business video marketing - Horne Isle Productions

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – People Are Visual Chapter 2 – Who Uses Videos To Promote Business? Chapter 3 – Is Video Advertising Expensive? Chapter 4 – What About Video Promotion? Chapter 5 – How Do I Begin? Chapter 6 – What About Video Content? Chapter 7 – How Effective Is Video Advertising - Ask Henry Chapter 8 – What Other Visual Methods Can I Use? Chapter 9 – Some Video Marketing Tips Chapter 10 – Move into the Future Introduction To Video Marketing (Simplified) Prior to television, commercials used to be aired on the radio. Before radio, businesses used to advertise their wares in a variety of different ways, mostly through print media. Even before print media, metal signs depicting the nature of the product were produced. For as long as there have been people in business, they have sought different ways to advertise their business. The purpose was to get more sales leads and generate more revenue for the business. Things have not changed. Although advertising has come a long way, the nature of the reason for advertising has not changed since the days of the metal signs. Radio commercials used to often feature jingles. The purpose of these jingles was to make the listener remember the product. Remember that people could not visualize the product back then, so they identified with the jingle. Commercial jingles were so popular, they were also later used in television advertising, although they seem to have lost their appeal. Early radio advertisers were the sponsors of the radio program. They were short and sweet, and people were forced to listen because they didn’t want to miss the next installment of their favorite radio show. Plus, back in those days, there was no remote control. When television came out in the late 1940s, advertisers quickly saw this as a good media to sell their product. They began sponsoring certain television shows. They often found ways to not only sponsor by their frequent commercials, but also within the program itself. One example of this is the old “I Love Lucy” television program, probably one of the most popular sitcoms of all times. It was sponsored by Phillip Morris. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had stipulations in their contract that they had to often be seen smoking during the program. This is why Ricky was often seen coming out of his child’s bedroom with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. In return for their sponsorship, the program aired. People were treated to all sorts of commercials in black and white that would seem very amateurish to people today. Madison Avenue was always the place for the big “ad men.” It soon became apparent that in addition to designing clever ads for magazines and billboards, they had to film commercial ads. The needed actors and cameras, lights and sets. Was it worth it? There were those businesses who thought that television would never last. They balked at the idea of spending a lot more money to advertise on television. And they certainly didn’t want to pay to sponsor an entire program. Most of those businesses have now gone out of business. Television advertising is a multi-billion-dollar business. Commercial jingles from the past are still remembered fondly but advertisers have become more creative, and many big businesses have decided to put a lot more money into their advertising. A good example of this is the Super Bowl. The ads that are broadcast during this annual football event are the most expensive ads in the business. Companies spend millions of dollars not only creating the clever ad that they hope will “stand out among the others” but also for the time they need to pay to have their commercial aired. Things have changed since “I Love Lucy. “No longer are the programs grateful to the sponsors, now the sponsors are grateful to the programs. There are many people who watch the Super Bowl every year just to see the new and very clever ads. And the next day at work, the ads are more discussed than the actual game. People are visual. And advertising is effective. As more people began using the internet, advertisers turned to this new media to promote their sales. They used print ads and pop-up ads most of the time. Then they began to realize that what worked for television may also work for the internet. According to UCLA studies, 82 percent of the people in the United States use the internet. And many use it much more than they watch television. Advertisers took the next logical step and began promoting video advertising on the internet. At first, it began small. Print ads that could be clicked on. Then they moved to more clever banner ads with animation. Now they are moving to video advertising. You have probably seen video advertising on the internet; Many of the news websites use this. According to a study done by the Chicago Tribune Online, more people click on to the videos than read the news articles. Video advertising is here to stay. And it is now up to businesses to use this new media to make begin increasing their customer base, sales and products through video advertising on the internet. Here you will learn just who uses video advertising, how it is used, where it is used and the many different ways it can be used to promote your business. Do you want more customers? More profits? Unlike television advertising, video advertising on the internet does not have to cost a lot of money. It can be simple or elaborate, but either way, it is much more effective than a print ad. This book will tell you how you can increase your sales profits by video advertising. It will tell you the different ways video advertising can work. It will explain the difference in costs and the limitless possibilities that this technology can increase your business sales and profits. Those who shun new often regret it. There has never been a better time to learn about how to promote your business through video advertising and increase your sales. You do not have to be a technical expert. You do not have to have a lot of money. You do not have to hire actors. You simply have to present your product to your target audience in a way that will make them want to buy your product. Come with us into the future and learn more about video advertising. Chapter 1 – People Are Visual Sad but true, most people would rather watch television than read a book. People love to be entertained. Ever since the advent of television, people began staying inside and watching TV rather than going out with friends. Television has more of an influence on society during the 20th century than anything else. Until the internet. Then things started to change. In addition to just watching television, people could find out information, interact with others and even make money on auctions. And each year, the internet becomes more sophisticated. There are billions of websites out there in internet land. People are now spending more time on the internet than they are watching television. And now that most of the country is on the internet, they are also finding different ways to be entertained online. In the early days of the internet, most of the information was written. You looked up information and read it. If there was a photo, it caught your eye. People soon began using clip art and other visual effects in their ads, e-mails and websites. It was soon discovered that websites and advertisers who used some forms of visual stimulation were attracting more people to their site. This included everyone. Internet communities, such as MySpace began popping up for people to meet and network. These included easy ways that one could download a photo of themselves or friends. It also included ways they could design their pages to make them more attractive. Which would you rather look at? An attractive, well-designed page or a typed written article written in black font on a white background. Of course, you would rather look at the attractive page. You are not alone. Human beings are highly visual. Even a cartoon photo can be a source of entertainment and can get someone to read what you want them to read. Have you ever received an e-mail that featured photos or a cartoon? Wasn’t that more entertaining than one that featured a text joke (that you already heard 100 times before)? In the early days of the Internet, advertising consisted of either printed ad that were put on different websites to attract customers and ad banners. When people clicked on to the banner, the owner of the website got money. This was the way the advertisers kept track of which websites were worth their advertising dollars. These advertising vehicles are still being used but are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Then pop-up ads became popular. People would be on a website and an ad would pop up suddenly. Sometimes it looked like it was part of the site. It would take you to another website for advertising. Sometimes, it was just gathering your information so that you could be barraged by constant e-mails. The pop-up ads were ineffective. Although they attempted, like all ads, to reach a target audience, many people