A Movie in Every Mailbox

Want to get your message to the masses? Looking for a cost effective way to create leads and sales?  Why not try sending a video via email? While you can’t actually embed videos in every email, you can attach them to online newsletters such as Constant Contact.

With billions of videos being watched online monthly, it seems logical that businesses will want to maximize the marketing potential of video in such areas as email, newsletters, blogs and social networks.  What’s even better is the fact that a number of popular platforms are adding ways for their users to put a  movie in every emailbox. 

Google Goes Viral

Gmail recently unleashed a feature that allows users to preview YouTube videos right from their inbox. Sweet! Now all those YouTube links that your friends keep bombarding you with can be reviewed without ever having to go to YouTube.

When is Email Freemail?

Recently a number of video email purveyors have sprung up to help feed the public’s voracious appetite for online video.  Some of these sites are even free to use, such as Eyejot.com and howdywire.com.  This makes composing and delivering video emails a snap.  Designed to work with your computer’s webcam, you can compose, shoot and send emails in a matter of seconds.  If you want to send a more polished video, Eyejot makes uploading a polished video as simple as point and click.

A Bright Future for Email Marketing?

While the uses of video email are only going to grow during the coming years, the rules for using this medium as a marketing tool are still the same as with traditional email.  Spammers beware.  Therefore, the secret to getting your video message across without ruffling any feathers is to use 4 parts infotainment per one part sales pitch.

Accomplishing this task via video is not at all difficult, provided that you throw in a bit of production value.  One of the simplest ways to create production value without breaking the bank is by creating microcasts of 1-2 minutes that provide helpful tips.  A dollop of humor wouldn’t hurt either.  Something along the lines of Tim Allen’s ToolTime shtick comes to mind.  Better still would be to use a buxom blonde to provide the tips.  You get the picture.

There are hundreds of ways to get your message across using video email marketing. Not every production will work for you, but you can bet that given a little trial and error you will be able to come up with a number of ways to employ video to create a loyal following online.

Where Google Leads Others Will Follow

You can also bet your boots that the folks at Microsoft are looking for a way to incorporate Silverlight into MSN and Hotmail.   I’d also wager that Yahoo has got to have something in the works as well. All I can say is that in time there will be a plethora of multimedia friendly email services along with a host of apps that will make embedding video as easy as ABC.

So why wait? The most important word of advice that I can give any online marketer is to embrace this cost effective advantage before the competition beats you to the finish line. 

Carl Weiss has been getting paid to work the web since 1995.  You can see his own brand of video tutorials by going to http://access-jax.com and htt://Jacksonville-video-production.com

Social Media Marketing via Online Video

When we talk about social media we immediately think of Facebook, Twitter and even Myspace, but often overlook the video option of YouTube.  I know what you're thinking, "YouTube is a video portal, not a social network."  When you get right down to it, what is a social network? It's an online diary that can be used to update friends, family and associates about your life and/or your business.  Beter still, it's an e-diary that you not only allow, but encourage others to peruse and redistribute.

Now I ask you, which one of the following would you say is  more compelling:

1. Text

2. Video

I don't know about you, but I am way more likely to watch a 60-second YouTube video than I am to read a blogpost or Tweet.  In fact, one of the things I teach my clients to do is embed videos on their blogs and social networks.  Particularly if the videos are amusing, they will achieve far greater viewership than even the finest prose.

Add to this the fact that in 2010, U.S. Internet users watched 32.4 billion videos in January with Google Sites ranking as the top U.S. video property with 12.8 billion videos. YouTube.com accounted for nearly 99 percent of all videos viewed at Google. (This isn't unusual, since Google owns YouTube.) What is interesting is the fact that video viewers at YouTube.com watched 93 videos on average during the month, representing an increase of 50 percent versus that of a year ago.That's more than 3 per day on average.

Are you seeing the value yet? We all know that we must be innovative and creative with our marketing techniques and initiatives, so if you are not using YouTube, do you think you could be missing out on something that could help your business?  

Alright, then I'll give you another reason to consider utilizing YouTube.  Did you know that you can create a Page 1 result on Google using YouTube?  That's right, the Googlebots are always looking for mixed media to pull onto YouTube.  Properly optimized videos can wind up on Page 1 of a Google search.  Access-JAX even has a Video SEO program that we employ for our client's behalf that optimizes every online video we post.

When it comes down to it, there really is no downside to promoting your business on YouTube. What you need to think about are the following:

1. How can you use YouTube to market your products or services?  
2. What humorous or eye-catching theme will give your video the best chance of going viral?
3. Who on your staff is most photogenic. (Or, should you consider hiring a spokesmodel?) 

The beauty of YouTube is that it even includes a number categories that you can choose from, including:

    * Autos and Vehicles

    * Comedy

    * Education

    * Entertainment

    * Film and Animation

    * Gaming

    * How-to and Style

    * Nonprofit and Activism

    * People and Blogs

    * Pets and Animals

    * Science and Technology

    * Sports

    * Travel and Events

Your first step is to determine under which category your productsbestfits. Keep in mind that when it comes to social media marketing it's not just about uploading a commercial for your product, but also interacting with potential customers.  Also, short videos of 1-2 minutes are the best length for viewers.

Next you need to determine what type of video you could post that consumers would find valuable and instructive?

There are dozens of ways to employ video for your business.  You could put together a how-to video? How about shooting an entertaining video that showcases your products?  Remember value and interaction are key to using social media to market effectively. Just bear in mind that there is a fine line between providing compelling video content and coming on like an informercial  Unlike TV ads, the key with YouTube is to provide 90% content and 10% selling. 

Of course the best reason to add YouTube to your marketing arsenal is due to the fact that unlike broadcast TV, airing your video costs you nothing.  Shooting quality video is another matter, but today production costs have come way down.  So, if you can create videos that share value and interact with consumers, getting back the production costs shouldn't be that hard. What you must remember is that your video will be one of 180,000 that are uploaded daily, so make it worthwhile for viewers to tune in. 

As with any social media marketing strategy the key is to be creative and have fun.  But most of all, do it because it is one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business online. 

Carl Weiss has been helping clients gain a competitive edge online since 1995.  If you are interested in tuning up your web presence, call Carl at 904-234-6007 for a Free Web Presence Analysis.http://access-jax.com  
http://jacksonville-video-production.com

What Every Business Owner Needs to Know About Online Marketing

In 2009 $155 Billion was spent on local advertising in the US. Yet only 7% of that figure was spent online. Market Trend projections predict that 50% of local advertising revenue will be spent online within the next 7 years. That means that $77 Billion will leave traditional advertising venues. Recent advances in online advertising such as online coupons will only serve to accelerate this trend.

