Video Marketing Tips & Techniques

Since video streaming is just starting to gain popularity, you see all types of methods currently being used. People are using Flash, Java, Windows Media, Quicktime and Real Media just to name a few. As with anything, there are several ways to stream video. In my opinion however, there is only one way to do it when you are using it for marketing. Marketing Videos need to be:

1. Very Fast Loading with nothing to double click, download or activate.

Bad - Your video player needs to be clicked once to activate and clicked again to play!

Worse - You use a player that causes an ActiveX popup box to activate!

Worst - If you are using a video that needs to open Windows Media to play it!

In my opinion there is nothing that competes with Flash based video, expecially when you are using it for marketing. The crisp, fast loading videos combined with the features of the flash object tag makes it a perfect solution. You must properly embed your flash however or you will have to double click the player to activate it. In addition, you want to use the flv and player instead of the swf as this will maximize quality and make it stream much more quickly.

2. Fit in seamlessly with the rest of your content.

Whether you use auto-play or click to play video, it should integrate with the rest of your content as cleanly as a standard picture. This can only be accomplished by using a player that has hidden controls that only appear when you mouse over them. If you don't want the video to load until activated, then you will simply use a standard jpeg and the click to play feature.

3. Don't Mess Up A Successful Site!

If you currently have a successful sales site, you will want to be careful when you are experimenting with video. Video can dramatically increase your results if done correctly, but can also hurt your results if done poorly. The best way to experiment is by using a video drop down box such as this one. You may also want to make it a click to play video if it is an initial landing page, that way you won't catch people off-guard if they are at work or have their speaker volume improperly set. Since you can insert the video drop box codes on any web page without affecting the look or feel of the existing content, it's a very safe way to experiment.

4. Know when to use Live Streaming and when to use Click To Play.

When I first began marketing with video I always used live streaming video on the home page, but I have gotten away from this because too many people close the page if a video starts to play immediately. You have to realize that people surf the web at work, school, in libraries and other places where it's not condusive to having live audio/visual content. That's why I tend to use a drop box or an image on the home page that they have to click in order to initiate the video presentation. That gives them a chance to adjust their volume or anything else they need to do before playing the video.

5. Keep Your Video Short And Interesting!

For people who like to talk, it's easy to start rambling when recording a video but that is the kiss of death. This is especially true on the initial video on your site, you have to make a good first impression and give people exactly the information they are looking for or they will lose interest. Most importantly, start your video with the end result that they are looking for. It is very important to immediately capture their attention.

Video marketing is easily the most powerful form of marketing online today as long as the video is put together properly and the right streaming techniques are used. If either of these are not done correctly, you will receive marginal results.