Podcast and Video Marketing – How to Promote Your Business Using Podcasts and Videos

If I Told You that You Can Get More than 1,000 Visitors for Your Website With Only 4 Hours of Work, Would You Be Interested in Discovering How?

Written Dec 16, 2008, read 2248 times since then.

Podcasting is blogging with audio instead of text. Essentially, you post an MP3 file instead of an article.

Video marketing is a fairly new term. It means producing videos and posting them to several video sharing websites to boost your website traffic and get your name out there.

5 Reasons Why Podcasts Are Great
1. An increasing number of people are downloading new podcasts every day.
2. Unlike TV, podcast can be played whenever the listener wants.
3. People can listen to them in their cars on their way to work or when they go for a run. You will get their full attention.
4. There is a lot less competition in the podcast market than there is in the article market.
5. Podcasting is a lot easier and less time-consuming than blogging and getting your articles published.

5 Steps to Producing a Podcast
1. Download Audacity at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ or any other audio editing tool.
2. Get a good microphone.
3. Write the script (so the podcast doesn’t sound improvised and amateurish).
4. Record it in a noise-free environment.
5. Apply the noise-reduction filter in your audio editing software and save the podcast file.

Where You Can Submit Your Podcast
PodOMatic - http://www.podomatic.com/
Podcast Alley - http://www.podcastalley.com/index.php
iTunes - http://www.itunes.com/
Yahoo Podcasts - http://podcasts.yahoo.com/
Digg Podcasts - http://digg.com/podcasts
Podcast Directory - http://www.podcastdirectory.com/
Podcast Pickle - http://www.podcastpickle.com/
PodFeed - http://www.podfeed.net/
Odeo - http://www.odeo.com/
Digital Podcast - http://www.digitalpodcast.com/
Podcast.net - http://www.podcast.net/
Singing Fish - http://search.singingfish.com/sfw/home.jsp
Blog Universe - http://www.bloguniverse.com/
All Podcasts - http://www.allpodcasts.com/
Big Contact - http://www.bigcontact.com/
Collectik - http://collectik.net/collectik/
PodNova - http://www.podnova.com/
PodTech - http://www.podtech.net/home/

How to Save a Lot of Time When You Submit Your Podcast
I absolutely love these two tools because they submit your podcasts to the major podcast directories for free and they save you a lot of time.
PodPusher - http://www.podpusher.com/
Pod Submitter - http://www.podsubmitter.com/submit

5 Reasons Why Video Marketing Is Great
1. Google is showing more and more videos in the search results.
2. Producing a video is very inexpensive and posting it is free.
3. Most video sharing services such as YouTube have several tools to help people spread the word. Think about it. People actually market your videos for you.
4. Millions of people promote their websites using articles, but just a small percentage of them use videos. The competition is a lot less fierce.
5. Video communities are a lot more active than article communities. It is not uncommon to post a video on YouTube and get 1,000 comments in a month!

5 Steps to Producing a Video
1. Decide what kind of video you want to record (talking head, based on a PowerPoint presentation, from your computer screen, interview, etc.)
2. Get a good microphone and a camera. It doesn’t have to be a professional camera. Sometimes a simple digital camera is enough.
3. Write the script or prepare the content. Do a practice run first.
4. Record it.
5. Do some minor editing using free software such as Windows Movie Maker. You will probably need to trim out the end and the beginning, and add a watermark with the URL of your website.

Where You Can Submit Your Video
YouTube – http://www.YouTube.com
Google Video - http://video.google.com/
Yahoo Video - http://video.yahoo.com/
FlickLife - http://www.veoh.com/
Blip - http://blip.tv/
Crackle - http://crackle.com/
Flurl - http://www.flurl.com/
BoFunk - http://www.bofunk.com/
Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/
Flixya - http://www.flixya.com/

A Case Study
In case you are still not 100% convinced that video marketing is an amazing tool to drive massive traffic to your website, listen to this. Last month we recorded four videos for a client and distributed them to the services mentioned above.

We used some tricks, picked the right keywords, and created some backlinks to them. Then we social bookmarked them, submitted their RSSs to some RSS search engines, and we finally pinged all the pages that we created. All this took us 4 hours. In 6 days, our client’s videos had 150,000 views! Do you realize what that means? 150,000 people discovered our client’s company in less than 6 days. He got 1,746 visits and $11,235 in revenues from that campaign. His investment was $215. Are you a video marketing believer now?

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur. The Outsourcing Company, his 6th endeavor, is a creative web design and internet marketing agency with offices in Aspen, CO and New York.

Check out Zeke's blog at www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog.

Learn more about the author, Zeke Camusio.