You may have read the recent news stating that, "Groupon rejected Google’s $6 billion acquisition offer." According to Chicago Breaking Business and Bloomberg, Groupon decided that it was better off on its own.

What many people did not read was the fact that Google reported revenues of $6.77 billion in the first quarter of 2010, representing a 23% increase over first quarter 2009 revenues of $5.51 billion.

Why are local advertisers moving their advertising dollars online?

As Americans continue to become ever more connected, their reading, watching and buying habits are following suit. Conversely, more traditional advertising media, such as newspapers, direct mail and TV commercials, continue to decline in both popularity and profitability.

A recent report by Havard's Nieman Journalism Lab states that, At least technically, the recession is over, with GDP growth measured at 2.2 percent in Q3 of 2009 and widely forecast in Q4 to exceed that rate. But newspaper revenue has not followed suit, dropping 28 percent in Q3. McClatchy and the New York Times Company (which both came in at about that level in Q3) hinted recently that Q4 would be better, in the negative low-to-mid 20 percent range. This is not unexpected — in the last few recessions with actual GDP contraction (1990-91 and 2001), newspaper revenue remained in negative territory for at least two quarters after the GDP returned to growth. But the newspaper dip has been bigger each time, and the current slide started (without precedent) a year and a half before the recession did, with a cumulative revenue loss of nearly 50 percent.

The same statistics hold true for Yellow Page advertising. A recent quote from industry analyst Simba Information recounted the fact that, "Overall U.S. yellow pages revenue declined 11.8% in 2010. The industry’s revenue slide continued in 2010 as a recessionary economy endured and the transition from print to digital products continued. This marks another year of continuous; multiyear double digit loses in revenue from the major publishers. The industry growth rate has been declining steadily since 2004 and finished 2010 at $13.57 billion, or an 11.8% decline over that period. The outlook for 2011 is similarly negative, but at a slower rate."

Online Ads Break Out of the Box

With 72% of all mobile users in the US using text messaging, mobile marketing is also experiencing an upswing. motomessage.com reported that "Mobile marketing ad spending will continue to explode in the next 5 years. In 2011, eMarketer predicts spending of text message marketing, mobile banners, video and other mobile based media to crack the One Billion dollar mark. Growth from 2009 to 2010 almost doubled at 79% with next year predicting another huge increase of 48%. Text marketing based advertising is expected to top 2010 in spending with $327 million."


How You Can Reap the Advantages of this Growing Marketplace

Let's face it, online marketing is here to stay. And with good reason. Unlike many other forms of advertising, online marketing is completely quantifiable. With today's low cost and in some cases no cost marketing and analysis solutions, every business owner needs to fully exploit the advantages that online marketing presents.

Be it cost-per-click campaigns, social networking, blogging, online coupons, Craigslist and viral video marketing, the Internet is the only medium on the planet that can attract, engage and more importantly track every eyeball, click and sale that are involved in promoting a business. Add to it the fact that many businesses can also sell their goods and services online to create an additional revenue stream that far exceeds the confines of their local neighborhood and the Internet fully utilized can help any business survive these tough economic times.

Having worked with companies for more than 16 years with their online marketing, all I can say is that if you are looking for a way to expand your market, create more revenue and take your business to the next level, the statistics speak for themselves.

Carl Weiss is president of Access-JAX.com an online marketing company based in Jacksonville, Florida. http://access-jax.com

10 Online Marketing Secrets That Help You Sell More

by Carl Weiss

When creating content, it's easy to lose track of the fact that your website is designed specifically to sell your products and services to your target market. That being said, if you hope to generate the desired result, you need to keep your eyes on the prize. 

Remember, the two hardest things to accomplish online are to generate traffic and then generate a result.  Having one without the other is great for bragging rights, but it won’t do much to augment the bottom line. Statistics show us that the average visitor to a website will only view 4.6 pages and stay on site for 3.45 minutes.  So you had better provide the visitor with compelling content if you hope to generate either a lead or a sale.

Below are ten online marketing secrets you need to employ if you hope to achieve the desired result.

1. Which is more powerful, showing or telling?

Think about it…99% of the people who click from a search engine to your website have never done business with you.  They don’t know you.  They don’t know your reputation.  They don’t know what sets you apart from the competition.  And they don’t have a tangible reason to do business with you.  The solution to this dilemma is to create a 60-90 second video that will show people what makes you special.  (If you go back to our February 27 blogpost: How to use Video SEO to Jump to Google Page 1, you will also find out how to employ this video as a traffic generator as well.

2. Never talk down to your audience.

The quickest way to lose your audience is to talk down to them.  Even though you know way more about your industry and your business than your audience, you don’t want to lord this fact over them.  The best way to catch flies is with honey.  That being said, the best way to become an authority figure without upsetting your audience is to make it fun for them to absorb the wisdom you wish to impart.

3. Why KISS equals CA$H

Another deal killer I see presented on any number of websites is trying to cram as much information onto a page as is humanly possible.  Given the statistic presented in the second paragraph of this blogpost, having a page that scrolls down ten feet is hardly the way to make your point and generate the desired result.  By keeping it simple and limiting your salient points down to one or two per page, you will create the desired effect without overwhelming the visitor.

4. Using grabber headlines to steer the visitor.

If your intention is to steer your audience in order to get them to watch a video or read a paragraph, the first thing you need to do is whet their appetite by providing a killer headline.  On average, eight out of ten people will read a headline, but only two out of ten will read the copy.  The key to writing killer headlines is to state the biggest benefit in the boldest way possible.  “Create an instant audience in only one click!”  “Blog your way to BIG BUCK$.”  “How to use FREE offers to generate direct response results.”

5. Features inform, benefits sell.

If you want visitors to read beyond the headline, you need to first spell out the benefits before describing the describing the features.  The public doesn’t purchase automobiles because they can travel from point “A” to point “B”.  They buy them because they are sporty or fuel efficient or because they can ford a stream to reach that secluded camping spot.

6. If you hope to hook a fish you need to dangle some bait.

Circle this item in red.  The main reason that most online marketing campaigns don’t succeed is due to the fact that they don’t provide a compelling inducement to click or buy.  Or, they hide the offer so that it is nearly impossible to find.  Remember, the goal is to generate a new customer.  In order to prime the pump, you need to offer something of real or perceived value that is going get the prospect to take action.  This means offering something free or discounted in order to generate either a registration or a sale.  The best place to position the offer is at the top of the page.  Having a great offer and burying it below the fold will defeat the purpose of the exercise.

