Online Video Publishing [dot] com

How Can a Small Business Get ROI From Video?

larrykless — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:12:54 GMT

Guest Post by Neil Davidson, Mywebpresenters

Many small business owners and marketers will have heard the hype surrounding video marketing. This time the hype is also backed up by some compelling figures. According to recent research by Nielson, 26.9 million UK individuals consumed online video in April – that is about 40% of the population.

While that’s all very well, we know that the majority of video ad views will belong to well known brands with deep enough pockets to have a punt at large scale online video without having to batter an eyelid should they not receive a direct return on their investment. So how about the rest of us? Can a typical small business see verifiable (and direct) results from using video?

What are your aims?

Video is no different to any other marketing channel; it needs to be a working cog that plays its part in achieving the company’s broader goals. For example you may have too slow a process for closing leads due to your product being a high cost product or perhaps there are trust issues in your market so it may be helpful to add customer testimonial videos onto your product pages to help improve your performance in these areas.

Marketo is an example of a business doing customer testimonial videos well. Alternatively you may have issues with people understanding exactly what your product does and how it can help them.

A good example of a small business doing this well is Harvey Water Softeners they have a number of videos throughout the site that explain how water softeners work and the health benefits of using them.

There are also plenty of businesses who have used video to achieve their goals more effectively. Take the Khan academy for instance: they have revolutionized education meaning that children all around the world can learn at their own pace, support others who need help and get help from others who are already clear on certain subjects: Here is an overview video from TED’s YouTube channel.

Our specialty is using video Web Presenters and we find that these are possibly the type of video that carry the lowest costs in production and are the easiest to get up and running quickly. To give you an example with figures: The National IT Learning Centre increased the website bookings for their courses by 35% through the use of the web presenter video which you can see on their homepage above.

So, initially you must define where you are as a business and what your current short to mid term goals are, then once clear determine if video can or cannot play a part in helping you to achieve those goals. I am of course biased but I would be happy to take the challenge of finding a practical way for any business owner to use video effectively to achieve their business goals.

Video is simply a medium for communication and because it helps to visually rather than textually convey your message it is generally effective as many people respond well to visual explanations.

Set Targets

Once you are clear on your aims for video production and marketing you should set yourself some clear targets that will measure how close you come to achieving your aims. In the first example above where I talked about video testimonials there may be 2 measurements that you could use:

lead to sale conversion time lag shortening
increase in the number of leads

Whereas for the second example it is more likely to be a clear-cut matter of the number of additional leads gained versus costs of the video production. It is worth taking into account that the videos will probably be good for a few years use in both cases. An additional measurement in both cases could be site conversion rate.

Keep it Real

Whatever type of video that you are producing it is important that you speak from the heart, insincerity (bullshit) is easier to spot on a persons face or in the tone of their voice than it is in text. Your pride in your business needs to come across, of course not in an arrogant way but in a passionate way. If you are excited about the things that your business is doing and are obviously keen to share it with others then the response you will receive is likely to be positive.

If you are producing customer testimonial type videos then give your customers a short list of possible points to cover that will really get them talking, e.g.

What advise would you give to other potential users of this product in hindsight?

Use natural language that suits you, do not try to be the person you think your customers want to see, just be confident in yourself that you have something worthwhile to share and be yourself.

What results can be expected?

We have produced video for a wide range of different businesses and have seen many positive results and some not so great results. The difference between success and failure usually comes down to the strategy behind the video production and use. If there is a clear aim and this is being fulfilled by the videos well then they usually work.

Obviously not a small business but Virgin Holidays managed to increase the upsell of their upper class seats by 30% due to a single web presenter video. This resulted in an additional £4 million in revenue for Virgin.

As mentioned above The National IT Learning Centre increased the website bookings for their courses by 35% and many more small businesses have had similar results.

Bespoke (personalized or tailored) web presenter videos vary in price depending on the complexity but start at £597. Many companies offer cheaper, off the shelf options for less. Sitepal for example offer avatar style videos for less than £50. In fact we have also trialled generic web presenter type videos but found that the response rates to the generic rather than bespoke videos were disappointing so are now focusing solely on improving the efficiency of our bespoke video services.

Guest Blogger Bio
This post was written by Neil Davidson, CEO of Mywebpresenters who are a video production company specializing in corporate video for the web. They are also the pioneers of video web presenters technology. If you would like to have a conversation about how to tell your corporate story then please email Neil at neil.davidson@mywebpresenters.com.

Video Editing on the Cheap

larrykless — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:52:41 GMT

You don't need expensive video editing software to tell your story, as Jonathan Wylie of PC World, points out in his recent article, How to Edit Video on the Cheap | PCWorld. Wylie says, "Buying the latest, greatest high-def camcorder or Digital SLR camera can be expensive, but the software you use to edit your footage doesn't have to be. A number of free or low-cost video editors do a very respectable job of prepping your home movies for sharing with friends, family, or the rest of the world."

Wylie shared these four options to edit your video on the cheap:

Windows Live Movie Maker - "Microsoft's Movie Maker has been available at no charge for years, but the latest Windows Live version is a very respectable video editor. In addition to the usual basic editing tools, Microsoft Movie Maker lets you add video themes, music, titles, and credits--and apply a few transitions, some pan and zoom effects, and various visual-effect filters. You can publish finished projects to Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube, or export them to your hard drive in 1080p HD or any of a range of other resolutions. If you've invested in a great HD camcorder and you're editing on a budget, Windows Live Movie Maker is a great tool to start with."
Video Spin - "Pinnacle’s Video Spin is another smart choice if you're on a tight budget. You can download it for free and take advantage of Video Spin's straightforward interface to edit video quickly and efficiently. You can split, trim, or combine movies, and add transitions, text, and even a soundtrack. Not all features are free forever, though. After 15 days, you'll have to buy different codec packs (for around $15 each) to continue editing certain video formats."
Serif MoviePlus Starter - "Serif launched MoviePlus Starter as a free version of one of its more advanced video editors. The Starter edition is far from the most full-featured video-editing software you can buy, but it'll do the job unless you're looking to edit a blockbuster movie. You can use MoviePlus Starter to insert fades, wipes, and transitions, as well as to fiddle with captions, titles, and credits. You can experiment with a "picture in picture" effect, add three (or fewer) video or audio tracks at once, and edit your video content quickly and easily. Beginners will love the built-in help system and the simple drag-and-drop interface."
YouTube - "Editing video online might not be an ideal scenario, but if you're already in the habit of uploading lots of clips to YouTube, you may find it easier to do your editing with YouTube's own online video editor. The new YouTube editor lets you trim the beginnings and ends of videos, and adjust the brightness, contrast, and color to your taste. The editor includes a video stabilization feature to help reduce the shakiness of handheld footage, and it has 14 style effects like black-and-white and sepia. Once you've finished editing, the YouTube editor's software makes posting your projects to your YouTube account and sharing them with others very easy."

