How a Virtual Assistant Can Help You with Video Marketing

Online marketing, Virtual Assistant0 comments

Another blog in my series on how virtual assistants can help you to promote your business, and this one is about video marketing.

Now video marketing is becoming an increasingly popular way for small businesses to promote their services or products.  If you’re like me and running a business on your own, then it’s a great way for people to get to know the person behind the brand.  In fact, I’ve recently started to put some videos together – mainly short screencast tutorials – which I will be sharing shortly.

So if you are someone who would like to use video marketing but don’t have the time or skills to set everything up, then here are 5 ways that a virtual assistant can help you to manage and promote your videos.

Research appropriate equipment and software.  One of the first things you need to consider is getting the right equipment to shoot your video.  This will include camera and microphone, and possibly lighting and screen.  A virtual assistant can research and recommend appropriate equipment based on your needs and budget.  They can also suggest software to edit your videos whether you are recording head shots of you talking to camera or recording your computer screen for tutorials.

Help with editing.  Once you have got your video recorded then it can be time consuming to edit the video and add in the appropriate titles etc.  A virtual assistant can do this for you with your directions.  So they can add or remove audio and visuals as required, add captions and call outs to sections of the video, and cursor and zoom effects when you want to highlight a particular point.

Make it look professional.  To make your video look really professional then it’s a good idea to add intro music and a title both before and after the main content.  A virtual assistant can research and add appropriate music, titles and graphic effects to the video which will help to promote your brand.

Promote video.  Once you’ve made your video then you obviously want people to see it!  A virtual assistant can set up a channel for you on YouTube, complete with your company details and branding.  They can upload videos and add tags so they appear in the search results.  They can then promote the videos via social media and email marketing so they get the highest visibility and ranking on YouTube, as well as submitting them on video promotion sites such as TubeMogul and Traffic Geyser.

Video blogging.  Another way to use video is to create video blogs (or vlogs).  If you’re someone who blogs a lot then you can shoot a short video which is related to the blog.  The virtual assistant can then upload the video on to YouTube with a link to the blog post, and add a link to the video on your blog.  This creates traffic both to your blog/website and to your YouTube channel so dramatically increases your online profile. 

Although you could do all the above yourself, by outsourcing the technical and promotional tasks you can focus on the marketing message you want to get across so that you can maximise the results from your video marketing activities.

Where to get content for your blog

How to, Online marketing1 comment

Because one of the services that I provide as a virtual assistant is to design and manage blogs, I do get asked by clients if I can write the content for them too.  Now I can totally understand this question because as someone who writes their own blogs, I know how difficult it is to think of new ideas to write about.  But in my opinion, a blog is a great way to promote yourself to your contacts, and for them to get to know the person behind the business.  If someone else writes your blog, how are they going to do this?

So if you’ve been thinking about setting up a blog but have been put off by the thought of having to struggle to find new things to write about, then here are some tips to help you get content for your blog.

First of all you need to think about what would interest your target market.  Remember, a blog is like any form of marketing, you’re using it to attract people to find out more about your business.  If you write about topics that interest them, then they will bookmark or subscribe to your blog, and take time to find out more about what you do.

Search the internet.  Once you’ve decided on the kind of topics that would interest your contacts, then you can carry out a search on the web and set up a Google Alert for each topic.  These Alerts can then be added to your Google Reader so you can keep track of them. This means that you will be seen as someone who is aware of the latest news in your industry and is keeping track of the hot topics being discussed.

Ideas from online discussions.  If you use online forums or social media, keep a look out for any topics that attract a lot of questions or comments.  If there’s a recurring question or theme and it falls within your area of expertise, then write a blog which answers the question and post a link to it on the forum or appropriate social media profile.

Questions from contacts.  When you’re talking to people either online or at networking events, it’s likely that people will ask you questions about your services or products.  Again, if there’s a recurring question or theme, you can write a blog which answers it and share it with your online and offline contacts.

Use guest bloggers.  And if you do run out of ideas or just don’t have the time to write anything, then you can get round this by inviting someone else to contribute a blog.  This is actually a good way of showing off your connections, especially if the guest blogger is someone who is highly regarded within your industry.

I hope this has given you some ideas and if you’ve got any suggestions, then let me know in the comments below.

If you don’t have a blog and want to get one up and running, then find out more about our blog design and management service.

Finding your voice

How to, Small business0 comments

I was listening to a webinar the other week where the host mentioned that one of the most important things for a business owner to do is to have a “voice”.  They explained how you should have a point of view that came across in all your communications because if you try and please everyone, all you’re doing is making yourself feel better.

So this got me thinking about my own voice.  To be totally honest, it wasn’t something I’d thought about before and I don’t think that I do have a particularly distinctive style.  I think a lot of this comes from working in the corporate world where individuality was frowned upon.  Very often you kept your mouth shut and your head down, and tried not to upset the boss!

But I can see now how important it is to have your own style in business, especially if you are a “one man band” where you represent the brand.  It’s you that people talk to over the phone or at networking events and people are either going to like you or not whatever you do.