7. How to make the fish take a second nibble at the bait.

One of the intangibles can be a free webinar.  If the webinar is taped or live is immaterial, (although personally I prefer taped, since you can deliver it as soon as you generate the registration), either way you get a second shot at the prospect.  Add to this the fact that a webinar will provide far more information and enhance your credibility further still, since you will get to talk far longer than you will during your intro video.

8. Don’t make it hard to act.

Another reason that many online marketing campaigns fail is due to the fact that it is sometimes difficult to find contact info, such as a phone number.  This is another item you should have displayed prominently at the top of each page.  You should also include it on every video, since videos can take on a life all their own, especially if you post them on youtube, facebook and embed them on your blog.

9. Don’t drop the ball once you have generated a lead.

Here is another keypoint to highlight.  Once you generate a lead, what do you do with it?  Obviously every one that opts in for your offer and/or listens to your webinar is not going to make an instant buying decision.  Does that mean you should discard the lead?  Hardly.  If you want to make real money in online marketing you need to take the long approach and set up a drip marketing campaign that automatically sends out a newsletter or offer every couple of weeks.  As they say in sales, persistence beats resistance. 

10. How tracking the results can equal BIG dividends.

Another one of the beauties of online marketing is the fact that you can experiment with different approaches and offers without breaking the bank.  Unlike printing, it costs you nothing to experiment with a number of inducements designed to elicit a response or sale.  However, if you fail to track the results, what benefit will you derive from all the hard work expended in creating and running a robust online marketing campaign?  With free tools from Google such as analytics and Google Voice you can track both clicks and calls with ease in order to determine with great precision what works and what does not.

If you want to learn even more online secrets that can give you an edge over the competition, don’t forget to connect with Carl via Facebook and Twitter.
http://access-jax.com

The Shortcut to Online Success

By Carl Weiss

Not many people know this about me, but before I became an online marketing professional, I made my living playing and teaching blackjack for more than 20 years.     What made me successful in casinos the world over was one basic principle:  “Never play another man’s game by his rules.”

By this I mean that the reason that most people fail at the gaming tables, as well as online, is due to the fact that they are all trying to beat a game that was designed to separate them from their money.  If you truly want to beat the dealer, you need to identify an advantage and exploit it in as efficient a way as possible.  In the casinos this involved card counting and team play.  On the internet it involves analyzing keywords and creating a platform specifically designed to generate either a sale or a response.

Having worked with hundreds of companies over the years, I can state categorically that their biggest complaint had to do with online results, or the lack thereof.  Most companies either have little if any presence on the major search engines, or else they have terrific position but are woefully inadequate when it comes to translating traffic into leads or sales.  In either case, the problem usually comes down to the fact that their homepage was never designed to generate a response.  It was designed by a graphic artist to “look good.” 

It’s like the players who used to attend my seminars.  They were all wondering why they were losing, when for the most part they didn’t even have a solid grasp of basic strategy, let alone card counting.  What I routinely told my players also applies to businesses looking to generate results online.

“If you want to play to win, you need to understand the math of the game.” 

In short, you need to identify a game’s vulnerabilities and then create a situation that allows you to exploit the vulnerability. 

On the gaming floor this required employing spotters who were trained to count cards and signal the count to the “Player.”  Online what it takes is an analysis of longtail keywords which are then priced on Adwords.  

For instance, for a local chiropractor, I found out that out of 18 potential keywords, only two cost more than a dollar per click.  Armed with this information, I created several keyword-related videos and mini-sites.  This way, instead of having to wait for months to generate a page 1 result on Google, we began to generate traffic and leads in less than 30 days.  Since the mini-sites and videos were also optimized for search engine penetration, they will inevitably work their way up the search engine over time.  But in the meantime, the client is only too happy to be be generating business now as opposed to having to wait months for traditional SEO to kick in.

As PT Barnum once said, “there’s a sucker born every minute.”  The moral of the story is that if you want to play with an advantage, you need to put yourself in a situation where it is more probable that you win then that you lose and let the suckers keep the lights burning for us knowledgeable players.

If you want to win online, give the pros at Access-Jax.com a call at 904-234-6007.  They will analyze your complete web presence for FREE and present you with a report that will show you how you stack up against the competition, as well as how to turn the tables. http://access-jax.com

Competing to Win Online in 4 Easy Steps

by Carl Weiss

Like it or not, if you own a website, you are forced to compete for exposure online.  With 234 million websites already in existence and nearly 130,000 new sites coming online every day, is it any wonder that being found is getting harder and harder to accomplish?  Well, the good news is that while it may take a little sweat equity to put your web presence in the winner’s circle, the task can be accomplished in short order if you follow the four simple rules below.

1. Don’t look “Old School” and expect to be considered current.

If your website still has an entry page that reads “Click here to enter our website,” or if your site is 100% Flash, or if the last update you performed on your site was back in 2005, then don’t be surprised if your site is languishing on Google page 122.

If the Internet is going to become a real asset to your business, the most important first step you can take is to update your website on a regular basis.  This means embracing new technologies such as social networking, blogging and video. It means changing your web mantra from “Set it and forget it,” to “Feed the need.” 

I personally make it a habit to publish at least one new blog per week and add two new videos per month.  Why?  Because I want my web presence to keep pace with my growing business enterprise.  I want my websites, blogs, vlogs, social networks and newsletters to bring prospects and clients back to check up on my latest events and updates.  I also want to make sure that I either embed or link these blogs, vlogs, and social networks to my homepage.

You’ll notice I said “websites.”  There is no law that states that you can only employ one website to promote your business.  In fact, it behooves you to employ a number of sites in order to get the word out, particularly if your business markets a number of different products and services.

2. Since you don’t have months to wait for results, why would you?

While SEO is an important part of developing your web presence, it isn’t the only way to generate exposure.  Some would argue that isn’t even the best way to generate exposure.  Why?  Because virtually every search engine in existence routinely alters their algorithms from time to time.  Have you ever seen your search engine listing go from page 1 to page 5 overnight?   This was no doubt due to a search engine “update.”

Besides, even the best SEO firms on the planet can’t guarantee that they can deliver Google Page 1 for every search term you desire.  And every one of them will tell you that it can take four months or more before you find your links on page one of Google.  That doesn’t mean that you should neglect SEO by any means.  It’s just that there’s more than one way to skin a search engine.

Case in point: My firm was hired by a prominent real estate broker to help him sell units on a condo complex his firm had acquired.  After researching their keywords, we decided to create a 4-page microsite and a series of 4 videos that could be used to leverage SEO potential.  We then optimized the videos and embedded them on the site. As a result, the videos started appearing on Google page 1 within 30 days and the website url was on page one within less than 60 days.  As a result, not only did the broker sell the development in short order, but the site and videos continue to steer leads his way to this day.