Wylie left out iMovie, the obvious choice for Mac users video editing application that ships free with all Apple computers. iMovie '11 has all the same features as the rest of these applications and has an easy learning curve once you get comfortable with the interface.

Is there a cheap video editing software that you can suggest? Let us know in the comment section of this post.

5 Shooting Tips for Streaming

larrykless — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:40:09 GMT

According to Jan Ozer, streaming media expert, author and Publisher of the Streaming Learning Center, there are a number of things to consider when you are shooting video for streaming. Ozer says, "Anyone who’s ever picked up a camcorder and tried to tap into their inner- Spielberg knows that there’s a lot more to creating a high-quality, impactful movie than turning on the camcorder and pressing the red record button. The same is true with producing video for streaming." (From Shooting for Streaming - Five Key Tips)

Ozer says that high quality production value is important to keep your audience's attention focused on your message and not your mistakes.

"Sure, you can attach your $600 consumer camcorder to a tripod, connect it to your computer, and produce streaming video, but will the quality enhance or detract from your content? Will it look and sound as good as the streaming video produced by your competitors, or other videos your viewers watch online? Fortunately, you don’t need Spielberg-like skills to produce high-quality streaming video, but to optimize the quality of your training or classroom video, it’s important to follow certain best practices."

The following is a summary Ozer's five best practices for producing high-quality video. Read his full article for more details from his website Streaming Learning Center for other helpful streaming media tips and resources.

Choosing a background - "When a video has lots of detail in the background — like bookshelves, a finely patterned wallpaper, or blowing leaves — the codec can’t tell whether you care about the subject’s face or the extraneous stuff in the background. So it tries to preserve the quality of all the content in the frame, which inevitably degrades the quality of what you care most about."
Lighting the set - "In terms of lighting style, you can use three-point lighting, which produces slight shadows on the face, or flat lighting, with no appreciable shadows. Either way, the most important priority is to provide sufficient lighting for the camcorder to achieve good exposure without injecting gain into the video."
Camera usage and selection - "If you’re shooting in a controlled environment, like a classroom or conference room, it’s best to move that camera out of automatic mode, and control exposure manually, which fortunately is easier than it sounds. Basically, there are three controls that control how much light gets to the camcorder’s sensing device; shutter speed, gain, and aperture."
Framing the shot - "The Rule of Thirds is a principle of photographic image composition that can also be applied to shooting video. Imagine the video frame divided into thirds, both horizontally and vertically like tic-tac-toe board. If the subject is facing the camera, the top horizontal line should be at eye level and they should be in the center of the frame."
Don't forget about audio - "Don’t skimp on the audio side of the equation. Viewers accept some visual degradation in their streaming media, but not audio-related deficits, since they know that audio can be nearly perfect, even when delivered via streaming."

Visit Ozer's site for more Streaming production resources and buy his book, Video Compression for Flash, Apple Devices and HTML5, a professional reference for producers seeking to distribute video over the Internet and to mobile devices—particularly Apple iDevices.

Online Video Sets Automotive Trends such as Hellaflush

larrykless — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:22:49 GMT

If you are an automotive enthusiast, you will quickly recognize the phrase "Hellaflush". It has become synonymous with modified cars and trucks that have aftermarket wheels that are flush with the fender. This might not seem like a big deal to the average Joe, but to the auto enthusiast, especially import enthusiasts, Hellaflush has become a trend that looks like it's here to stay.

Online Videos posted to YouTube, Vimeo and others, show the trend at work that drives up interest, excitement, and viral videos. Here is an example of a video dedicated to the Hellaflush movement that has been posted to YouTube:

As you can see from the above video, this automotive trend is very popular, and is catching on every day. Online Videos like these give inspiration to average enthusiasts to turn their cars into something special.

Getting your car Hellaflush requires a lot of research to ensure that the wheels and tires you purchase are the correct offset to make it sit just right when lowered. The tires also come in to play as each tire manufacture has different tire designs and this can make or break the stance of your car. The suspension is also very important and needs to give your car proper clearance. Popular suspension setups such as KSport Kontrol Pro Coilovers and Blackworks Coilovers have been used to create optimal stances. Seeing a video of the same car you have that is hellaflush gives you creative ideas on creating that look for your car or truck.

About the author - Alex Polonsky

Alex Polonsky is an automotive enthusiast that blogs over at APtuned (http://www.aptuned.com/blog/) where he talks about the latest trends in automotive high performance. Alex has been in the automotive industry since 1999 and has a passion for online video, technology, and social media. Alex is also co-founder of VidCompare.

See his recent post on this blog here: Online Video for Motorsports made easy with the GoPro HD and on Reel SEO: Automotive Video Drives Sales for Auto Performance Parts Industry

Pre-production: 10 Exercises To Consider (before touching a camera) For Best Video Results

larrykless — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:00:55 GMT

Guest Post by Seth Kenvin, Market7

Working with video as a medium is cool. Professionals take pride in mastering crafts of shooting, editing, imparting effects. People from outside the field who occasionally participate by commissioning production, appearing on-screen or weighing in on direction of projects also get gratified as rich content comes together. This blog is full of enticing advice about picking cameras, achieving right light and sound levels, and transcoding. But some of the most important work for making great video can happen before any of those considerations. Like stretching before sports, like taking vitamins before breakfast: aspects of careful pre-production may be dull but are often essential for great video results.

In fact, without the right sort of pre-production in advance, a fun project with cool content seeming to be heading towards a hit deliverable can become suddenly derailed with realization of some oversight: the most important decision maker was never consulted about what to emphasize, getting verbose content to fit within allotted running time necessitates an editing hack job, the featured product does not appear because nobody had responsibility to bring it to the set.

Some aspects of pre-production can be as fun as working with video gear and video content, some can be drudgery, but all can be essential for a production's success, so consider the following list (appropriate as lists are constants during pre-production) and which exercises are vital for your project.

