YouTube analytics.

In Conclusion

By creating content that resonates with your audience, building up a branded channel and using bulletins and ads, you can greatly increase the return on your investment in creating online videos.

However, this is just the start of increasing your online visibility through YouTube marketing.

What do you think? What tips and techniques have you used to market your business or non-profit using video online? Leave your comments in the box below.

Steve reviews the biggest changes in social media over the past 12 months.  He also shares the latest social media trends and gives tips on what businesses should focus on in the future.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• Why globalization of social media is now skyrocketing
• Which companies are doing social media right
• How to monitor the “irritations” shared on social media to improve your business
• How the increase in real-time communication impacts businesses
• Why it’s important to focus on when you engage on social media
• Why Twitter is in the future of media
• How to connect the ROI of social media on a business level
• Why the leadership of social media will come from outside the U.S. in the future
• How privacy issues impact geolocation on social media

Find Steve at Edelman Digital (@EdelmanDigital). You can also connect with him on Twitter at @steverubel and at SteveRubel.me.

What social media trends do you monitor? How will they impact your business? Please leave them below.

He also talks about how blogging has transformed the world of media and the social media trends you need to follow.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• Tips on how to become a successful group blog
• How current trends in social media impact business
• Why it’s important to follow how social media is transforming television
• Why video is growing today

You’ll also get a peek behind the scenes of Mashable and discover:

• The tools you need to coordinate with a group of writers
• How to decide what breaking news to publish
• Tips for a successful content publishing strategy
• What to look for next in social media

Connect with Adam on Mashable and be sure to check out Mashable’s company blog on Tumblr.

What do you like most about Mashable? What social media trends are you following? Please share them in the comment section below.