Pro Installer August 2015 - Issue 29 | Page 6

6 AUGUST 2015 PRO INSTALLER PRO NEWS www.proinstaller.co.uk Balls2 Marketing’s Communications Director Sarah Ball talks about video and what role YouTube has to play in marketing in her series of advice columns on social media for Pro Installer. Watch and learn I’ve just got off the phone from speaking to my brother. He was talking about how much he loves YouTube. When the element went in his oven for the second time in a couple of months, he Googled the problem and found a post about a faulty fan that was causing the element to overheat. He then watched a YouTube clip of how to replace the fan and there was a warning on the video to be wary of a particular left hand threaded screw. He reckons that without it he’d have knackered the oven and he would have had to buy a new one – so YouTube saved him £500. He went on to tell me all the other useful things he looks at on YouTube. Whether its technical stuff for his work (he’s a heating engineer) finding obscure tracks by Frank Zappa, or checking stuff out about his Microlight, he says it’s easy to find what he wants. He’s not the only one, every month more and more people find what they’re searching for on YouTube. Pick up the PRO Installer, FREE, from one of over 600 trade counters. Keep it short It’s so easy to watch video. Shorter is better – we want information fast and two minutes is more than long enough. Forrester Research claims that one minute of video was worth 1.8 million words, which puts the phrase, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, into perspective. Having video is good for your Google rankings. Because it values footage, you’ll often find YouTube content comes high up on searches. But you don’t have to create professional videos to get views. There are loads of videos you can make with a smart phone. Do it yourself If you’ve installed a houseful of windows it’s difficult to get a photo that shows them up close as well as the whole house. But with video you could walk round the house, or start off with a wide shot and come in for a close up. Even with something this simple it’s likely to get more views than a photo. For a new door show it opening and closing, how the lock works or a close up of the threshold. Installation videos demonstrating how you do a particular detailing can show prospective customers the level of workmanship and care you take. If it closes an extra deal for you, it’s worth taking 10 minutes to film and upload. Check the soundtrack Raw video is fine – but check the sound before posting – and get your brand into the film if you can. There are several video editing software programmes that are easy to use, and a quick internet search for royalty free music means you can add a soundtrack. Sometimes you don’t even have to make the videos yourself. Ask your suppliers for videos you can use on your website. Some will even personalise them for you. Adding video to your social media makes it stand out better from text only or photo posts, and attracts the attention of people looking. It’s easy to get started. Just pick up your phone and press record. Next month I’ll be talking about getting the most from Google+ in the last of my Social Media articles YouTube in numbers columns for ProInstaller. Every month 6 billion hours of video is viewed 1 billion users 40% of views are on mobile devices Website visitors are 64% more likely to buy on an online retail site after watching a video 64% of marketers expect video to dominate - Neilson Video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic by 2017– Cisco Visual Networking Index ADF PLASTICS LTD