5 YouTube Tricks You Probably Never Knew Existed by Amrik Virdi

Since its launch way back in 2005, YouTube has taken the internet world by storm. While many other video-playing sites have since popped up, they are nowhere close to the level of viewership of YouTube. Over a billion different users visit the site every month. But you know that already. You know already how to upload, share, like, comment, favorite. Some of you more advanced watchers even know how to turn off annotations, turn on captions, adjust video quality, change profile settings.But YouTube’s features and potential are deeper and more complex, still. There are plenty of ways to improve your viewing experience with a few more tricks up your sleeve.

SEE ALSO: So Long, Qwikster, We Barely Knew You

Listen On Repeat

Since YouTube still doesn’t have its automatic looping feature on its video, (You can loop by putting your videos into a playlist that repeats, but that’s too time-consuming) several third party sites have stepped up. ListenOnRepeat.com is one of the many sites that repeat videos. When you stumble upon a video that you would like to be looped, a simple URL change will take you to the third party site.So your YouTube video’s URL looks something like this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Now just add the word “repeat” after the “youtube” and you’re looping!http://www.youtuberepeat.com/watch?v=It’s convenient and the site itself is well-designed. You can like, share, add to playlist, etc. as you would on the actual YouTube site. There is a view counter. At the bottom, you’ll notice that there is a “Top Videos” list that ranks all the most repeated videos. Finally, you can also browse videos on Listen On Repeat as you would on YouTube, another convenience.

Video Sharing Start Time

Ever watched a video that has just one really good scene? Want to skip all the parts before that when you share the video with your friends? YouTube has created a tool to let you do just that. Under the Like bar, click on “Share.” You can share on several different platforms, and you should see that you can check the “Start at:” and adjust the start time for the video.If you’re embedding a video, you will have to adjust the video’s embed code.Say this is the embed code: http://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0And say you want to start the video at 2 minutes 30 seconds. Simply add “#t=02m30s” to the code:


You’re good to go!

Searching Features

If you know the name of a video but can’t find it no matter how hard you search, there’s a solution for that. Type “allintitle:” before your keyword. What it does is only show videos that have all of the keywords in the video.You can also narrow your search results by excluding specific keywords. Say you want a funny animal video that doesn’t have “cat” in the title. Just type “funny animals - cat.” The “-” will tell the search program to exclude videos that have “cat” in the title.Read more about advanced YouTube Search tips and tricks here.

Magic Actions

This free app is available in the Chrome Web Store and Firefox’s Softonic store and can be configured to automatically play all your videos in HD. Its magic apps also let you repeat videos, zoom in, play in wide mode, adjust volume with a mouse wheel scroll, block ads, capture video, and much more! It will take some time to get used to all the features, but this app will significantly improve your video-watching experience.

“Feather” Beta

If you have extremely slow internet speeds, then “Feather” Beta will really help. It’s a feature that is dedicated to users like you. It limits the features available to the you and reduces the total amount of bytes downloaded by your browser. It’s still in Beta mode, as you can see, so it might not work for all videos. Either way, it’s a nice work-in-progress that has a lot of potential.With third party sites and apps as well as secret YouTube tools and features, you can enhance your viewing experience dramatically. Show off your skills the next time you and friends are crowding around your laptop.

Courtesy of Reelseo.com

 

Need help with Optimizing YOUR videos? Contact us and visit: http://www.janetpennconsulting.com/video-optimization.html

The Complete Guide to Using YouTube for Your Business by Skadeedle

YouTube is not just a platform for sharing videos, but it’s also one of the most popular search engines on the web — second only to Google. And YouTube is the third most popular website in the world, with over a billion unique visitors each month according to the company. Using YouTube for your business has the potential for not only improving your search engine rankings, but also energizing your current customers, and attracting new ones.

Using YouTube allows you to provide a personal touch to your marketing in a way that’s easy to distribute. Here’s a rundown of how to:

Video Length

YouTube allows you to record videos that are up to 15 minutes in length by default. If you’d like to create longer videos, you can visit the video upload page and click on “increase your limit.” YouTube will prompt you to verify your account with your mobile phone. Make sure your browser is up-to-date so you can upload larger files.

Longer videos aren’t necessarily better, however. If you’re focusing on educational content, it may be difficult to fit all of that content into just a few minutes; however, the most viewed videos are often five minutes or fewer. So don’t be afraid to start your YouTube experience with small, snappy videos rather than waiting until you have time to create a longer one.

