Making Video Mainstream

Introduction: Making Video Mainstream

Video has become mainstream but not in my world.

My friend Adam Payne published a blog post filled with video statistics. Here are a few

• 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. (HubSpot)
• 50% of internet users looked for online videos related to a product or service they were interested in before visiting the store. (Think with Google)
• The average user spends over 16 minutes watching video ads every month. (Social Media Today)
• 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day. (HubSpot)

I must have been ahead of the curve in 2014 when I said that this was going to be my year of video – my fist step into making video mainstream. Well it did not work out that way. I can safely say I am now well behind the curve. I just did not get my arse into gear for making video mainstream.

Where Am I In Video?

That is not to say I have not made any videos. I have a YouTube channel. It has 103 videos and 203 subscribers. Some of those videos have over 5,000 views. The oldest video was recorded on a Flip I won in November 2011. There are a few from 2013 and 2014 where I was testing out some video software – mostly some quirky entertainment ideas.

I do know I have bought quite a few video making tools along the way. Video has certainly been up with social traffic as hot topics for my severe case of shiny object syndrome. I hesitate to create a list of what I have bought as it will just drive an advanced state of depression. I do know that I am paying recurring fees on a a few especially for templates (EasyVideoSuite, Explaindio, Klippyo, Vidnami (was Content Samurai) come to mind). I believe that I am not very creative when it comes to imagery – fine with words – hence the need to keep investing in templates. The sad part is a whole bunch of those tools I have never completed a video. I have started a few but never finished – example, Explaindio animated videos.

Blockages for Making Video Mainstream

Why is it? Maybe it is all too hard to conquer the creative side. Maybe it is deep rooted. You may well know that I grew up in South Africa. South Africa introduced TV only in 1975, the year I turned 19. Maybe that is why I am not that attuned to video. I do know that I absorb stuff much faster by reading than I do from video or audio. Truth is we can all read faster than anyone can talk a video. Of course it is a big mistake to assume that everyone is just like you.

I have started a few new videos with different tools and some even made it to the channel. A little while ago I joined Adam Payne’s Video Marketing Insider membership as a forcing device to get into video. Adam makes his living on YouTube with a few niche channels but mostly reviewing and promoting products he likes and uses. He has a background in teaching and is pretty good at explaining stuff. I have started to go through the training right from the basics of keyword research and how to rank videos using rankable keywords for tags. That got me to looking at my channel again.

The most viewed videos are all how to videos mostly to do with Bitcoin and investing. With only 203 subscribers this is impressive reach – though engagement is low. There is one product review ranking too.  So I was not surprised to see Adam teaching about the power of informational keywords (how to words). The least ranked videos were the more recent ones I have done chronicling the Internet Profits journey.

Keywords for Video

The keyword research has a few purposes

• Use it to find what to make videos about
• Use it to choose tags for the videos you do make so people can find them
• Use it to properly describe your channel
• Use it to organise your videos into channels
• Use it to choose what to target for YouTube ads.

I can assure you I have done none of that. The fact that my best ranked video is about buying USI-Tech BTC Packages from Coinjar has nothing to do with keywords. It was an accident of timing. A bunch of Australians wanted to buy into the USI-Tech Bitcoin trading venture (it has since fallen apart) using an Australian BTC exchange – there were only 2 such exchanges in 2017. Coinjar is an Australian company. I made the first video. Same applies to Buying Bitcoin in New Zealand. I made it for my first New Zealand customer because I promised to help her out. It seems that I helped quite a few more out.

Adding Video to the Strategy

Now I do like to be strategic in what I do. It is one of the best techniques for avoiding shiny object syndrome. There are two questions I now ask

1. Does it fit into my strategic framework and where?
2. Is this the right time for starting a new line of activity or technique or technology?

Get a NO to either question and I now hit the IGNORE button.

My  Strategic Framework Revisited

Let’s have a look at my strategic framework last updated about the time I promoted Adam Payne’s Affiliate Oracle product. I have not made any changes since then as the strategy had not changed.

 

A quick reminder on the elements of the framework. Successful Internet Marketing drives from a strategic and product focus (the right hand circle) which determines what to promote. Those circles to the  left are all the ingredients for Creating the Idea and Setting up the Promise. The boxes contain all the techniques and activity that go into Deliver the Promise.

Now you will notice that the word video does not appear on there at all – because it was not a focus. Yes there are videos on the blog – they went there because my mentor said it was a good idea to include video. His blog has only videos and podcasts – very little written down. Where should I put video into the framework?

