Archive for the
‘Video’ Category

There are four key points to remember when it comes to effective content marketing: educate, entertain and engage.

The fourth point? If you focus on yourself, that’s the fourth point: extremely boring.

In this segment, David Gould of Vertical Measures goes over three common content marketing mistakes, and what you can do to fix them. It’s about three minutes, and if you’re a content marketing creator, it’s worth a look.

Talk about one-day only sales.

googleglass_artGoogle is making its groundbreaking Google Glass available to anyone who wants to purchase a pair. The computer-equipped eyewear will be available for purchase for a single day, April 15, and only to U.S. residents who sign up in advance or return to Google’s site at 9 a.m. on that date. Orders will include a free sunglass shade or one of its newly introduced prescription glasses frames.

The offer is an expansion of Google’s Explorer Program that makes the eyewear available to select users who act as brand ambassadors.

Says Google:

“To discover new places, sometimes we need to leave the map behind. And that’s what Glass Explorers do. They are the first to make, to tinker, to create, to shape, and to share through Glass. We’re expanding little by little, and experimenting with different ways of bringing new Explorers into the program.”

With this controlled step the company is putting the $1,500 devices in the hands – or rather, on the faces – of more people in advance of the device’s launch to the general public.

The Verge first reported the plans for Google Glass, citing leaked slideshows detailing the promotion plans.

In this segment created by Vidyard, Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi offers tips to enterprise and small businesses on how to make the most of their content marketing efforts. If you’re in charge of your brand’s strategy, and want it to be successful, these next couple of minutes will be worth a listen.

Much of content marketing is about brand storytelling. The creator’s role is to weave compelling narratives about the product that connect with the customer, and inspires brand loyalty.

The latest company to take up this approach is Wells Fargo. The financial services company last month debuted its “Wells Fargo Stories” channel that features creative content about its employees, communities and brand values. Wells Fargo calls it an online magazine that shares its stories through written content, slideshows, blogs, infographics and videos.

“Wells Fargo Stories” focuses on the people in the company, the team members who work with small businesses, volunteer in the community, and promote the company’s vision.

This is content marketing that is consistent, shareable, engages and motivates, and goes beyond Wells Fargo’s status as a banking giant.

You can see for yourself how it works in this segment here:

Video content for a camera that’s favored by the extreme activity set tops YouTube’s Brand Channel Leaderboard.

YouTube launched, with little fanfare, a list of the top 10 highest performing, most engaging and shareable brand channels. It looked at which brands have the most watch time, repeat viewership, likes and shares, and other factors to determine which have the most active fan bases.

This from Google:

“As brands continue to blur the line between advertiser and creator, we want to recognize those brands that regularly publish content—paid or otherwise—to build an engaged fan base.”

GoPro is the No. 1 brand channel for March. Customers to its official site can narrow their search for merchandise like cameras, software, mounts and accessories based on activities like skydiving, rock climbing or wakeboarding. There’s even a bundle of products for those in the military.

Six Pack Shortcuts, No. 2 on the leaderboard, offers extreme exercise advice on how to get a ripped body and six pack abs. Interestingly, YouTube at one time suspended the account of the channel’s owner, fitness specialist Mike Chang, and blocked all the content. Google now says Six Pack Shortcuts creates content “based on who is responding to its videos to drive continued engagement.”

And the one you’ve probably not familiar with, unless you’re one of its fans? Rainbow Loom, known for its colorful rubber band bracelets.

Its introductory video has been viewed 1.6 million times, and Google says the channel has built a passionate fan base through its instructional videos and user-generated content.

The others that made the list:

  • Sony Playstation
  • Warner Bros. Pictures
  • League of Legends
  • Sony Pictures
  • Call of Duty
  • Nintendo
  • Game maker Ubisoft

 

 

Chris Ducker, a British businessman best known as the “Virtual CEO,” has some advice in this segment on making your content marketing efforts effective in the marketplace. It’s just under five minutes, and his three tips are worth a look.

Feel free to let us know what you think.

It can take six to nine months of consistent creation and production of high-quality content, say 15 posts per month, before a company can start to see results.

That’s the advice from content marketing expert Arnie Kuenn in this segment. Kuenn, CEO of Phoenix-based Vertical Measures and an author and frequent speaker on content marketing, says the payoff comes to companies that are patient and consistently productive.

Check out the segment here, and tell us what you think.

When it comes to attracting new customers to your online marketing content, the headline is one of your most effective tools.

A well-written and informative headline peaks the reader’s interest and draws them into checking out the content, be it for scanning or thorough reading.

If you have a minute or two, here’s a segment by the CEO of Los Angeles-based Fresh SEO Company on resources to create effective, engaging headlines for your content.

British comedian David Schneider has some advice for using Twitter effectively for business.

Schneider, who counts more than 170,000 Twitter followers, did this segment for the Guardian of London as part of its Guardian Masterclasses series. In summary, Schneider encourages those looking to get the most out of Twitter, like those embracing it as part of their content promotion strategy, to follow these steps:

  • Be human. Post as if you’re emailing a friend.
  • Be short. Keep it tight.
  • Be topical in your posts.
  • Reply and engage your followers.
  • Tweet about anything that takes your interest.

Look it over, and tell us what you think.

On the surface, the premise appears a bit ridiculous: The president of the United States sitting down to discuss the health care law with a comedian best known for “The Hangover” movies.

But Zach Galifianakis’ “Between Two Ferns” sitdown with Barack Obama got everyone

talking about the Affordable Care Act this week. Website traffic to HealthCare.gov, the federally sponsored insurance exchange, jumped 40 percent after some 13 million people watched the “Funny or Die” online segment.

Content marketing professionals can learn something from this. Whether it is video, text or images, good and relevant content will draw in those interested in your message. They’re even willing to be sold on the brand, product or message if the content is compelling enough.

The “Between Two Ferns” segment was not focused exclusively on the Affordable Care Act. There’s plenty of humorous and satirical banter between Galifianakis and Obama. But the White House saw an opening to pitch the Affordable Care Act to a target audience segment of young adults receptive to the message, and the administration took advantage of it.

Companies looking to reel in a target audience with video content may want to consider these tips:

  • Be unique in your content. Make it something that has not been seen before.
  • Be professional. The more polished, well edited and complete the video is, the more receptive the audience will be.
  • Be promotional. Get the video out to the right people who will put it before the target audience.