While online video marketing is one of the world’s most effective online advertising formats, the Internet is the fastest growing segment in Online Marketing; when you put Video Marketing and the Internet together you have the most powerful combination today for small business advertising.

The Internet Video Marketing trend is growing exponentially. The longer your company waits to start using online video ads to build credibility, trust, loyalty and excitement for your products and services the harder it will be for your company to make sales period! Online Video Ads are definitely the way to go…. but how do you achieve the nececessary search visibility power?

We caught up with Brian Dean at Las Vegas-based www.Video-Dean.com, an acknowledged leader in “SEO video” marketing strategy and he had some tips for getting maximum search power from our videos –

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Image: DannyBrown.me

What do you have to say to your clients and prospects and what do they have to say about your business or company?

You certainly do not need social media to reach out to your customers and clients but it doesn’t hurt to spread your name and brand in a way others looking for someone in your field can clearly see. Social media is about more than just marketing though. It’s about learning from those you engage with.

Karen Leland

Source: Karen Leland | Huffington Post

Earlier this week, I came across a springy King Charles spaniel happily chewing on a tennis ball, when he suddenly became aware of his owner filling up his water bowl at the drinking fountain.

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…and welcome to our new BizEdge Blog. We will be advising and reporting on the small business advantage plays that are emerging through Internet marketing and social media.

Whether or not you choose at this time to utilize Merchant Card Services from 1st National Processing and the Merchant Services Partnership we invite you to subscribe to our new blog, we promise to keep it up-to-date and informative.

At 1st National Processing, we are beginning to embrace social media as a powerful marketing and branding tool – and, we’ve yet to think of one business that couldn’t benefit from some sort of social media component in their marketing and advertising mix.

However, there are still skeptics. One of the most common questions that we get from them is, “do you think it’s a fad?”

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Source: Lynnea Bylund | Catalyst QuickBooks

Its a new era for Los Angeles bargain seekers with a constant stream of strongly discounted coupon offers: 40% off a Princess Cruise ticket, 55% off a facial, or $125 worth of laundry and dry cleaning for $60.

Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and big corporations are gambling that the new discount coupon promotional services represent a tectonic shift in consumer trends, and a profound new way to pull in new customers.

Last year, Groupon, one of the largest players, turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google, and LivingSocial, the Web site that distributes daily deals for restaurants, spas and retail outlets, added $400 million to its coffers last week as investors continued to funnel money into the fast-growing company.

Even the megalithic facebook is launching a Daily Deals program to test the waters. And Yahoo announced the launch of Local Offers program recently and is partnering with websites like Groupon, LivingSocial, Gilt City, and others to provide a wide selection of local deals and coupons from nearby restaurants and other local retailers.

So what’s the scoop here?

Can these help or hurt a small business?

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Google’s SEO expert and spokesperson, Matt Cutts, was asked: “If you were an in-house SEO of an advanced level, within a large corporation, what 3 things would you make sure you had included in your 2011 strategy?”

Matt’s advice applies equally to virtually any small business pushing it’s Internet presence.

A while back in the Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Moss Kanter posted: ”Unlike full-blown mergers, in which two really do become one because one company disappears, alliances and partnerships resemble modern marriages: separate careers, individual checkbooks, sometimes different names, but the need to work out the operational overlap around household and offspring.”

Moss Kanter lists 15 traits that optimal strategic alliances share with personal marriage –

1. Be open to romance, but court carefully. At the beginning of new relationships, selective perceptions reinforce dreams, not dangers. Potential partners see in the other what they want to see, believing what they want to believe. Hopes, dreams, and visions should be balanced by reality checks.

2. Know yourself. Build your strengths. An organization seeking partners should identify assets that have value to partners and strengthen them. Networks of the weak do not survive. The best alliances join strength to strength.

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www.video-dean.com – video-dean.com

Not hardly! Brian Dean and the team at www.Video-Dean.com are experts when it comes to Internet Video Search Engine Marketing and Advertising and they keep up with all the latest changes in Video Search Engine Marketing strategy.

Www.Video-Dean.com and Brian Dean will make the appropriate adjustments to your video submission techniques so that your business/vehicle video always shows up on the first page of the major search results.

Brian dean’s Www.Video-Dean.com does one thing and does it well: they create great business and vehicle videos that are engaging and carry your marketing and branding message. Then they combine it with their Internet Video Search Marketing Advertising System to deliver a powerful and essential advertising tool. Your videos are made ready by Video-Dean.com before each submission by their experienced video preparation specialists. 

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Source:  Wise Research Ltd

There has been a major change in the way consumers listen to and engage  with brands, with only 5% overall (4% in the UK and 6% in the US) saying  they trust advertising messages and 8% (9% in the UK and 6% in the US)  believing what companies say about themselves, according to a survey report published by Alterian.

The report, ‘Your brand: At risk or ready for growth?’, penned by Professor Michael Hulme from the Social Futures Observatory, estimated that this lack of consumer trust in brand messaging equated to nearly US$426 billion being spent on ineffective advertising in 2009 alone. mdalton This article is copyright 2010 TheWiseMarketer.com).

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Most business owners believe that whether customers refer them is entirely out of their hands. But science shows that people can’t help recommending products and services to their friends—it’s an instinct wired deep in the brain.

And smart businesses can tap into that hardwired desire.

Marketing expert John Jantsch offers practical techniques for harnessing the power of referrals to ensure a steady flow of new customers. Keep those customers happy, and they will refer your business to even more customers. Some of Jantsch’s strategies include:

Talk with your customers, not at them. Thanks to social networking sites, companies of any size have the opportunity to engage with their customers on their home turf as never before—but the key is listening.

READ SAMPLE CHAPTER

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Source: Pete Gombert | E-Commerce Times

We made a compelling case, previously, that small businesses need to embrace the exploding social media now, or be left behind.  (see Small Biz Social Media Revolution)

Now Pete Gombert at E-Commerce Times adds to the conversation -

There are online conversations happening right now about your industry, if not your specific business and brand. Listen to these conversations and learn about the audiences involved. Choose the best social media channels based on your research, and create your plan accordingly.

The new Main Street exists anywhere thumbs can hit keys or scroll across a touchscreen. So what does your online presence say about what you have to offer those virtually strolling by?

As the use of social media surges and online communities continue to grow, relationships between businesses and customers will continue to evolve dramatically. Customers regularly seek feedback on future purchases from their social circle. Conversations about your brand are readily accessible, and any business can develop a substantial online presence with time and expertise. The emergence of social media has leveled the playing field, and small businesses have unprecedented marketing opportunities within their grasp.

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