Web site branding for Apple Wood Rescue.

Web site designed for Rex Lounge Denver.

Web site designed for Central Mechanical Services.

Web site designed for Atim Otii.

Some of the lingo in the online video business can be a bit confusing. So to help everyone make heads or tails of what people are talking about, here is a little list of common definitions.

• SEO:

  Search Engine Optimization. Generally speaking this is the process of getting your website to show up high in search results. So when someone searches for plumbers in Denver, they find you plumbing business at the top of the list.
  From Wikipedia: Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (”organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.

• Streaming Video:

  This is video that is embedded into a page. It requires a plugin to play and usually doesn’t offer a way to download. These are your average YouTube videos.
  From Wikipedia: Streaming media are multimedia that are constantly received by, and normally presented to, an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.

• Self Contained Movie Files:

  These are usually .mov and .wma. Most are playable in modern browsers, but most are designed to be downloaded to a users computer and then viewed. These are mostly self-hosted or distributed through P2P networks.

• Social Media / News Sites:

  These sites rely on users to submit articles and videos and links to content they like and find useful. The sites are usually moderated heavily so spam is not an issue. A high ranking on one of these sites can result in massive amounts of traffic. Examples include Digg, Reddit, Delicious,and StumbleUpon.
  From Wikipedia: Social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies.

• Blog:

  In the context of our products a blog is a site that has the ability to publish numerous articles on a regular basis. This is in contrast to a static business site, only occasionally updating with new content. The goal is to connect with your customers and make them want to come to your website on a regular basis.
  From Wikipedia: A blog (a contraction of the term “weblog”)[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

• RSS / Podcasts:

  These are both technologies that allow your content to be distributed through a “feed” and subscribed to by others. Your “feed” can be formatted in numerous ways, from showing only excerpts, to full text posts. These can be a good ancillary distribution method.
  From Wikipedia: RSS (most commonly translated as “Really Simple Syndication” but sometimes “Rich Site Summary”) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.

• Content:

  Content is the “stuff” on the website. This is the actual text or video that the site displays. When it comes to site SEO, a frequent heard phrase is, “Content is king”.
  From Wikipedia: Even though we may embed various protocols within web pages, the “web page” composed of “html” (or some variation) content is still the dominant way whereby we share content.

• Meta Data:

  Meta data, or tags, are pieces of information that help search engines better understand what your site is about. There are numerous meta tags but the most frequent are keywords and description.
  From Wikipedia: Metadata (meta data, or sometimes metainformation) is “data about other data”, of any sort in any media.

This is just a beginning list and we will update it as we go and feel necessary.

Any terms you would like to see included? List them in the comments.

Travis Berry

You should follow us on twitter.

Related posts:

1. The Value In Video Content.
2. Should My Business Use Online Videos?

Long answer. Still yes, but I’ll explain a little more this time. When dealing with clients here in Denver we often hear, “Why should we use video, I don’t see how what we do is related.” Well it’s true that what you do probably isn’t related to video. That isn’t the point though. Video is strictly used as a medium for you to connect with customers.

Think about it this way. I bet you can think of ten frequently asked questions from your customers right off the top of your head. How many of those people look for the answer online first? A good portion. By creating high quality videos that answer those questions you can make sure you are the one who answers those questions online, making you the expert. People take that impression from online to the real world where you are now much more visible and respected to your customers.

How to’s aren’t the only option either. Have an interesting work environment? Why not show it off to customers, let them see a little behind the scenes. The key is to make them feel like an old friend. We all know as small business owners that a lot of business is driven by people we know, or people those people know, and that’s what these videos can do. You may not directly know the customer, but they will feel like they know you when they come into the office or store.

There are many more styles of videos you can use but they all come back to the same thing. Connecting your business with customers in a meaningful way. Not just your average 30 second TV commercial.

Has your business used online video and been successful? Let us know in the comments.

Travis Berry

You should follow us on twitter.

Related posts:

1. The Difference Between TV Advertising and Videos For The Web.
2. Definitions of Common Online Video Terms
3. The Value In Video Content.

NO ONE WATCHES COMMERCIALS ON THE INTERNET!

Sorry for yelling but I feel this point needs to be made. Now it’s true that some companies (Hulu) are running commercials and being really successful at doing so, but these are the television guys doing it. The entry to these guys is really high. It now costs more to run an ad on The Simpsons on Hulu, then it does on TV.

So, if your on the smaller end scale, where and how can you advertise on the internet. You have two options. You can create short, and I mean short, 5 sec tops, commercials that run on other online video content. You can go through a traditional advertising network and they will target your ads, as best they can, to videos they hope will relate to your customers.

The second, and better plan, is to create those videos your customers are watching, yourself. These are branded, content filled videos. The internet works on an added value system. If what you offer can’t add value to someone’s life, then they don’t care. This doesn’t apply to your normal business or service. I’m sure that adds value and customers would love it, but online when advertising, people won’t watch or respond if your advertising doesn’t also add value.

This is where the content comes in. The goal is to create content that answers questions your customers have, or videos that can solve a problem a customer has before they have to come see you. All these things build trust and add value to their day, making them more likely to find you when they need the service you offer.

So there you have it, my thoughts on the difference between advertising on TV and online.

Feel like I missed something or have a different opinion? Let us know in the comments.

Travis Berry

You should follow us on twitter.

Related posts:

1. Should My Business Use Online Videos?
2. The Value In Video Content.

The value in effective online video lies in 2 distinct areas. It can act as a strong SEO tool. It can help create a brand and put a face on your business.

SEO Tool

Acting as a SEO tool is one of the most common selling points of creating video content. By creating content that targets specific keyword niches, video can rank very high, very fast in universal searches. Video is also the fastest growing traffic on the internet, so exposing yourself to that traffic is a great way to get more traffic to your site.

Branding

Video as a branding tool is discussed less when it comes to online video. The benefits of television branding have been known for years, but many seem to ignore this idea on the internet. We at RovingHouse think this is a terrible idea. By creating branded content you have the opportunity to put a face on your company and make your customers more likely to visit you in the real world. It builds trust between you and your customers.

Video can add much more than just these two things and we will explore those ways in future posts.

Any additional thoughts on the benefits of web videos? Leave them in the comments.

Travis Berry

You should follow us on twitter.

Related posts:

1. Should My Business Use Online Videos?
2. The Difference Between TV Advertising and Videos For The Web.
3. Definitions of Common Online Video Terms

Video of a fashion show produced for the Denver Country Club.

Related posts:

1. DCCS Fashion Show

Wedding video produced under Drifter Entertainment.