Types of Videos

When creating videos on YouTube, it’s important to focus specifically on the content your clients, prospective clients or fans are looking for. That means your videos should be oriented towards serving their needs. When was the last time you called up a friend and told them to tune into the Home Shopping Network? Videos that look like infomercials are less likely to be shared. Providing tips and information people can use right away for their business increases the likelihood of your content being shared – Position yourself as an expert in the industry and use YouTube as part of a long-term public relations strategy, rather than working on just one sale.

Aside from offering quick tips and tactics, YouTube is an excellent place to upload client testimonials. Written testimonials can be tricky, and it’s difficult to determine if the testimonial was actually written/stated by real people. Video, on the other hand, makes the testimonial more convincing.

YouTube videos can be used to provide an office tour, to show a behind-the-scenes look at an event, or even to provide video biographies of people in your business. You can even interview leaders in your industry, or record presentations for people who would otherwise be unable to attend.

If you’d like people to see presentations you’ve made without your face on the video, you can create screen shares using paid products like Jing, Camtasia or Screenflow, and then upload the videos onto YouTube. You can also broadcast a Google+ hangout or a live webinar (using GoToWebinar, for example) directly to YouTube.

Equipment

Using YouTube with a flip cam or even the built-in camera in your computer is a great way to start if you have a limited budget. Make sure to use bright, natural light shining across your face, and record in a quiet room. Using a pair of regular headphones can help reduce background noise.

Signing Up

To sign up for YouTube, you’ll need to sign in with an existing Gmail account. This will integrate well with Google+ and allows you to use Google hangouts. Get started at youtube.com/signup.

When selecting your username and channel name, make sure to use your business name or specific keywords in your industry. (You’ll want to include the URL for your channel in your marketing material.) Also, be sure to add a channel description and a trailer to help people understand what your channel is all about, and what to expect.

To optimize your YouTube profile, make sure to include your website URL in the beginning of your video description and “About Us” section. If you put it in the bottom of your description, less people will see it, as they’ll need to click on “more” to read the rest of the description. Also, make sure to use http:// in front of the URL, so that it becomes a clickable link. Otherwise, viewers will have to cut and paste it into their browser.
You’ll also have the opportunity to choose a specific category for your channel.

Colors and Images

In your channel setting, under appearances, you can choose a background image and color. A graphic designer can help you adapt your logo or another image central to your business, and you can also choose a color that matches your company colors.

In addition to selecting background images or colors, you can also customize your layout in the “Featured” link.

 The tabs section allows you to determine how your channel shows up to others, so make sure to take a look at the different options and select the one you prefer.

Editing

 YouTube has a robust set of editing features to improve your video, in the “Edit video” mode. Enhancements allow you to improve video quality (via auto fix), change your video style, play with lighting, blur faces (if they’d prefer to be anonymous) and correct shakiness with the stabilize feature. You can use “annotations” to add links to videos, channels and playlists, or even to prompt viewers to subscribe to the video. In addition, you can add royalty-free music to your video. You can also splice together clips from multiple videos in the Video Editor section.

After Uploading Your Video

 Your video title is a headline of sorts, and should be both descriptive and compelling.
You’ll want to make sure that your description—especially the first two sentences—is equally enticing and includes keywords that the people you want to view the videos will actually be searching for. Use tags (in the info and settings section) that describe the video content—both specific ones and broad overviews. Put the most important tags first. Ask yourself what keywords viewers would use?
Make sure to include links to your channel and playlists, and let people know how to subscribe.

Featured Videos

 Once you’ve uploaded several videos, you can select a few as “featured” videos, and even prompt users to view future videos after they’ve seen certain ones. Just write what video they should view next in the description.

Sharing Your Video

 Make sure to post your video on all of your social media channels. This will help your content get seen and shared. There’s a share button below your video that will allow you to post it on social media or send the link out in your email newsletter.
To upload the video onto your website, just click on “share file,” highlight the HTML code provided, and copy it into the HTML editor on your website. You can also change the actual dimensions of the video so they will fit on your site.
Don’t forget to remind your viewers to share your video! As you build up your subscriber base, this will happen more naturally, but until then, asking key influencers in your industry to share your video as well can be helpful.

Privacy Settings

For the most part, you’ll want to make your videos public so that anyone can view them. However, you can make a video private if you’re still editing or deciding whether or not to use it. If you would like to show a video only to people who have the link, you can create an ‘unlisted’ video.

 

In the “tabs” section of your profile, you can choose which activity you wish to share. For example, you can make your comments on other videos public or private.

Analytics and Reports

YouTube has reports you can download to measure how your content is performing. Clicking on “analytics” next to the Video Manager tab in your channel’s homepage will allow you to see specific stats and information on your viewers.

It also allows you to see the top 10 watched videos, as well as demographics and playback locations.

You can also see statistics below each video by clicking on the “statistics” link. This allows you to see the age and gender of audience members, where the views are coming from, and more.

