Using Videos to Promote Your Brand

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Websites, social media, e-mail marketing, and mobile marketing are great ways for authors to promote their work. An even better way is by using the power of video. If you had the option either to listen to an audio of your favorite author, singer, or motivational speaker, or read text or watch them on video, which would you choose? I’m willing to bet that most of you chose the video over text or audio.

There is something to be said about being able to see who you’re listening to. Videos are an excellent visual aid and are a bit more personal.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of using video for marketing.

PROS:

1. Advantage over your competitors. Anyone can set up a blog and write. Although it doesn’t take a whole lot of skill to make basic videos, your audience will watch your video before they will read a blog post. Depending on how advanced your video capture and editing skills are, you can go beyond the basic and do some really cool things with video. You can’t do that with a basic text blog post. Remember, most people are visual in nature.

2. Video can boast the “I can show you better than I can tell you” factor. A user finds it much easier to see something being done, say, in an instructional video than reading the text of a blog post.

3. Using video shows your more personal side to your audience. It is a strong way to interact with your audience because they have the added benefit of seeing your facial expressions, hand gestures, and so on. Need I even mention the value a video will add to your branding strategy? It’s easier to associate a name or brand with a face than it is with text or audio.

4. By cross-referencing your video in various social media venues, you expand your audience and your audience possibilities. When your viewers can see you, they are more likely to share the video. We all know about viral video. I don’t recall hearing anything about viral audio or viral text, unless of course you’re referring to a New York Times Best Seller.

5. Although videos are not SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly, video sharing sites such as YouTube and GodTube are. Also, by tagging your blog post properly, viewers can get to your videos.

CONS:

1. If you are not experienced in capturing and editing video, it can be a daunting task. A poorly captured or edited video can be a turn-off and hurt your brand rather than help it.

2. It may take only a few moments to write a blog post or even an audio post, but it takes time to produce a video.

3. One size does not fit all. When making a video, consider issues such as videos that automatically start when a person clicks on a page. This may be distracting and may possibly get a few people in trouble because they might be at work and are not to be on the Internet. It may scare a sleeping child or take your viewer off-guard. Also consider various Internet speeds and software that your audience may be utilizing. If you use an Apple only program from your Mac to upload your site, without the proper plug-ins it is possible that viewers who don’t have Mac capabilities may not be able to watch your video.

4. In most cases, you will have to pay for some type of software to create your videos; however, you may be able to download Windows Live Movie Maker via the Microsoft Website. It is part of the Live Essentials Software.

5. Videos tend to take up more disk space on your computer than audio and text. Some video sharing sites may charge for hosting videos over a certain size and bandwidth.

These are only a few pros and cons of using videos to promote your work. But as you can tell, there are more pros than cons and the possibilities are endless. I believe that the more you practice a skill, the more honed and experienced you become. So create your video today. It doesn’t have to be fancy or long. Perhaps you can start by announcing where your books are sold, the release of your new book, or a summary of your book. If you’re like many “starving artists,” you may freelance, in which case you can explain your services. If you need help creating videos, social media video sharing sites, such as YouTube, have a plethora of how-to videos. Also, if you visit the home page of your software or product, you should be able to find videos to help with your product.

Last, here’s a few tips on creating your video:

• Less is more. If you’re not used to the frillies, bypass them until you become more experienced.

• Creativity excites the senses.

• Smile. No one wants to look at a video of someone who looks unhappy.

• Check your appearance.

• Check your audio. There is nothing worse than looking at a great video and not being able to hear a word.

• Keep your videos between two and five minutes. Unless your video is super exciting and actual movie or concert production, no one wants to sit through an hour of your talk about whatever. Even if you are creating a how-to video, break the session into multiple versions. This allows viewers to take a break, and they can go directly to the part of the video they actually need.

Lights. Action. Camera!

The Harsh Reality of Today’s Work Place

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My husband says that the tone of the work place is like Survivor Island. He’s an engineer who has worked in a lot of different states at various manufacturing facilities and according to him everyone is trying to see who can get voted off before they do.I can’t help but wonder if this is in all industries now? Have reality shows put us in this posture that “team work” has been replaced with “scheme work?” Should we always be on guard all the time? Is paranoia common place in the work place? What gives?I have a friend who is a high-end hair stylist and she says that the work place has become much more “stern” compared to ten years ago-that employers demand more but offer less.We’ve certainly seen lots of new requirements in the last decade regarding what it takes to get through the door of a company and actually become an employee-from drug tests, to credit reports, to background checks. And now most states have “at-will employment,” which means that employment is presumed to be indefinite for both employers and employees. The unfortunate truth about this is that it produces an atmosphere of mistrust and disloyalty, and is far more favorable for the employers than the employees. In short, employees get the shaft and employers hold all of the cards!I think that the most unfortunate by-product of these new developments is that it gives no wiggle room at all for employees to have problems or make errors. It puts people in fear for their job whenever they have anything that comes up in their life that might prove to be interference with their work. There’s no room for being human!I can remember when it was three strikes you’re out regarding dismissal of an employee, which meant you’d give the worker two verbal warnings and one written. I recall this from when I was an Office Manager in California, and responsible for the hiring and firing of all employees. One of my employees was caught lying and stealing-she was given three warnings over the course of time to change her behavior. When all three warnings did not produce change she was dismissed, but it was only after she was given a chance to change. Fairness prevailed!Of course I realize that many of these developments have to do with the fact that so many employees were suing their employers that it created a huge money problem for companies. In 1987 California juries ruled in favor of employees in over 2/3 of such cases and granted an average award of 1.5 million dollars. Still, I find it interesting that the United States is the only major industrial power that maintains a general employment-at-will rule. Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and Sweden all have statutory provisions that require employers to show good cause before discharging employees.I believe that the “at-will” truth silently sets an undertone in the work place, and that the Survivor Island mentality sets a dog-eat-dog overtone; which in turn make today’s workplace at the very least unpleasant, and at the most deadly because it pushes people past their limits. Work was supposed to be a blessing in every way-it’s a sad state of affairs that it has become so brutal and hard to endure. Perhaps in this new century some new laws will come forth to protect both employees and employers.

Pro Health and Fitness

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All issues with health and fitness has become more and more important as the world spins faster and faster.Both important to people who are used to be active, but now more important to people who are not used to be active or got the time. Things to be able to keep up pace and at the same time feel good in your body!As a newcomer or some people who has been doing this for very long, there are always very much to learn and know about. Such as:Get maximum muscle volume or minimize fat
Get in shape
Get good cardio results
New exercises or traditional
Static or dynamic training
Jogging, walking, cycling or other methods
Using machines or free weights
Food and CaloriesEvery one of those questions can be answered in different ways by reading a numerous of books, visiting many WEB sites, going to seminars and courses, etc. But what most of us forget is that everyone has a unique body and own conditions that sets your own possibility how to get results. It can be how easy you have to build muscles or how easy you can take a jogging tour or how your intake of food adopt into your body.You see, there are no easy answers about all of this, but there are some guidelines that are better than others. Myself has through many years of own studying and learning, and through other peoples knowledge and experiences gone through different stages of being and feeling well and not very well. But I have found out that everybody has their own pace to deal with and that there are better and wore ways to get the results you are seeking. Just keep in mind that all persons have different body conditions that make your success faster or slower.So as a newcomer and as some one that has done this before you can always learn more and find new interesting and funny ways to be successful now and in the future. It’s totally up to you, but you will soon as I did experience that there are better or worse ways to do this and learn how. Take your own time and use it well and then you will see results and also feels as I do, much better and more vital.