Viral content posted on social media platforms is often dictated by the specific attitudes that make up each of these social media sites. Understanding the purpose of each platform and the unwritten behavioral guidelines on each of these sites will greatly influence the components of your online marketing strategy and help you to achieve a favorable position among your key influencers and target audience.

If you have not already viewed Part I of this post, feel free to visit it here.

See below for a spotlight on the various types of attitudes seen on Twitter and YouTube and tips on how to behave on these platforms:

Twitter

Words to describe the attitudes: Quick, news-oriented, informal, fun, streamline

The main purpose of Twitter for businesses: To get in front of key influencers and to build relationships with others in your industry.

Behavior tips: Let me give you an example. The Sumèr team has used Twitter several times to find guest bloggers for our blog. Whenever we find that a Twitter user is providing valuable advice and appears to be a key influencer, we approach them via a direct message on Twitter asking if they would be interested in being a guest blogger for us. We have had great success with this approach and have built numerous beneficial relationships from Twitter.

Because of Twitter’s real-time nature, posting anywhere from 8 – 12 tweets a day is completely acceptable. Your Twitter followers may only see a few of your tweets per day as their list of tweets is constantly moving, and fresh tweets are pushing out older tweets every minute. But similar to other social media platforms, posting informative tips and advice is a must if you want to increase your followers and valuable relationships. Tweeting that you just got home from the mall is not a great way to attract followers, because guess what? No one cares.

Due to Twitter’s unwritten etiquette guidelines, linking your Twitter account to other social media profiles is not always the best action to take when attempting to build exposure and influential relationships. For example, if you link your Twitter account to your Facebook company page, your Facebook page will stream in constant updates (as many as 8 – 12 tweets per day, depending on how often you tweet). Because Facebook is not designed to have a constant flow of real-time updates the same way as Twitter, this could deter people from reading your company page. If Facebook users want to view a streamline of updates from your business, they would follow you on Twitter.

YouTube

Words to describe the attitudes: Fun, highly engaging, professional, and personable

The main purpose of YouTube for businesses: To spotlight a specific product or service, illustrate your industry expertise in an interview, or strengthen your brand image by providing viewers with valuable tips and strategies.

Behavior tips: When posting a video for business, keep in mind that your video should reinforce your brand image, not hinder it. Many times, businesses will post a video just to have exposure on YouTube. But if the lighting and audio are poor, unprofessional elements are strewn throughout your video, or you lack the tools to incorporate effective calls to action throughout or at the end of your video, you won’t be creating a very positive image for your brand. Therefore, only post videos that will encourage viewers to contact you, visit your website, register for an event, or sign up for your newsletter.

And because YouTube is not based on real-time updates that stream through your YouTube home page, it doesn’t matter how many videos you post. Just remember to always post with purpose—not just for the sake of posting.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in our comments section.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Defining the Purposes behind Social Media Platforms: Part I
2. Get Your Online Marketing in Shape: An Interview with Holos Fitness
3. Social Media Success: Interview with Personal Concierge Company YuDu

From parodies to raps, and skits to Budweiser commercials, YouTube is full of humorous Facebook videos that poke fun at the social media mogul. See below for Sumèr’s 5 favorite Facebook videos.

Facebook Infomercial Parody

The Facebook Skit

Mr. Creepy Facebook Stalker Guy

Facebook Gangsta

Facebook In Reality—idiotsofants.com & BBC’s The Wall

Which video did you find to be the most humorous? Let us know in our comments section.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Google Buzz Privacy Issues: Can Google Thwart a PR Disaster?
2. Is Facebook the New Walmart of Social Media?
3. Why I Might Break Up With Facebook

If you’ve heard me talk or if you’ve read any of our posts on blogging for business, you know that I think it’s very important to set up a blog editorial schedule. Planning your blog posts in advance prevents you from running around at the last minute scrounging up a less-than-mediocre blog post that lacks proper copy optimization.

The same advice applies to video production.

When planning out video production for the next month, a video schedule will help keep you guided and on track.

Before creating a video schedule, there are a few things to consider. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who are my audience members?
• What is the purpose of this video and how does it provide value to viewers?
• What do my viewers want from me?
• Is this an entertaining topic? If not, how can I make it more entertaining?
• Would I want to watch this video? Would others want to watch it?
• Will this video accurately portray my brand message?

While the video doesn’t need to be funny, it does need to entertain, whether it’s an African safari company bringing viewers into a wild lion chase, or a Disney travel agency portraying a magical day in the parks.