Another client hired us to help her improve her online visibility.  After researching the keywords, we discovered that there was only one keyword that was going to cost more than $3 per click.  The rest could be had on the cheap. So we registered a url that contained the keyword and created a properly optimized site that targeted this particular keyword.  For the remainder of the keywords we created a series of landing pages, employing Adwords to generate page 1 placement.  As a result, the client started seeing traffic and lead generation within two weeks instead of having to wait months for SEO to take effect.

3. Once you get someone to click onto your site, you need to get their attention fast!

If the first brush a prospect has with your company is your website, they don’t know who you are, they don’t know what your reputation has been and they aren’t going to take the time to wade through 15 pages of prose to find out.  In fact, it’s a statistical improbability that they will scroll down the screen to the bottom of your homepage.  With that in mind, why do so many companies insist on wasting the valuable real estate at the top of the page by cramming it full of nebulous graphics and the company logo?

If you really want to capture the prospect’s attention and more importantly have them contact your firm or even better, make a purchase, what you need to put at the top of your homepage is a video.  Video is the perfect ice breaker in that it introduces the visitor to you and your business.  In 60-90 seconds you can show newcomers to your site your staff, demonstrate products and even include a testimonial from a satisfied customer.  You can tell them about your years of experience and give them a reason to do business with you.  Most importantly, you can increase your credibility and reduce a prospects hesitation to buy.

(In a previous blogpost, “The Keys to Getting Your Videos to Go Viral,” I showed you how you can use short videos to create added traffic to your sites.)

 

4. Don’t complain about a lack of results if you offer no reason to act.

Having been an online marketing consultant for more than 16 years, it never ceases to amaze me how many website owners lament a lack of leads and sales when their homepage clearly doesn’t offer much if anything in the way of a call to action or incentive to do business.

The other “Must Have” items on the top of your website that go hand in hand with your video should be your phone number and an offer.  By offer, I don’t mean, “Click here to sign up for my newsletter.”  What I mean is one of the following:

a.       Free sample or service -Since the most powerful word in the English language is FREE, this kind of offer is obviously going to draw the most attention.  Offering a free sample of a product or service is going to make a huge impact on converting browsers into buyers.  Even though you are going to have to provide a free taste, the result is that you are going to generate more of a result if all the prospect has to do is click or call to get the freebie.  This means you will now have a viable lead to work and that your ROI will be much higher using this tactic than any other, provided that you work, work, work the lead generated.

Being an online marketing expert, I personally offer prospects a free Top-to-Bottom analysis of their entire web presence.  This provides the prospect with a chance to see how their web presence stacks up against the competition.  It also provides my firm with an opportunity to create a rapport with the prospect and ultimately offer to deliver a solution that will help improve the prospects visibility and results online.  This is what’s known as a win-win situation.

b.      Discount coupon - The second most powerful inducement to getting a prospect to take action has to do with a discount offer.  In order to make the offer truly attractive, the purveyor of a product or service needs to dig deep in order for the offer to really work well. I mean, an offer good for only 10% off a $2 item isn’t really going to project the “Wow Appeal” needed to make someone pull the trigger and make a purchase. 

The following are the most powerful discount calls to action, in order:

1.      Buy 1 Get 1 Free

2.      50% Off

3.      Free Shipping

Remember, while you will be taking a hit on the initial purchase, the objective is to acquire a new customer that will continue to purchase products and services from your company hopefully for years to come.  Just like printed coupons, these inducements are meant to spur a buying decision.  Unlike print media, the value of employing coupons online is that if properly targeted, you know for a fact that the prospect is looking for your product or service before they enter your site.  Therefore the object is that once you get them there you need to provide an offer they can’t refuse as soon as possible.

c.       Enticement to even more free information - If you are still reluctant to give a prospect a free taste of something that costs you money, then the other way to hook a prospect is by offering them an intangible that has a value to them.  What I am referring to is the Free Webinar.  A webinar is a lecture presented either live or via podcast or video that presents prospects with information that can help solve a problem or provide industry secrets. 

Sample webinar topics have included such offerings as:

·        The Secrets to Setting Up a Successful Online Business

·        Google Page 1 in 30 Days or Less

·        The Top 5 Free Ways to Advertise Online

·        How to Turn Your Blog into a Cash Machine

Whether you present the webinar live or canned, the most important thing is that you need a grabber title and the expertise to back it up.  If you can accomplish both of these tasks, then you will accomplish three vital steps toward turning a prospect into a client:

1.      You will capture the prospects email.

2.      You will become in the eyes of the prospect an authority figure.

3.      At the end of the webinar you will get yet another opportunity to pitch the prospect to purchasing a product or service from your firm.

With the Internet getting ever more crowded, it is vital to your online success that you do everything in your power to give your web presence a competitive edge.  After all, this is one competition you can’t afford to lose.

Carl Weiss has been helping clients gain a competitive edge online since 1995.  If you are interested in tuning up your web presence, call Carl at 904-234-6007 for a Free Web Presence Analysis.

http://access-jax.com

http://jacksonville-video-production.com

The Keys to Getting Your Videos to Go Viral

By Carl Weiss

So you finally created that kooky corporate video that has everyone at the office laughing out loud.  Then you posted it on YouTube figuring that the clicks would start pouring in.  The problem is that after weeks and weeks of languishing on YouTube, your video still has yet to break 100 views.  Is that what's bothering you, Bunky.

Examples of humorous videos that promote a product or service:

Tax Slayer Video

Jacksonville Web Design

Well, if you want your videos to go viral, you have to work just a little bit harder.  Once you've uploaded your videos to YouTube, you must put on your marketing hat and begin to promote your video online.  One of the best ways to accomplish this task is via article marketing. 

The beauty of article marketing is that it couldn't be easier.  All you need to do is write articles related to your videos and then submit them to the top article directories, websites and ezines that accept articles.Such directories include:  EZine Articles, Article Base, EZine Art, and Article Click, just to name a few.  

No matter where you submit your articles, the important thing to keep in mind is that in order to produce the desired result, your must provide unique, high quality content that solves at least one piece of a problem. However, in order to convert readers to buyers, you must not give the reader all of the answers necessary to solve the problem. Instead you want to tease them with some of the how and top it off with why it's important that this particular dilemma gets solved.

