Using videos for marketing

I've just started using Go Animate to make videos, discussing social media, training and etiquette, a fun way of trying out video and deciding how to use videos professionally.

What I enjoy the most making about making videos on this platform, is that you can export them to YouTube, share on social media and embed on websites or blogs, so  the developers and designers are welll aware that people search for video content and 1 in 4 people in the US are watching/accessing videos daily.

Videos are the fastest growing out of all social media tools, they're often easy to make and YouTube has just made it incredibly easy to edit videos making it easy for you to search for and view anything you like.

Have a look at the Online Video Rankings and consider video marketing. 

You can do guerilla ads, montages, how tos, training sessions, guides, words, launches, festivals, glimpses, sneak peaks, vlogging ... you name it.

As you can tell from the rankings above Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in May with 147.2 million unique viewers.

So if you choose to use animations or stick figures like me (to start) or a hire/use a professional team with access to excellent music, voice and sound - which ever way you to go, export to YouTube or use YouTube, make use of tags and labels and set up your channel.

Here's my latest animated videos  - http://www.youtube.com/user/ebbyeryan

Make use of videos for social media, people like to view content and share/send to friends.

Keep learning

Thanks Jo, who is doing the New Skills Festival this September for today's post regarding social media and my basic guide.

As a trainer, I have to learn something new every day. Social Media is constantly evolving, even Blogger has just changed its entire interface and set up some basic mobile messaging blog options.

The people I teach, learn the value of social learning, social skills, social etiquette and social communication - I encourage you all to keep learning, to find information and to read as much as you can about your industry, your clients, your customers in order to really communicate and engage with them.

Although I do encourage you to do general searches, I'd like you to dig deeper. 

Attend free webinars (if time and money is a problem) - webinars will give you helpful insights, guidance, an introduction to something new and how tos.

If you can take a course, from 12 weeks, to a weekend, part time or full time for a few years, workplaces generally encourage their staff to further their skills and increase their training. Speak to your employers about improving your skills - if you're an entrepreneur - there are some great evening courses, weekend options and I recently found a 12 minute marketing course which I love the sound of.

Take advantage of slideshare, people are constantly uploading informative slides. slideshare is an excellent place to put up your slides (regarding your thoughts, business practices) where you can view and share information while finding excellent content.  

Search blogs, they are often personal accounts or journals and can give you great insight into any subject. 

People who blog are experts themselves, they are sharing their day to day knowledge, thoughts and experiences with you. People are renovating, building houses, starting businesses, studying,  travelling, dreaming, having babies, recovering from illnesses and business blogs (often) keep you very informed.

Keep searching Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube for advice, questions, reviews, data, statistics, information, answers ... anything which will help you learn.

Have a look at all the conferences, or webinars, Tweetups, mashups available (the easiest way to find them are on Twitter), they are often after hours and this is a great way to meet people offline.

Social Media has changed how we interact. We are no longer working standard business hours, 5 days a week. We have to schedule Tweets/Updates/Posts, monitor accounts on weekends and be online when our clients and customers are online ... you need to work out when best suits you and how.

Never stop learning. It's one of the most important things I have learnt on my social media journey.

Thanks for the Award

Thanks TheUrbanMum who nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award. Here is a little explanation from her.

I love TheUrBanMum she has the kind of writing which makes me nod and smile, I love her honesty and her blog posts so pay her blog a visit, she's a great blogger.

The Rules after accepting the Versatile Blogger Award are:

§ Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in the blog post.
§Share 7 things about yourself
§ Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.

So I'd like to share 7 things with you all:

1) I love Nelson Mandela as in he is my hero, my god kind of way. I have learnt more from him than from anyone else although I have never met him.

2) I am a qualified trainer. I hold a number of diplomas and certificates and while initially I wasn't sure what I would do with my training certificate, I love the fact that this certificate has got me so far.

3) I buy at least 5 books from St Vinnies a week and read them all. My rule is that I have to buy one book a week that I wouldn't normally choose just so that I can learn something new. I have books in every room of my flat and buying books is my biggest addiction.

4) I have a terrible memory.

5) I love being called banana; it makes me smile every time.

6) I was always an outsider and I have never been more grateful for that as an adult. I love the fact that bookworms and geeks seem to be taking over the world. (Not to mention foodies, food bloggers, craft people ... you name it)

7) I want to live a life of no regrets. But I have a lot to learn and a long way to go.

15 Blogs I highly recommend: (16 actually because one doesn't really count as a blog)

http://www.thesydneygirl.com/ - The Sydney Girl
http://theyearofthecat.com/ - Year of the Cat
http://newswithnipples.com/ - News With Nipples
http://mab397.wordpress.com/ - Three Nine Seven
http://www.woogsworld.com/ - Woogs World
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ - Hyperbole and a Half
http://theoatmeal.com/ - okay technically not a blog but I love this site
http://thebloggess.com/ - The Blogess
http://www.tellussomethinggood.com/- Tell us something good
http://annikskelton.com/ - Annik Skelton

Age 30+ ... A Lifetime of Books - Lifetime of Books

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks -
Grab Your Fork - Grab Your Fork
PostSecret - Post Secret
Waiter Rant - On waiters
(BLOG) RED - Blog for joinred.com

Phew! Thanks TheUrbanMum xox

New Skills Festival

Over September, check in every day to learn something new.

http://jojoebi.blogspot.com