Using these analytics, along with other metrics (such as social media shares, direct responses from your email newsletter, number of people who visited your website directly from specific YouTube videos, new subscribers to your YouTube channel, and so forth) will help you create even better videos over time, and can be an integral part of a dynamic marketing strategy.

With just a small investment of time and tools you can create fun and engaging videos to host on your own YouTube channel. Sharing your videos on social media, your website and in emails can help bring new customers to your business, and keep the current ones as your biggest fans, so give it a try it today!

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/youtube/the-complete-guide-to-using-youtube-for-your-business-0516497#MuX1zRXyX8hX6XCY.99

Need help with Optimizing YOUR videos? Contact us and visit: http://www.janetpennconsulting.com/video-optimization.html

 

The Breakthrough of B2B Video Marketing by Erica Bell

Nearly every business and every marketer are looking for ways to create compelling content that’s fresh, eye-catching and engaging. From customer acquisition to increasing customer retention, content is how businesses are looking to boost their bottom lines. Because of this, businesses are expanding their content libraries with blog posts, infographics and case studies. B2B marketers are increasingly becoming more visual to appeal to buyers. However, they aren’t limiting themselves to images or white papers.  Videos are becoming more popular among both B2B marketers and buyers.

 

The Rise of Video Marketing

Video marketing and digital video ad spend are on the rise. We’re all aware that visuals tend to make a greater, lasting impact on consumers than text alone. Video provides businesses with an opportunity to really tell a story in ways that single pictures can’t. With all the opportunities provided by video, it makes sense that this arena is growing. 55.8% percent of B2B marketers plan to increase their video budget in 2013 (Tweet this!), according to one recent study, “BtoB’s 2013 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans,”  and estimates from eMarketer indicate that US digital video ad spending will nearly double in only four years, climbing from $4.14 billion this year to $8.04 billion in 2016. With video marketing, businesses are able to reach targeted audiences and provide highly relevant content that showcases their business, brand, and often the people behind it.
Content marketing is a hot topic for B2B marketers. Research reports, videos, mobile content and virtual conferences are all on the rise. According to the CMI and Marketing Profs “2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks-North America” report, B2B videos as a content marketing tactic increased from 52% in 2011 to 70% in 2012 (Tweet this!). Content is king and videos are on their way to throne room.

The Case of B2B Tech Buyers

IDG Research Services conducted a study to see how tech buyers are leveraging video to advance their decision making process when it comes to new purchases. The study and resulting infographic indicate that 95% of B2B tech buyers watch tech-related videos and that this correlates with purchase behaviors (Tweet this!).  But, why are tech buyers actually watching these videos? They want to:

•Learn how to use particular products (61%)

•Find information on products they’re interested in buying (58%)

•Find how-to content (57%)

•Get product reviews (54%)

•Stay on the leading edge of technology (52%)

Tech buyers want to be able to stay on top of the current products in their industry, while discovering how to make the most of what they currently have at their disposal.  If you want to reach tech buyers, consider how you can position your business as an expert to provide your viewers with the information they’re after. Expert instruction, how-to tips and product reviews are a great place to start. As marketers, we want to know what action is taken after watching a video. As it turns out, 66% then researched a product and 46% visited a vendor website or contacted a vendor for more info. Perhaps the biggest surprise to many is that after watching a video, 42% of buyers then purchased a product (Tweet this!).

Creating a Bold B2B Marketing Video

Creating a B2B marketing video doesn’t require as much budget or time as you may initially think. Easy ways to get started are turning slideshows, presentations and in-person demos into videos. If your business doesn’t have the budget of bigger brands such as GE and UPS, turn to your employees to see what their ideas are in the types of video content that will most appeal to your customers. User generated content, such as video contest submissions, are another route you can take. No matter your budget or resources, you’ll want to ask yourself the following questions.

•Why are we creating this video? Why are we investing time, budget and additional resources into video marketing?

•Who are we trying to reach? Who is your target audience with each video?

•What types of videos will interest this audience? Is it how-to’s and tutorials, new product announcements, or an explanation of data?

•Where is our audience going to come across these videos? Where can we promote each new video – a newsletter, through display advertising, on social media, and/or on-site?

B2B video marketing is on the rise as businesses look for ways to create and repurpose content that engages their audience on multiple platforms and networks. Many have plans to increase their budget in video content creation and digital video ad spend in an effort to continue providing their customers with fresh, compelling content that leads to conversions.

Posted By Erica Bell to B2B Content Marketing, B2B Video Marketing

Need help with Optimizing YOUR videos? Contact us and visit: http://www.janetpennconsulting.com/video-optimization.html