This sets you up as an authority figure in the eyes of the reader and also provides the perfect segway for you to dangle clickbait in the form of a call to action and an offer the reader can't refuse.  The key to creating an irresistible offer is to hit the reader right between the eyes.  The last thing a reader wants to see at the bottom of an article that has them sitting on the edge of their seat is a paragraph describing the last ten years of the author's life.   Now that you have set the stage, deliver a call to action that is hard to ignore.

Example: 

Credit Repair Expert, Jason Oneill has helped thousands of Americans dramatically improve their credit scores. Watch his new webinar and discover how to restore your credit now! As a special bonus, you'll receive a FREE special offer for a credit audit that reveals how you can use the credit reporting agencies own rules and regulations to regain control of your credit destiny.

Now that you have crafted your article and killer offer, the next step to submission success is to come up with a grabber title that will make people want to read and most importantly repost your article. Titles that start with leads such as. "The 6 Best Ways to...," "How to Guarantee...", and "The ABC's of..." are just a few of the many ways to grab a reader's attention and make your articles stand out from the crowd.  

 An added bonus to submitting articles to the top article directories is that it also helps you build links and improve your search engine optimization. What a deal!

 Just like your website, in order to increase your YouTube Video's search ranking on Google, you must increase the number of inbound links to the page. The higher you climb in search results the more unique visitors you will get.  By submitting articles to the top article directories like EzineArticles.com, you will instantly receive a guaranteed link to your YouTube page as long as you follow each directory's specific editorial guidelines.

 Keep in mind that for best results on the search engines you can't just have any link. You must have links on high-trafficked websites with high Google Page Rankings and high Alexa Traffic Rankings. Plus, by placing your articles on highly-competitive, targeted websites like About.com, instead of just second tier article directories that will publish anyone's articles, you will win trust in the hearts and minds of your targeted audience before they even see your YouTube video.

By following these tried and true techniques, you will be able to promote your video, bump your website's ranking on the search engines and most importantly generate leads for your growing business.  Not a bad deal for a little bit of sweat equity.

Online Marketing Expert Carl Weiss has been helping companies large and small take their web presence to the next level for more than 16 years.  Now you can add him to your team by taking him up on his offer of a FREE Web Presence Audit by clicking on the link or by calling him at 904-234-6007. http://access-jax.com  http://jacksonville-video-production.com 

Give Your Website the Hollywood Blockbuster Treatment

By Carl Weiss

Ever since YouTube first launched its groundbreaking site back in 2005, the buzz online has been about how video has been changing the face of the Internet.  Yet while millions have posted video clips to this and other portals such as Revver.com And MetaCafe.com, many website owners still haven’t figured out the connection between online video and online success.  With the low cost of entry into this multi-media promotional extravaganza, there are a number of ways that you can use video to give your website the Hollywood blockbuster treatment.

When It Comes to Video, Size Matters

In the first place, if you want to create online videos that people will want to watch and pass along to their friends and family, the first thing you have to understand is that when it comes to riveting online video, short sells.  This means that you don’t have to shoot a feature film or documentary to make the scene with online viewers.  In fact, if you have spent any time on YouTube, you will quickly come to find that most of the clips that generate the highest clickthrough are only 30-90 seconds long. 

Lights, Cameras, Viral Video

The most important factor to getting your videos to go viral is to start off with a catchy title that hooks the viewer into giving your clip a whirl.  Then you need to back it up with a clip that is either humorous, thought provoking or otherwise visually appealing.  The last thing that websurfers want to watch is your last board meeting, or a 30-second commercial promoting your business.

While production value on video portals tends for the most part to be quite low, this doesn’t mean that you should post a clip with audio or video quality that is so poor that the clip is more annoying to watch than Rosanne Barr singing the National Anthem.  So while it isn’t necessary for you to spend $5,000 on a pro-level digital video camera, don’t try the opposite tack by trying to produce compelling video on that $29.95 webcam either.  The good news is that there are a number of consumer digital video cameras in the $500-$1000 range that will give you the ability to capture video and audio of reasonable quality without breaking the bank.  Post production software is even a bigger bargain, since most computers come complete with video editing software that is up to the task.  If you want to take your postproduction ability to the next level, there are some terrific packages in the hundred dollar range like Video Studio or Adobe Premier that provide even greater editorial prowess. 

How Do You Create Great YouTube?

One of the beauties of video portals like YouTube is that you can do all the research you want by simply entering keyphrases and perusing the videos that pop up.  For instance, if you are in the mortgage business, entering mortgages will pop up thousands of clips.  By scrolling down the list of the first dozen or so, you will notice that there are some clips that have gotten thousands of views and some that have garnered precious few.  By researching the clips at both ends of the spectrum, it will become readily apparent why some clips do better than others.  Before you spend any time in front of the camera, you need to decide exactly how you plan on hooking viewers into watching your clip.  Or, as we say in the video biz, “Every hour of preproduction saves five in post.” 

Now That I’ve Got It, What Do I Do With It?

Another thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want to put all your viral video eggs in one basket.  Once you have bit the bullet with regards to production costs, you have to remember that distributing your products online doesn’t cost you one penny.  So the trick to getting your clips to go viral is to shoot, shoot and shoot more video, continually adding new clips to every video portal you can find. 

Using YouTube as a Search Engine Optimization Tool

Another technique that you don’t want to neglect is the fact that since Google acquired YouTube, it is possible to generate Google search engine links with the use of standard search engine optimization practices.  In order to optimize your clip for Google, make sure you embed the title with keyword phrases that will help optimize your clips much as meta tags do for your website.  For instance, if your company is offering a business opportunity that you are going to showcase via video, insert the keyphrase “Business Opportunity Video” in the title.  Another technique that’s useful in turning your clip into clickthroughs is to add titling to every clip you produce in order to provide viewers with your website’s url.

Jazzing Up Your Website with Video

Also, don’t forget that your video doesn’t have to reside exclusively on the video portals.  You can also embed every clip you produce into your existing site.  To do this, you should either convert the clip into flash format before loading it onto your website, or you can simply use the html code that YouTube will provide you once you upload your clip.  This will allow you to employ YouTube clips on your website without having to concern yourself with the bandwidth issues.

Either way, adding Hollywood blockbuster appeal to your websites could soon be coming to a PC near you.

If you are considering adding video to your website, call the viral video pros at (904) 234-6007.  Carl Weiss and his staff will show you how effective and affordable video marketing can be to your growing firm.  http://jacksonville-video-production.com http://access-jax.com

The ABC's of a Dynamic Web Presence

by Carl Weiss

If you are looking to go beyond merely being online and are instead looking to dominate your area of the Internet, you need to do more than simply create a website.  The Internet isn’t as simple as it was ten years ago.  During that time it has gone from being a text-driven marketplace to a multi-media juggernaut that offers everything from audio and videocasting to social networking.  In order for you to get your share of the Web 2.0 pie, you need to provide viewers with something more than a static website.  What you need is to embrace the ABC’s of creating and maintaining a dynamic web presence.