found them annoying. Soon there was a way to block pop up ads from appearing. Many people now use this tool as an option on the internet. News media soon found that it was very effective to put not only the news coverage of an important case, but actual video clippings. They soon discovered that more people were watching the videos than reading the news. It was easier to do and, more importantly, entertaining. News websites were among the first to realize the impact of adding video to their websites. Now many other companies are following suit. American people want to be entertained. They want to be entertained on television, at the movies and on the internet. And they even expect their advertisements to be entertaining. A simple banner advertisement has no chance against a good video advertisement. Particularly if it is both informative and has a bit of humor. Not only will the person watch the video, but they will also share it with others. They will place it on their own websites and blogs and even e-mail it to friends. Entertainment is the key to good advertising. Gone are the days of the catchy commercial jingle. The banners will soon be on their way out, too. The advertisers who are truly adding to their business are using video advertising in many different ways to draw customers to their products. And the more customers they attract, the more business they get and the more profit they make. If you truly want to move into the new age of advertising, now is the time. Not only is video advertising on the internet cheaper than commercial advertising, but it can also be done by just about anyone. You do not have to be Francis Ford Coppola to make a video. Sometimes, the most quirky and funny videos are those that are remembered the most. If you have a website, it is just as easy to add video as it is to add photographs and texts. Of course, you will still have the text and photos, but people will be more intrigued by the video. Particularly if it is entertaining and grabs their attention. Suppose, for example, you want to sell your home. You want to list it on the internet with a price. But you do not include a photo of the home. Chances are that your home listing will not be viewed nearly as much as those with photos. Suppose you want to advertise for a date on an internet dating site. But you do not want to add your photo. Chances are that no one will read your profile and think about what a wonderful person you are even if you are Prince William. They will see you have no photo and go on to the next. Why is this? Because people are visual. They need visual stimulation. They need to imagine themselves in the home or on a date with you before they will even think of contacting you. And do not kid yourself, internet dating is also a form of advertising. And those with photos get much more attention than those without. Now suppose you want to sell your home and you decide to do something different. Instead of posting a photo of your home on the website, you take a video of the home. You move from room to room with the camera and describe the details. It will make people feel as though they are inside the home. And, virtually, they are. How well do you think that advertisement will do against the home ads with no photos or even those with photos? I guarantee it will do a lot better. You may even be able to ask a higher price. People do not often have the imaginations we would like to give them credit for. For years they have received their news information, weather reports, sports games and entertainment from television. This has been going on for the past 50 years. And as the entertainment industry has grown, the audience has grown more demanding. They want more visuals. No more implications. No more “leave it to the imagination.” They want to see every detail on the screen. What makes you think that internet advertisement is any different? Do you honestly think that you are going to get more traffic with a small banner ad or an e-mail with a bunch of long paragraphs than a video ad? Think about having an exciting new product for a special customer. You want to tell your customer all about it, but it is complicated. It may be technical and too difficult for the customer to comprehend. At best, they will skim over the article. At worst, they will not even read it. What if, instead, you sent them a video of the product in operation? Do you think they will be more or less interested? If you are unsure about the answer, as yourself the same question. What would you rather see? A video demonstration of an exciting new product or a two-page e-mail telling you about it? You know the answer. It is the same reason that you would rather watch the football game on television than listen to it on the radio. Because you, like all human beings, are visual. Now you need to learn how to make that knowledge work for you by using video advertising on the internet to advertise your business. Chapter 2 – Who Uses Web Videos to Promote Business After reading a little about web videos for advertising, you may be asking yourself just what type of businesses are taking advantages of this media? The answers are just about everyone who understands the concept of entertainment in advertising. Just about every business that has a website on the internet is now adding some sort of video advertising to their sites. This ranges from car dealerships, travel agents, real estate agents and even manufacturers. They realize that they get the attention of a viewer right away if a video comes onto the screen instead of a simple advertisement. Department stores are also beginning to use video advertising on the internet not only on their websites, but also on internet advertising engines such as Google. It simple captures the attention of a potential buyer more than just a plain photo. Imagine that you have a website that sells T-shirts, for example. A person goes to your website and sees a variety of T-shirts that are for sale. These are often pictured in photos either by themselves or on models. The prices are included, along with an ordering form. Most websites have a search option so if someone is looking for a particular T-shirt, they can find it easier. The reason models are depicted in T-shirts is to make the product more attractive. More people are apt to purchase a garment featured on a striking model than an average person or on a mannequin. This is simply another way people are visual. They imagine themselves as the model in the T-shirt and feel that they will also look this way once the garment is acquired. Now imagine you have this same website but decide to implement video advertising as part of your campaign. Instead of clicking on to a website that just depicts a bunch of models in T-shirts, you have a video where a model is wearing the T-shirt and talking about how much she loves her T-shirts from your company. Or you decide to go the humor route. A video depicts an unpopular, geeky kid wearing a white shirt with a pencil protector in the pocket and getting his books knocked out of his hands at school. He says something like “I’ve had enough of this; I’m getting myself over to XXX T-shirt company!” The next clip shows the same student wearing one of the T-shirts and surrounded by a bevy of women. He winks at the camera and says, “XXX T-shirt changed my life - they can change yours, too.” Corny? Yes. But entertaining and memorable. As a matter of fact, the more humor or unusual aspects you can add to your video, the more people will remember it. They may even like it so much that they post it on their blog or on “You Tube.” Then you get even more advertising for your business. For free. Travel agents are quickly discovering that video is the way to go when it comes to advertising on the internet. More and more travel agencies are not just depicting photos of exotic places, but videos of the attractions that can be seen when visiting these places. People feel as though they are taking a trip. They sometimes call this a “virtual tour” and it is really quite effective. A virtual tour takes the viewer on a mini vacation all from their home computer. They get to see highlights of the wonderful sights, the hotels, the beaches and a lot of people enjoying themselves. This sparks their imagination. They envision themselves on the tour and it makes them want to visit as well. The more someone knows about the positive aspects of a particular tour, country or vacation spot, the more apt they are to want to book a vacation to this destination. Speaking of virtual tours, we have already talked about real estate agents in the last chapter. Many real estate companies are now adding video advertising to their websites. Instead of just seeing photos of a home, they see the entire home, just as they were touring it. In addition to large businesses and professionals using video advertising on the internet, musicians are learning the value of this technology to promote their music and bands. Music videos came out in the 1980s and were frequently depicted on MTV. This was a very popular concept, but soon became very competitive. More and more money were being used to make a more ‘creative video” for the band. Bands who had creative videos depicting models or something unusual were selling more music than other bands who did not have the capital to create such videos. In the 1980s, video cameras cost over $1,000. And if you wanted the video to look professional, you had to hire a director and some actors. The music videos of the 1980s were actual commercials for a particular artist or a band. And they cost a lot of money to produce. Today, not only professional musicians advertise by video on the internet, but amateurs as well. Video cameras no longer cost over $1,000. They are easy to use, and the content can easily be downloaded into a personal computer. It is just as easy to upload a video into your webpage as it is to upload a photograph or music. So amateur musicians began promoting their bands on the internet. On MySpace, for example, there are thousands of artists doing this. They do not even have to pay for their MySpace page. It is free. They simply have to have someone film their act with a camcorder, upload it to their site and they are advertising for free on the internet. It sure beats the old days of recording demos for thousands of dollars and trying to find someone on the radio to play them. Individuals who have something unique to sell are also using video advertising on the internet. They can do this with little or no expense if they choose a venue like You Tube. You Tube allows anyone who is a member to upload their videos for others to see. The cleverer the video, the better chance of it being discovered. If you want to draw people to your website, mention it in your funny video and put it on YouTube. Millions of people use this website every day. The videos are often either e-mailed to friends or put on blogs and other spaces. Suppose you have invented a special item to sell. You have a patent but have no idea how to sell it. You have a website and are trying to promote it but are not having much luck. You can advertise on television, but it costs a fortune, even on cable TV. Maybe you can come up with a funny video that will draw people to your website that involves your product. You can post this on your site and then wait for people to discover the ad. You can also place it on such video websites as YouTube. Have you ever dated on the internet? Guess what? You are advertising yourself. You are adverting yourself in the hopes of finding a perfect mate. Many people put false photos of themselves on these sites and many internet daters have grown leery of some of the ads. Yet internet dating is big business. In today’s busy world, few people have time to go out and meet a special someone. So many people are taking advantage of the internet dating world. Some internet dating sites offer their clients a way to communicate with another individual through video instead of just plain text. For a small fee, they can post a video of themselves on the site and talk about their likes, and dislikes. In addition to just seeing a photo, a person who is interested also gets to hear a voice and finds out a little bit more about the person he or she is thinking of contacting. It is very difficult to ascertain what a person is like from a photograph. They may have a voice that sounds like Mickey Mouse and really gets on your nerves. Or they may have such an engaging smile and a sexy voice that you really find attractive. This person may look similar to many others who have turned up as your “match,” but chances are, you will watch the video and, if you like what you see, you will be more inclined to contact the individual. They will seem like a real person to you, instead of a photograph and text profile. Car dealerships are another business that are using video technology to advertise on the internet. Car dealerships have always been known for their “over the top” approach to advertising. They sometimes run specials depicting happy customers getting great deals, or they show a video of a car being driven down the road and being able to make great turns. This cost them much less than advertising on television. No matter what business you are in, video advertising on the internet can help you attract more customers, gain more exposure for your company and generate new leads and sales. Best of all, it is easy and relatively inexpensive to use. We will discuss how you can do this in the next chapter. Chapter 3 – Is Video Advertising Expensive? If you are already advertising on the internet, you know the costs of having banners or pop-up ads. Video advertising is not much more money and is twice as effective. If you do not believe this, check it out. You can try this for a month and see if you get more stats on the video ads or the banner ads. Most advertising engines agree that their customers profit get many more views on their video advertising than plain text or even photo advertising. Cost will depend on how you wish to use the video to market your business. If, for example, you simply want to use a video on your website, it will not cost anything. Just the uploading of the video into the website. If you want a more professional looking video for your website, there are plenty of companies out there that provide this service for much less than text advertising. You can have a slick ad or you can have one that is home made. Sometimes, the home-made videos tend to stand out more. It will cost you slightly more to have your videos featured on other websites where you advertise. More than a banner ad or a line ad. But again, how much is your business worth to you? If you want to see how effective this media is, test it out. If you have a small business and want to advertise for free, there are plenty of places on the internet where you can post your videos. They will also give you stats on how many people have viewed your video. On some websites, the videos are rated. There are many professional companies that can help you out with video advertising. They can offer everything from creating the video, uploading onto the proper websites to even using it in e-mails to your clients. Many businesses keep a data base of their clients. If they don’t, they should. From time to time, they have sales or promotions and wish to contact their clients by e-mail. E-mail is very inexpensive. Actually, it is free. You can either hire a professional to e-mail your clients your advertising video or do it yourself to save even more money. Writers are gaining publicity for themselves by using videos on writing websites. They upload a video of themselves and talk about their work. This is an excellent way to get people to read your work, particularly if you are on a site that pays you for page views. You can do this in an interview format, or simply have someone film you are talking about yourself. This is free. You can also promote yourself or your business on YouTube for free. Or MySpace. Camcorders have come down significantly in price. Many are around $100 or even cheaper. Each year, the price goes down and the quality goes up. They are easy to use, and the contents can be uploaded to your computer with ease. Then all you have to do is decide where you want to “advertise.” If you are advertising a small business, your art, or even a political cause, you can put it on a site that offers free video uploading. When you compare the cost of video advertising on the internet to an actual commercial on television, you are talking apples and oranges. Video advertising is much cheaper and even small businesses can afford a professional agency that can take care of this for them. How many of you get e-mails from businesses that you have previously done business? Most of you do, I would suspect. Even if you clicked on their ad by some mistake, they would contact you via e-mail. As said previously in this chapter, e-mail is free. Now, imagine that you get an advertisement from a business that has a very funny video attached to it? You will be entertained and not forget about that business. It may even prompt you to take a look at their sale or new promotion. I saw one of the most effective and clever uses of advertising on the web recently. I was taking a look at shower filters. Instead of just a website, like most of them, that featured shower filters and explained the advantages of having one of these gadgets, this one had a scene from the movie “Psycho.” Yes, the shower scene. The caption was “Remember when the only thing you had to fear about the shower was….” and then it stopped. We saw the familiar scene of Janet Leigh in the shower and “Mother” coming through the door with the knife. It was clever, entertaining and certainly caught my attention. In fact, this was the company that I decided to purchase the shower filter from. How much did this ad cost them? A little more than a regular video ad. The film “Psycho” is not in the public domain, so they had to pay synchronization rights to the producer to use this on their website. But synchronization rights on film, even the internet, are based upon seconds. They did not have to pay for the rights for the entire film, just a brief portion of the shower scene. If you have a clever imagination, you