In case you have not noticed, video is exploding over the internet.  YouTube.com is one of many sources that have made video simple and affordable to produce.   We have all seen the skateboard accidents and other funny videos.  Have you also noticed the number of commercials and information videos?  Have you noticed how many video blogs are out there?  Yes, video is here and it is time for you to get in on the action.

Your First Video

Video is a big topic if you want it to be.  How do you reach your customers?  How do you make it interesting?  Should you hire a professional?  Can you do your own thing with a webcam?  These are all great questions and all have the same answer, "it depends".

If you are already accustomed to giving your "elevator pitch" about your company, that’s a great start.  You can also prepare a quick elevator pitch for each of your products or services.   If your business is centered around you and your personal credibility, then do your own videos.  If your business is built around the products and services, then at least consider using someone attractive with a captivating personality to represent your company.

For most companies, your video should be focused on marketing and not too educational.  No showing off!  Tell people that you can help them and focus on what they need and why they need it now.   No video resumes.  Focus on your client’s needs or on your differentiators.

Shoot several versions and change them up a bit.  Then ask your friends and colleagues to help you choose the videos that work the best for your business.  You can have several.

For web video, any camera will do.  Take the time and trouble to work on sound quality, lighting quality, etc.  You do not need special equipment, but you do want your video to look fairly well done.  It is not necessary to focus on high definition or tricky special effects.  Just get a video online and then upgrade it when you are ready.  It you want something really fancy or if you are producing a companion DVD, etc., then spend the money on professional help.

Publishing Your Video

Your video should be from 30 seconds to five minutes in duration.  These are easily hosted on YouTube.com.  Upload your video to YouTube.com and they will provide you with the codes to help put it on your website.  It is very simple.  Put a different video on each page of your website and make sure the YouTube.com descriptions include keywords, product names, or whatever else.  Google will read the YouTube.com descriptions and use those to drive traffic to your videos and to your website.

If you do not use YouTube.com for your video, there are easy ways to have your video placed on your website.  The important thing to do here is to create the XML required to teach Google.com what the video content is so Google.com can send you search engine traffic.  Google calls this XML file a "Google SiteMap".  To create a Google SiteMap, go here:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=80472

I am sure that Google SiteMaps are generated by some video editing software.  There are probably other tools to help you do this as well.

Great Video Commercials

If you go to YouTube.com, you can search and find all sorts of videos.  One of my favorite examples are the videos from the BlendTec blender company.  These videos are built as a cross between a video blog and an infomercial. Search youTube.com for "Will it blend" and you will see well made videos of a guy grinding up all sorts of crazy things in his BlendTec blender.  These videos are designed to do several things:

Create a viral marketing buzz.

Demonstrate the quality of the product.

Sell blenders.

These commercials do all that well.  It is worth a look to get some ideas on how to do it right.