1) Review, discuss, revise, approve: Not a singular step, these are constants throughout pre-production, and post-production too for that matter. Video projects are multi-handed, multi-staged, and multimedia and it's rare that some single perspective on how to do something can't benefit from someone else's viewpoint. So, for each of the nine following steps, remember to circulate to stakeholders, consider their inputs, resolve differences, and continuously improve for best outcome.

2) Treatments: Video production is ultimately a creative process, even though aspects of pre-production are much more logistical, but a creative step up front provides great foundation. Treatments are brainstorming exercises: come up with a handful of ideas, expressed very briefly (a couple sentences &/or a quick sketch) for what's to be produced and have a team conversation building off of those to get project oriented.

3) Brief: As the high-level concept gels, it's time to start breaking down details to assure nothing essential is overlooked. What is the key message? When is this due? Who will be in the audience? A creative brief is a question & answer exercise for consensus on these considerations as guidelines to abide throughout production.

4) Schedule, Budget: Knowing constraints up front helps make best decisions and helps stay grounded within realm of possible. The most fundamental constraints are time and money. A good brief may establish when delivery of video is due and how much overall funding is available, then diligent scheduling and budgeting seeks to best pursue priorities while allocating within those factors. How many iterations of script writing can be accomplished before a shoot has to happen? What sort of set can be afforded?

5) Script: On top of the math in scheduling and budgeting, if the production is scripted, writing is required too. Those who like the sizzle of capturing and seeing video may find this part of the process the most dreary. It can be important to have someone involved who thrives on writing. This is another activity to abide by constraints that may be established in the brief: write a script that fits within planned running time (but perhaps long enough to allow for some optimizing edits later). Also, scripts are for video – in addition to dialog, they can describe visuals such as appearances of people, props and sets and the on-camera movements and changes of those.

6) Storyboard: This can be where the process starts to get fun again for those stimulated by visual artistry. Storyboards don't have to be fancy or time consuming to create. They're basic depictions of the anticipated look of the video vital for a couple reasons: to assure consistency with the appearance that's sought, and to guide selection of what to use and how it all should be situated.

7) Cast, crew, location scouting, equipping: Well developed notions of themes, constraints and what a viewer will see and hear, all of which can be established in the steps described above, provides great guidance for final selection of who, what and where are involved in the project. As concepts mature clarity is gained on questions such as what particular specialized skills may be required, whether to source talent through an agency, and if shooting is best in-studio or on-location. Making these decisions at the right time, neither too early nor late, best assures the right people and things to be both in front of and behind camera (including what camera to use) to meet project's objectives and abide by its constraints.

8) Assign tasks: As the team comes together and the shoot approaches, the volume of details to be addressed can skyrocket and assuring coverage of them can be vital. Video productions are distinctive versus other kinds of creative projects by the shoot representing something of a deadline in the middle of the project – it's when costs are highest and timing is tightest. If some important preparatory step is overlooked the whole project can be substantially compromised like wrong content being captured or another shooting day having to be scheduled. It isvital to assure, and often to double-check, that all of myriad requirements are being addressed by capable people.

9) Rehearse: This is another case of deference to the time and cost sensitivity during the actual shoot. Too frequently, rent and wages are paid for idle locations, equipment and crew people while the on-screen talent becomes familiar with the lines on the set. Professional actors tend to prepare, although it may be important to establish timing and chemistry if there are several of them. Non-actors appearing on-screen, like a company's executive spokespeople, are frequently the real problems and in addition to knowing what they're going to say, they need preparation to speak at compelling pace, volume, pronunciation and inflection, and to appear with good posture and looking in right direction, and to be relaxed. Time coaching and practicing with them in advance can reduce one of the biggest variability factors of the shoot.

10) Call sheet: The highly logistical processes of pre-production can kick off with the stylistic exercise of treatments, and likewise the highly stylistic processes of capturing and editing content can be best prepared for with the highly logistical step of circulating a call sheet as culmination of pre-production. Call sheets are in a time-tested (as in decades, probably close to a century) format that condenses the final assurance that people know where to show up, when, how, with what, and answers all the other key question words. For those who haven't been having fun yet (and I hope this list indicates at least a few cool opportunities along the way of pre-production even to such people), circulation of the call sheet should signal that the really cool stuff's about to start.

Images courtesy of Videomaker.com

About the Author - Seth Kenvin

Seth Kenvin is CEO and founder of Market7, a provider of web-based software for collaboration in the development and management of creative content. He was previously was VP strategic marketing and corporate development for BigBand Networks from founding through profitability and more than $200 million of revenues. While there, he managed financial transactions, customer and partner relationships, and marketing of the company’s network infrastructure platforms for rising quality, variety and volume of video services. Earlier, Seth was a principal for the VC firm Cedar Funds since its founding as well. Prior experience includes being an associate for the VC firm Venrock Associates, consultant to the software company Check Point Technologies, senior editor for The Red Herring magazine and corporate finance analyst for the high tech group of Bear Stearns. Seth is a dedicated writer who has been a monthly columnist, blogger, by-line contributor to multiple magazines, and author of more than a dozen white papers published and presented at conferences. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Stanford. Seth occasionally quotes Elvis Costello lyrics and scribbles notes about what’s going on in his life at http://twitter.com/sethkenvin.

3 Tips When Shooting Your First Promotional Video

larrykless — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:10:38 GMT

Guest post by Marian LaSalle, Painted Path Designs

If you're a small business owner or want to communicate with an online audience, you should consider video marketing. I proudly present my Top 3 Tips for Producing Your First Online Marketing Video

1. My first tip is to pay attention to sound.

If you're using a flip cam or a similar video camera, make sure you're in a quiet location so the background noise doesn't bother the viewer. Unless you are shooting a music video, it should be quiet around you. Before you start filming, make sure that you are not going to be interrupted by cell phones, barking dogs, or people chatting in the background. Also make sure your camera is close enough to the subject that you will be able to hear them clearly.

If you're using a camera that will allow an external microphone, look into these sound enhancing options. Shotgun mic, Lapel mic, handheld mic or a wireless external mic.

2. Be short and to the point.

Do you know what WIFT means? It means your viewers want to know what's in it for them so, get to the point right away and then share your information later. Present your message with your audience in mind. Time is valuable and let's face it, if they get bored they will click you off and be on to the next video with-in the first 20 seconds. They don't want to waste time watching a hard sales pitch, a boring commercial or a misleading message.