can film your own video that will attract attention to your project in the way that this shower filter company did. You can purchase synchronization rights from film producers if you want, or you can simply make up your own video. Also, be aware that many films made prior to 1962 lie within the public domain. This means that they are free to use. Clips can be obtained from all over the internet or can be downloaded from your television or DVD player. You must make sure that the film is in the public domain, however. The way to do this is to check with the United States Copyright Office. There is also much information about which films lie within the public domain on the internet. No, it is not expensive to advertise using video on the internet, particularly if you are advertising on your own website or e-mailing your customers video advertisements. Just make sure that the advertisements are not too long, or it may bore the customer, no matter how entertaining it may be. You do not want to go more than 30 seconds. If you decide to use an internet advertising agency, they can keep track of the number of customers who view your video and make sure that they are placed in the proper venues. The cost is not that much more than banner ads and may be well worth it. Banner ads are sometimes clicked on by accident, giving false stats. A video ad, however, can be managed where the person has to click on to the “play” button to view it. Once they begin viewing, chances are that they will continue to do so. Either way, at least you will have an honest count of viewers when it comes time to pay Google or whoever you are using for your internet advertising. In a way, the difference in the quality of the views more than makes up for the price difference in advertising. Chapter 4 – What About Video Promotion? Perhaps, by now, you have already decided to join the 21st century and become part of the video advertising on the internet world. Just like many other smart businesspeople and other individuals. We have gone what video advertising is, the types of businesses and individuals who use this media and the benefits of entertaining potential customers with this type of product. You have now realized that video advertising is not only more effective but may end up costing you less money in advertising in the long run. We have also talked about different ways you can do your own marketing using video advertising for free. If you have decided to contact an advertising company about using video advertising on the internet, such as Google or Microsoft, which is now coming out with a new program, you will have many different options as to where your videos can be placed. Just like television advertising, you will want to reach your target audience. This means that a video advertising a rock band will not be promoted on a website that deals with travel. The wonderful thing about using a professional service is that they know exactly what websites are out there and where to promote your video. Costs for using a professional advertising agency will depend upon how often you want the video used, the sites you want it to be used on, and the length of the video. Naturally, if you want your video splashed across Yahoo’s front page, it is going to cost you a lot more than if you want it on a blog that accepts google ads. The choice will be up to you. Perhaps you own a travel business and are promoting a tour to Cancun. This is a tour that will be all inclusive and is a great deal. Where will it be promoted? The video can be promoted on websites that are upscale and perhaps designed for either families or couples. For example, if you are advertising a romantic getaway to Cancun, this can be placed on a variety of websites. Dating sites may be one. Websites for jewelry companies can be another. Any site that is designed for romance or married people or couples is a target. Certain travel magazines have websites, this may be an excellent place to advertise your romantic getaway. Perhaps you are offering a three day stay in Disney World. You will want your target audience to be people with children. There are many different family-oriented websites on the internet, parenting advice websites and so forth. The advertiser will know where to find them and how much it will cost to advertise. This is what you are paying for - their expertise of knowing the best websites on which to advertise on the internet. If you do not want to spend a lot of money but have a quirky type of ad that can generate business and maybe has a little humor to it, it may be advertised on someone’s blog. Many people have discovered the joy of blogging and certain internet blogging websites offer google ads for bloggers. The ads are free and the person who blogs gets a little bit of money every time someone clicks on your ad. The advertisers know the blogs that get the most traffic and your quirky little ad might just start making the rounds all over the internet. If you want to place the video ad on your website or on free internet websites that allow videos, you will have to make sure that your contract stipulates that you have the right to do this. While some advertising companies will allow you to promote your own ad, others will not. Some want exclusive rights. If the advertising company actually developed the video ad for you, they will retain exclusive rights and you will not be able to use it anywhere without their written permission. Video ads can go just about anywhere banner ads go. The beauty of the video ad, however, is that it is more closely paid attention to than a banner ad and you do not run the risk of someone accidentally clicking onto it. There are literally millions of websites on the internet. Web advertisers are familiar with the traffic that these sites generate. Your fee will be based upon the amount of traffic the website expects to see. In addition, the length of your video matters a great deal in video advertising. It is best to keep it short. Not only is it cheaper to run the video ad this way, but people generally have a short attention span and something that is too long generally bores them. Take a look at television commercials prior to embarking on your video ad venture. See which ones you pay attention to and which ones you can’t even remember. See which ones you get bored of and dread every time they come on. Your video advertising is similar to this. No one wants to constantly see a long, boring video all over the internet. A short, entertaining video that is used sporadically, however, will generate more interest and may even develop a cult following. People are crazy about internet videos. They use them on their personal internet community pages such as MySpace and Facebook and often e-mail them to their friends and relatives. This can happen to you. You may come up with an advertisement that is clever, entertaining and brings you instant internet notoriety. If you decide not to use a professional agency, you will be able to put the video anywhere that is free. You can also act as your own advertising agent and make deals with certain websites yourself. This can be difficult, and you should have some knowledge about copyright laws and legal contracts before doing this. And unlike the professionals, you may not know much about the website. Unfortunately, on the internet, websites come and go. You would hate to make a deal and pay money to advertise on a site that closes within the next week. If you use a professional internet advertising agency, chances are that you will hit your target audience with your video ad and will find it more successful than a banner ad. Your video will be able to go just about any place on the internet that your banner ad can go, or your word ad. The difference will be that more people will pay attention to what you are trying to sell. Chapter 5 – How Do I Begin? Now that you have learned the many benefits of advertising using videos on the internet to generate more business, you are probably asking yourself how to begin using this new media. This depends upon whether you want to self-market your video on your website or if you want to use an internet advertising agency to self-market for you. The one way a business knows if its advertising is succeeding on the internet is through statistics. If, for example, you are advertising on Google, you will be notified of the number of times a person clicked onto your ad each month and will have to pay accordingly. Google will then share some of that revenue with those websites that allowed them to place the ad on their site. This is the way that internet advertising works. It is important for you to know how many people click on your ads for many reasons. First of all, if you are advertising on several different sites, and the stats for one site are much higher than the others, you may want to consider changing advertising strategies. If Google is using your ad on a blog and it is getting no activity, this may mean that you owe them no extra money, but it also means that no one is interested in your ad on that website. By keeping track of your statistics regarding ad views, you can ascertain which