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6 Benefits of Using Video Marketing to Promote Your Business

6 Benefits of Using Video Marketing to Promote Your Business

Video is a powerful content marketing tool, and many businesses have made it an integral part of their marketing strategy. According to Renderforest, 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every day, 100 million hours of video per day are watched on Facebook, and 4.6 billion video ads are watched online each year. These statistics prove that video marketing can be a rather effective way to promote and grow your business.

So, here are six important benefits of using video marketing:

#1 Increases brand awareness

Video attracts people’s attention more than other types of content. Creative and engaging video content is more likely to get likes, comments, and shares and has a great potential to become viral. This will increase people’s awareness of your brand and can get you new followers and new potential customers.

#2 Builds trust and emotional connection

The number one goal of marketing is to create long-term relationships with your customers, which are based on trust. Video is a great way to create a personality for your brand and connect with your customers in a more meaningful way, unlike other types of content. In videos, you can use things like voice, music, facial expressions, etc. to tell a story which evokes emotions. You can also create product videos to educate and inform customers about your products, which can help you build more trustworthy connections.

#3 Improves search engine rankings

Search engines love video content because this type of content engages people a lot. If you embed videos on your website, visitors will spend more time on your site, which in turn will help you rank higher in Google search. Also, don’t forget to optimize your video content for SEO by adding relevant titles, descriptions, links, and other important information.

#4 Boosts conversions and sales

According to a study by Eyeview, including video on a landing page can boost conversions by 80%. So, consider including a product video on your landing page to achieve this. Videos can also help you drive sales. Including an informational product video on your landing page might positively influence people’s decision to buy your product as well.

#5 It’s great for explaining products and services

By combining the visual and audio elements of a video you can easily explain or demonstrate your product or service. According to Wyzowl, 98% of users say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. Also, according to Animoto, four times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. So, try to create informative product videos that will be useful for your viewers.

#6 Improves social engagement

Creating great video content will help you drive engagement on social media. If your followers like your content they are very likely to share it, and social sharing will increase your audience reach. The number of social media users is constantly growing, so keep that in mind when planning your future video marketing strategy.

Best Websites for Marketing Education Classes

Best Websites for Marketing Education Classes

In order for any business to prosper and grow, a good marketing strategy is necessary. This requires a good marketer, and in order to be a good marketer it’s crucial to have a marketing education of some kind. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned professional, there are a lot of options for taking marketing courses or accessing helpful resources online without having to pursue a formal education. Marketing trends are constantly changing, so even someone with a formal marketing education can benefit from taking one of these online courses. Often, you can find these tools online completely free of cost and available to anyone. Here is a list of the best websites for marketing education classes.

#1 Hubspot
Hubspot offers both free and paid courses on a variety of marketing principles that include videos and quizzes to test your knowledge. Along with these courses, there is an extensive marketing library where you can read articles on the topic. One of the unique things about Hubspot is that the training academy allows you to access or rewatch course videos on specific topics without going through the course. The inbound marketing certification course is a great introduction to content marketing and lead generation. It includes 12 classes with over 5 hours of material, and there is a 60 question exam at the end of the course to become certified in the material.

#2 Coursera
Coursera is known for making the best courses on a variety of topics available to anyone anywhere. Partnering with top universities, these courses are built to fit your schedule. You can take courses on business and marketing, as well as on topics like psychology that could benefit your marketing strategies. Although these classes are not free, they are much more affordable than taking the same class at a university. Courses range from $29-$99, with advanced specializations for $250-$500. This offers options for almost any budget.

#3 Udemy
Udemy claims to be the largest online learning marketplace with 14 million students. There are courses on business, development, design, marketing, and productivity that are all beneficial for the success of a business. Typically classes cost around $200, so this option might not be for everyone. However, there are sales and discounts throughout the year to make these classes much more affordable on almost any budget. Businesses can also invest in Udemy courses for their employees to provide valuable training.

