Does that title make sense to you? It probably doesn’t. The perception is that a video must be viewed in order to help push the products and services of a company – while this is true there is more to the equation. The presence of video pushes your products and services.

There are a couple of new case studies that have shown that simply having the video AVAILABLE on the product/service page can increase conversion rates. That’s incredible. Essentially it increases your credibility without physically saying anything.

To view the case studies, click here.

Consider this for a moment, if the presence of video increases conversion rates, think about what the video itself will do when viewed.

For many, especially in the small to medium size business world, social media can be overwhelming. Questions swirl like a hurricane leaving a trail of more questions than answers and sense of complete confusion.

Let’s start with the cost. Facebook? Free. Twitter? Free. WordPress (Blog)? Free. The vast majority of these applications cost virtually nothing. That means getting your social media campaign off the ground is very inexpensive. Be careful though. It’s cost might be low, but it still comes at a price. How so, you ask? Simple. It comes at the cost of your time. To fully understand what this means take a look a closer look at this Building43 blog.

Ok, cost is covered but is it really worth my time? Can I get through to my customers? Sure you can. In fact, it’s a very effective method that opens the doors beyond just generating revenue. It creates unprecedented relationships, levels the playing field, and spurs innovation.

Cost, check. Effectiveness, check. But, what about staying power – is social media about to burn out like a sophomore during an exam crunch? Not exactly. Here’s a list of almost ALL of the social media platforms and the number of their registered users.

So, what are you waiting for?

Have you ever wondered what some of the world’s most successful people are thinking? Insight into the mind of an individual who has found enormous success can be invaluable to people, and organizations alike. Take the mind of Bill Gates for example.

Here’s a guy who has found wealth beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. In fact, after many years he still sits atop the list of the world’s wealthiest individuals with a net worth of $56 billion. What does a person like this think about? How can the information be applied? What does the world need? These are just a few of the questions some may ask.

Where do you find the answers to questions like this? Well, Mr. Gates has decided to open his world to the rest with this website:

http://www.thegatesnotes.com/

*Note: There is no guarantee this site will make you a billionaire.

Online video queries, for those who haven’t noticed, have absolutely exploded. In fact, it’s become so big that an increase in queries as low as only 1% can represent as many as 45 million searches. It’s almost mind boggling.

Google Video/YouTube make up the vast majority of search results when it comes to video queries. For instance, did you know that Google makes up more than 65% of all online queries? Or, that YouTube receives nearly 25% of it’s referrals from it’s father (Google)? That my friend spells opportunity.

You don’t have to be an internet marketing guru to highlight the inherent value that comes from posting a video online. YOU SIMPLY MUST TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT’S ALREADY THERE! If you’re looking to raise the profile of your business, increase market share, or simply get the word out in an inexpensive yet effective manner, this is the way to go.

Remember when you were in elementary school? Your teacher used to take your class to the library -- perhaps the most boring part of any school day. There was always one thing on the shelf that would capture your imagination though; the choose your own adventure style book.

You’d leaf frantically through the pages front to back, middle to front, back to middle, page to page following the main characters experience as YOU chose it. It was exciting because it was engaging.

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas to engage your audience, why not make them an active part of the process to discover the end result?

This is perhaps one of the most brilliant video campaigns on YouTube. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoOCiaxIZF4

Many people believe that to find success you must first begin a trend. Not true. Leave the trend setting to the corporations that spend millions on research and development. As a business owner, all you have to do is identify a trend. You’re probably saying to yourself, “That’s easier said than done my good man.” Again, not true. To identify a trend you simply have to be aware of what is taking place around you.

Trends can be characterized as cumulative experiences. You notice something fun and exciting, and you decide to share that with a few friends, they all do the same – and your trend has started. Take a look at what friends, family, and co-workers are talking about. What are they experiencing and sharing with one another? There’s your trend.

Take a look at YouTube. It began with a few friends sharing videos with one another, and from there it ballooned. If you take an even closer look you’ll find that businesses are now sharing information in the same way. It has become so big, that by 2014 interactive marketing expenses are estimated to reach $55 billion. That is a trend.

Do you see how easily that was identified?

After you’ve identified the trend, it’s up to you to take advantage of it.

I wanted to post this video just in case you haven’t seen it yet.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

What I find interesting is that a lot of people in my corner of the world have yet to embrace social media. Even many of my friends and family members are still cynical of Twitter.

I, however, get very excited when new social media tools come to light. In the past few months I have even been privileged enough to attain invites to not one… not two.. but three new social media tools that could change the way we communicate.