sites are worth more advertising and which sites are not. If you are planning on self-promoting your own video on your website, you most likely have a stat counter that tells you how often people visit your site. After you have added your video, see if there is a difference. Chances are, there will be. There are also software programs that allow you to find out how often your video is viewed on your site. If you see that it is being viewed over and over, but your site stats do not reflect the number of video viewings, chances are that you have a clever ad. You may want to market it elsewhere. If you see that very few people are bothering to view your video advertisement on your website, you may want to try a different video that will attract more attention. This is one way you can ascertain how good your business video is. If you decide to promote your video on a free space such as You Tube, you will be given statistics. Each video shows the public how many times it has been viewed and they are even rated. People may even make comments on them. If you come up with something truly unique, you may find that your video gets featured as “most popular” and gets something like 10,000 views a day. This does not necessarily mean that you will get 10,000 new customers, but chances are that you will get a few new people at your website. So, where you begin is up to how much money you want to spend, if any, and how much advertising you want to do. If you have a large company and have a substantial budget for advertising, you may want to begin by hiring an agency that specializes in video ads to come up with something clever for your video campaign. If you hire someone to make a video for you, you can purchase the rights to the video so that it cannot be used elsewhere without your permission. Some companies will want to retain the rights. This is something that should and can be negotiated with whatever company you decide to hire to create your video. If music is played in your video that is not within the public domain, you may have to pay for a license to use the music. This is called a synchronization license and can be obtained from the publisher. The publisher will charge by the number of seconds the song is used in the ad as well as how often the ad is used. This means that in addition to paying your internet advertiser each time someone views your video, you will also have to pay the publisher. The amount of such a license generally depends upon the popularity of the song. You can either try to negotiate this yourself or have an attorney knowledgeable in copyright and licensing laws to negotiate the fee for you. Once the video is completed to your satisfaction, you will present it to your internet advertiser who will advise you on where it should be featured and how often. If you are currently using an internet advertiser such as Google, and are finding some success with banner ads, you may want to continue with the same websites. You will want to find out the difference in how many people view your video ad as compared to your banner ad to see how effective this advertising is. There are different types of video ads. Some pop up and just start playing the minute you hit on the ad, and others have a “play” button. You may want to set up the option to have the potential customer play the video instead of it just playing to see if they are truly interested in the video and the ad. You will still have to have some sort of written advertisement so that people know what your video is. You can have a video still and something that says, “If you want to learn more about how to get designer shoes at the best prices on the internet, click here.” At that point, the video will play. The good thing about video advertising as opposed to print advertising on the internet is that the customer will most likely not hit the ad by accident. Many websites, in order to gain profit from ads that they receive from Google and other sources, use little tricks to get people to hit on the ads. This is not what you want. You are paying for the advertising so that you can continue to develop your business and increase your profit, not support various websites. Make sure that the websites that you are advertising on are not doing this. Such tricks include moving objects that get close to where the customer is trying to click to see information. They click, go into the ad and get annoyed. This does nothing for your business. If you want to start just by putting a video on your company website, just do it! You can either have an ad agency that specializes in this to create a video for you, or you can make your own video. Again, this depends upon your advertising budget. But there are many companies out there that are hungry for this sort of work, and you may be surprised that the cost is not as high as you may think. Depending upon your website, you may want to make a homemade video. Sometimes these can be more entertaining than the slick, professional videos and people generally like to watch them. Consider the popularity of YouTube, which features many homemade videos as well as the old program “America’s Best Home-Made Videos.” There can be something more refreshing in a homemade video and may actually generate more trust within your customer. Still, another way is to use a clip from a film. You may not want to go as far as the “Psycho” clip that the shower filter company used, but there are thousands of films in the public domain that are available. If you can find something appropriate that advertises your company, why not use it? Come up with a plan on how much you want to spend, whether or not you want a professional to make the video or you want to make it yourself and where you want the video to be placed on the internet. This all depends on budget. But even those companies with a low advertising budget will benefit tremendously from advertising by video on the internet. It is just simply more entertaining Chapter 6 – What About Video Content? Now that you are ready to begin using video advertising on the internet, you are probably wondering what type of content you should put in your video? How long should it be? Should it be funny? Should it feature people or just items? The one thing that you want to make sure that you express in your video is what you are selling. This seems like common sense, but advertising executives in the 1980s often came out with “clever” ads that did not exactly represent what their client was selling. These ads were mostly for upscale products that were supposed to appeal to “intellectuals” and not to the commoners. The ads were mostly pretentious and not successful. While you do not want to be obtuse about your product, you also do not want to keep hammering the name of the product throughout the ad as if the client is either demented or deaf. Keywords work well with SEO articles, but are not necessary in a video ad. You want to make sure that you mention the name of the product at least twice, the benefits of having the product and where to get it. You can do this quickly but must make sure that the name of your business and website is clear. If you hire someone to create your video, they will most likely present you with several ideas. Advertising people are experts in marketing and very creative. They may come up with the perfect ad. But it is going to cost you. They will, however, be able to come up with the right way to present the product and your business with the right amount of information, without overdoing it. You can choose one of their ideas if it is something that suits you. Suppose, however, you want to make your own video ad? This is relatively easy to do as camcorders are easily accessible and relatively inexpensive. With some imagination, you may be able to come up with something creative that will be remembered. Sometimes, the best-known commercials on television are those that featured interesting characters that were difficult to forget. Those of us in Chicago know the “Empire Carpet Man” and would probably recognize him more easily than we would the Vice President. The Empire Carpet company began filming their commercials in the early 1970s using an actor. People assumed he was the owner of Empire Carpets, and he became so popular that they have continued to use the actor since. This was a low budget commercial, but it made the carpet company a household name in Chicago. There have been others who have stood out as well. “Crazy Larry” in New York. He owned an electronics store and used to shout and scream like a crazy man. The commercial was very well known, not only in New York City, but across the country. And it did wonders for his store. This was another low budget ad, and no actors were needed as Crazy Larry himself did his own advertising. There have been others who have done this with much success. In just about every city, there is a commercial character that people remember. Even today, most of us know the Bob Evans’ “Sun” man. These characters stick in our mind because of one thing - they are people. People relate to other people. Particularly those who stand out. This does not mean you have to act like