3. Call to Action.

Make sure you include your contact information and give them a good reason to visit your store, call you, like you on your Facebook business page, sign up for your FABULOUS newsletter or visit your informative website. Think of other ways they can connect with you too like: following you on Twitter, reading your blog or asking a question in an email. Encourage your viewers to follow-up with you in a quick and easy way.

Video can be a powerful tool in communicating with your customers and potential customers too. Just this week I received a glowing testimonial from a client who said he's thrilled about the new clients he's getting from the video's we produced for his website. He's had such an increase in business he's asked us to record a video every month for him. The first video we shot was an introduction on his front page so people could get to know him. Know, Like and Trust is what your customers want and video is the easiest way to accomplish this.

If you have any questions or would like to see some of the videos I have produced, please visit my website and if you like what you see, contact me so we can talk about your online success.

Marian LaSalle
Painted Path Designs
Web Design & Internet Marketing
Video Introductions for your website and YouTube

Connect with Marian on-line
www.facebook.com/marian.lasalle

http://www.marianlasalle.com
www.facebook.com/InternetTrafficConsulting

www.facebook.com/ReferralBusinessBuilders

This article first appeared on: http://EzineArticles.com/6291203

How to Decrease Video File Size with MPEG Streamclip - Chris Pirillo, LockerGnome's Tech Reviews, News, & How To

larrykless — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:02:22 GMT

This video comes by way of tech geek extraordinaire Chris Pirillo, as part of his mobile Q&A sessions which he recorded with his iPhone that was mounted on the dashboard of his Prius. He answers the question, "How to decrease video file size" and offers the following advise:

Keep in mind that anytime you decrease the file size of you video, you are also decreasing the quality.
Look at originating profile as a frame of reference (resolution, bit rate, codec, frame rate, audio settings, etc.)
His favorite video encoder of all time is MPEG Streamclip, a free open source video conversion tool for Mac or Windows. While it's not perfect it is easy to use.

"Video, especially with HD content, can take up a lot of space on your hard drive. Thankfully, there are some easy ways to compress these large files down to a smaller size without doing much to degrade the overall quality."

Blip.tv also recommends MPEG Streamclip for exporting your Source/Master copy as a Quicktime file for the best result with the following settings:

Frame Size: 720 x 480 (1280 x 720 if you have a Pro account and would like an HD version as well)
Video Codec: H.264
Audio Codec: AAC
Video Bitrate: 3.5Mbps - 5.0Mbps
Audio Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Fast Start Enabled: Yes

For more on specific video profiles to use of online and mobile video, check out these Apple Support Community discussions

YouTube is also full of a variety of videos on this subject, and there are a few good tutorials on using MPEG Streamclip

Download MPEG Streamclip: http://www.squared5.com/

Follow Chris Pirillo (chrispirillo) on Twitter

Online Video for Motorsports made easy with the GoPro HD

larrykless — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:32:00 GMT

Online Video for Motorsports made easy with the GoPro HD It's never been easier to get motorsports action converted into online video. Before, enthusiasts would need to strap a makeshift camera to their roll cage or interior bars to be able to record the action to later show off on YouTube or Vimeo.

Just recently, GoPro, a maker of wearable HD video cameras for sports, released a high definition version for motorsports, called the HD MOtorsports HERO. GoPro makes it easy to mount the HD Motorsports HERO to your helmet, car, ATV, motorcycle, boat or ATV that you can easily upload to YouTube for sharing with friends and family.

Sample video from GoPro:

The GoPro makes a perfect gift for those who like car gadgets and car parts because it gives the user the ability to document the competition and then share it. Online Video such as this has also helped performance shops document car builds and show people around the country, and even in other countries what their shop can do.

Online video has been a big driving force in recognition for performance shops, and units such as the GoPro HD is making this easier. Before, people would take videos with their iPhones or other devices and then upload them to YouTube, but the picture quality was very low. However, GoPro can take 1080p video at 30 fps with incredible audio. Another incredible feature is a still shot feature, so you can take pictures as well as video.

About the author - Alex Polonsky

See his recent post on Reel SEO: Automotive Video Drives Sales for Auto Performance Parts Industry

Are You Flipped Out About the Flip?

larrykless — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:55:00 GMT

This article Are You Flipped Out About the Flip? originally appeared on Reel SEO on Saturday, April 16, 2011.

Sometimes products come along that just simply hit the mark. Whether it's based on filling a business or consumer need, or for its ease of use, innovative simplicity or aesthetic quality, these products have helped shape that industry. They've also spawned competition within its market which has given us more choices andbetter products. But that particular product, while it may not be the first, will be remembered as the one that defines that market space.

Such can be said for Flip Video camera, which met its unfortunate demise earlier this week. Just as Cisco surprised everyone with its $590 million purchase of Pure Digital, the makers of the world's most popular pocket video camera, just 2 years ago – the networking giant stunned the masses with its announcement that it would be shutting down the Flip Video business unit and kill the popular consumer device. 500 Cisco employees from the Flip Video business unit unfortunately would also be trimmed from their ranks as part of the company's consumer business restructuring plan.

Why Kill the Flip?

Cisco CEO John Chambers had sent out a memo the week before admitting to employees that they had disappointed investors and confused employees and that the company needed to get back on track and refocus on its core offerings. The company had seen several quarters of disappointing results and its consumer market strategy had faltered with its recent TelePresence product Umi, which it will stop selling through resellers and will be folded into the company's Business TelePresence product line. But while the Flip Video cameras were still selling like hot cakes and represented 35 percent of the camcorder market , Cisco's CEO said that they would need to retrench and make some "bold changes." He followed up this week by saying:

"We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy. As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network's ability to deliver on those offerings."

Reaction to the News

The announcement was met with mixed feelings throughout the Internet, with many eulogizing the consumer device that revolutionized the camcorder industry and became an easy to use tool for online video publishing. Many have pointed out that the rise of HD recording capabilities in the iPhone 4 and the Droid have eroded then Flip's market share and triggered its decline. One the big drawbacks of the Flip has been the inability to capture good quality sound. The lack of a microphone input jack really limited it to being more of a "one trick pony" consumer device unlike its competitor the Kodak's Zi8 which includes a mic input jack, 1080p recording and an HDMI connection.

Video producers around the world rejoiced its demise because it meant that PR professionals and marketers could go back to their old jobs and leave the video production to professionals.