A = Acquire the tools of the trade that will put your business on the map

Let me ask you, when was the last time you updated your website.  If the answer is two or more years ago, it’s high time you gave your site an extreme makeover.  What I mean by that is  you need to update your site’s technology by including such things as a blog, podcasting and video.  Sorry to say this but for the most part, today’s audience isn’t going to take the time to go beyond your homepage, unless you hit them right between the eyes with a reason to do so.  Industry statistics show that most people who click over to your site will in all likelihood not go below the fold on the homepage.  That being said, what you need to do is stop wasting all the valuable real estate above the fold with meaningless graphics and instead plug in your most dynamic information where your audience can’t miss it, at the top of the homepage.

Look at it this way, if the first contact that a client has with you is via the Internet, they don’t know who you are, they don’t know what kind of experience you have and they don’t have a reason to contact you. They sure as hell aren’t going to click through a dozen or more pages on your site to find out.  This is where online video works like a charm. 

What I refer to as the “elevator pitch,” this video provides a viewer with the opportunity to get to know a little bit about you and your business.  You can show them your facilities, introduce them to your staff, and you can tell them what makes your business special.  You can even provide video testimonials that allow your clients to tell prospects what you have done for them and why someone should consider doing business with you.  Best of all, you can also hit the prospect right between the eyes with an inducement to contact you NOW!

Granted, your website is only the tip of the iceberg today when it comes to your web presence.  However, for many prospects, this will be the first brush they have with your business, so it is vital that you not waste this opportunity to provide them with a reason to do business with you.  You should also provide links to your blog, along with quick connections to your social media conduits.

B = Be where your audience searches

Ten years ago when people wanted to find an accountant, a plumber, or a roofer, they thumbed through the Yellow Pages.  Today, they use search engines like Google to search for vendors and contractors, or they peruse sites such as Craigslist and Angie’s List.  There are also other specialized portals and social networks that are set up to assist the buying public in their search for reliable firms with which to do business.  You need to Google these portals and social networks in order to add them to your marketing mix.  Best of all, these sites charge little or in some cases nothing at all to add your business to their site.

Speaking of Google, if you want to effectively employ this online juggernaut as part of your advertising mix, you need to get page 1 results. Being on page 2 is going to mean that your competitors are going to continue to eat your lunch online.  Industry statistics show that 97% of searchers limit their searches to page 1.  It also means that you will be sure to get your share of the more than 90 billion searches performed on Google every single month. 

 

C = Convert traffic to sales

Understand going in that the average web browser will spend less than a minute on any given site.  That being said, what you need to do is hit them right between the eyes with an offer or inducement as soon as possible. Your offer or inducement should be tailored to get the prospect to either call, walk into your business, or fill out a short form that will provide them with a coupon or intangible item of value.  By intangible, I am referring to an ebook, prerecorded webinar, or something else of perceived value.  Either way, this generates a lead complete with email address and phone number on which you can follow up.  (In a future blog, I will show you how to convert these leads into an automated drip marketing program.)

If all of the above sounds like a full time job to accomplish, bear in mind that companies like Access JAX are ready, willing and able to jump into the fray and help you create and manage a web presence that generates both traffic and leads.  When you consider that in the next 5 years it is predicted that 42% of the $155 Billion that was spent by local vendors in 2009 is expected to be spent online, this isn’t an advertising venue that you can afford to ignore.

Want to find out how you stack up against the competition online? Access JAX offers a no-cost, no obligation top to bottom analysis of your online presence.  To take advantage of this offer, call us at 904-234-6007 http://access-jax.com  http://jacksonville-video-production.com 

2-Minute Warning

Tick, Tick, Tick... Like it or not, the clock is running that is rapidly turning the Internet into a content-rich environment that will be dominated by players who are savvy enough to realize that text-only is the surest way to lose your online audience. The bad news is that those site’s that continue to resist the trend toward audio and video inclusion are going to find browsers and buyers going elsewhere. The good news is that it still isn’t too late for you to get with the YouTube crowd before the clock runs out. In fact, with a little bit of practice, you may soon find out that vlogging and podcasting could well be the best thing that ever happened to your company.

The first thing you have to understand before you rush out to buy a webcam is that bad video is worst than no video at all. What works on paper can be as boring as watching paint dry. That doesn’t mean it takes Steven Spielberg to turn out video that works. With a little practice, almost anyone can create corporate videos that are the best sales tools a business could have. What follows is what you need to know in order to create and deliver a marketing message by telling a business story with style so that an audience will remember the message and act upon it. Best of all, we can even show you how to do this on a shoestring budget.

Online it’s all about production, not airtime The first thing you have to understand is that Web video is completely separate from the world of broadcast television, where the cost of airtime is at a premium and show formats are 30 to 120 minutes in length. “A typical 30-minute block of television airtime includes 22 minutes of programming with 6 minutes of national advertising and 2 minutes of local (although some half-hour blocks may have as much as 12 minutes of advertisements)."

We've all had to gnash our teeth while sitting through the now all-too-familiar 3-minute commercial break, wondering if we are even going to be able to keep the dramatic train of thought sustained long enough for the programming to resume. Fortunately, the world of web video doesn’t work that way. Not only aren’t their any commercial breaks during a typical web broadcast, the length of an average YouTube clip is anywhere from two to five minutes. With that kind of format, there isn’t time for a commercial.

That said, an argument could be made for discipline when creating a Web-based video presentation. The way to format an effective video is to do it in the most efficient and memorable manner possible. No-Frills Filmmaking at its Best is about telling your story, whether it's a fifteen-second elevator pitch or a five-minute infomercial. If you don't tell a story you aren't communicating your message effectively. Because the Web doesn't require you to purchase airtime, your video presentation once uploaded, is available 24/7 for all to see, anytime, as often as they want.

Since you have so much freedom of expression when it comes to online video, what you need to ask yourself, is, “What is the best way to make my point?” If you follow the standard television format and drone on for half-an-hour all you are going to accomplish is boring your viewers to tears? The standard format for successful Web video is to hit the viewer right between the eyes and deliver the message in an unforgettable way.

