The Vine Way – How to Use this Popular App for Video Marketing

by Nicole Munoz

Vine is a mobile service that lets you create and share short looping videos. The Posts on Vine are short little windows showing the lives of people, the settings, ideas and objects you find in your life every day. They can be fun and quirky or seriously businesslike.

Vine is a part of Twitter, so using the app is easy and free to install. It lets you instantly post your videos on Vine and quickly share to Facebook, Twitter and many other social media sites. Any videos you post to Vine appears on your profile and in your followers’ timelines.

You can find, follow and interact with others on Vine while exploring trending posts, editor’s picks and featured hashtags.

Install App

Installing the Vine app to your mobile device is easy to do. Go to Vine.co and click on the “Get it on Google Play” for android devices or “Download on the App Store” for iOS devices.

You’re taken to the Permissions page where you see what the app has access to. Choose your device from the list. Any devices you own show up here. Click ”Install”.

You have just installed Vine to your device.

Getting Started

Now that you have it installed on your device, sign in with your Twitter account or you can use an email address.

If you use an email address you will need to enter your name, the email address and a password.

If you sign up with Twitter, you will need to enter your name.

Now that you are logged in you can go to your feed of people your follow, activity of what you are doing, explore other people’s videos, or go to your profile.

Adding Video

To add video, tap the “Activity” tab. Your first time you open this, you won’t have any videos here. To create a video, tap the camera icon at the top of your menu bar.

Tap and hold the screen to record a normal 6 second video.

The 2 arrows at the bottom of your screen switches your camera from front to back.

Tap the grid option at the bottom to help frame your shot perfectly. The focus button (the target icon) lets you pinpoint an object in the frame.

The ghost icon allows Vine users to create stop-motion videos. Tap the ghost function and a small ghost shows in the last frame of your video and stays on the screen so you can perfectly line up you next shot according to where you left off.

When you upload a Vine video add a category by pressing the new button below the add location.

Marketing with Vine Tips

Use Vine to motivate your customers to contribute by reaching out to them and asking them to submit their ideas about a specific idea you give them.

Take advantage of Vine and Twitters alignment to show off your campaign hashtags, letting people know about new products or services.

Take people behind the scenes of your brand. Give them a chance to see the environment behind of your business. This works great for covering events and conferences you attend.

Put your product in motion. Vine’s stop-motion video function is perfect for showing off your product. For example, if you a food brand, make your food fun by playing with it or if your brand is fashion, play dress up with your products.

Give your customers a sneak peek of a giveaway item. Post a quick clip of what they could win in an upcoming giveaway you are promoting.

Finding People

Quickly find people you already know who are on Vine by using your device’s address book and on Twitter for the people you follow. You can search for people on Vine or invite others through text message or email to join you on Vine.

Tap the menu button at the top left corner of your Vine App. Select “Profile” and then tap on the two people at the top right corner.

Finding Posts to Follow

Use the Explore section to find videos on the Vine community. Tap the “Explore” icon at the top of your menu bar. You can choose either “Popular Now” or “On the Rise” posts, Vine Channels and Trending Tags. Select specific people or hashtags here as well.

On the rise posts are recently uploaded posts that are getting a lot of shares.

Channels are particular categories that include art, comedy, cats, dogs, family food, health and fitness, nature, beauty and fashion, music, special effects, news and politics, sports, urban and weird.

Term to know: Revining– sharing other people’s posts with all of your followers in one simple tap.

Sharing

Vine posts can be shared to Twitter or Facebook from your profile settings. Add a Twitter account or Facebook account under the Social Networks tab.

To share a video you posted to Vine onto Twitter or Facebook, tap the Share button (it’s the arrow pointing up and to the right) shown under your post. Select Twitter or Facebook to share it along with a caption of some kind.

Sharing someone’s Vine post can be done as long as the user hasn’t protected their posts from being shared.

Embed Vine Post

A public Vine post can be embedded on your website. Tap the “Share” button below the Vine post. Tap “Embed”. You will get an email with the embed link.

Security

Your posts will naturally be defaulted as public and can be viewed and shared by anyone on Vine. Vine allows set the protection your posts. You control who sees your posts, meaning only people you approve to follow you can see them. If you protect your posts, you are the only one who can share them to Twitter or Facebook.

To protect your post, go to your Profile tab. Select Settings and then Your Content. Check the Posts are protected button. This will apply to all your posts.

More Tips

You must deliver a clear message within 6-seconds. Use time lapse to all the required elements of your story. Highlight your products or services in a smooth flowing clip.

