LA-Area Communicators Discuss Video and SEO

On August 19, Business Wire LA hosted a media breakfast and panel discussion titled “Video & SEO: Best Practices for Effective Marketing & PR” at the Olympic Collection in west Los Angeles. Our expert panel discussed the increasing popularity of online video in brand communications and shared tips with the audience of LA area communicators on how to use video to drive web traffic, generate leads and help SEO.

Hanna Pantle (far right), Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications and Media Relations at BMI, moderated the panel, which also included (R-L):

• Dave Toole, Founder, MEDIAMobz
• Meredith Kendall, Vice President of PR and Interactive Media, Break Media
• Matt Meeks, VP of Interactive Media, Bender Helper Impact
• Joel Russell, Advertising and PR Reporter, Los Angeles Business Journal

Here are some key insights from the panel discussion:

• There are two major benefits to online video: it increases engagement with the audience and it enhances the SEO of your content.
• Universal search is becoming increasingly popular and represents a major opportunity when it comes to video content. Because universal search spotlights multimedia, any video you use in support of your news has a good chance of being highlighted in search because there is still not that much video content out there yet.
• Although video isn’t used by all media yet, particularly print media, it can still help explain things to reporters quickly. Press releases that include video tend to have higher open rates.
• Another benefit of video is its built-in social interaction. Embed codes and social media sharing links that are regularly included in online videos make them easily sharable and creates multiple posting points online, which helps SEO.
• Know your audience and where they will be. You can’t neglect YouTube, but you have to put your video where your audience will naturally find it. A lot of the time, people won’t be searching YouTube looking for your video, you have to put it where the audience you are trying to reach already views content.
• You can think of video sites like you think of other kinds of media, in terms of reader or viewer demographic. Different audiences go to YouTube than go to Daily Motion. The YouTube audience has specific characteristics & the videos on YouTube tend to have specific characteristics. Short-form videos, particularly humorous ones, tend to do well on YouTube, but long-form videos don’t really belong there.
• Statistics show that if you post your video to a half dozen sites other than YouTube, it increases traffic by 80 percent.
• It’s also important to know your audience because that will tell you whether it is necessary for your brand to be on certain platforms, such as mobile. Video is a good way to tell your story over mobile because often people are willing to watch a short video on their phones and read the full article or press release once they are back on their computers.

>>Click here to download to a full audio recording of this event.

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Engaging Your Audience Using Video

by Rachel Gould, Client Services Representative, Business Wire Boston

Business Wire Boston recently joined forces with video production partner MEDIAmobz and VisibleGains to bring together a panel of specialists in the fields of public relations, new media, conversion marketing and video production to address innovative new ways to engage your target audience and generate buzz.  The original April 27 session was entitled, “Combining SEO and Video to Drive Awareness and Lead Generation Online.”

Check out this interactive video application for some highlights, or to watch the full session.  A 40-second video clip, highlighted at the start of the presentation, offers some guidance on integrating video with press releases.  Also featured are interviews with the panelists, including a segment on tips for creating engaging video.

The discussion was moderated by Cliff Pollan, President & CEO of VisibleGains, and panelists included:

• Tim Bradbury, President New Media, American City Business Journals
• Joe Chernov, Global Director of Communications & Social Media, Eloqua
• Judy Gern, Director of Conversion Marketing, Constant Contact
• David Meerman Scott, Bestselling Author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR
• Dave Toole, Founder & CEO, MEDIAmobz

Some key points that came out of the session:

• Using video in marketing and public relations can expand your audience. Joe Chernov, Global Director of Communications & Social Media at Eloqua, noted that he receives 500% more views on a press release with a video than just plain text content.  Video content can be an important component of a well-rounded and effective lead-generation program.
• Video can engage media and consumers and generate interest for your campaign. Tim Bradbury, President New Media at American City Business Journals, explained that his news outlets look for content to which they can easily drive web traffic.  He said that video, which can be played with the click of a finger, often translates better than text content to new portable devices such as the tablet or the iPad.
• Video adds value – both for the target audience and for search engine optimization. Judy Gern, Director of Conversion Marketing at Constant Contact, stressed the importance of giving potential leads value through video, mentioning that including video in outreach reduces opt-outs by 75 percent.  Cliff Pollan, Founder and CEO of VisibleGains, cited a Forrester survey that showed content with video was 50 times more likely to end up on the first page of Google search engine results.

Having trouble accessing the video?  Go directly to the event page at http://bizwire.pr/seovideoevent.

Local Business Wire offices host dozens of events each year on PR, IR, SEO & media topics.  Check out the Business Wire Events page to find upcoming events in your area.

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