The Ragan Communications blog asked, Did Flip flop? Many communicators say popular digital cam’s time had come and noted that some will miss a great video tool, but most agree it wasn’t irreplaceable in the changing world of internal communications. New York Times columnist David Pogue expressed his dismay at the demise of the Flip – a product he loved for its simplicity and strength – calling it a tragic death of the Flip.

According to Pogue, smart phones didn't kill off the Flip because of the 1 billion cellphones sold annually, only 1 million are iPhones and most cellphones don't even record video, let alone HD video. Pouge noted that Chambers' quote about the company refocusing on its core business to make “key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy” really meant, "We had no clue what we were doing.”

Both Om Malik and Kara Swisher spoke with Jonathan Kaplan, CEO & Founder of San Francisco-based Pure Digital, who had recently departed from Cisco, about why Cisco may have killed the Flip. While Kaplan declined to comment he did say people still want single purpose devices. Kaplan told Swisher that, “Flip changed the world. The brand will always live….So I don’t think of it as such a bad day.”

Did you say, FlipLive?

Pouge said that the tragic death of the Flip was compounded by what he learned from a Flip product manager a few days prior to the untimely announcement, that the Flip was planning to release FlipLive, a new feature that would enable the Flip to do live video broadcasting to the Internet from a Wi-Fi hot spot.

"Think how amazing that would be. The world could tune in, live, to join you in watching concerts. Shuttle launches. The plane in the Hudson. College lectures. Apple keynote speeches. Or your relatives could join you for smaller, more personal events: weddings, birthday parties, graduations, first steps. And the FlipLive was supposed to ship on April 13. The day after Cisco killed the Flip."

This was a feature I had long thought would make the Flip a unique device with live streaming capabilities of a smart phone with applications like Qik, Ustream, Livestream and others. But now, it appears we won't seeing that feature and will have to rely on our mobile devices for that.

RIP Flip

The Flip had a number of competitors and in his article, Death of the Flip camcorder doesn’t mean camcorders are obsolete, Paul Riismandel (the medigeek) wrote:

"Prior to the introduction of the Flip there had been a few attempts by electronics makers like Panasonic and Samsung to introduce small flash-memory camcorders which failed to take hold in the market. Sanyo was actually an early success story with its Xacti line of standard def and HD camcorder, though never a runaway success like Flip. While Flip caught its competitors by surprise, that first-mover advantage didn’t last very long. Within a year Flip had created its own market segment, challenging Sony and Kodak, in particular, to jump into the palm-sized camcorder market with both feet. Sanyo answered the challenge by reducing the price on its Xacti line while retaining higher-end features like an optical zoom lens and flip-out screen. Even though Flip remained on top, these other manufacturers soon were nipping at its heels."

Like Pouge, Riismandel doesn't think the rise of HD recording in smart phones had a huge affect on the Flip's market share and that it was rather a victim of its own success. It was caught in a bad marriage with a technology giant that didn't have success in the consumer market and chose to close down the business rather than sell it. Some have said that Cisco really may have wanted its intellectual property rather than extending its success in the market. Personally, I hope we see the Flip resurrected in some form or another. The fact is, it's a simple device to use with only a few steps (1) Turn on (2) Press red button to record, press again to stop (3) Insert USB into computer to download, edit and upload. As evidence below of my first Flip video which was shot by my daughter who was 10 years old at the time.

My First Flip Video from Larry Kless on Vimeo.

The Flip's biggest drawback was its lack of a microphone input jack, and as a video professional I criticize its shortcomings in the audio department, but it really did help revolutionize the pocket camcorder industry with its simplicity and size. I have three Flips, but stopped using them when I got a Kodak Zi8 mainly because it has a microphone jack. But the Flip challenged the industry and pushed smart phone makers like Apple, Samsung, HTC and others to make devices with HD video recording capability which many have said was part of its decline. That may be true to some degree, but it really comes down to the fact that Cisco failed at the consumer market because at its core it's really a B2B company and not a B2C company.

So ends the saga of the Flip Video Camera... whether you loved it or hated it, may it rest in peace.

See this article on Reel SEO - Are You Flipped Out About the Flip? to join the conversation.

Create Original Animations with YouTube Create

larrykless — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:05:00 GMT

YouTubers upload more than 35 hours of video to the video sharing website every minute, and with the motto of "Broadcast Yourself", YouTube has now made it easier for people who don't have a video camera join the fun. With the beta launch of youtube.com/create anyone can use video creation sites Xtranormal, Stupeflix and GoAnimate to make their own videos or animations and post them directly to YouTube.

These third-party video sites are not new, but many video creators may not have known that they existed, and now that they are available on YouTube they're sure to have more exposure and may gain traction among users. Whether this is good or bad for online video remains to be seen, since it could mean another 35 hours of user generated video uploaded to YouTube per minute. Google plans to add more services and partners in the future.

GoAnimate

GoAnimate is a fun app that lets you make animated videos, for free, in just 10 minutes, without having to draw. You can even create your own cast of characters. here are millions of people using GoAnimate. Try it out nowby GoAnimate

Stupeflix Video Maker

Tell a story with your digital content. Mix pictures, videos, maps, text, music and watch Stupeflix produce a stunning video in a few seconds. IIt's fast, easy, and free to try: you don't need to create an account, and videos are free up to 60 seconds.by stupeflix

Xtranormal Movie Maker

Xtranormal lets you to turn anything you type into a fully-animated CG movie. Set up your scene, type in your script, and animate it instantly. Easily share something funny with friends, or create the next viral sensation. If you can type, you can make YouTube movies! by Xtranormal

For more information, go to: youtube.com/create

Read the blog post: YouTube Blog: No video camera? No problem! Create original videos with your own photos, clips or just an idea

6 Ways Online Video Offers Low-Cost Marketing For Your Business

larrykless — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 01:34:00 GMT

Today, online video has become as prevalent as text on the web was more than a decade ago and is now being used as an effective marketing tool for businesses small and large alike. In a recent article in the New York Times, Kermit Pattison highlighted the growing trend of businesses using video as a low-cost way to reach to sell their products, connect with customers for deeper conversations and communicate their brand. The barriers to creating and distributing professional-quality video have been eroded with the development of affordable content creation tools and the solutions available from online video platforms.

