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Like on-page text content, video seo requires the same kind of indepth keyword research for video to ensure that the right keywords are being targeted. To rank highly in the search engines (including video hosting sites like YouTube), it’s absolutely essential that the right key phrases are selected and used wisely as the ones you choose to use will have an enormous impact on whether your video is found and whether it adds to the user experience if watched.

Keywords - search terms that are used to find webpages, videos, images etc related to those keywords – are the building blocks of SEO and video search engine optimization is just the process of letting the search engines know exactly what the focus of your video is so they can return it in the search results based on the user’s query. Good video keyword research will help you develop a strategy for video content creation which will benefit not only the video itself but the rest of your SEO campaign.

Of course, there’s usually little point in targeting really short-tail keywords like “credit cards”, “shoes” or “silver rings”- that’s a sure fire way of guaranteeing that your video gets lost on page 68 of Google’s results. Unless you are Barclaycard or Jimmy Choo, you are simply not going to be able to compete for those kind of terms. On the other hand, focusing on keywords that attract only a handful of search traffic per month is also a strategy to avoid. Keyword research, whilst being a long and sometimes laborious task, is essential for find the right balance between those high volume but less competitive keywords and those that just won’t be helpful for you.

So, what do you do when you’ve found the right keywords for your video campaign? You should already know that you need to use them in your filename, title tag, description, tags and link text but there are also some tips that can help you take the next step to ranking success through keyword optimization.

Tip 1: Use Analytics to Discover Which Keywords Your Users Search

Keyword research is an ongoing process and it pays to keep an eye on the phrases that bring people to your site. All too often, a business or a brand will make the mistake of optimizing their website for keywords they think  the user is searching for as opposed to the vocabulary that the potential client is actually using. Your average customer probably won’t find you through industry jargon or insider terms so avoid those at all costs unless you are specifically appealing to a B2B market.

Google Analytics is a fantastic tool for uncovering customer search terms (even after the ‘not provided’ feature was introduced) and even better, you’ll very often come across specific questions that users ask – what could be more perfect than creating a video to answer those questions!

Use the information from Google Analytics (or any other analytics package you have installed) and divide the search terms you find into:

• Those which match current content
• Those for which you don’t yet have any text or video content for.

You can then make informed decisions about future video strategy based on capitalizing on content which already attracts a lot of views or addressing search queries which you haven’t make any videos for as yet.

Tip 2: Use a Max of 2 Keywords for Each Video or Landing Page

I don’t mean just use one or two keywords like “London” or “briefcase” but I suggest constructing your title, content and description around one topic rather than several. For instance if you create a video to promote one type of kitchen appliance, make the focus that particular model and it’s benefits rather than try and include every other model you produce. It’s an old adage but one that’s true – websites don’t rank, web pages do and if you let the search engines know exactly what the specific focus of the page is, they are more likely to return it high in the search results for a user query rather than one than doesn’t have a clear focus. Many site owners make the mistake of uploading their videos to their home page, which is just about OK if it’s a microsite based around one subject but more often than not, the video has to compete against the brand, the other models, company info, the latest…….

Don’t try to optimize the video or video page for several keywords at once. Keep it simple and clear and you will be rewarded. Which brings us onto tip 3:

Tip 3: Surround Your Onsite Video With Content

So, we know that search engines love relevant, fresh, original, focused content. We also know that we need to help search engines like YouTube, Google & Bing recognise and understand what our video content is all about and the very easiest way of doing that is to add copy to the video landing page. This is actually a lot easier than it sounds especially if:

1. You’ve created the video script using the keyword targets found via your keyword research. Just use the transcript for instant, relevant content!
2. Without keyword stuffing, you make good use of the header tags on the page
3. The URL includes the main target keyword (and the word video – see tip 4).
4. Comments are enabled (if applicable). Not only does this send the right signals to Google that the page is ‘active’ and encouraging user engagement, but the comments themselves may also include variations of the keywords you are targeting.
5. You link out to related target elsewhere on the site

 Tip 4: Use the Word “Video” as Much as Possible.