Just as with most things in life, discipline is very important when it comes to video production. Particularly when it comes to video shorts, the producer needs to stay focused. Lose this focus and you won’t just lose the viewer, you could very well lose track of your shooting budget as well. Time is money on the set. Unlike producing a show for broadcast tv, when it comes to web-based video you have the freedom to fudge the timing to meet your needs. On the Web, there is no sense in cutting a presentation because it runs fifteen seconds too long, or adding superfluous material because it runs fifteen seconds short. That said, it is a good idea to start with a structure that allows you to build a presentation that works; a presentation that has a beginning, middle, and end; a presentation that tells a story viewers will sit through and pay attention to.

What we have devised is a 3-act format for web video.  If you accept the premise that Web videos are all about telling your story, then perhaps the best solution is to take the standard, three act, one hundred and twenty minute movie, and scale it down to a three act, one hundred and twenty second video short.  The first thing you will learn about video is that for every hour you put into preproduction, you wil save two in post. What this means in a nutshell, is that you want to have the production well laid out before you roll tape. What this means is that you will need to either write a script, or at the very least lay out a storyboard that will give your production some structure. Either way, the nuts and bolts of laying out your narrative are the same, as follows.

THE SCRIPT - Act One: The Setup Your first act is the setup:(1) A proper setup needs to introduce your hero (every story, even commercials, need a hero);(2) It must contain an Inciting Incident that triggers action on the part of the hero, and;(3) It must also create an object of desire and define the nature of success. By incorporating these elements in your first act, you attract viewer interest, hold viewer attention, create viewer expectation, and provide vicarious, virtual-viewer participation through the actions of the surrogate hero.

Act Two: The Conflict Act two is about establishing conflict and building tension by creating an obstacle that provides the motivational impetus to act to resolve the problem.

Act Three: The Payoff While Act three provides the resolution, the audience is satisfied with the knowledge gained and they are left to wonder where they will see the hero next.

Postproduction: Once you get the tape back to postproduction, you should first lay out the rough. This means that you will lay out all the action first. Don't worry about narration, music or titling, as these will all be added later. Use transitions with discretion. Too many can give your video an Amateur Hour look. Once you are happy with the flow onscreen, then you can work toward the final cut by adding narration, then titling and at long last music. Once you are happy with your video short, make sure you don't lose all your work should the hard drive crash by making a backup copy by burning a dvd.

Post-Postproduction: The best part about web video is that you distribute them free of charge on any number of video hosting sites that have sprung up like weeds since Google acquired YouTube. In upcoming posts, I’ll tell you how to use these sites as an alternative search engine to provide not only content for your company website, but also added traffic as well. Just keep in mind that if you are looking to add effective web video to your repertoire before the clock runs out, but you're not sure about how to go about telling your story, then the 120 Second, 3 Act Web-Video Short is a good place to start.

Video Samples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFDU9kyWPCA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG83B2cG4f4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIs7F1Fx2N0

If you want to get into the game before the 2-Minute Warning runs out, give the video marketing professionals a call at 904-234-6007. http://access-jax.com
http://jacksonville-video-production.com 

The 6 Deadly Web Design Sins

While it's true that "nobody's perfect," I think this credo is especially telling for small business websites. No web site it seems is absolutely perfect. Even the best of the best often have room for improvement! But there are some basic website mistakes that many small companies make that wind up hurting business instead of helping it. Do any of these 6 deadly web design sins show up on your web site?

#1: Not enough content. All too often, small businesses do not include enough information to pique the viewer's attention. Worst still, all too many sites leave their homepage static for months or even years on end. This is hardly the kind of thing that is going to encourage repeat viewership. Especially today, with the advent of blogs, podcasts and streaming video, there's no excuse for static homepage content. Today's web visitors are looking for something more, and lots of good quality content is a great way to deliver value to your visitors and build credibility for your business.


#2: The wrong content It seems odd after more than a decade of nearly exponential developments in online interactivity that some businesses still make the mistake of employing "Intro Pages" that do absolutely nothing but lay there. Unfortunately, these dinosaurs are still around. To understand why these relics can only hurt viewer satisfaction, think of how you as a television viewer hate to sit through commercial breaks at the beginning of a favorite show. That's what web surfers feel about "Intro Pages." They are just as likely to click over to another site then click through to your actual homepage. If you are still employing these dinosaurs, relegate them to the boneyard before your online business winds up extinct.

#3: All Flash = No Dazzle! Sad to say, there are still some small businesses out there that rely on Flash for their website's architecture. Sites built exclusively with Flash pages cannot easily be read by the search engines, and web visitors typically hate using them as well, since they are slow to load. Due to their graphical nature, these pages exclude such things as Meta Tags and text that are vital to search engine rankings. Sure, they look cool, but that doesn't mean that your viewers agree, particularly if they have to wait 30 seconds or so for the page to load. If you must use Flash components, stick to using them as banners and headers. This way you can combine cause with effect, which is surely the best of both worlds.

#4: Not being search engine friendly Another deadly sin involves your site's relationship, or lack thereof, with the major search engines. I'm not advocating creating content exclusively for the sake of website positioning. On the other hand, I'm also not saying that you should concentrate exclusively on website content to the detriment of optimization. After all, what good will it do for you to have the sexiest site on the Internet if nobody ever sees it? Speaking of search engines, what happens if a search engine spider visits your site, but can't read your web pages? Nothing happens, and that's a problem. If a search engine spider cannot read your web pages, it just moves on to the next site, and your information is completely ignored. Your web site must be search engine friendly in order to be included in the search engine databases.

#5: Not monitoring your website's statistics Even if your web site is well designed and search engine friendly, if you aren't monitoring site performance on a page by page basis, how will you know if content and content changes are affecting viewer satisfaction? Monitoring your web site means that you can react to and take appropriate steps to make sure your site is doing its best to motivate your viewers, deliver your message and produce the kind of tangible results that keeps the cash register jingling.

#6: Lacking a tangible offer It is hard enough to get anyone to click over to your site. When they get there, you had better have a darn good reason for them to leave their calling card in the form of a registration before clicking out. To encourage registration, you must offer some intangible that is of value to the prospect. This is most usually in the form of information, dispensed in one of three ways: Free E-Book (ie written), Free Audio (ie podcast) or Free Video. The lure of a free offer must be prominently displayed, not buried below the fold. It must convey urgency. And it must be readily and instantly accessible. Most usually, you can create one of these beauties by coupling a flash or gif animated banner ad with a cgi form.

For instance, one of our clients, a credit repair bureau, had us create a short video for use as a registration vehicle. The message was, "Interested in a Crash Course in Credit Repair? Click here for your Free Video." We coupled this with a form that not only asked for the registrant's name, email address, snail mail address and phone number, but it also asked them several questions about their credit worthiness. This kind of content-rich information is then used as a lead list, as well as loaded into the client's email server for later updates and offers.

