Jivox

Jivox Video Marketing Blog

17 August 2009

I Love Beer! And Other Great Video Ad Promotions

by Jivox

Promotions also deliver another great benefit: the ultimate answer to the question “Is my video ad working?”. If a new customer walks in the door with a printable coupon, or calls into your call center citing a special promotional code, you’ll know they saw your video ad and found your offer compelling. It’s the ultimate measure of actual conversion. You can also test different coupons in different versions of your ads, to see which ones get the most response. 

Here are three great examples of Jivox customers who used promotional offers in their ads to great effect:

Faultline Brewing Company

This Bay-area restaurant used Jivox to create an artistic video ad that showcased a beer being poured very slowly into a frosty pilsner glass. Faultline also included a promotion in the ad: send an email to Faultline with the phrase “I Love Beer” to be entered into a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate. The video campaign with the “I Love Beer” contest promotion generated hundreds of responses, and ended up being the most successful online marketing effort for Faultline to date. What’s more, by tracking responses to the promotion, Faultline could measure with precision whether the ad reached the intended audience.

Princess Port Bed & Breakfast

Princess Port Bed and Breakfast created an online video ad that featured a couple holding hands and walking on a beach. The call-to-action featured a link to a promotional coupon that offered viewers a discount on their next reservation. Upon running its ad on the Jivox Network, Princess Port reported a tripling of its web traffic, with 85% of new guests redeeming the online coupon.  Princess Port was booked at full capacity for the summer (not to mention the many customers they had to turn away)!

Astaria Restaurant

Astaria used online video ads not only to bring in new diners, but also to drive a later-evening crowd to their new bar space featuring live jazz. Astaria’s ads featured a clickable button leading to a downloadable coupon for 20% off a meal after 8pm. The campaign was a huge success in getting people to visit later in the evening for a drink or to nibble on small plates. By tracking coupon redemptions, along with other Jivox tracking tools, owner Alicia Petrakis knew which versions of her ads were the most effective in attracting new diners.

Have a great story to tell us about a promotion that worked for you?  Please post a comment below!

Comments | Permalink | Share

6 August 2009

Marketing Your Small Business with Online Video

by Jivox

If you aren’t marketing your business with online video, you’re missing out on connecting with millions of potential customers. Over 80% of U.S. Internet users watched online video in 2008, and the number of people watching videos on their computers is set to explode in the next few years from 563 million worldwide in 2008 to 1.8 billion in 2013, according to an October 2008 study from ABI Research.

Online video marketing – the process of distributing video on your website, via social networks and viral sites, and in online advertising campaigns – is a great way for companies of all sizes to enhance their brand image and acquire new customers. Video helps you connect with potential and existing customers with content that engages, entertains, and enlightens them. With the explosion of easy-to-use video cameras, editing software, and do-it-yourself online video web sites, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune, either. See our recent blog post on low-cost video production ideas. 

Video is not just a brand-booster, but also a powerful sales-driver. A recent Kelsey Group study found 55% of people who view a video visit the company’s website; 30% visit a store; and 24% make a purchase as a result of watching the video.

Are you ready to get started with online video marketing? The good news is, the sky’s the limit when it comes to the type of videos you can create. Great marketing starts with a great product or service, so you could provide some simple how-to videos on your web site. If you’d like to build credibility with prospects, why not distribute inexpensive video cameras to a few sales managers to have them capture customer comments on the road and then post the best ones on a company video blog. Or, if you run a restaurant and want to attract new customers, take a video of your chef in action and then provide a downloadable coupon for 25% off a meal. The only rule for online video marketing is that it should enhance your brand image.

Here are some types of marketing videos to get you started:

  • Corporate presentations: video executive presentations, company meetings, press conferences and more.
  • How-to demonstrations: show real people using your products or services.
  • Customer testimonials: get your best customers in front of a camera and ask them what they like about your products and services.
  • Purchase advice: hire an expert in your industry to give customers valuable purchase advice, giving a gentle nod to your products and services.
  • User-generated product reviews: invite your site visitors to record their reviews of your products and send them in return for a special coupon or discount.
  • Branded entertainment: create a funny video that is ‘sponsored’ by your brand.
  • Service and support: show customers how to troubleshoot and fix common issues with your products.

The key is to create video content that tells customers more about your company, products, and services in an entertaining way, because people will remember funny, engaging, educational, or entertaining videos long after they’ve forgotten images and text.

Check out the Jivox ad gallery for some great examples of videos our customers have created that they’re using across the web in their advertising and marketing campaigns.

Comments | Permalink | Share

3 August 2009

Three Low-Cost Ways to Create Marketing Videos for your Business

by Jivox

Are you thinking about creating a marketing video, but wondering how you can afford to make one? or are you daunted by the prospect of picking up a camera?  The good news is that there are now a number of different options for getting videos made on a budget.

For high-impact, broadcast-quality video, you can use a video production company or freelance videographer.  There are quite a few cost-effective choices out there, and one of our favorites is Pixelfish.  PixelFish has built a global network of more than 1,500 professional videographers to capture and produce video content almost anywhere in the world. They also offer a library of customizable pre-produced video ads that provides high-quality video solutions at a low price.

Click here to see an example of an ad on the Jivox network produced by Pixelfish for MindBody Online, a software service provider for the wellness industry.

Of course, if you’re fairly handy, you can buy a high-quality video camera for about $400 and start filming your own customer testimonials and how-to product videos. You can even film a video using the ultra-low-cost Flip video camera, which cost as little as $149.

You can also use Jivox’s free DIY video creation tool that includes a step-by-step video ad builder and huge library of royalty-free video, images and music… or get on the fast track and use Jivox’s pre-built QuickStart video ad templates to create stylish ads.

A great example of an ad created using stock footage and Jivox’s ad creation tool is New Lifestyle Diet – click here to see the ad.

The bottom line is, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to create a compelling video to use in your advertising and marketing.

p.s. Check out the Jivox ad gallery for ideas for your next marketing video!

Comments | Permalink | Share

3 August 2009

The Jivox Blog Premiere

Welcome to the Jivox blog!  We are committed to providing you with the tools and information you need to design and execute successful online video marketing campaigns.

The Jivox blog is the place to find the latest trends on online video, small business marketing, local marketing and advertising, as well as lots of tips and best practices on how to better market your business online. We’ll also share success stories from businesses like yours to help your business win online.

Be sure to add your comments, and please feel free to share posts with your friends and co-workers.  We welcome your content suggestions.

Enjoy!

(And, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook fan page)

Comments | Permalink | Share

« First456