Comment on this article

Posted by Susan Polano, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | Dec 17, 2008

Zeke, Your article is very interesting and informative, including all the links. I was on the edge of trying something like this for my business and now I know I'll be going for it. Thanks, Susan
Posted by Ken Newman, San Francisco, California | Dec 17, 2008

Great piece, Zeke. Thanks for sharing your insights. I'm already moving in this direction, but will forward your article to others whom I believe need a little 'push.'
Posted by KAMMIE LISENBY, Seattle, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

This is amazing. I can't believe you gave all this information away for free. Where do I even begin... Thank you so much! I have been putting a video together and your article will be my number one resource. -Kammie Lisenby, Personal Organizer
Posted by Pamela Ziemann, Bellevue, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

Thank you Zeke. Love your articles. And remember everyone... the voice is the transmitter of the soul. How you sound reflects your inner landscape. Visualize your client, their needs and the highest good for all before speaking.

Energetic Speaking Coach in Bellevue & Seattle
Posted by Leif Hansen, Seattle, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

Great quick action points Zeke, well done.

My only point of difference would be on the script. Yes, have an outline, but I'd rarely advocate using a word-for-word script -thats anti-web 2.0.

People are looking for realness, authenticity, a 'human' voice. I'd take a 'non-professional sounding' yet authentic podcast over a scripted or overly-produced podcast any day.

And the stats on my old podcasts seem to support that (the shows I tried to 'sound together' sucked, the interview where I bared my soul has had over 50,000 listens in the last two years).

Cheers, Leif

Need help navigating the social media maze?
Posted by Leif Hansen, Seattle, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

Oh, and there is also a way to mass submit your individual video podcasts (not the feed). Its called tubemogul.com.

Enjoy, -Leif

Need help navigating the social media maze?
Posted by Zeke Camusio, Aspen, Colorado | Dec 17, 2008

Thank you all for your great feedback!

Leif, you are right, I am against a word-by-word script. What I meant is that you need to have an outline and think about what you are going to say before recording the final version.

Thank you for the TubeMogul.com link. I actually use a software that was custom developed for our company that submits podcasts and videos to dozens of directories with one click!

Let me know if there is anything I can help with.

Zeke

Visit My Blog!
Posted by Kevin McLallen, Covington, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

Zeke, This is a great article. I think its very informative and helpful. Thank you for sharing
Posted by Bill Doerr, Kensington, Connecticut | Dec 17, 2008

Awesome article, Zeke! Not surprising, but still awesome.

Thank you.

Converting competence into compensation
Posted by Eli Poblitz, Pacifica, California | Dec 17, 2008

Zeke - buddy! Great article. I want to learn these tools so I can offer them as services myself one day! Between virtual tours, pay-per-click campains, blog creation, and audio/video "casts" ... any business of any size can have a voice ...

Keep sharing your insight ... and thanks for sharing! P.S. Still have you in mind for future work ;)
Posted by Genevieve Marie Rose, Bellingham, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

Thanks, Zeke! Wow, what perfect timing I was just thinking I need to learn about podcast, etc. And low and behold I already have the movie maker on my computer. As a total beginner you gave me a great start! Blessings.
Posted by Courtney LeMarco, Seattle, Washington | Dec 17, 2008

This is probably one of the best articles I've seen on this site. Considering that I produce video for web/tv I find it to be very useful. I hope more people catch on to this video revolution.
Posted by Zeke Camusio, Aspen, Colorado | Dec 18, 2008

Wow! I'm blown away by all this great feedback. Thank you! Now I have to keep sharing more great stuff so I don't let you down! ;)

Zeke

Visit My Blog!
Posted by James Goldsmith, Seattle, Washington | Dec 18, 2008

Your last 2 paragraphs say it all! I would use a professional video over doing it yourself. You have the first impression that is so crucial, so get it right the first time around.

Count on me to create a video that captures your essence, because realistically that is your personal niche.
Posted by Conrad Vernon, Seattle, Washington | Dec 18, 2008

Zeke,

The reason I hired you and your company is because of the depth and breadth of information you present in your articles. I'm excited about our future results!
Posted by Kate Phillips, Carnation, Seattle, Washington | Dec 18, 2008

Wow, what fantastic information, Zeke! You have simplified everything and also given solid reasons for doing this, and backed it up with results! You are a valuable resource to this community. Thank-you!

And Leif, thanks for your 2 cents as well.

Kate

"Financial Healing" and Practical Prosperity
Posted by Rivak Hoffman, San Diego, California | Dec 18, 2008

Yes I have been planning on doing this for my web site, however the most inexpensive quote I recieved was $11,500 for 4 hours of videography with editing. Needless to say very cost prohibitive if you want high quality to put on a good web site. I'm still saving my nickels and dimes.
Posted by Leif Hansen, Seattle, Washington | Dec 18, 2008

Rivak. A couple of things: 1. As mentioned earlier, 'high quality production' is not as important as 'good/relevant/authentic content'. 2. In that sense, you can do a lot even on your own with a digital camera, a flip (they even make an HD version now for 200+ dollars) and simple editing tools. 3. Depending on what you were asking, there are many of us who would happily outbid that.

Cheers, Leif

Need help navigating the social media maze?
Posted by Zeke Camusio, Aspen, Colorado | Dec 18, 2008

Rivak,

Leif is right. Several members in this community could offer you a much better quote.

In fact, I will contact you in five minutes with a quote and I encourage other members to do the same to give Rivak some options. This way he can make a smart decision.