Many users are now including the word’ video’ when searching for content so it makes sense to add this word to your title tag, description and content. If you do want to rank for a highly competitive keyword than adding ‘video’ may just give you the advantage over those who are not using video content as part of their marketing arsenal.

Keyword Research = 1st Step for Video SEO

Taking time to understand and discover the keywords that can drive relevant and converting traffic to your site really is the key to success for all search engine optimisation, including video. It will give your marketing strategy a real focus and a plan for the coming months.

Source: Keyword Optimization for Video: 4 Tips To Maximixe SEO Benefit

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This is the last article in a three  part series where we look at how to put together a professional looking video on a budget.

The Post-production

Now that all the filming is done, we will look at how to compile and package your video so that it is professional and pleasant to watch.

Video blogs need to be set out like an article. It will have a main topic and then subsections within this.

A video blogger needs to be prolific; it can’t take hours to package your video each time so we recommend that you create a series of templates that you can reuse to define your subsections, title background screen and so on. These templates are made up of graphic elements that will give your videos a recognisable style and can include branding and contact details.

Templates

Remember that these backgrounds and templates can only work if you have shot the video with a blue or green screen chroma-key background, which can then be keyed out and replaced with graphic elements.

To begin with you can create your opening title screen backdrop. Remember to keep your introduction short and informative. Then you can add an animated title backdrop that introduces the speaker. This can be used for guest speakers too.

Talking Heads can be Boring

Most video blogs will use the “talking head” style but this can become visually uninteresting so create a series of backgrounds. Obviously they need to be relevant so you can make a neutral one that just has some texture, otherwise you can add pictures, video or a slideshow.

When making a list you can create bullet points next to the speaker, or even cut the speaker out completely and just keep the audio while listing the points. But what the speaker is saying and what you show doesn’t need to always be exactly the same, you could add an infographic, for example, that will enrich your point. Keep in mind the audience’s assimilation rate. This is how long it will take to absorb the information on the screen. You need to find a balance so that the viewer is happy that they have had time to understand what’s on the screen but not so long as to bore the viewer.

6 Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

There are a few simple things that can make all the difference to your video.

Sound is another import thing to focus on. First I want to focus on music and then I’ll just list some tips on how to adjust your audio in post-production. Adding music can give your video a lot of texture and an ambiance that can be very effective. But there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Firstly, be careful to find royalty-free music. It’s illegal to use copywritten music without paying a usually hefty royalty fee.
2. Then you need to consider that the relationship between the subject matter and the speed or style of the music has to match. If I’m being really serious and talking quite slowly having something jaunty and fast in the background isn’t going to work. In the same way, if I’m talking excitedly about a subject I’m passionate about and this slow, poignant music is playing, it changes the whole atmosphere of the piece.
3. If you are putting music behind a voice, you need make sure that it is soft enough so that we can still clearly hear the person speaking — if it’s too loud, the video is really messy. But it also can’t be too soft, which sounds like somebody left the radio on the other room.
4. When there’s a pause in the narration you can push the music up. But also don’t be afraid not to have music. You can have silence when the speaker is on and then just use the music to bridge the sections.
5. Really importantly, you need to make sure that the music corresponds with your subsections. Often people will put a song on, let it run and end and then add another, but it’s really jarring if this happens randomly in the middle of a section. Rather work backwards; put the end of the song at the end of a section and just fade the music in at the beginning, even if you are starting in the middle of the song. This sounds less jarring than ending in the middle.
6. Make sure that your audio levels are consistent; they shouldn’t fade in and out or change at all and if you have picked up some ambient noise, try to soften it in postproduction.

That’s it for our tips for packaging an online video blog professionally. I hope you have got some good ideas out of this. Happy blogging!

Image by KTVee

[Jeffbullas's Blog]

The post 6 Simple Mistakes to Avoid when Creating an Online Video – Part three appeared first on identityzoom.

The rumours and predictions that Facebook would  be the death of blogging seems to have been greatly exaggerated.

Blogging has instead evolved into a media rich ecosystem that is performed by individuals and companies to great effect.