Make every second count to show your personality. Show creativity, uniqueness and originality but be authentic.

Showcase your content by creating a video teaser for a new eBook, blog post or book. Include visual elements that visually showcase your product and engage viewers.

Vine is an excellent mobile service to add to your video marketing plan. It lets you create and share short looping videos. The Posts on Vine are short little windows showing the lives of people, the settings, ideas and objects you find in your life every day. The videos can be fun and quirky or seriously businesslike.

7 Benefits of Podcasting for Small Businesses

by Nicole Munoz

If you’re not familiar with the term “Podcasting,” it is the use of audio or video to broadcast a message. Though experts disagree on where the term came from (some say it came from a combination of the Apple iPod and the term “broadcast,” while others say it comes from “Public on Demand” + “Cast”), the medium is growing exponentially as a tool businesses use to communicate with customers and potential customers.

Think of it as an audio blog or an audio e-newsletter. Like both of those tools, podcasts are an excellent and cost effective way to reach your target market in a personal and informative way. Additionally, podcasts can be distributed through RSS format, which is a subscription service that announces and delivers the podcast to your subscribers like a blog or a newsletter.

One of the reasons for the popularity of podcasts is that users, your customers and your target market, are able to easily access the information and listen to it on their computer, phone, tablet or just about anywhere.

How you benefit from podcasting or adding audio/video to your website:

1. Podcasts increase your marketing reach and online visibility. You will expand your target market because different people prefer different mediums. Some customers like to read company information, others prefer videos or live communication and still others like to download your information and listen to it when they have time. Many podcast users listen to downloaded podcasts on their way to work or while they’re working out.

2. Podcasts can improve your sales and conversion rates. Podcasts are yet another way to reach your customers, and the one-on-one communication provides the kind of personal touch that customers crave. People are more likely to buy from someone that they feel they have communicated with directly, and podcasts enable you to do just that.

3. Podcasts provide a consistent line of communication with subscribed listeners. It has been proven that regular communication with your customers improves both your overall relationship with them and their buying frequency. A regularly distributed podcast can strengthen your relationship with your buyers and help to build a community with your customers.

4. Podcasts provide beneficial and value added content, which increases customer loyalty. Podcasts can offer a different kind of content to what you can provide with a blog or an e-newsletter. This kind of content can be extremely beneficial to your customers.

5. Podcasts allow you to distribute industry news and trends, which sets you apart from your competition and establishes you as a respected leader in your niche or industry. One of the best ways to get repeat purchases and loyal customers is to become the “expert” in your industry. Once your business is established as the place to go for quality information, services or products, your profits will grow.

6. Podcasting, or adding audio or video to your website and email messages, enables customers and prospects to access information in a more personal way. You can add video or audio testimonials, quick “how to” segments, and even a special promotional message. Adding audio or video is a unique way to add a personal touch to your website.

7. A podcast or an audio file can be used as a giveaway to build your opt-in list. Consider recording either an interview with an industry expert or a seminar or workshop, and then offering the audio file as a free download. In return, you get their email address for future mailings.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

10 Things Not to Do on Facebook When Posting as Your Brand

by Nicole Munoz

Let’s discuss a little bit about posting as a brand on Facebook. There are many examples of brands messing up on social media and you don’t want to be one of them. Think: Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro ( https://www.facebook.com/amysbakingco ). Look it up to see what happened with them. Essentially, they’re a fabulous example of what not to do.

Don’t Argue & Defend — So you get a poster who is complaining about you, your product or both, and you feel hurt and defensive. This is not the time to post an argumentative post back to the person, putting them in their place. It’s okay to admit mistakes and it’s okay to delete obvious spam, but it’s never okay to be rude, no matter how bad your feelings are hurt.

Don’t Post Only a Link — Everything you post should have a blurb about what you’re sharing, or posting. Whether it’s an image, a video, sharing other people’s content, or your own blog posts — always post a tease about it, plus don’t forget an obvious call to action. If you don’t ask your readers to share, follow, buy, or like, they probably won’t.

Don’t Automate Too Much — This might seem like a time saver, but in reality it’s pretty much a waste of time to automate too much. While all kind of apps and plugins exist to help you with these tasks (some mentioned in this report) it’s really not helpful to post the same thing to Facebook as you do Twitter. They are very different systems. Also the way EdgeRank works is that automatic status updates are relegated to wherever posts go that don’t wind up in newsfeeds.

Don’t Post Only Text — Images and Video get more love, that’s just a fact of both the EdgeRank system and human nature. Humans love video and images more than plain text. It adds interest to the page and gets fans curious to look further. Plus when someone who has not liked your page sees this as shared from a friend, they’ll be prompted to like your page.