Below are two examples of well-thought-out and effective videos:

African Safari Tour Adventures: Hyena vs. a Pride of Lion by Hills of Africa Travel

Disney World Dreams Come True by Ears of Experience

After you’ve asked yourself the above questions, create a list of topics you’d like to focus on. Perhaps you want to explain a specific product or service, illustrate your industry expertise, provide a demonstration, or strengthen your brand image by providing viewers with valuable tips and strategies.

Create an editorial calendar for the month that outlines what videos you will be creating. Specifically, write in your calendar the topic, purpose, and the value that the video will provide for your viewers.

When you begin to film, try filming several in a row if you have time. This ensures you’re set for the next few weeks, and there’s no need to scramble to film.

It’s also helpful to create an organized video marketing schedule. Each week, set aside time to comment on like-minded videos, and bookmark and follow industry-related YouTube channels.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in our comments section.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Five Reasons Why the Vlog Is a Successful Marketing Tool
2. Create an Online Promotion Plan That Delivers Results
3. Tips for Effective Vlogging Practices

YouTube made the news last year with its miraculous feat to exceed Yahoo searches and was, in turn, ranked as the second most often used search engine—right below Google.

Over the past few years, both video marketing and blogging have proved to be excellent lead generation tools. They’ve also done wonders for companies by helping to increase online exposure, build relationships with key influencers and prospects, and boost industry credibility. As the Internet has become the most powerful tool for both businesses and consumers to use for research, news, relationship building, communication, and entertainment, video marketing and blogging have seen a dramatic increase in popularity.

As 2010 sets in, we’re beginning to see more and more Internet users crave the stimulus that video provides. And this desire for more video means that the market is ripe for more video on blogs.

Combine both blogging and video marketing strategies, and you get vlogging, which is a video form of blogging.

Below is a list of tips from Erica Bennett at Docent Prodigy for effective vlogging practices:

• Keep your vlog posts short and sweet: The duration of a vlog shouldn’t exceed 2 – 3 minutes. Past that time, viewers may lose interest and move on to another video or vlog. On average, viewers move on from a vlog after one minute and thirty seconds to two minutes. Keep them engaged, and get your information out in the clearest and quickest way possible—without sounding like Speedy Gonzalez.
• Consider sound and lighting: A poorly made vlog is a sure way to project an inaccurate brand message. The last thing you want is for viewers to think you don’t care about your image. Also, bad lighting and bad sound are a surefire way to encourage viewers to move on to another vlog. Make sure that your sound is clear with no background noise and that there is ample lighting. 
• Create vlogging series: Find a topic that can be broken down into three or four posts. Film the entire series at once, pausing every 2 – 3 minutes after each set of the series is complete. This way, in postproduction, you can edit each segment of the video into a series of vlogs. This allows you to batch your posts quickly and easily, without having to film the next part of the series in a different sitting.

For more tips and details on effective vlogging practices, join Michelle Salater for a FREE telephone seminar as I interview Erica Bennett, video production and vlogging expert and co-owner of Docent Prodigy, on “How to Vlog Your Way to More Clients.”

For more information on the call or to register, click here.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Vlog Your Way to More Clients
2. Video Production and Marketing Success: Plan Your Videos
3. Tips for Creating a Business-Generating Blog

We’re all about engaging new media and finding new ways to connect with prospects, but a truck that displays video might be taking it a bit too far.

FlickTruck has found a new way to engage consumers while on the road. With their new trucks that can display video on all sides, including the back, FlickTruck is gaining much attention from big advertisers who want to take print billboard and video billboard advertising to the next level.

Don’t we have enough distractions on the road? Constant roadwork, people texting, talking on their phone, swatting at their kids. . . now imagine all of that going on in a vehicle and a truck with videos flashing driving by.

To learn more about FlickTruck and their features, view the video from WebProNews below:

More WebProNews Videos

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Simple SEO Changes on Your Website Could Mean Higher Conversions
2. What You Should Know About Google Caffeine and Search
3. comScore’s Eli Goodman Predicts Changes in Online Search

Video marketing has proved to be a powerful client attraction tool. Blogging is one of the most effective ways to gain exposure, build relationships with key influencers and prospects, and be seen as an industry expert.

As more and more businesses and consumers turn to the Internet for research, news, relationship building, and entertainment, video marketing and blogging will continue to grow in popularity. And it will continue to deliver results.

Combine these two powerful social media marketing strategies and you get vlogging, which is a video form of blogging.

On Tuesday, February 23, Michelle Salater will interview Erica Bennett on “How to Vlog Your Way to More Clients.” As video production expert and co-owner of Docent Prodigy, Erica Bennett works closely with clients to create videos that attract and engage prospects. She also helps companies with their vlogging efforts—from the creation to the marketing of vlogs.

