FEATURE STORY By Les Robinson
your business, or the products you sell. Your mission is to be the source of that information. Define what your standards are for your business and hold true to those. Not everyone has the budget to hire a professional video production crew, nor is that necessarily expected by viewers. You can still be effective with a self-produced video and can purchase a Flip Cam or similar gear for as little as $100. Remember that if you choose to shoot and produce the video yourself, it can be time consuming, so plan accordingly. Ultimately, the goal is something that will accurately portray your business without breaking your bank. • Video length: Regardless of what
Good use of "Humanizing" the Ram brand through real people and real products.
TAKE YOUR COMPANY VIRAL WITH YouTube
W
e all know the power of YouTube to take videos viral, but you may not know that YouTube is
also the second-largest search engine. With users searching YouTube to find videos of information on brands and products, companies need to consider having a presence there. With such a powerful platform at your disposal, you'll want to consider making YouTube part of your marketing strategy. Here are three key reasons to get your business going on YouTube, and some helpful tips to keep the momentum once you're there.
1) Humanize your business YouTube provides the opportunity to tell the story about your company and the products you sell in a visual way. Viewers often get a better feel for products with
visual demonstrations as an alternative to just text and pictures. And, by having these demonstrations given by knowledgeable people at your store who know your product, you are putting a personal face on your business. Whether your videos feature the folks at the front counter, the hard- working individuals tuning up equipment in the back, or the loyal customers who couldn't imagine buying OPE anywhere else, YouTube provides you an avenue to show the world what makes your business stand out from the competition. Tips: • Be wary of "selling": You need to
earn the right to be heard. In most cases, this means using the video to "inform" rather than sell. If you "inform" well enough, people will want to buy from you. • Production value: People are using YouTube to "search" for facts about you,
you've read, there is no one-size-fits- all answer to how long YouTube videos should be. A general rule of thumb is 3-4 minutes, but you can try different lengths and see what works best for you from a production standpoint and how the audience responds (a wealth of information can be found through YouTube Insight). • Playlists: Once you have a few videos shot, organize similar content on your page using YouTube Playlists. This makes it easier from a user's perspective to find more videos around topics they're interested in.
HELPFUL LINKS
Optimizing your channel on YouTube: http://www.google.com/ support/youtube/bin/answer. py?answer=105753
Troubleshooting upload issues: http://www.google.com/support/ youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answ er=166815&ctx=cb&src=cb&cbid=- xmm6097cartg&cbrank=1
Understanding YouTube Analytics "Insight": http://www.google.com/support/ youtube/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs& guide=1714169&topic=1728599&answ er=1714323
20 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com