Blogging platform startups such as Tumblr (founded in 2007) that emphasises ease of use, have seen serious traffic and growth

• Site averages  more than 2 million posts every day
• It is currently the 10th largest social network
• Attracts over 27 million monthly visits – which is up 218% from July 2010

Blogging can position  people as experts and thought leaders. It provides a home base portal that can provide a resource for their viewers and readers.

Blogging is not just about writing articles, as the advent of broadband networks available on mobile and fixed devices has seen the rise of video bloggers from cooking to travel. Visual and video communication is now quite often preferred to reading.

So how do you put together well produced videos as a blogger?

This is the second of a three  part series where we look at how to put together a professional looking video on a budget.

Lighting

Now that we’ve dealt with getting the correct equipment to produce a professional blog video, we will look at how to set up lighting and audio to create the best quality, professional looking and sounding video.

Three-Point Lighting

You will need five lights to create the perfect lighting scenario. But you can get away with less. In fact you can get away with one light, a window and a reflector board. Three-point lighting is a common technique used by both videographers and photographers. It is used to give life and texture to the face, to define the body and to light the backdrop evenly.

Key light

The first and most important light is the key light. This light is placed at a 45 degree angle and is higher than the camera. This lights the side of the subject’s face. If the light is focused directly on the face of the speaker, you will lose all definition, sense of texture and dimensionality, blanking out the face. The key light highlights the person’s features. If you only have one light, use it as a key light. You can place the subject by a window with the key light on the other side. The window light will act as the fill light. The light must be bright but not so much so that it creates a harsh, white light, which potentially blanks out the features on that side of the face. The light’s strength can be reduced or increased by changing its distance from the subject.

Fill light

This light is less bright than the key light. It is placed on the opposite side of the key light, at an angle of around 25 – 30 degrees at the same height as the camera. This light fills in the shadows on the other side of the face. You can lower the intensity of the fill light by using a diffusion material (this is a supple plastic, slightly opaque, sheet that pegs in front of the light) or by moving the light back.

Back light

This is placed behind the subject (but obviously not direct behind him or her so it is in the shot). This light just defines the back of the person creating contrast between the background and the subject.

Background lights

These are two lights that evenly light your chroma key background. The subject must be far enough away from this lit-up wall so as to avoid the colour of the wall “leaking” on to the subject.

Audio

Your mic needs to be close enough to the subject so that it only picks up the voice and not the ambient sounds of the room. You need to test and watch the level of the sound on your camera. The sound level needs to be balanced. If it is set too high it will spike and “clip” causing distortion. If too soft the signal to noise ratio will not be optimal. The signal has to be as high as possible without clipping. A good level is around 70%. This gives you enough room for louder words but is not too low so as to pick up too much other noise.

Setup and Shooting

Video blogging needs to be done often to be properly effective, so it can’t be a huge hassle to set up. If you can spare a corner to leave your lights up permanently then that would be best. If not, mark the position of the lights with masking tape so you don’t waste time adjusting them every time you want to do a blog. The same goes for your sound. Spend time finding the perfect level for your environment and note it down, then, barring any changes in noise levels, you can always just adjust it to that level.

When shooting your blog you will invariably make a mistake with the script. You’ll then need to scroll back a little on your auto-cue and redo that line. But you will also need to change the shoot composition. This is so that you have something to cut to when you cut out the blooper line. If you don’t change from say a medium shot to a close-up then you’ll have a jump cut. This is when a person’s head jumps from one position to the next in the same shot. It looks shabby and can be easily solved by changing angles or the shot composition.

In the third and final part of this blog series we will look at how to use the editing and postproduction process to best package your video.

Have you set up lighting and audio before? Can you add to these suggestions?

About the authors: Francois Karstel is the owner of Sound Idea Digital, a full service digital agency. You can connect with him on Twitter @soundideadma, Robyn Bloch is a digital journalist at Sound Idea Digital. You can connect with her on Twitter @soundidea or visit: Sound Idea Digital

Image by Travis Gray

[From Jeffbullas's Blog]

The post Beginners Guide on How to Video Blog on a Budget – Part Two appeared first on identityzoom.