During this call, you will discover . . .

• The true power of vlogging for business.
• The different types of vlogs and which ones are right for your business.
• The information you need to know before you record a vlog.
• Tips on shooting, lighting, sound, and location.
• Tips on uploading your vlog to the web.
• Ways to promote your vlog on the Internet.

Join us for this free vlogging call on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 8 – 9 p.m. EST / 5 – 6 PST.

Sign up today: http://www.writtenbysumer.com/vlogcall

This call will be recorded, but if you don’t register, you’ll never hear it.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Tips for Effective Vlogging Practices
2. Five Reasons Why the Vlog Is a Successful Marketing Tool
3. Video Production and Marketing Success: Plan Your Videos

Special thanks to our team member Michelle Alford for writing this post.

John Green had mild success as a young adult author before he made a marketing decision that boosted his popularity and drove his third novel onto the New York Times best-seller list he created a vlog.

In an October 2008 video, John describes the publication of his second novel. According to him, “On the day it came out, [my wife] and I went to a bookstore and there were no copies. And then I went home and we had some soup. Then we watched CSI and went to bed.”

Compare this to the immediate and explosive success of his third novel, Paper Towns. It premiered at number five on the New York Times best-seller list, and John Green read samples to crowded venues on a thirteen city book tour, immediately followed by an eleven city Tour de Nerdfighting for his vlog followers.

Started on January 1, 2007, by John and his brother Hank, the vlog has grown to have over 116,000 subscribers and almost 4.5 million channel views.

Five reasons why this vlog is a successful marketing tool.

1) It focuses on entertainment value rather than on selling a product or service. The brothers are quirky as they discuss amusing life stories, write and perform original songs, declare challenges, and suffer punishments chosen by their followers.

How this applies to YOU: When creating a video, consider whether you would want to watch it. Then consider whether anyone else would. While the video doesn’t need to be funny, it does need to entertain whether it’s a safari travel agency showing videos of exotic animals or an environmental activist demonstrating new, environmentally friendly technology. If the subject could work as well in writing, then it might be best to write it as a blog.

2) It regards its audience as friends rather than as customers. The followers are called “nerdfighters” and are treated like part of an exclusive club. While John’s third book has been mentioned often in the vlog, it’s done as a friend giving progress reports, often in a humorous manner. In an early vlog, John said, “So, I may have to extend my deadline by a couple of days, which is particularly humiliating considering I shared it in public on our video blog, but I think I will definitely be done by Wednesday. Definitely by Wednesday! Definitely by Wednesday! Definitely by Wednesday! Next Friday by the very latest.”

How this applies to YOU: Talk to your viewers as you would to your friends. Be pleasant and open. Though your ideal manner depends upon your profession and brand image (a lawyer needs to keep a more professional appearance than a fisherman), universally people will respond to your videos better if you seem likeable and trustworthy and treat them as equals.

3) It knows its audience. John writes young adult books with smarter or nerdier main characters (the main character in Looking for Alaska memorizes famous people’s last words and the main character of An Abundance of Katherines is a washed-up child prodigy). The vlog appeals to teenagers’ sense of humor with punishments that include eating a blenderized happy meal and waxing leg hair, but the brothers also treat teenagers like adults, discussing current world issues and how nerdfighters can help to decrease levels of world suck.

How this applies to YOU: Consider your audience thoroughly before beginning to post videos. What do they want from you? What will they find interesting and intriguing? Releasing a video that receives over a million hits cannot be considered a success if the viewers are not also people who would purchase your products / services. You also need to consider your brand image and be certain that nothing in the video makes you unappealing to your target customer.

4) It’s interactive and regularly gets its audience involved asking non rhetorical questions to be answered in comments, answering nerdfighter questions in regular videos, and enlisting nerdfighters to help with secret projects. One such project, called the Project for Awesome, asked nerdfighters to make a video promoting a charity of their choice, each using the same thumbnail so they’d be easily recognizable, and then to comment on as many other Project for Awesome videos as they could. On the day they were released, all but one video on the YouTube Most Discussed page were for Project for Awesome.

How this applies to YOU: Get your viewers involved. Ask them questions, respond to their comments and questions in videos, and hold contests. Consider your subject area and how you can further promote audience participation. For example, if you are a chef, in addition to videotaping yourself cooking recipes, you can ask viewers to submit videos of themselves making family recipes and select a few favorites to showcase in your next video.

5) It’s sincere. Though much of the videos is certainly scripted, they never sound fake. John advocates doing things because you enjoy doing them, not because you’re expecting a certain result don’t write a book because you want to have published a best-seller, write the book because you want to write a book. He sounds genuine when he thanks nerdfighters for helping his book to succeed and clearly enjoys making his videos.