a lunatic or dress like the sun to perform in your own video. But if you have a pleasant appearance, a good voice, can appear before a camera without being nervous, you may have what it takes to perform in your own internet video ad. If you add a bit of humor to your ad, you can generally get more attention and publicity. Remember that you want to make sure that your ad is entertaining. This is the key and the entire purpose of video advertising on the internet. Just as a film producer wants their film to be entertaining, so does an advertiser. And if you are creating your own ad, you have to make sure that your ad not only gives the viewer pertinent information about your business and products, but also entertains. Which type of advertisement on television sticks out in your mind? Chances are, it is either those you remember from your youth, those with interesting characters, or those interesting commercials shown during the Super Bowl. Some of these advertisements cost quite a bit of money to film and even more to broadcast during the Super Bowl. Others cost very little to film and were only on local channels but generated just as much publicity. Many of the most successful commercials and advertisements contained quite a bit of humor. Americans love humor and funny videos are often passed around the internet through e-mail. Most people get several of these types of funny videos from their friends and relatives in their e-mail each week. Again, Americans love to be entertained. So if you decide to act in your own video internet ad, be sure to do so with a sense of humor. No one will want to watch someone drone on in a monotone voice about how great his website that sells discounted DVDs is. They will be bored quickly, and press stop. If you have an outgoing personality and pleasant speaking voice, you may be able to manage your own video ad. A video ad featuring a person is more effective than one that just features an object. Even if you have a real estate brokerage website and want to feature virtual tours of homes, be sure to put a little human quality in with the video. Humanize your video for your audience. You do not have to be Cecil B. DeMille to come up with a good video for your website or as a way to generate business over the internet. You simply have to have a bit of an imagination and a way to come across as honest and a person with whom someone would want to do business. As much as you want your video to stand out, you also do not want to make a video that is so entertaining that it detracts from your purpose. Remember that the purpose of video advertising on the internet is to draw more customers and business. You want to use this as a way to add to the revenue from your business, not to become an internet star. No matter whether you have a professional create your internet video or if you decide to do this to it yourself, you want to make sure that your audience knows the name of your business, what you are selling and how they can contact you so that you make a sale. You can also use your video, if you decide to create it yourself, as a marketing tool to advertise specials and sales by e-mailing the videos to your regular customers. It will seem more personal than a standard e-mail and is also another effective marketing tool and yet another bit of content you can add to your internet video ad. Chapter 7 - How Effective Is Internet Video Advertising? Ask Henry. So just how effective is using video advertising on the internet to generate more income for your business? Ask Henry. Henry purchased a bed and breakfast in Massachusetts a few years ago. It was a charming old Victorian home that needed quite a bit of work. He invested most of his savings into fixing it up and getting it ready for what he was sure to be a bevy of guests. Unfortunately, after a few months, Henry found he was not getting the guests that he needed to make a profit, let alone do the continued repairs on the old home. A friend who was computer savvy, helped Henry by creating a website for him. The website was done in a professional manner and featured photos of all of the rooms in the lovely old home. His friend showed Henry how to try to promote his website on the internet. He invested more money into making sure that his bed and breakfast was listed in certain websites that featured bed and breakfast inns as well as Massachusetts hotels. This did manage to generate a bit of business for Henry. He found that he was getting more business by way of the internet than he was through the many travel agents with whom he did business. And definitely much more business than the print ads that seemed to cost a fortune in travel magazines. Business was getting better, but it still wasn’t as good as Henry had hoped. Although he wasn’t a greedy man and not out to make a fortune, he wanted to earn a decent profit. Henry was a widower and he had invested most of his savings in this business. He had always wanted to run a bed and breakfast establishment. He had a pleasing personality and the customers liked him. In addition, Henry liked the idea of having people in the building. He was lonely since the death of his wife. Henry was always a fan of television and he had seen the short BBC series “Faulty Towers” a number of times. It was a funny English program that featured John Cleese as a rude proprietor of a bed and breakfast. Unlike Cleese’s character, Basil Fawlty Henry was amiable and went out of his way to treat his guests with respect. He made sure the meals were good and he was hospitable and friendly to all of his guests, Still, he was rarely ever filled. The “Vacancy” sign was usually lit. Henry began using the computer a bit more often as well. His friend instructed him on how to navigate the internet and with his friend’s help, Henry began expanding his web page. He included letters from pleased guests and a message board. Another friend who was even more savvy with the computer was familiar with the new trend in video advertising on the internet. She thought that she could do wonders with Henry’s website and make it even more interesting. While Henry’s website certainly was professional and pleasant, it features only photos of the building and the rooms as well as the rates. There was no photo of Henry on the site. Henry’s friend, Joan, was inventive and had a camcorder. She often filmed videos for different websites where she was paid for tutorials. She was also an active participant on You Tube. She thought it might be fun to film a video ad for Henry’s bed and breakfast. It could easily be added to the website and may even bring in more business. When Joan approached Henry with the idea, he was a little reluctant. He didn’t want to be shown in front of the camera. He was an elderly, kind looking man with a nice grin, but didn’t feel like “movie star material” as he put it. Joan explained to him that it was better to be an average person with a pleasant demeanor and honest face in advertising. Henry agreed that he was no “Basil Fawlty.” Joan had never seen “Fawlty Towers” but was curious. Henry loaned her a copy of one of his tapes so she could watch one of his favorite programs. That is when Joan got a wonderful idea. Joan knew that in order to get permission for a clip from Fawlty Towers, she would have to get permission from whoever owned the rights of the show for a license to show a clip. She had an attorney friend who was able to work this out. The rates were negotiated and were within Henry’s budget. She then came up with a brilliant idea for a video featuring Henry’s Bed and Breakfast. Henry was a bit apprehensive, because he would have to appear in the video, but Joan assured him that he would be a natural. Joan was good with editing and filming. She began the advertisement with a very short clip of Basil Fawlty telling off some of his guests. Then the ad for Henry’s hotel appeared on the video. The over voice, which was Joan’s said “You can settle for less in a bed and breakfast, or you can visit the Massachusetts Willow Inn. She then featured Henry, who was more comfortable seated than standing. He was pictured in front of a warm fireplace and several guests were sitting in the main sitting area sipping drinks. Henry said that although “Fawlty Towers” was very funny, it was not funny to be treated poorly when on vacation. He then went on to explain that his guests enjoyed clean, cozy rooms, good food and a hospitable environment. The video then featured some of the guest rooms and the dining area. It ended with a video shot of the outside of the inn with the voiceover saying “Instead of staying at Fawlty Towers, enjoy real bed and breakfast comfort at Massachusetts Willow Inn. Henry was thrilled with the video. Never a technical whiz, he was surprised to see how easy it was for Joan to complete such an advertisement. And she did it all on her computer. Then she uploaded it to his website. The results were immediate. People loved the advertisement. The idea of comparing Henry to Basil Fawlty proved humorous and entertaining. Henry began to receive a lot of calls from people who wanted to visit his bed and breakfast. The video advertisement, although