#4 My.Copyblogger
My.Copyblogger specifically focuses on the content aspect of digital marketing and offers a lot of useful materials beyond courses. Members can access webinars, eBooks, and forums to expand their education in a format that suits individual learning styles and interests. There is a free 20-part course to improve copy and content marketing that provides a certification at the end of the class. This website is a great tool for introducing people to the best digital practices and writing for the online world.

#5 Google Certifications
Google offers certifications for their online courses in Google Analytics and Google Adwords. Many businesses are requiring employees to be certified in Google Analytics and Adwords because they’re heavily used marketing tools. This makes sure the marketing team has a complete knowledge of how to use these tools via virtual training. Each course combines information pages and video tutorials along with activities and quizzes to help students master the information. The Google Adwords Certification includes specialites in Search Advertising, Display Advertising, Mobile Advertising, Video Advertising, and Shopping Advertising. These certifications are completely free.

10 Essential Mobile Apps for Marketers

10 Essential Mobile Apps for Marketers

If you’re a marketer living in the 21st century, you almost certainly own a smartphone. This is a good thing, because it means that you can actually get some of your job done even when you’re on the move. To do this, you need to have the appropriate apps on your phone. So, let’s look at some of the best apps used by marketers worldwide.

#1 Hootsuite

The Hootsuite app allows you to connect to your Hootsuite account and manage all of your social networks from your phone. You can use the app to monitor the activity on multiple social accounts, create and schedule posts, engage with your followers, track your performance with various analytics reports, and more.

#2 Buffer

Buffer is a social media management platform with similar features to Hootsuite. Its main feature is the automated scheduling of social media posts. Buffer is a little bit more expensive than Hootsuite and usually a better option for large businesses.

#3 Trello

Trello is a free tool for project management that marketers can use to organize and manage their campaigns and collaborate with their teams. The Trello app is very intuitive and easy to use, which makes it a favorite among marketers and other professionals alike.

#4 Slack

Slack is a great software for messaging and team collaboration. It can integrate over 1500 different apps–which you can use to manage your entire workflow. The Slack app can be a handy marketing tool which you can use to work on your campaigns while being away from your desk.

#5 Canva

The Canva app is a powerful, easy-to-use graphic design tool. You can use it to create social media images, infographics, posters, brochures, and other types of beautiful visuals, right from your phone.

#6 Adobe Photoshop Express

If you need to edit photos or create beautiful collages when you’re out of the office, the Adobe Photoshop Express app is a real lifesaver. It offers less features compared to the desktop version, but they are enough to get the job done.

#7 Dropbox

The Dropbox mobile app lets you share files with other people who do or do not have Dropbox, and it can be a handy tool for project collaboration with your team. It also allows you to keep your data private and protect your files, folders, and links with passwords.

#8 WordPress

If you own a WordPress website or blog, it’s good to have the app on your phone in case you need to manage your website or blog when you’re out of the office. As with the desktop version, you can create and edit posts and pages, upload media, view stats, etc.

#9 MailChimp

With the MailChimp app you can take care of your email marketing campaigns from the palm of your hand. You can design and send emails, create and manage lists and campaigns, check your stats, and more.

#10 Evernote

Evernote is an app that can help you organize your work. It allows you to take notes in the form of a text, photo, voice, web pages, etc.–which you can access at any time. It’s a very useful app that can help you be more productive and efficient in anything you do.

6 Marketing Ideas for Thanksgiving

6 Marketing Ideas for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the time of year when people gather together to celebrate the blessings of the past year. It’s also a great time for businesses to promote their brand and products and renew the relationships with their customers. So, here are some marketing ideas that you can use to utilize your offline and online presence during the holiday this year.

#1 Show gratitude to your followers

As its name suggests Thanksgiving is all about “giving thanks.” So, this holiday is a great time to show your customers, fans, and followers gratitude for being there for you, because your business wouldn’t exist without them. Share things that you’re thankful for, then ask your followers to share the things that they are thankful for and engage in conversation.