How this applies to you: While creating regular videos is a great marketing tool, don’t do it because you expect immediate results. Even if you do everything perfectly, it takes time and real commitment to gather a loyal following. In addition, if you consider making videos to be a chore, this will probably be apparent to potential viewers, making them less likely to watch.

By creating a community of like-minded viewers, John and Hank Green have been able to promote their products without overtly advertising them. Because their followers feel like part of something, they’re happy to devote their time and money much as if a close friend had a project they’d like help with or had recently published a book. Videos can help you connect with potential customers on a personal level, providing them with a look, voice, and personality to associate with your name and also increasing their interest in your products and making them more invested in your success.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Vlog Your Way to More Clients
2. Tips for Effective Vlogging Practices
3. Video Production and Marketing Success: Plan Your Videos

Message from Michelle

Welcome to this issue of Sumèr’s Secrets. Mama and I are finally settled after our trip to see the family (although she really misses her son, Moose).

Recently, a client came to us concerned with dwindling traffic on their YouTube channel and requested we critique their videos. It didn’t take long for us to figure out why no one was watching their videos. Before I continue, it’s important to note that Sumèr does not record or edit videos. We write the scripts and we are in the business of helping our clients create and share a strong brand message.

We figured that if one company was having this problem, there must be more. My team and I surfed business videos on YouTube and were shocked with what we found: video after video had boring, invaluable content.

This issue of Sumèr’s Secrets focuses on the common mistakes businesses make when posting videos on YouTube. From the video content to the messaging, and your dress to the footage quality, your videos should work to strengthen your brand image.

Connect With Me Online at:
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/writtenbysumer
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelle.salater
Blog: www.writtenbysumer.com/articles

Feature Article:

Are You Boring Your YouTube Viewers?

These days, it seems more and more companies (and individuals) are making videos and posting them on YouTube with the expectation their videos will help with search engine rankings and attract new clients. While video marketing has the potential to promote a business and attract clients, many companies find no one is watching or reviewing their videos.

Do a quick search on YouTube and you’ll find videos without sound, ones that make no sense, poorly produced videos, and boring content. The worthless video is everywhere.

These poorly produced videos are fine if you’re uploading footage of your cat chasing your hamster or showing your kids playing in the ocean. But if you are a company using YouTube to promote your services, products, or expertise, then poorly produced videos will do the opposite of what you intended.

Before taking the time to film your video, ask yourself “What is the purpose of this video and how does this video promote my brand?” Perhaps you want to explain a specific product or service, illustrate your industry expertise, or strengthen your brand image by providing viewers with valuable tips and strategies. Once you know the above, you will know what action you want your prospect to take.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when posting YouTube videos:

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Tips for Effective Vlogging Practices
2. Top 5 Funniest Facebook Videos
3. Video Production and Marketing Success: Plan Your Videos

Optimizing your video posts on YouTube is essential if you want viewers to find them. Discover the tips and strategies  for optimizing your videos from YouTube’s project manager, Matthew Liu.

Want more tips like this? Consider signing up for free marketing updates and tips via RSS or email.

If you like this post, you might also like:

1. Video Production and Marketing Success: Plan Your Videos
2. Tips for Effective Vlogging Practices
3. Vlog Your Way to More Clients

YouTube can easily be considered King of the online-video scene. No force has dethroned YouTube from its number one online-video platform—but it looks as though there may be a challenger. Hulu.

According to comScore, in March 2009, Google sites ranked as the top U.S.-video platform with 5.9 billion videos viewed. YouTube accounted for 99% of views on this video platform.

Rising quickly and steadily, Hulu has reached the number three spot on top online-video properties among U.S. internet users and is beginning to take a step into the international realm of online-video.

According to WebProNews, the UK is already beginning to provide full television episodes to viewers, and Bollywood is in negotiations with Hulu, as well.

According to eMarketer.com, comScore reported that Hulu’s total video streams grew 14.3% in March, and the number of unique viewers was up 19.7% in the same period. Although Hulu hasn’t yet reached YouTube’s video-guru status, it’s definitely on the rise and is something YouTube needs to consider as a major competitor. With video spending expected to rise past the $1 billion line by 2011, according to eMarketer.com, competition between the two video platforms could get fierce.

According to eMarketer.com, MAGNA Global stated that approximately $530 million was spent on online videos last year and this number is expected to rise 32%.  

Since there is a significant growth in professional video production, many advertisers are taking the online-video route for their marketing campaigns’, and it’s only a matter of time before online-video properties are advertisers’ main vehicle for advertising.

No related posts.