simple and not very costly, had certainly done wonders for his business. But that wasn’t all. Joan wasn’t finished with trying to help her friend Henry. She put the video on You Tube. It began to get a lot of views and soon became very popular. People started commenting on the humor and copying the video to send to their friends by e-mail. Some people even portrayed the entertaining video on their blogs. Soon Henry’s phone was ringing off the hook. He had more business than he could handle. He had money to fix up two more rooms in the attic that he had neglected and was able to take in more guests. Before long, Henry had one of the most popular Bed and Breakfast establishments in Massachusetts. Henry was always a good proprietor. His bed and breakfast were always clean, he was kind to his guests and the establishment was lovely. Even the food was good. But because people didn’t know about it, he wasn’t getting the guests he could have. Because of the internet website and video advertising, Henry’s business, that was once just getting by, was now bustling. Bookings had to be made months in advance. The video still circulated for a while on the internet. And because Henry was such a good host and ran such a good establishment, he had many customers who came back over and over again. This is just one example of how a little bit of internet know-how, a video camera, a bit of the knowledge of what you can use on the internet in your ads and a little imagination saved a business. It began with the website and ended with a very successful ad campaign. And it saved a retiree’s business. Do you still wonder how effective internet video advertising can be? Henry’s story is just one of many. Many businesses are discovering the importance of advertising on a media that 82 percent of Americans use. Many of them are realizing that entertaining people with clever video ads are more effective than word ads. Video advertising on the internet is the way of the future. Henry’s story is not unique. It is a true success story and amazing because it was done by an amateur. But there are thousands of businesses who are discovering that video advertising on the internet is not only drawing more attention to their business but increasing their sales and adding to their revenue. Chapter 8 - What Other Visual Methods Can I Use? You have now probably decided to implement the use of video technology to not only draw customers to your website but make your site more appealing and increase your sales. But that is not all that you can do to increase sales on your website. Remember how we talked about that people are very visual. This means that you want to show not only videos on your website but other photographs and visual products as well. This ranges from clip art, cartoons, photographs and even animation. There are certain software programs that will allow you to create an animated character that can “walk your client through” your website. You want to make sure that this character that is small, does not overpower the website, it pleasant and harmless looking and that the customer has the power to turn the little animated guy off. While this may appeal to some people, some might find it annoying. Also, you have to remember that some people will be perusing your website while at work. They probably will not be supposed to be doing this, but they will be doing it anyway. Many people are getting fired for “internet abuse.” As a matter of fact, it is one of the leading causes of people losing their jobs in the United States. You will want to make sure that both your video and your animated character have a volume or mute control. Clip art is always fun as are funny cartoons. You will have made certain, however, that the clip art that you use is public and free. There are millions of free clip art products both available over the internet as well as in software. These are all within the public domain and free to use. Why not use them? In addition, there are hundreds of photographs and cartoons that lie within the public domain that you can add to your website. If you can find a cartoon that pertains to your business that is a free cartoon, why not use it in your website? You can even get a little creative and edit the cartoon to mention the name of your business. Still another way to increase sales using visual elements on your website is by the use of coupons that can be printed by the customer and used. People love coupons and many websites are using this marketing method to not only attract new sales, but also to gauge how many people are visiting their website. If you are not an expert at setting up a website, and few of us are, why not have a professional create a website for you? There are many companies and individuals who do this for businesses. If you have a small budget, you can hire a person who is attending technical college to learn how to set up a website. You will be surprised at the knowledge this young person will have and they will charge you much less than a professional company. You may even get more innovation; you never know. The kid that you hire to create your website might be the next brightest new talent. Once you have created your website, get some opinions from friends and colleagues on the site itself. Remember that you will want to make the website easy to read, easy to understand, easy to navigate and above all, attractive and entertaining. This means using any visual means that you have at your disposal, including video, you will have a website that will appear professional, and you will be using all modern means to attract customers, generate new leads and increase sales and profits. Chapter 9 - Some Video Marketing Tips By now you realize just how much videos added to your website can do to not only improve your website but generate leads and sales. The type of video that you use will have to depend on the type of business you have. You can use video in many different ways. The examples given of Henry’s bed and breakfast and the shower filter company both used humor in a positive way to attract customers. There are other ways that you can use video as well, without having to pay any fees to producers who may own the video. Remember in the last chapter how we talked about coupons? People like to save money. They like to feel that they are getting a deal. Observe commercials on television. They will often say that if you call within a certain number of minutes, you will get an extra product or discount. You can do this as well. Either on your own website, through e-mail or even on a free video site, such as You Tube. For example, suppose you have an excess of a certain product you would really like to move. One way to do it is to introduce the product in your own home-made video. Tell people how wonderful this product is, and that it is now available at a special rate. And if they call or order right away, they can get free shipping. Make sure that this is cost effective to you. If you have your own business, you probably already know about different ways to market certain products. One method includes marking the product up a bit to cover the “free shipping.” You do not want to lose money on this promotion. However, this will only work if it is a new product that you have not previously advertised on your website. If you have this product on the website for $24.99 and suddenly you are sending out a video that it is now “marked down” to $29.99 including free shipping, your customers will feel cheated, and you will lose your credibility. This method only works with overstock that you cannot move or a brand-new product that has not yet been advertised. So, you make your video and put it on your website. Is that good enough? No. You want to make sure that you send your video to all of your customers through e-mail, particularly those who have purchased the product in the past. E-mail is free advertising; it doesn’t get any better than that. You can also advertise your product on You Tube or other free avenues. This is not going to cost you a dime and may generate much income, as well as rid you of some products that you are dying to get rid of. Another way to use video to market your product would be if you had a restaurant of some sort. Again, you advertise a “special” on your site that will be good on only a particular day. For example, on Tuesdays during this month, pizza will be 20 percent off. Restaurants often get business through word of mouth, but if one person sees the ad, they will tell others. Be prepared for an onslaught of customers on Tuesdays and make sure you have plenty of ingredients to make a lot of pizza. If you sell strictly over the internet, you should have a database of all of your customer’s e-mails. If you have not done this, begin doing so immediately. You can easily send them a video advertisement each time you have a special. Make it short and sweet and give them an incentive to ‘act right away.” People often purchase on impulse. One example would be to simply advertise that you are giving free shipping on all orders that are placed on the website within 24 hours. See how well that does for you. It will give