Don’t be a Control Freak — It’s okay sometimes to let others take care of some choices for you. For instance, you can let your audience choose your next product title, the features of the product and more by posting a poll asking for their opinions or posting a link to a voting page. Offer incentives for participation.

Don’t Skip Days — It’s understandable if you get sick, or something like that happens, but it’s imperative that you keep a consistent pattern to your updates to guarantee maximum exposure and engagement. If you have a plan, and it’s only taking you 10 minutes a day there won’t be may excuses to not seeing it through. When you need to be absent use a scheduling feature or outsource it.

Don’t Ignore Comments — When people take the time to comment on a page, or share something, it’s nice to make a comment back, or “like” their share. They’ll see that you did that through notifications and appreciate that you noticed and do more of it in the future. Making people feel special will always win them over.

Don’t Post Too Much — Posting a continuous stream of stuff can actually cause your fans to be turned off. Try working your way up to three posts a day by starting with just one per day. Consider your target audience as to when the right time to post your updates are. Each audience is unique.

Don’t be Irrelevant — You have a target audience, and you have a niche. Stick to that niche and make each posted update fit into that niche. Don’t try to go outside of your area of expertise or you’ll create confusion amongst your target audience. Be relevant and post only useful, valuable and targeted information on your Facebook page.

Don’t Ignore Metrics — It’s imperative that you know whether what you’re doing is affecting your goals or not. There is no point wasting time doing things that are not seeing the results you want. If you don’t study the metrics you will be shooting in the dark without benefit of night vision.

Not only should you avoid these actions when posting as your brand, if you’ve connected your personal profile to your business page, be very careful about what you post there too. People can get offended very easily.

50 Tips for Marketing Your Website

by Nicole Munoz

As amazing as your website may be, it’s not going to market itself. If you want people to come to your website, you have to get the word out there. Once a few thousand people see your website, it can start to pick up steam and spread through reputation. In the beginning however, you have to do the ground work.

Here are 50 tips for marketing your website.

1. Add a ton of original content. There is no better way to market your website than having content that people love to spread. This method doesn’t work overnight, but in time is extremely powerful.

2. Pick keywords and put them in your title tag. Use the Google Keyword Tool to find good keywords and put the in your title tag. Note: use only several relevant keywords.

3. Write a good META description tag. Your META description tag goes under your title tag in the search engines. It helps convince people to click on your ad.

4. Look at your analytics logs and see who’s sending you traffic. Use these traffic sources more readily.

5. Contact people who comment on your blog. See if you can get them to link to you or talk about you in a blog post.

6. Start a YouTube channel. Upload videos that people in your industry would love and want to pass on to their friends.

7. Submit your site to directories. Use DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory for high powered backlinks and smaller industry specific directories for targeted traffic.

8. Write for offline newspapers and magazines. Reach out to editors and let them know that you’re an expert on a subject and would like to do an editorial or opinion piece.

9. Write a press release and submit it to online press release services like PR Web. Bloggers and editors will receive this release and potentially write about your company.

10. Get in contact with traditional press editors. Pitch them a story about why your company is unique, or find a way to help them in a story they’re already working on.

11. Submit a high quality piece of content to Reddit. Make sure you submit it to the right sub-reddit to get as many interested people as possible.

12. Submit your content to StumbleUpon. If your content is good, this can send tens of thousands of visitors your way very quickly.

13. Create a Facebook page. Use your website to promote your page. Your page will allow you to stay in touch with your fans, as well as launch new viral campaigns.

14. Use Twitter regularly. Befriend other Twitter influencers and ask them to retweet things when you’re doing a promotion. Likewise, do whatever you can to help others succeed, as eventually they’ll want to reciprocate.

15. Search for people to reply to on Twitter. Search for common questions people in your industry might ask and @reply them directly.

16. Join internet forums and contribute. Find relevant forums in your industry and post high quality content replies.

17. Put your site in your email signature. Anyone who interacts with you should see your content website in your email.

18. Create an email newsletter. Use it to follow up with your guests, to build a long term connection and to make regular sales over the guest’s lifetime.

19. Do an online contest. Give away amazing prizes that people would want to fight for. If your prizes are really top notch, people are going to talk about the contest and pass it along to other people.

20. Advertise in other people’s emails. Advertising opportunities start as low as $25.

21. Launch your own affiliate program. Get other people to promote your products for you.

22. Buy pay-per-click advertising. Buy relevant keywords for products that you’re selling and get traffic from Google and Bing.