#2 Give away things for free

Giving your customers something for free is another way of showing your appreciation for them. For example, you can give away free gifts for every purchase of your product, free eBooks, free downloads, free shipping during the holiday, etc. This will make your customers happy, and keeping your customers happy leads to increased brand awareness and growth in sales.

#3 Have a Thanksgiving sale

Instead of waiting for Black Friday, you can offer discounts for your products a few days earlier or during the whole Thanksgiving week. Put your discount offers on your website and social media profiles to make sure more people see it. Having discounts during a holiday is a great way to boost sales and generate revenue.

#4 Host an event

Hosting events is a great opportunity for connecting with customers and renewing your customer relationships, as well meeting other people working in your industry. For Thanksgiving, you can host a fun or educational event. For example, you can host a happy-hour meetup, speaking event, etc. Events are great networking opportunities and a good way to spread the word about your business.

#5 Run a contest on social media

Running a Thanksgiving-related contest on social media can help you increase engagement and sales. It can be a photo contest, a best recipe contest, a story contest, or any other type of contest that will engage your followers. They could win a prize such as a Thanksgiving dinner, a gift card, money prize, etc.

#6 Post visual content on social media

Visual content is always a winner and is one of the most viral types of content. For Thanksgiving, you can post holiday-themed photos and videos, photos with Thanksgiving quotes, fun holiday infographics, or a beautiful Thanksgiving card wishing your followers a happy holiday. You can find ready-to-use visual content on the internet or you can use graphic-design tools like Canva to easily design your own.

Brilliant TED Talks Every Marketer Should Watch

Brilliant TED Talks Every Marketer Should Watch

One of my favorite things to do when I have some free time on my hands is to watch TED talks. Delivered by experts in various fields and watched by thousands of people around the world, these talks are educational, thought-provoking, and inspiring.

So, I made a list of my favorite marketing-related talks that should serve as a motivation for anyone working in the marketing industry.

#1 Rory Sutherland – Life lessons from an ad man

In this excellent talk, advertising man Rory Sutherland explains the importance of perceived (or intangible) value. Perspective is very important and has a big impact on the decisions we make in our everyday life. When it comes to marketing, brands can use advertising to change people’s perception of a product they want to sell. Besides the many great points, Rory’s brilliant humor and perfect delivery make this talk worth watching over and over again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audakxABYUc

#2 Seth Godin – How to get your ideas to spread

Bestselling author, entrepreneur, and marketing guru Seth Godin talks about how in a world of too many choices, only remarkable products can get noticed by consumers. He argues that strategies of mass marketing should stay in the past, and brands should instead market to innovators and early adopters, banking on them to spread the word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBIVlM435Zg&t=77s

#3 Sheena Iyengar – How to make choosing easier

Sheena Iyengar’s amazing speech on the choice overload tackles a problem people face every day while making all kinds of choices, including buying choices. Experiments have shown that when consumers are faced with choice overload, they often “choose not to choose,” i.e. they choose not to buy anything from a certain business. However, Sheena suggests four simple techniques that businesses can use for mitigating this problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pq5jnM1C-A

#4 Renny Gleeson – 404, the story of a page not found

We all know what the 404 page is and how annoying and frustrating it can be when you see it. However, sometimes you can turn a negative into a positive, and that’s exactly the point that Renny makes in his fun speech. Brands can take advantage of the 404 page by making it something more than a blank error page, and he shows some great examples of how other brands have done this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHrcRqu_Es4

#5 Malcolm Gladwell – Choice, happiness, and spaghetti sauce

Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell delivered what is considered one of the best TED talks by telling the story about Howard Moskovitz – the American psychophysicist famous for his study about spaghetti sauce and horizontal segmentation. Although the story uses an example from the food industry, it can be applied to a variety of topics and it helps us understand the nature of choice and happiness. The main takeaway for brands is they shouldn’t put all consumers in one basket, because all of them are individuals with unique tastes. Instead, they should find out what their consumers really want and diversify their product offers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIiAAhUeR6Y