In the example presented by the New York Times, Pattison focused on how a small California manufacturing company, Ceilume, decided to use online video as a way to tell customers how its products were different from its competitors. Pattison spoke with Ed Davis, President of Ceilume, who discussed how video marketing helped tell his company's story better than any other marketing approach it had tried before.

According to Pattison:

"Over the last several years, Ceilume has produced dozens of YouTube videos for product demonstrations, advertisements and how-to instruction. These videos are embedded in the company Web site or show up in results when customers search for keywords. As a result, Ceilume has reached tens of thousands of customers at a very low cost."

Here's one of Ceilume's video from its YouTube Channel, Can I Afford a Coffered Ceiling? that offers information to customers rather than a blatant sales pitch:

Pattison shared the following 6 ways that online video offers low-cost marketing for your business:

SHOW YOUR PRODUCTS - Online video may be the best way to demonstrate a product. Customers can see the actual product and make purchasing decisions based on what they see rather than having to request a sample.
CREATE A DESTINATION - Having an online video spokesperson in your video adds that human touch that no other marketing tool can duplicate, short of being there in person, and when you add that element to your company website you create a reason for customers to keep coming back. Your website can become your company channel full of useful information that connects with your customers and you'll be seen not as pitching products, but as customer-friendly experts.
USE ANALYTICS AND TOOLS - All video platforms, including: YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Blip.tv, and professional platforms like Brightcove, Ooyala or Kaltura, offer tools that allow you to measure the effect of your videos. The ability to measure video traffic beyond "views"-including audience dropoff, what sites and search terms are referring viewers, and audience geography-offers content publishers deeper insight into both the viewing habits of their audience and the extent of your video's reach.
BUILD A BRAND CHANNEL - One way to get the attention of customers is invite them to become your video producers — especially if they jump off cliffs, ski down steep powder ridges or do somersaults on BMX bikes.
ADVERTISE WITH VIDEO - YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google (which owns YouTube) and represents a huge audience of potential customers. It offers a dozen advertising options, including banner ads, promoted videos that appear on top and beside search results, and “preroll ads” that appear during other YouTube videos much like a conventional TV commercial. YouTube recently announced that it was displaying more than three billion ads per week.
OFFER INSTRUCTION - Pictures are really worth a thousand words and video multiplies that equation with 30 pictures a second. Online video makes it easy to follow the adage “Show, don’t tell.” Many businesses have turned to video for instruction manuals and how-to guides.

For more information, read the full post: Online Video as a Marketing Tool - NYTimes.com

Welcome Guest Blogger, Jules Watkins, Pocket Video Power

larrykless — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:19:00 GMT

Guest blog post by Jules Watkins, Pocket Video Power

When I decided to create a Pocket Video Marketing course some people said to me "What is there to learn? You just hit the record button, it's simple!" Wrong! A Pocket Video Camera is a powerful communications tool, it's more than just hitting the record button and shooting yourself against a white wall in your box room.

You can easily make bad Videos that look and sound bad or drag on to long or are devoid of creativity. But making good Videos is a skill that I think every Marketer should have as part of their Marketing toolbox.

A quote I love is this: "It's not about the Bow and Arrow, it's about the archer" (Andy Jenkins - The Video Boss). It doesn't matter what camera you've got if you have great ideas and some technical skills, you can make better Videos than 99% of the planet and good Videos will get your products noticed.

So with that in mind here are 3 ways I think you could use your Flip, Kodak, Iphone4 etc. to boost your Marketing efforts.

1. Come out from behind the powerpoint.

If you've watched any of the recent Big Internet launches the common thread is you see the Marketer on screen. People connect with people and Video does a brilliant job at
building a bond with your prospects.

I've just viewed a new Jeff Walker launch Video. If you follow Internet Marketing you'll know Jeff's multi-million dollar earner Product Launch Formula. The first Video was almost entirely real world footage. What I mean by that is you saw him at a whiteboard and then it cut to an on camera interview where he was sat next to one of his successful students talking about how much he had earned from his own launches.

There was nothing in the Video that couldn't have been done on a Pocket Video Camera and it was much more engaging than a back to back Camtasia presentation.

Don't get me wrong I think screencasting is very powerful I just think that breaking it up with real world footage is a great way to engage your buyers even more. Put it this way the Big Marketers test like crazy and they wouldn't go for the 'on camera' route if it didn't work for them.

You don't need a lot of gear to make these Videos look great, in fact over on my training course page you can see footage that I shot with a Flip camera in a tiny room in my house with lights that cost around £100 a pair!

2. Be a Pocket Video Paparazzi!

Take your Pocket Video Camera everywhere. You never know when you will spot something extraordinary. If you do then it could prove a hit on YouTube and you can link it back to your most relevant product. I also advise people to get into the habit of filming their business and personal life. So if you give talks stick the camera on a tripod and get some shots of your presentation to an audience. If you are making good money on the Internet and spend your weekends on your shiny new sailing boat (!) film that.

Build up a library of clips and you can use these to make a Video where you show your prospects proof of what you do and how your success effects your lifestyle.

If you go to events in your niche, shoot on the fly interviews with participants, upload to facebook, friend your interviewee and use the Video 'tag' function to highlight that they feature in the Video. This means the Video will also appear on their wall and get seen by their friends which exposes your brand to new eyeballs.

If you target an interviewee that runs a blog even better. You'll often find that they will embed the Video in their blog too, as it's so quick and easy for them to do so and beats writing a long post.

3. Get creative with customer testimonials.

We all know the power of Customer testimonials, but if you want to take them to the next level offer you audience alternative angles. So say you have a customer, Jane who bought your Marketing product and is happy to record a Video testimonial for you, break it into shorter clips.

For example Jane on: "How the product helped me get organised", "How the product or service made boosted my buisness", "Why the Webinars were so valuable". That way you get extra Videos for your YouTube channel and you give visitors to your site a sense of control over the content. Another plus is you avoid making an overlong 10 minute video where you try to pack everything into a single clip.

Even better, go the extra mile and show footage of how Jane has benefited from your product on camera to edit over the interview clips. If we get to know Jane more through Video we'll trust her judgement even more.

So let's see Jane working away at home whilst being able to keep her eye on her baby and winning extra clients all at the same time. That way your Video will stand out from the average customer testimonial and your viewers will stick with the clip right to the end.