23. Contact local businesses about joint marketing opportunities. Look into advertising together, doing products together, doing local promotions, etc.

24. Speak at events related to your topic. Ask the event organizer to link back to you. Mention your site when you’re speaking to bring in more traffic.

25. Use Pinterest. It’s one of the hottest social networking sites at the moment. It’s great for attracting a female crowd.

26. Add your business to Google Maps. If you run a local business, it’s essential that you have a well setup Google Places page.

27. Post on newsgroups, Google Groups or Yahoo Groups. Don’t spam, instead look for ways to add value by giving advice and answering questions. Have a small link to your site at the bottom of your messages.

28. Comment on other people’s blog posts. Make well thought out, intelligent comments that add to the discussion and get people curious about you and your site.

29. Interview a well known person. Make the interview available for free.

30. Have great guest blog posts. Often times your guests will link to their own article, driving a lot of quality traffic.

31. Create an RSS feed. This makes it easy for people with RSS readers to follow your blog.

32. Advertise on Craigslist. If you run a local business, this could bring a lot of targeted traffic.

33. Use My Blog Guest to find opportunities to write for other websites. Write for those sites and include a link back to your site.

34. Review products and books. Especially try to review products and books while they’re hot.

35. Answer questions on Quora. Not only can you get good traffic from Quora, but you also position yourself in front of a very high powered crowd.

36. Cover a live event. Update frequently, once every hour or so. People who can’t make it to the event can still feel like they’re there by reading your coverage.

37. Post on portfolio sites. Look for places where you can showcase your work or your ideas. If you get good reviews, a lot of people will come to look at your site.

38. Start a podcast. Publish once a week to start. Build a list of fans who listen to you every week.

39. Get a custom designed header. It can really make a big difference on how people see your website.

40. Comment on current events. If a major shift is happening in your industry, talk about it and give your opinion. If you have a unique take, it could gain a lot of traction.

41. Give something away for free. Give away a free eBook, a free audio MP3, a free DVD, a free software package, etc. Free stuff always gets a lot of attention, especially if there’s a high perceived value.

42. Break a record. Pick a record in your industry and try to break it. If you do, you’ll get a ton of press and blog coverage, which will all translate into website traffic.

43. Ask your customers what they want. Then give it to them. When you do this, customers will often be so surprised and thrilled that their request was heard that they’ll tell a lot of their friends about you.

44. Do a weekly roundup of your industry. At the end of each week, go through and pick out the best posts in your industry and link to them. You can write a small summary as well. Make your blog a resource for people to go to for good content in your industry, even if you don’t write the content yourself.

45. Answer questions on HARO. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a great place to find reporters who need to interview people for their stories.

46. Organize a local meetup. This will bring you a small amount of connections, but get you a ton of valuable connections.

47. Do a free live chat Q&A. Doing these live Q&As regularly will help you build your connection with your audience as well as get a lot of people linking to you.

48. Spend as much time growing interest in your content as you do on writing. After all, what good is content if you nobody sees them? Split your time in half: Half on marketing, half on content.

49. Promote your content on Social Buzz Club and Triberr. Submit your blog posts or videos to these two sites to have the chance to be promoted by leaders in your industry.

50. Create infographics. Gather relevant data, create a scenario and ask a graphic designer to give life to the data you have collected. Promote the infographic on all available channels: infographic sharing websites, Pinterest, social media sites, bookmarking sites.

Online Marketing Summit 2012

by Nicole Munoz

Last week Start Ranking Now presented at Online Marketing Summit Santa Clara on the topic of “Hardcore SEO and Social Media Tools”. Check out our presentation below! Some of the other speakers have publically shared their presentations… we have placed links to them here for you to enjoy! Check them out now and leave a comment on what action item you are going to put into place NOW!

BenjiArriola: The Battle Against Penguins and Pandas

The Battle Against Penguins and Pandas: Getting Back Ranking and Running Future Proof SEO Strategies from Benj Arriola

Monique Pouget: The Content Marketer’s Toolbox

The Content Marketer’s Toolbox from Monique Pouget

Danny Maloney: Tapping Into Pinterest: The Time Is Now

http://pinterest.com/pinleague/dsum12-tapping-into-pinterest-the-time-is-now/

Arnie Kuenn: How to Win at Search, Social & Content Marketing

How to Win at Search, Social and Content Marketing from Vertical Measures

Manny Ju: Mobile Email: The Time Is Now

Mobile Email: The Time is Now from BlueHornet

Jennifer Grappone: International SEO Best Practices

International SEO Best Practices from gravitysearch