video | David Wildash

Is the next phase of video marketing begining to appear?

In the last couple of months two of the largest companies online have rolled out services that could have a massive impact on the future of video marketing.

Facebook Live has raised its profile considerably this month. A couple of weeks ago a Californian man broadcast the birth of his son, though he later revealed he hadn’t realised the video would be seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world. In just the last week a video of a woman laughing hysterically whilst wearing a Chewbacca mask was watched by more than 50 million people the first day it was released.

There is great potential here for marketers.

Live currently lets you broadcast from your smartphone for up to 90 minutes, but it looks like within a matter of weeks you could be able to keep on streaming for as long as you like. The rumoured drawback is that you won’t be able to release a recording. Nevertheless, this seems like a great opportunity for those who do live webinars to promote their business.

It has been estimated that Facebook video is up to four times more shareable than any YouTube content posted on the site. Facebook users can send invitations to friends to join them on live streams and the degree of interaction is also increased, with Facebook Live content generating ten times more comments than standard videos.

The prospect of targeting Facebook Live the same way you can target Facebook advertising means that content could be delivered to precisely the audience it is aimed at.

Other anticipated upgrades to Facebook Live includes the use of metrics to identify which portions of a live video create the most viewer engagement. This will enable later viewers to skip ahead to the most popular parts of the recording.

Also in the last couple of months Amazon has announced Video Direct, a move seen by many as an attempt to challenge YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook.

However, Amazon seems to have set up their new service so that it is most likely to be used only by professional video creators. This makes it an obvious opportunity for media companies, music promoters and online marketers. Currently the service is only available in the UK, US, Germany, Austria and Japan. Content can be monetised by playing ads before viewers can access the content or the content can be bought or rented advert free. Recorded content can also be made available for free to Amazon Prime members. Just imagine the potential audience.

There is also the option to package a set of videos together and offer them via a subscription. A potential opportunity for any online marketer who already has a video-based course in their product range.

As with Facebook Live this latest development from Amazon also holds great potential for those wishing to target a specific audience. With the amount of data Amazon has regarding what people have bought and what they’re most likely to buy, you can imagine how that can help identify and target an audience for a specific set of products.

Change is the one constant online. The latest developments from Facebook and Amazon could point the way to new opportunities in internet marketing. With millions online watching billions of videos it’s surely an opportunity too good to miss.

7 points to check before submitting a sales video to Clickbank

A few weeks ago I outlined how I had put a sales video together. This week I want to look at what I have learned from the process of submitting the sales page to Clickbank for approval.

I first submitted a sales page to Clickbank back in 2004. In those days the page was mostly text. Today sales pages are probably more likely to contain a video. Whichever medium you are using to present your offer you must check the following:

Can you back up your claims?

You must be able to substantiate any claims you make. Clickbank will not necessarily ask for any proof, but you must have it available if a private litigant, the FTC or other agency asks for it.

Is it really as easy as you say?

Clickbank will not allow any statements that misrepresent the effort involved in making a product work. This means you must not suggest the product is easier to use than it really is. So don’t claim it’s a two-step process when it’s more complex than that, or say that it’s software that can make money after just entering a couple of keywords.

Have you said how it’s done?

Recently Clickbank has begun disallowing ‘blind offers’. These are pitches that do not give any details about how a product will do what is claimed. This is particularly the case in the internet marketing and make money online niches. So check that your sales copy gives clear details on the techniques or tactics the product uses or teaches to achieve the results you are promising.

Is there a script?

Although you will be providing the URL for your sales page so that Clickbank can check your sales video they will often ask for the script. You can add this as an attachment when you submit your product.

Is it easy for them to check?

Clickbank need any sales video to be pausable, so make sure you have set it up with this feature. You may have set up a delayed payment button, i.e. one that appears after the video has played for a certain amount of time. If this is the case Clickbank will want you to disable the feature so that it is constantly displayed while they check your product. You can reactivate the feature once your product has been approved.

Is the price clear?

Although you will probably be mentioning and displaying the price of your product in the video Clickbank need you to display the price near the buy button. If you are selling a recurring billing product like a monthly membership, the rebill schedule and pricing must also be displayed clearly. Give these details using a font that is size 12 or larger and in a colour that contrasts with the background.

Is the standard text in place?

Clickbank will insist that there is a copy of a standard paragraph on your sales page describing their role in the sale of your product. They will also need a short sentence on the Thank You page telling the customer their credit card statement will show a charge from CLKBANK*COM.

There are a number of other factors that have to be correctly in place. Your product has to be complete and of a certain standard, links have to work correctly and you will need to set up and test a payment form, but if you address the above you’ll save yourself some time getting your product approved by Clickbank.

My First Video Online!

A small step that many other online marketers have made, but a giant leap forward for my own online business.

The product I’m working on includes video based training, so this is an important step. But it wasn’t a straightforward one.

Now I know recording videos and making them accessible online is a lot easier than it used to be, but the learning curve could be better. I’m hosting my videos on Amazon S3 and processing the raw video using Handbrake and Easy Video Player. I can’t honestly say that learning how they work together or how to set up or use any of them was as clear and straightforward as it could be.

Luckily I had two invaluable resources. One is a user friendly web designer and the other is YouTube. Whenever I’m stuck on anything technical these days I tend to search for the solution on YouTube before I use Google. Someone has usually posted a video that helps me out.

Which makes me wonder if I should put a video on there that would have made my own learning a little easier. I have some YouTube videos planned for the future anyway, so maybe that’s yet another thing for the backburner.

So what’s next? Well uploading the above video was a trial run so I want to make sure I collate my notes and have the process clearly written down. That will make repeating the process so much easier. My product has about another 23 videos to be uploaded, so once I have the web pages organised in terms of course modules that’s what I’ll be doing.

Have you any of your own videos online? Did you find the process easy or as clear as mud? Let me know in the comments below and perhaps share any solutions you found useful. Thanks.

David