These are just 3 tips but I hope you can see how powerful your Pocket Video Camera can be. I've no doubt, if used well, you can repay the cost if buying it many times over.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: Pocket Video Power

7 Things Digital Marketers Can Learn From Porn

larrykless — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:55:00 GMT

These tips come by way of Ed Celis from his video, Seven Things You Can Learn From Porn if you are a Digital Marketer on Vimeo. The video contains no adult content and is not intended to promote the porn industry, so it's safe for viewing by anyone. It is primarily a video presentation with tips for successful online marketing and content distribution with samples taken from the adult industry. The video runs 21 minutes in length and definitely worth your time if you are an online or digital marketer.

Seven Things You Can Learn From Porn if you are a Digital Marketer from ed celis on Vimeo.

The 7 main points from his presentation are:

Content drives tech (not the other way around)
Recycle (it's good for business)
Packaging matters, a lot
Own your club, shop, portal or channel
Move fast!
Perception is (often) the larger element of your product
Speciality content sells

View the main points as pictures on Flickr: bit.ly/fIl6G0

Visit his blog: Perspective

Follow: ed_celis (ed_celis) on Twitter

How to Compress and Upload Video for the Web

larrykless — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 06:05:00 GMT

This post comes by way of the YouTube Blog, and features a humorous approach to an often confusing subject – video compression. This video, Uploading 101 with Professor Compressor, is presented as part of Howcast’s ‘Modern 101 for emerging digital filmmakers’ published every Friday on the YouTube blog since October 1, 2010.

If you can see past the silliness and length of the video, Professor Compressor (played by Nardeep Khurmi, Howcast’s Post Production Specialist) does share helpful information on how to choose the right codec, aspect ratio and data rate when uploading a video to the web.

Reprinted from the YouTube Blog:

"What is a codec?
A codec is the format in which you compress your video. It could be a variety of different formats, but the most modern, powerful, and commonly used codecs are H.264 and MPEG-4.

Why H.264 and MP4 (MPEG-4)?
H.264 and MP4 are wunderful codecs! They allow you to have a tremendous quality video at a fraction of the file size. Lets look at a theoretical example:

You’ve finished editing and have made a beautiful 1920x1080 master file. But it is in the Apple Pro Res format, and is over 2GB. This file won’t work for the web. The video codec is too large and the file size is too big. Inevitably you will end up with a low quality video, because the master file is not designed and optimized for the web.

Take that file and transcode it into an H.264. Since web players are designed to work seamlessly with H.264, you won’t have to worry about choppy or corrupted playback. And H.264 encodes your video in such a way that you won’t see a noticeable drop in image quality. What you will see is your 2GB master file shrink to less than 500MB -- perfect for the web!

Help, my footage looks stretched or squished and there are black bars bordering the footage!
This is a common problem that results from uploading an incorrect frame size. When uploading, you need to make sure the video is in the correct frame size for the player. This could be a variety of different frame sizes, varying from SD to HD, so check your website’s FAQ on uploading for instructions. The most common frame sizes are: 640x360, 640x480, 720x480, 1280x720, and 1920x1080.

This problem could also result from an incorrect Pixel Aspect Ratio. Pixel Aspect Ratio (or PAR) can be a little confusing, but the simple way to think of it is that this setting tells your program what aspect ratio to encode your video, at the pixel level. It determines how the digital information is presented and viewed onscreen. I recommend square pixels for HD, PAL for PAL, and NTSC for NTSC, though this can vary.. The best option is to play around with this setting when exporting until you get your video looking pristine.

Help, my video looks muddy and detail is lost. My text looks almost pixelated and the video is generally very low quality.
Low image quality is usually due to a low data rate when exporting your video. When exporting your video, you’re given many options; one of these is data rate. Setting the data rate to automatic will usually result in the best image. It is also highly recommended to do a multi-pass encode. It will take longer than a single-pass encode, but it will result in a much smoother video with higher image quality.

Well, that was a lot of information! Digest it, experiment, and start uploading those WUNDERFUL videos!"

Correction: Professor Compressor calls H.264 and MP4 or MPEG-4 both codecs and actually that's not true. MP4 is a file container and H.264 is the codec or compression type used to encode MP4 file, and part of the MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC (Advanced Video Coding) video compression standard. See this post for more clarification on codecs, containers, formats: Encoding Video for the Web - Slides from ReelSEO.com Webinar

Vimeo Launches Free Online Video School

larrykless — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 04:20:00 GMT

Online video sharing site Vimeo has launched Vimeo Video School, a free online video initiative to help educate people of all skill levels make better videos. Vimeo Video School had been planned for over a year, and includes 'Video 101', a series of originally produced videos for beginners that covers step-by-step instructions on choosing the right camera, shooting tips and simple editing techniques. 'DSLR Basics' with renowned videographer Philip Bloom, and at the center are the internally-developed Lessons, which are short, simple-to-follow tutorials on a wide range of video-related topics. Basic to advanced Lessons can be found on a broad set of topics and new Lessons will be introduced regularly on the site every week.

Additionally, the Vimeo staff has selected hundreds of user-generated video tutorials created by Vimeo members and organized them into easy-to-find categories. Users can browse through tutorials to find those that best fit their level of experience and areas of interest.

Tutorials categories include:

"Vimeo has an amazing community of members who enjoy sharing their knowledge to help each other reach the next level, whatever that level might be," explained Dae Mellencamp, General Manager, Vimeo. "With Vimeo Video School we have created a structured extension of what our community members have done for one another for years – teach and share best practices."

"Vimeo Video School is the next step in our continued commitment to provide a platform for people to learn from and inspire each other," said Blake Whitman, Director of Community and Product for Vimeo "By aggregating well-produced tutorials made by our members as well as creating light-hearted and informative Lessons ourselves, we are making the process of creating videos easy and fun."

Video 101 comprises is a 4-part lesson of three videos that help you with: (1) choose a camera is the first step (2) learning shooting Basics (3) Editing basics (4) Editing details, which covers both Mac and PC software.

Video 101: Choosing a Camera from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.

Learn how to choose the right camera for you. See the full lesson here for more details- vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/22/video-101-choosing-a-camera

Video 101: Shooting Basics from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.

Learn the basics of shooting videos. See the lesson here for more details- vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/32/video-101-editing-basics

Video 101: Editing Basics from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.

Learn the basics of editing videos. See the lesson here for more details- vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/32/video-101-editing-basics

Kudos to Vimeo for creating this comprehensive, easy-to-use online video resource to help expand the knowledge base and skills of the online video publishing community!

