Today, if you want to get your message to your audience through the most effective medium, then you will  find videos to e very beneficial. However, there are many ways in which you can use YouTube improperly and, in the end, get nothing out of it. In fact, that is what most internet businesses do when they try to make money off of YouTube or video content in general.

The Real Way to Profit from Videos

If you decide to use Web 2.0 video sites for marketing, then I suggest that you start by…

… creating a tutorial series. This could be something like 5 videos, each covering a topic in an area related to your business. Of course, these 5 videos must be connected as well. For example, you can create a 5-video series about how to set up a website and make it ready for handling customers.

If you find a series to time consuming, you can choose to just put up one video instead.

If there’s something you have to remember about video marketing, though, it’s this: Don’t go for beauty, and don’t go for perfection. Just get the ball rolling.

What do I mean by that? Two things.

First: Don’t make your plan too big

You don’t have to deliver 52 installments on your topic right away. Start with anything between 1 and 5 videos. This will make your task seem easier; the easier your goal is, the faster you can finish and move on to your next project.

Second: Don’t make the production process too complicated

When I created my first online videos, I used green screen technique for special effects. It was nice, but it took much more time to finish a video. Today, I just skipped all the fancy stuff. I put up some good light, point the cam to my face, and start shooting the video.

That’s what you should do. Instead of making your video look very professional or high-class, it’s more important to make your video USEFUL. After all, you want to position yourself as an expert. You want to show your web site visitors that you are the-go-to-expert in your niche. Therefore, you must always provide your viewers with valuable information.

This is the est way to position yourself as expert in your niche and the best way to give credibility and good reputation to your company.

If your videos are well-made and if you market them well to get the ball rolling, there’s a good chance you can see a viral effect, where others begin referring friends to your videos without any compensation for doing so. The more viral your video gets, the more traffic and sales you can possibly generate.

This is a Web 2.0 marketing tip that requires a little more effort, but one that’s well worth it: Integrate your video marketing strategy with your overall Web 2.0 marketing plan to achieve optimum results.
(See web 2.0 marketing tip #16)

2 Days ago, on Friday January 29 2009, another important figure of public life embraced web 2.0.

Pope Pope Benedict XVI commented on benefits and dangers of social media and announced the new vatican channel on youtube.

Here’s an excerpt of his remarks:

… the new technologies which have made the internet a resource of utmost importance, especially for the so-called “digital generation”.

Undoubtedly, wise use of communications technology enables communities to be formed in ways that promote the search for the true, the good and the beautiful, transcending geographical boundaries and ethnic divisions.

To this end, the Vatican has launched a new initiative which will make information and news from the Holy See more readily accessible on the world wide web.

It is my hope that this initiative will enrich a wide range of people including those who have yet to find a response to their spiritual yearning through the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ whose message of Good News the Church bears to the ends of the earth.

Vatican’s youtube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/vaticanit

The source for the Pope’s quote is here: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/text.html#3

Also interesting: The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching for the Truth in order to Share it with Others.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20080124_42nd-world-communications-day_en.html

The Pope On Youtube? Why Is It Important?

I’m amazed how fast the internet changes the world.

When I was in school. …

• The internet wasn’t even there.
• There was no iPod, nor an iPhone to watch youtube videos. Even Sony’s Walkman (the rightful predecessor of any ‘carry with you’ device)  wasn’t invented.
• And of course there was no such thing as a ‘Personal Computer’ to be found in any household.

Then the internet came and people had no idea how fast it would grow into our everyday lives.

Roundabout 5 years ago we internet geeks started to embrace the idea of web 2.0 as we published our first blogs. They were ugly and for geeks only.

• Who would have thought 5 years ago a presidential election would be decided by social media sites?
• Who would have thought 2 years ago the Pope would deliver his gospel through youtube?

Social media is no longer for geeks only.

The people and the leaders of the world embrace it and we can’t even begin to imagine the consequences this will bring.

Through social media we will see dramatic changes in:

1. How people educate themselves.
2. How they create relationships and mastermind groups, evolving much faster than ever possible offline.
3. How they build their opinion on political, economical and ethical topics.
4. How leaders will use the internet to influence (manipulate?) the masses.
5. How campaigns and propaganda sweep the planet across boarders – not only when delivered by leaders, but by any individual who puts his mind to it.

The geek in me is happy. I’m an early adopter and I love to find the  new stuff before it hits the mainstream.

There’s tons and tons of opportunities waiting for us internet marketers, and through new technology and new ideas our ‘universe’ is expanding each day.

I’m excited about it.

How about you?

We’ve seen shooting stars like youtube and myspace rake in billions.

Newcomers like Facebook, Twitter and the like are the big hope for marketers and business owners to profit from networking.

All the internet traffic is attracted to the web 2.0 properties like being sucked in a black hole.

If you’re ignoring the trend, you’re bound to lose your business.

How can you secure your share of traffic?

There are 4 main questions about leveraging web 2.0 for your business:

1. Can established web 2.0 sites like Facebook be tricked into sending loads of traffic to your site?
2. Can you make personal contacts to leaders and important people in your industry?
3. Is it possible to gain #1 search engine rankings for your own home pages using the web 2.0 sites?
4. And finally: What about creating your very own web 2.0 site tailored to your business niche? Is it worth the investment in time and money?

The web 2.0 category of Internet-Business-Mastermind is here to answer these questions and inform you about the most profitable web 2.0 strategies.

Make sure to sign up for the newsfeed on the right hand side to get notified about these profit producing articles.