The first was Brizzly, a tool for tweeting that provides much more functionality than the standard Twitter.com site. I had tried a number of other tweeting tools, but Brizzly was by far the most useful for my needs. It allows for multiple Twitter accounts and became even more useful when they added Facebook support.

The next innovative tool I have the pleasure of trying out is the ever-so-mysterious Google Wave. Google Wave is so mysterious in fact that I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s a communication tool that allows you to share documents and information with contacts in a much more interactive fashion than email or Facebook. How is it more interactive, you may ask… well you’ll just have to try it out for yourself one day.

Finally comes my new favorite, Threadsy. Threadsy is like a dream. It integrates and coordinates email (gmail, hotmail, etc.), Facebook and all your Twitter accounts into an easy to use, instantly accessible platform. When I receive an email from someone with a Twitter and/or Facebook account it shows me their recent updates, bio, photos, etc. YouTube links play the video directly in the message body, and if that wasn’t enough it even includes Meebo integration, allowing you to chat with anyone through Facebook, AIM, Google Talk, myYearbook, MySpace, and Twitter.

If any of these tools sound interesting to you and you would like to try them out I would be more than happy to send you an invite (if available). Simply drop me a line through your favorite social media platform, or leave a comment on this post letting me know what you’d like to try out.

Happy Connecting!

Are you average? That’s a hard question to answer on your own, but here’s an easy test.

When making decisions in your life have you ever asked yourself, “Is this normal?”
Have you ever tried to keep up with the competition?
Have the words, “Yeah, but…” ever crossed your lips?

If you answered yes to any of these then chances are you are average.

So what is wrong with being average? Our whole lives we are taught that average is enough. For example; in school, average grades are enough to move on to the next grade or satisfy parents and teachers. Average means not being noticed. It means blending into the background. It means following the herd.

Average is mediocre.

In the following video marketing guru, Seth Godin speaks about mediocrity and the importance of being exceptional in today’s world.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBrRLI4ozag

The book he is referring too 3 minutes in is called “The Dip.” It’s about recognizing and deciding when to quit and when to stick. I recommend it to anyone who has ever been faced with a challenge in their life. (that means you!)

You can find Seth’s Blog here or in the side bar.

Since Kunu is a start-up and I have worked with a lot of start-ups through the years I thought this article would be of value to a lot of folks. It’s called Start-ups are all Naked in the Mirror.

And if you’re a start-up here are some Start-up Lessons from the same author, Mark Suster.

Here’s a great article from one of my favorite blogs, The Art of Nonconformity, about winning.

“Criticism is often motivated by the discomfort some people feel when others succeed. It’s easier to bring winners down a notch than it is to rise to their level. Winners who possess self-confidence and focus are often labeled as arrogant by those who lack both qualities.
From: The Art of Nonconformity

I had a sudden dose of this strange phenomenon when I won the Matthew Good video contest way back when. Amongst the waves of positive feedback came a lot of negative and ignorant feedback that, at the time, I did not expect. I had never posted a video that had more than 1000 views on YouTube and all of the sudden Born Losers was on it’s way to 30,000 views in a matter of days. It was both exciting and nerve wracking having so many strangers view my art at once. I had never had such a huge forum for feedback and the quantity of negativity was something I wasn’t prepared for. Looking back, a lot of it was probably out of envy while the rest was ignorance.
A similar situation occurred with an acquaintance from high school when things started looking up for me and my family. They stopped communicating with us and and claimed we were becoming too competitive.

Sticks and Stones

These situations are sad and unfortunate. They can wreak havok on your self-esteem if you’re not careful, but it’s not the end of the world.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

I remember the first time I used that phrase. I was about 5 years old. There was a girl in my neighbourhood who called me a mean name and I remember walking up to her house, knocking on her door and saying those infamous words too her. Then I went home. I don’t remember anything after that, but for the next 10 years of our young school life she had a huge crush on me.

Lessons

The overall lesson of these experiences comes down to determination. If you have goals and are determined to achieve them no one can stop you. Words are just words. People will be envious and complain, but ultimately you are in control of the outcome. If you can bring yourself to see through the critics and stand up for what you believe then you have already won the first first battle.

Critics That Matter

There is another type of critic out there that I didn’t talk about. The kind that actually want to see you succeed. The kind that push you and drive you to do bigger and greater things. These critics offer something of value with their comments. They are constructive. Here is a wonderful article from Seth’s Blog about the Critics That Matter.
And don’t forget to check out this article from the Art of Nonconformity mentioned earlier.