Before really digging in, though, I wonder if there are any sports fans here...
You see, I was always known as somewhat of an innovator as a long time hockey coach, and lots of my outside-the-box work had to do with video. (If you wonder about me being an innovator, please take a peek at the PS I added below.) Of course, as far back as 1980, I used my video capabilities as a teaching tool, and for studying my guys' skill techniques or studying my team's play.
What might surprise you, however, is that I began using similar capabilities in the late-80's to create videos for my college recruiting efforts. I mean, each year I'd create a new jazzed up master video depicting campus life, showing glimpses of my team's practices and games, traveling with the team and more, all set to some music I knew older teens would like. From there I'd mail out copies of that video to special recruits who lived a great distance from my college.
Needless to say, recruits really enjoyed those videos, as did their parents. And, while I'm sure they appreciated the extra capabilities I was able to demonstrate -- as well as my extra efforts, I'm sure they liked it even better that I could digitally transport them hundred of miles, to almost be there in Southeastern Massachusetts with my team and me.
If you get the connection here, I think our customers today would just love to get a real feel for what we do -- or what our businesses can do for them. And, a lot like my long ago recruiting videos, we now have the ability to digitally transport potential customers -- to our office, to our salon, to our factory, or to our construction site. They can get to know us personally, too, which usually translates to their liking us and trusting us.
That said, I find it necessary to better explain my title -- suggesting that video marketing and SEO go hand in hand. In a way, the story about my college recruiting took care of the video marketing part of this short essay, while I'm even guessing that my videos from back then got shared among my intended recruits and their friends and their friends' families.
Decades later, I'm actually marveling at that last bit... I mean, I was doing something that had to be unheard of in recruiting circles back then -- by bringing families from far away right onto our campus, right on the ice with us for a team practice, right on the bench for a game, and right on the team bus for a trip to another game. What truly amazes me today, though, is the possibility of those videos still existing. A few of them might have even gone "semi-viral", shuffling back and forth between bookshelves and the VCRs of hockey friends (who knows how many times). Ya, just think about that: my old college hockey program might have even grown in popularity long after I'd moved on to other things.
On the other hand, the power of SEO -- or Search Engine Optimization -- hadn't come into being just yet. Yes, I'd been unknowingly conducting video marketing way back in the late-80's, but the power of the Internet is truly something else.
Wikipedia defines it in this way: "Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine's unpaid results -- often referred to as "natural", "organic", or "earned" results." (Said yet another way... If you run a roofing repair business, you'd better pray that your company comes up near the top when a needy homeowner searches the Internet for help.)
I've jokingly referred to a lack of advertising being akin to doing business in a closet. Sure, you might be the most dedicated in your line of work, you might offer services beyond most competitors, but... If no one knows about you, well...
And that's why I'm suggesting that video marketing and SEO go hand in hand today... What Brenda and I are hoping to do for you is two-fold. For sure, I offer a number of video options that should quickly put you ahead of most competitors. Once we get that underway, though, we'll suggest a number of ways we might get you near the top of those searches (more to come on this in a future blog post).
So, with that, I hope you'll explore this site -- and maybe complete the very brief Contact Form , so that we can talk about working together.
PS: I'm going to do another post very soon based on a Forbes article I just stumbled across. The fascinating thing about that article is the way it starts, as in: "This year has been called 'The Year of Video Marketing,' as businesses find new, inventive ways to use the medium to reach customers."