So rather than trying to fit in with everyone, you should just be yourself; not rude or overbearing but someone who’s not afraid to express their opinion and stand by it.  Let’s face it, we went into business so we could be free from the constraints of having to toe the line so why not take full advantage of it!  We all have a distinct style and personality, and there are things we stand for and are passionate about.  Some people may love us for it and some people may hate us, but it’s what marks us out as individuals.

So what’s your voice?  How do you express yourself when writing articles, blogs or your website content?  Do you worry about what people think or are you prepared to stand up for your opinions and beliefs?

If  you’ve got a strong style then the people who are attracted to you will be the kind of people you want to work with anyway.  If they’re put off or dislike what you’re saying then you know that they are never going to be clients of yours.

So let’s be prepared to make our voice heard!

How to get inspiration for your blog

How to, Marketing, Online marketing4 comments

We’ve all heard how blogging is a great way to raise your profile.  As I already mentioned in my previous blog “To blog or not to blog”, you can use it to show off your expertise and knowledge to a wide audience.  What I would call a “soft” way of marketing to them so that they can see that you can walk the talk without any hard sell.

But what about the challenge of knowing what to write about?  Well this is something that a lot of people struggle with and it’s what puts people off starting in the first place.  In fact I had this problem the other day when I realised that I was due to write another article but had a complete mental blank on what to say.  So what can you do when the muse doesn’t strike and you’re sitting there scratching your head trying to think of something to write?

Well, here are some tips that I use to get the creative juices flowing!

• Take a break.  If you’re sitting in front of the computer, staring at a blank document and there’s nothing happening, then get up and walk away.  Make a cup of coffee, have a chat with a work colleague, or just do something else.  I bet that when you come back later, you’ll find that inspiration will strike and you’ll be able to write what you want easily without any effort at all.
• Get some exercise.  Physical exercise doesn’t just motivate us physically, but also mentally.  Whether it’s going for a walk in the park, a run round the block or a session at the gym, taking exercise can help relieve stress and clear the mind.
• Be prepared.  Inspiration can hit us at any time so always have a pen and paper handy to write down any ideas as they come to you.  If you’re researching an answer to a question or found out some useful information that could be helpful to others, then share it in your blog.
• Ask for help.  Get ideas from other people.  Ask your contacts and clients for any subjects that they would like to know more about.  It’s great having your own ideas but if you are writing blogs to attract clients then wouldn’t it be better to write on subjects that they are interested in?
• Don’t do anything! If for some reason you can’t think of anything to write about then leave it.  Better not to write anything at all than to just put something on your blog for the sake of it.  Remember that your blog will only attract readers if you have something interesting to say.

These are just a few tips that I use to help me get some inspiration – I’d be interested to hear yours!

To blog or not to blog?

Marketing, Online marketing3 comments

So here’s a question: How would you like to be able to communicate directly with your customers and target market?  Keep them updated about the latest news on your products or services?  Create a two-way conversation where you can demonstrate your knowledge and expertise?  I’m guessing that as a business owner, you would answer with a resounding yes!  Well, you can have all this by using a blog.

Blogs are a great way of speaking directly to your contacts but it’s a form of communication that not all business owners use.  Either they think it’s too time consuming or they believe they don’t have anything interesting to write about.

If you’re someone who’s been thinking about setting up a blog, or have just started blogging, then here are some tips on how it can benefit your business.

Updated web content: For most businesses, especially those offering a service, it’s highly unlikely that the content on their website will change that frequently.  However, as I mentioned in my previous blog Why updating your website is crucial for online success, refreshing your website content is essential for good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).  You can therefore achieve this by regularly posting blogs and it also gives you the opportunity to generate backlinks to your site as people share your posts around the internet – all good for SEO!

Interact with others: You can use your blogs to build up a two-way conversation with your readers.  Whether it is customers commenting on a product or service, or people sharing their views on a particular subject, this helps to build trust and respect between you and your contacts.  You can also maintain your reputation by quickly responding to any negative publicity.

Promote your brand: Blogs are an easy and cost effective way to raise awareness of your products and services. However, you must blog consistently and not use your posts as a sales pitch.  Instead inform readers with useful and interesting content so they subscribe to your posts and share them with others.  This is a great way to get your brand in front of thousands of people who otherwise would never know you existed.

Expert in your field: You can use a blog to promote yourself as an expert in your industry.  By sharing your expertise and knowledge with others, you could become known to the media as someone to come to for comments on topics related to your field.  This not only adds tremendously to your credibility but makes you look like one of the top opinion makers in your industry.

Stand out from your competitors: You can use the blog to tell your potential customers what makes you different from your competitors. Your posts can show them how you work, what sets you apart and the unique way you can solve their challenges.

SEO: As mentioned earlier, blogs can really help with SEO as search engines such as Google love websites that are regularly updated with fresh, well written, keyword-rich content.  Also, having people comment on your blogs means that search engines place a high value on your content. This means that your site will rank highly and people will be able to find you more easily.

Setting up a blog is fairly straightforward.  However, if you don’t have time to create and manage a blog yourself, then seek the assistance of a Virtual Assistant who can help you set one up and post content on your behalf.

If you’re blogging successfully already, then I’d love to know how it’s working for you.