[Jeffbullas's Blog]

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Has the formula for a viral video been discovered?

Viral videos have made ordinary people famous and taken brands from obscurity to overnight success when people have shared them on social networks.

It has been assumed for a long time that viral videos are an accident or a fortunate occurrence.

A marketing professor, Brent Coker from the University of Melbourne has come up with a algorithm as to why people will share some videos and ignore others and maybe discovered the “Holy Grail” of marketing.

According to the algorithm  (called the BVMP or “Branded Viral Movie Predictor”), the four key elements required for a video to go viral are:

• Congruency
• Emotive strength
• Network involvement
• “Paired meme synergy”

So how can you harness these elements and what is the essence of the formula that can contribute to making a video become viral?

1. Congruency

The themes of a video must be congruent with people’s pre-existing knowledge of the brand it is advertising.

Coker refers to the Harley Davidson brand as an example:

“For example, Harley Davidson for most people is associated with Freedom, Muscle, Tattoos, and Membership, Videos that strengthen that association meet with approval “, but as soon as we witness associations with the brand that are inconsistent with our brand knowledge, we feel tension.” In the latter case, few people will share the video, and it will quickly “go extinct.”

A Harley Davidson “Scooter” is not going to be congruent with the Harley Davidson Brand!

2. Emotive Strength

Creating strong emotions is essential if you want to ensure you are giving your video the best chance of becoming viral and the more extreme the emotions, the better.

Coker says that the strength of the emotion is vital and he categorises these into four categories based on strength.

4 Levels of Emotion

1. Disgust is a one of the strongest forms of emotion and easily recalled or remembered
2. Fear is very powerful and is almost immune to extinction from our memory
3. Sentiment can be equally as powerful but is more dependent on your network attachments and involvements (eg University students)
4. Humour and Happiness are weaker

Happy and funny videos don’t tend to fare as well as scary or disgusting ones. This helps explain why negative headlines can produce more  traffic to a blog or sell more newspapers.

3. Network Involvement

Videos must be relevant to a large network of people and the larger the better, some examples of large networks are college students or office workers.

The ability of a video to go viral is also dependent on 2 key elements

1. Size of the network
2. Relevant to most of the nodes in the network

Transferring between networks is dependent on the closeness of several dimensions of each network. An example is “office workers with degrees” network could be closely associated on several levels with “university students”

4. Paired Meme Synergy

Coker came up with 16 concepts, known on the Internet as “memes” and discovered that videos only go viral if they have the right combinations of these concepts.

According to the research…”When combined, some combinations appear to work better together than others”

Example of a successful combination of three memes:

• Voyeur – which is when a video appears to be someone’s mobile phone footage
• Eyes Surprise — unexpectedness
• Simulation Trigger – which is when the viewer imagines themselves being friends [with the people in the video] and sharing the same ideals

One viral video that used all three of those memes was a 2007 ad by Quiksilver which is a global surf and beach apparel brand.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The grainy footage showed surfers throwing dynamite in a river and surfing on the resulting waves.

What Else is Needed for a Video to go Viral?

According to Brent, classic movie production strategies are also important.

• Keeping the movie short and snappy (The Old Spice videos were often only 20 seconds)
• A link baiting headline (you have to grab people’s attention)
• Initial seeding into large networks (find key influencers and get them to talk about it and share it)
• Key word and key phrase tag strategy (optimise it for search engines)

The complexity and combinations required for a video to become “viral” is not an easy task.

Maybe Professor Coker is closer to the “magic formula” for producing videos that “go viral” !

What do you think?

Have you produced a viral video? Look forward to hearing your stories.

From Jeff Bullas blog

Virus image by Sterin

Harley Davidson image By Brett Jordan

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 A Great Place to Work is the organisation who organises the event.

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Travel + Leisure is using an image that Identityzoom has produced. The location is in front of the Meyers Bakery in a street called Jægersborggade in downtown Copenhagen. The image can be found in the 40 year anniversary magazine edition (October) and the image has also been used in a post on the Travel + Leisure website.

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