Not everyone likes to read reems and reems of words, this is why images and video are used so much online and social media sites are no exception, in fact images get a far greater response on Facebook than words. You may have noticed even quotes being shown as images rather than simply typing them into the status update bar and this is the reason why.

Like all things, make sure it’s all kept professional as the images and video that you upload will be associated with your company and so make sure that it represents the right image for you, if you aren’t sure then you probably shouldn’t post it. The image to the right is pretty random but it does create a different level of interest.

Make sure you optimise with keywords, search engines can’t (yet) read images and video and so rely heavily on keywords to determine what they are. By ensuring that you use alt tags in your web pages and use keywords to describe your video on YouTube then you are far more likely to see this being shown early on in the search results.

It is always a good idea to have a corporate slide at the end of your video with your website and contact information, this makes it easier for those who want to, to get in touch with you. It doesn’t have to be expensive to make a video, but it does need to be well thought out. How to videos are very popular, something that is educational or explains how to use your product or service is also very good.

People don’t want to hear about how great you think your company is, they are unlikely to watch more than a few seconds and make sure that you aren’t using it as a way to advertise. People fast forward through adverts on TV for a reason. Make your video no more than about 3 minutes long as people tend to switch off after this, if you can’t fit it all into one video then maybe think about making a series on a particular subject as this encourages people to come back for more and also to subscribe to your YouTube channel too.

Below are some hints and tips for using video to market on mobile devices.

• Attention spans for viewing video on mobile devices are shorter than on traditional devices. Aim for 60 seconds or less.
• Be clear on the message, you want people to share the message but they won’t if they dont understand themselves.
• Get the message accross in the first 10 seconds. If it’s not clear by them, most people switch off.
• Stats today suggest that 28% of smartphone users use an Android with 26% using and iPhone and 14% using a blackberry. So using flash needs to be considered very carefully or a quater of your audience will be lost. Remember Apple doesn’t support Flash.
• People want entertainment or information. As long as your video is one of these it will be on interest.
• Viral films – A difficult win. They happen ‘by accident’ you cant plan them. Think of the ‘charlie bit my finger’ YouTube phenomenon. Look it up if this passed you by.
• Information – ‘How to’ films or ‘top tip’ films are an easy win.,e.g. ‘top 5 tips for interview success.’ ‘How to fix a leaking tap’.
• Every video needs a call to action. Tell people what you want them to do at the end of the video.
• Remember a mobile device often has a tiny screen. Make sure you film with this in mind. Lots of close ups and talking heads.

It’s suggested that 1 in 8 purchase decisions (product or service) involves someone having viewed an online video….

Pretty much all internet users have watched a video online, many through Youtube, embedding a video onto your website has become quite a simple process and one that you should consider exploring.  Way back when, using video on a website would take so long to load that they were impractical to use and most people would give up and leave the website before the video had even loaded.

Today it’s a very different process, by uploading a video to something like Youtube you don’t even have to host the video on your website, you can simply embed it thus having no impact on your download speeds.  The reason download speeds are important is not only for user experience but also to help your search engine rankings.

We all have different ways of learning, some prefer to read and others are much more visual, so by introducing video to your website you are able to engage with those that would get bored of reading your web copy in the space of a couple of minutes.  One of the other benefits of using video is that you can get a lot more information across in a much shorter space of time.

Video is a great way of demonstrating the personality of a business too, you can really get this across more than you can with a static web page, these tend to be quite cold.  Some of the best ways to use video are to:

• Present your business services
• Demonstrate how to use a product/service using video
• Tutorials and how-to videos offering advice
• Present your latest blog

One of the things to bear in mind is that you need to produce a video that gives your potential audience the information they are looking for.  If you are presenting a product you need to be talking about how it can help them solve a problem and not just barking on about how fantastic it is.  Try not to make your video more than a few minutes, most people won’t stick around for any longer than this and you can end up diluting your message.

If you are a little nervous about putting together your first video, don’t be, you know your business better than anybody and so don’t worry about feeling silly, we all do on the first attempt.  Oh and lastly don’t just make one for the sake of it, it has to actually be about something that people are interested in.