What I have learned from Adam is that successful YouTube channels do have a unifying theme. People go to YouTube to learn or to be entertained. A YouTube channel needs to do either of those things (but possibly not both). Mine is mostly not about entertainment. I wrote last time that I had attended a Brendan Nichols seminar on Building Financial Freedom. I also wrote that there were only 4 paths to financial freedom.

• Save from a young age
• Get a great job and save like crazy
• Invest in real estate
• Build a business.

Of course, what I have been making videos about has been across 3 of those areas (ignoring the few that are more about light entertainment). They are all about how to manage your investments (key parts of the first two) and how to build your business. More specifically:

• How to invest and trade
• How to invest specifically in cryptocurrency (and build an MLM business in crypto)
• How to build an affiliate marketing business.

Adding Video to the Framework

I borrowed the words “Philosophy – Fiduciary” from Adam Payne and wrote them onto the strategic framework last time around. Yes I was aiming to be a trusted adviser on the products I use and promote them. I am equally well placed to be a trusted fiduciary in the investing and crypto arena too. People already know that from my videos and my blogging on investing.

So my YouTube channel is going to get an uplifted and unified identity about Building Financial Freedom. I have not thought through how wide ranging it will be as I still need to focus in on the affiliate marketing business. I am rather keen to get back to promoting the cryptocurrency stuff I do (especially Bitcoin mining). But I do know I can now organise the videos into specific playlists that fit into that as a framework.

Making Video Ads

What I really want to achieve in video though is to leverage YouTube as a source of organic and paid traffic. I want to use that as a forcing device to making video mainstream. I already use Camtasia to make videos. I can talk to a PowerPoint presentation really well. All those Buying Bitcoin videos were made that way. What I wanted was a tool that would help me with the creative side – adding images and clips to my scripts – I can write the words easily enough. I also wanted to add video to my landing pages. That is why I bought Vidnami (was Content Samurai) – to make video ads.

Where does this fit into the strategic framework? I have written in some words in fluoro green (everybody loves yellow and fluoro green in those YouTube thumbnails).

I have added the broader financial freedom theme to the philosophy as that will become a wider story that I can talk about with some conviction. I have added in specific products that I will promote as they are congruent with each other – VMI is Adam Payne’s video membership. I will do a video for each blog post. I have dual versions of most of my landing pages now, one with text and one with video. I am going to switch horse a bit on organic traffic away from Facebook Groups to explore video more fully as that is where I want to build a paid ads strategy.

What about the video for this blog post? I will include two to show off Vidnami (was Content Samurai) as a video ad maker. First is the ad I created for the introduction to the Affiliate Marketer’s Playbook which is now on a landing page. I can also use it for The Iceberg Effect launch coming soon

And here is the video I made on YouTube about the making of the ad. I was hoping to do a complete walk through but the video landed up too long (mostly while I was working out how to fix small problems that took time and fiddling to do). That said the whole ad took less than 30 minutes to make.

What I Like About Vidnami (was Content Samurai)

This is only my 4th Vidnami (was Content Samurai) video. It is easy to learn. I have only watched one introductory video (from Adam Payne) and one training video on how best to use it (from Bryan Toder). That is all I needed.

• It is that easy to use – just stick within its parameters.
• The package now includes a huge library of images and clips and music tracks that are licensed to use free.
• It makes a first version using AI tools based on the words in the script you paste in.
• It does include computer voices (they call them AI voices) who will talk through your script. I prefer to use my own voice – easy enough to do with a decent microphone. I have not uploaded the videos directly to YouTube to test out the free to use copyright issues. There have been wrinkles in that which Vidnami (was Content Samurai) will handle on your behalf. Just submit a support ticket.
• Support is strong and the Facebook Group is very active, knowledgeable and supportive.

Tweaking Things On YouTube

Now I have made a few tweaks to the information on YouTube about the video, including changing the thumbnail. I added in a lot of new tags about making video ads. I have added my picture to the thumbnail and changed the wording. I already had the logo – a lot more work to do to make the thumbnails stand out.  Whatever views I have had have come from those changes.

Resources

Vidnami (was Content Samurai) is a tool for creating videos from slide packs. It includes a large library of free to use video clips and images and also music. There are AI based voice effects but I prefer to do my own voice overs – they work better. They There is a free trial period – you will not be disappointed. Try it here

Video Marketing Insider is a membership site run by Adam Payne focused on video marketing. Adam has built a standalone business in video marketing promoting video related training. As a former teacher, he has a good teaching and coaching style. I like his stuff. Take a tour.

Credits

82 Video Marketing Statistics to Prepare for 2020