About Vimeo, LLC

Leading video sharing site Vimeo® provides the easiest way for people to host and share their videos in high quality. The site provides great privacy features and inspiring videos from a vibrant, respectful community of creative users who care about how and where they show their work. Launched in 2004 and headquartered in New York, NY, Vimeo offers users a video sharing experience that is both entertaining and easy to use. Vimeo is a 2010 & 2009 Time Magazine Top 50 Website. Vimeo, LLC is a subsidiary of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI).

Comparing Low-Cost Video Cameras for Online Video Publishing: FlipHD vs. Kodak Zi8 vs. Smart Phones

larrykless — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:38:00 GMT

Rebekah Monson wrote a recent article, Comparing video cameras for multimedia reporting - BusinessJournalism.org, that looked at inexpensive, highly portable, entry-level camera options for multimedia reporters. She compared the ever-popular Flip camera, the Kodak Zi8 and mobile phones with video capability.

The results of her findings are reprinted below:

Flip UltraHD

Price: $100-$200, depending on capacity and model

The Flip has been the popular choice for an inexpensive handheld video camera for several years, and its reputation is deserved. The camera is so simple to operate that I’ve seen a preschooler operate it correctly the first time she picked it up, so it’s perfect for beginners. The latest generation has improved video quality and image stabilization, and larger memory options. The obvious downside to the Flip is that its memory is predetermined and unchangeable. Previous versions of the camera ran on AA batteries, but the newer models use a proprietary built-in battery, which can be problematic if you’re out working for a full day. If you choose to go with the Flip, remember that it’s best for interviews at close-range in reasonably quiet environments or b-roll in which distinct dialogue isn’t necessary. It has no external microphone connection, and the built-in mic won’t give the best results if you’re trying to interview someone in, say, a noisy convention hall. (There is an aftermarket mic for the Flip that does add a microphone jack.)

Pros:

Probably the easiest video camera to use out of the box

Cons:

No external microphone input, so sound gets muddy if you’re shooting from a distance
Fixed memory allotment
Requires computer with internet connection to transmit

Kodak Zi8

Price: $100 – $150

The Zi8 is Kodak’s answer to the Flip, but it comes with a few particularly useful upgrades. First, the memory inthe Zi8 is upgradable SDHC. So, if you need more recording time as you get more advanced, you can just get a bigger card. The Zi8 also features a mic input, which is rare for cameras in this class. So, with the addition of an inexpensive lavalier mic, you can capture decent interview audio in noisier environments. The proprietary rechargable battery is also an issue with these cameras.

Pros:

Expandable memory using SDHC card
External microphone jack

Cons:

Requires computer with internet connection to transmit

Smart phones with video capabilities

Price: Varies widely, $100 (with a contract) to $400 or more

If you’re willing to shell out the monthly data fees and upfront costs, there are some great smart phones on the market for shooting video. Various iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry models shoot HD video that is perfectly suitable for the web. You may run into audio issues for these too, but there are aftermarket solutions for many models. The real downsides to using for smart phones to shoot video are storage space, cost and battery life, but the ability to shoot, edit and transmit video on-the-fly is invaluable for breaking news. Be careful about getting the biggest possible data plan if you’re planning to use your phone as your main video-gathering and transmitting tool.

Pros:

No need to carry an extra piece of equipment
Limited editing and transmission on the go

Cons:

Limited memory
Requires generous (and often expensive) monthly data plan
Shooting can drain your battery quickly

A few other quick tips for using any of these options in the field:

Invest in a tripod. Getting the tilt and wobble out of your video is key to keeping a viewer’s attention on your story.
Go toward the light. Shoot outside or in well-lighted rooms. None of these cheaper camera options perform particularly well in low light situations.
Focus on audio. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, good sound is essential to good video. Even if you’re shooting a simple interview, making sure people can hear the questions and answers clearly should be a primary concern.

About the Author

Rebekah Monson is the Business Community Manager for the Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Follow her on Twitter as @RebekahMonson.

Defining an Online Video Platform

larrykless — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:06:00 GMT

In this video from OnlineVideo.net, Troy Dreier talks with Sorenson Media’s COO Eric Quanstrom about What Is an Online Video Platform? They discuss the basics of OVPs and the value that OVPs bring to small businesses. According to VidCompare, an Online Video Platform is: "typically a SaaS (software as a service) solution providing end-to-end tools to manage, publish and measure online video content for both on-demand and live delivery. Typical components of an OVPP include video hosting, encoding, custom players, syndication, analytics, as well as interactivity and monetization through a variety of online advertising options typically 3rd-party ad-servers/networks. Most OVPPs offer scalable product packages for both self-serve SMB publishers up to large media companies."

In a recent report The Online Value Chain 2010 - 2012: CDNs, OVPs and Video Advertising Networks - Market Research Reports - Research and Markets, the online video ecosystem (comprising CDNs, OVPs and Video Advertising Networks) is estimated to generate $2.3 billion in top line revenues in 2010, with 56.5% of that coming from CDN-powered video distribution, video platform services and content monetization. The combined market grew by an estimated 30% in 2010 and OVP total accounts increased by 118%.

For more about Online Video Platforms, see these related posts:

Online Video Publishers: "Take Video Search Seriously!"

larrykless — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In her most recent New Media Minute, Daisy Whitney talked with my good friend Mark Robertson, publisher and Founder of ReelSEO, and leading expert in online video search, about the secret sauce of video SEO. Mark says that content creators shouldn't get bogged down in the inner workings or search, but that publishers should. Take note online video publishers, take video search seriously!!

Mark points out that a large portion of discovery comes from search, but search engines have a difficult time crawling and searching for video content. So he recommends several video best practices video best practices to make sure your video is discovered by search. Besides having great, unique content and relative content, and metdata to surround the video, and a well optimized website – Mark says that creating and submitting a Google Video Sitemap for your video content is the best way to show up in Universal Search, and your best chance to show up on page one of Google search.

Episode description:

Want to get more views for your videos? Have you optimized them for search? Knowing how to get your videos found via search can make a big difference in your views. But it's something few video producers do. So come learn the tricks of Google video search from Mark Robertson with ReelSEO!

Check out these Reel SEO resources:

Google Video Sitemaps Best Practices – Video SEO Webinar

Video SEO Guide – VSEO Tips And Techniques For Online Video

How To Optimize YouTube Videos – YouTube Optimization Tips