By avoiding these six deadly web design sins, you can turn your website from a static presence into an effective and affordable lead generation system that will help you generate new customers, promote customer loyalty, increase your firm's geographic presence and make more sales.

For more information on how to turn your computer into a lead generating, email dispensing, newsletter publishing, cash register ringing machine, call Acess JAX at (904) 234-6007.  (FYI: Call us today for a no-cost, no-obligation web presence audit that will detail how your website stacks up versus the compettion.)
http://access-jax.com
http://jacksonville-video-production.com  

How To Use Video SEO To Jump To The Top Of Google

Video is clearly the future of the Internet. There is more time spent watching videos online than anyone could have anticipated just a few short years ago. This dramatic shift of focus is growing more and more as the seconds tick by. Let's look at some staggering facts here, and compare them to just 2 years ago so you can see the dramatic growth!

ComScore, Inc., a company that measures the digital world, reported that in the month of December 2008, there were 14.3 Billion Videos viewed by Americans - that's in a single month!
The same company reports that for the month of November of 2009 it had jumped to 31 Billion videos viewed. Check out some other amazing facts gleaned from this report:

• 8.5% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video. 84.8% in 2009.
• The average online video viewer watched more than 5 hours of video (in one month!). 12.2 hrs. per viewer in 2009!
• 98.9 million viewers watched 5.9 Billion videos on YouTube (that's 59.2 videos per viewer in one month!) 128.1 million viewers watched more than 12 billion videos on YouTube.com (94.3 videos per viewer).
• The duration of the average online video was 3.2 minutes, by Nov. 2009 the avg. video length had grown to 4 min.

Video SEO Defined - Improve Your Online Marketing
What's even more amazing is the fact that videos combined with SEO technology can not only provide a showcase for your products and services, but it can also be used to generate page 1 placement on Google. 
While most industries are not yet utilizing the power of web-based videos to motivate and drive traffic to their web presence, some are catching on and dominating their market. You too can use the power of search engine optimized videos to enhance your online marketing efforts.

Video SEO involves the Science and Art of causing a video to have a high search engine ranking on the Internet. Along with this high search engine ranking is the implied direction of web traffic from the video to the video owner's web presence. The combination of these elements will greatly improve your online marketing effectiveness.

Video SEO Services work much like traditional SEO Services. If a website is properly optimized for the search engines then the results of Video SEO can be much more profound. When you properly optimize your videos, the search engines should reward you not only with a listing for your video but can also show a Video Thumbnail!

Research has shown that when people are given a page full of text and a picture shows up on that same page that they will click on the listing with the picture more often than the ones with just text.
Part of the Video SEO services I perform for clients is the publishing of theirr video all over the Internet. Proper optimization of the  video will help it rank well on the various search engines.

For example, I had a commercial realtor come to me who wanted to showcase a multi-family condo development on a global basis.  Instead of using pay-per-cliek or traditional SEO, I suggested that we shoot a couple of videos and use video SEO techniques to accomplish Google penetration.  Within thirty days, we had secured page 1 under the term "Fractred Condos."  As a result of this campaign the client achieved more than 1,000 views of his videos and sold the complex.

If your business is looking for cutting edge "Next Wave" technology that can give you an advantage over the competition, viral video marketing is one of the online technologies you need to try.

If you are serious about dominating your area of the Internet, give the Video SEO experts a call at 904-234-6007. We'll show you how affordable online video can be and how effective it can be to generating leads and sales. http://jacksonville-video-production.com http://access-jax.com

How Many Websites Should Your Business Have?

"How many websites should my company have?" 

This is a question that often arises in discussions with clients.  Now you're probably asking yourself, "Why would any company need more than one website?”   If your business is a large corporation, it is fairly obvious that you need a separate site for each brand you offer, and a separate site for corporate background material and perhaps investor relations.

 But what if you're a small or medium-sized company with a limited number of products or services? Then the question becomes, do your products relate to one another?  Is your audience for each product or service the same? And what about totally different audiences for the same product? There are also special circumstances like new product launches, time sensitive marketing campaigns, and limited availability offers? Mini Campaign Websites and Alternative Marketing Websites are an effective method of enhancing your marketing efforts and targeting optional audiences you wouldn't have otherwise reached using your traditional sales marketing approach. (Not to mention that these mini-sites can be valuable assets for SEO.)  


Reasons To Use Campaign Websites:





 1. Focus Your Presentation to eliminate distraction and non-relevant clutter.

 It is human nature to want to get your money's worth, but when it comes to website marketing this can be counter-productive. Wanting to cram everything you provide into one website. Forcing visitors to sift through  reams of material only creates frustration and irritation, and with a click of a mouse they're off to the next competitor listed on their favorite search engine before they even get to your relevant information.   
 
A campaign or brand specific website allows you to get right to the point. Greet your target audience with a signature video web-host supported by appropriate images and text.  If a lot of text material is required, then have it turned it into an audio presentation so the material is made more accessible, understandable, and easy to absorb. 

 A focused brand or campaign site shortens the sales cycle by making what you provide clear and distinct; it provides visitors with the sense that you are both competent and innovative in what you do and how you do it.

 2. Use Alternative Tactics: experiment with non traditional campaigns. 

 Most companies follow a consistent sales approach that they have found successful.  This is both a good thing and a bad thing: following a plan that has worked in the past aimed at your traditional customer base makes sense, except that it also limits you in reaching new audiences for your products and services.
 There may be markets for what you provide that you haven't ever thought of, or that you are afraid to approach because they conflict with your current methods, promotions, or initiatives. 

Why give up on these potential customers when you can create an audience specific Web-presentation on a separate campaign website aimed specifically at that market. With a series of highly targeted websites you speak to the needs of specific audiences and at the same time insulate your regular clients from the alternative approaches.

In a highly competitive marketplace, your competition will be looking for every opportunity to take advantage of markets you ignore. Don't let them. You can get to them first and establish your company as the niche leader. All it takes is a little imagination, effort, and a budget to implement. This way you can have your cake and eat it too.

While there are many other reasons to employ multiple websites to promote your business, the most important is that if you want to dominate your little corner of the Internet, when it comes to creating a sense of urgency and  impact don’t cut corners by trying to make your main site the be-all and do-all to getting the word out about your business online. 

Want to find out how your website stacks up against the competition?  Call Access-Jax at 904-234-6007 for a no-cost, no obligation website analysis.  http://access-jax.com
http://jacksonville-video-production.com