the customer an incentive to act quickly, and you will make a sale. The longer you give them to act, the better the chances are that they will not act at all and talk themselves out of making the purchase. If you have a car dealership, you can take tremendous advantage of such a video ad. “From now until Friday, prices on all new models have been slashed!” You can even offer a free gift for those who visit the showroom before the deadline. Car dealers often do this just to get the customer in the door. Once the customer is inside the door, the objective is to not let them leave until they buy a car. Some dealerships take this approach a little too far, such as the example of the car salesman who threw my father’s keys to his old car on the roof of the showroom. This was not good salesmanship and car dealers seldom behave this way anymore. But they still want to get you into the store so they can use every tactic, short of kidnapping, to get you to purchase a car. Because they know, once you walk out of that showroom, they have lost a sale. People seldom come back. Another way to keep people interested in your website and keep them coming back is to use the “progressive” ad. Do you remember the old “Folger’s” coffee commercials? They were popular on television in the 1990s. It featured a man and a woman who were flirting with each other throughout the commercial. Each commercial became a bit more progressive; it was like watching a soap opera. People enjoyed seeing these commercials because they wanted to see if the man and woman would ever get together. This advertising campaign was very popular not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, where it was first conceived. The same actors were used, and they used different accents in the different series of ads. The Folger’s progressive commercial was one of the most successful marketing campaigns of its time. Why not do that on your website? It doesn’t have to be a soap opera format, but as videos are easy to continue to create, upload and delete, you can keep changing your video from time to time and make it a progressive commercial. The soap opera theme always works. A murder them, while macabre, may work on certain websites, depending upon what you are selling. People will continue visiting your website to see if the love affair works out or if the murder is solved. And if you can manage this yourself, it won’t cost you anything. Much less expensive as the Folger’s coffee ad, but just as effective. No matter what type of business you own, use marketing techniques combined with video in your sales. Sure, the videos on your website can be entertaining and make your site more attractive. These alone will generate more sales. But when you combine them with old fashioned marketing techniques, you’ve really got is a winner. Chapter 10 - Move into the Future By now you should know all about how video advertising on the internet can draw more people to your website, give you knew leads on customers, and increase your sales and revenue. By now you know that people are visual and like to be entertained. You have been given a number of examples on how you can use video in your website and internet advertising to your advantage. You know the difference between hiring an advertising firm to create your video. You know that you can easily create your own video and easily add it to your website. You know the difference between advertising via video on other websites, which will cost you money, as well as implementing this technology on your own website. Advertising has always been with us. Prior to television, advertising was seen in print. In the newspapers, magazines and on billboards. Prior to that, they had metal signs to let people know about their product. Anyone who is in business knows that in order to sell something, you have a better chance of making a sale if people actually know about your business and what exactly it is that you are selling. After print ads came radio ads. Then people began watching television and it became necessary for commercials to be filmed. Early commercials on television were often very crude, but somehow, people still remember these old ads. It became apparent to companies that in order to keep up with the competition, they had to have a good advertising campaign. They hired the best advertising executives that they could find to come up with slogans, gimmicks, print ads, jingles and commercials. Many of us still remember the commercial jingles from the past, which do not seem to be used that much anymore. Television ads have, like television, become more sophisticated. The internet has also become more sophisticated. You now know that most people in the United States use the internet. Some people use the internet a little too much. Internet addiction is beginning to become a problem. People use the internet all the time, even at work when they are supposed to be doing their jobs. For most of us in the United States, the first thing we do when we get up in the morning is check our e-mail. Camcorders, once an item people used to film their children, have come down significantly in price since the late 1980s. They are small, easy to use, and the videos are very easy to upload onto the internet. So easy, as a matter of fact, that people are using videos for just about everything. Writing sites that used to feature only text media, now offer creative types to submit videos as tutorials for money. They realize that many people learn better by seeing how something is done rather than just reading about it. Musicians promote their music on YouTube with ease. There are any budding talents who have their own, homemade music videos on YouTube so that they can promote their music to their target audience, free of charge. Gone are the days of spending thousands to record a demo and then having to send it out to producers and radio stations in the hopes they will like it and play it on the radio. Now they can just cut to the chase and give their audience a chance to “discover” them before the radio stations or producers. Just about anywhere you can add text on the internet, you can add video. Most online communities allow videos on their website. They cost nothing. Dating sites are using videos as a form of “matching” people. There is much competition between online dating sites, and many are realizing that those that feature videos instead of blurry photographs are becoming more popular and getting more members. Websites for businesses have evolved from simple sites that offered an array of products to those that feature flash videos, music and entertainment as you shop. Banner ads that people click on accidentally that end up costing companies' money is soon to be obsolete. There is a new technology, a better technology, to advertise your business. Video. And it is just as easy to use and more effective. The way you use video on your website is limited only by your imagination. You can use it to depict a peaceful scene that is pleasant to view and soothing to sell your aromatherapy products, or you can use it to depict scenes from a travel spot that are just breathtaking. You can also implement humor to make people want to stay on your website. You can change the video periodically to keep them coming back. You can do anything you want. By now you have realized that sending an e-mail that says you have a sale on shirts is not as effective as sending a video e-mail that really grabs the recipient’s attention and makes them look. You know that when you combine this form of media advertising with marketing tools, you can mix the old with the new and generate a lot more sales on your website. You know that there are many different free outlets that will enable you to upload your video for free. While you should not depend solely on a website like YouTube to promote your business, particularly because you cannot really target your audience, you can promote the name of your business and if your video is funny and clever enough, this free form of advertising may draw people to your website. Video advertising on the internet is not very new but is still at the beginning stages. It has proven to be very popular and effective. Internet advertisers are reporting that video ads are much more effective than print ads and many are trying to get their clients to switch to this media. More companies are coming up with different ways to continue to improve video technology on the web, including Microsoft. They realize that video advertising, particularly on websites, is now imminent. More websites are now beginning to add videos to attract customers and boost sales. Those who will cling on to the past will soon be left in the past. Just as the businesses once were that refused to advertise on television. Now that you know all there is to know about the different ways you can use video advertising on your website to generate leads and sales, you should be eager to begin. Whether you hire an outside company or film your own video is up to you. Either way, now is the time to pull yourself into the future of this brilliant technology. 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