Zeke

Visit My Blog!
Posted by Stacy Karacostas, Seattle, Washington | Dec 18, 2008

Hi Zeke, Thanks for sharing all the killer links. I've been doing both video and audio podcasts to market my business for a while now, and have been thrilled with the results! But, it's hard to keep up with all the latest and greatest so I've added a few of your suggestions to my own list of marketing to-do's.

And here are a couple more tips and ideas to make getting audios and videos done and published online a snap...

I've been using www.utterli.com for podcasts for a few months and love it! You record your audio over the phone and it automatically posts it to your blog and anywhere else you've installed their little widget. You can upload text and videos using this free service too.

The other tool I've come to love, which someone mentioned here but didn't go into much detail on, is the Flip video camera. Before buying one (for only $129!) I'd spent literally hours trying to edit and format a video I'd shot on my mini-dv camcorder. Arrrgh!

So I bit the bullet and bought a Flip. The sound and video quality is great for the Web, and best of all, it comes with built-in editing software and will automatically format and upload your video to a variety of sites with the push of a button. Love it!!

Stacy

Grab my FREE REPORT on the 7 Deadliest Marketing Sins
Posted by Mark Selmi, Beverly Hills, California | Dec 18, 2008

Great article Zeke - You captured the essence perfectly.

Online video is the one technology/marketing format that appears to be particularly well-suited to the future market trends for both business and consumers needs - It's what consumer's want.

With the dramatic declines during the last 2 years in advertising and subscriber base for print, radio and broadcast TV, consumers have shown a consistent, dramatic shift in preferences for media content delivery.

Online video and SEO optimization are the only advertising formats with current positive sales growth. Consumers today go online for everything and they want portability, ease of use and an interactive, informative experience without having to read endless pages of text.

A 3 minute video can deliver the equivalent of 30 pages of text with 3 times the comprehension levels and compared to print and broadcast content - it's cheap, portable, adaptive and permanent advertising that is not restricted to a short run or ad buy. It has all of the branding power of a TV commercial at a tiny fraction of the cost.

Online video today is where early TV was when radio had dominated for so long. It will be the future in communicating with consumers in a portable format that meets their lifestyle. Already you are beginning to see web sites that are nearly entirely video-based. Smart early adopters as usual, will have an advantage while the competition is slow to recognize the uncomfortable need to change and adapt.

Thanks again for the great reminder Zeke of where the market is headed.

Mark
Avanti Films www.avantivisuals.com
Posted by Diana Bartolotta, Middletown, Connecticut | Dec 18, 2008

Great article! Thank you for sharing!
Posted by Gretchen Stewart, Bellevue, Washington | Dec 18, 2008

Outstanding information. Master Builders Association will turn 100 years old in '09. This would hit the mark with messaging our century of serving community.

Thank you.
Posted by Jennifer Malocha, Bellevue, Washington | Dec 19, 2008

HI Zeke - I loved the article. I just started doing podcast interviews for my site with my eye firmly set on video next.

Before reading your article I had heard that the Flip video camera was a great low cost user friendly option for video now after reading the positive comments here I am sold.

I really liked the links that you put in the article so we can easily get set up editing and upload our podcasts. What a time saver that is!

If I or any of us readers are interested in gaining similar results as your client what would you recommend as our first step?

Jennifer www.wuhoofitness.com
Posted by Conrad Vernon, Seattle, Washington | Dec 19, 2008

Zeke,

I think you're great. But, all of the comments are filling up my inbox. The only way to uncheck the box is to leave a comment. Please email me regarding staus on our project. -Conrad
Posted by Soleil Hepner, Seattle / Mercer Island, Washington | Dec 19, 2008

Thank you, Thank you! I have now created - and with your help - edited, uploaded (and soon will push) my new audiocasts - now up on my new Stress To Success blog! (www.stresstosuccess.wordpress.com)

I've been hemming & hawing, you made this very easy.
Posted by Doug Kessler, London United Kingdom | Dec 19, 2008

Great stuff. We're producing more and more video for our (B2B Tech) clients.

The video-sharing links are particularly helpful. Thanks
Posted by Zeke Camusio, Aspen, Colorado | Dec 19, 2008

No problem, let me know if you have questions or I can help in any way.

Zeke

Visit My Blog!
Posted by Chrystal Bougon, San Jose, California | Dec 20, 2008

Thank you. You rock. I just bought the Flip HD Mino to start doing some video product presentations. I plan to spend time over Christmas break to start posting them on You Tube. I appreciate the tips and the podcast info, too.

How can we help you? I am going to put the link to this article on Twitter. Is there anything else we can all do to help you out?

Chrystal

Chrystal, www.BlissConnection.com
Posted by Natasha Cottingham, Seattle, Washington | Dec 20, 2008

This is a fabulous article-thanks so much. I am going to do a video of my work. I think this will be very useful for bodyworkers! Thanks a lot!
Posted by Derek Klein, Seattle, Washington | Dec 20, 2008

I wonder if it may be worth you saying something in your video articles that hints towards the fact that the more professional their video looks, the more professional they look. I think is a common misconception when professionals submit profile videos that may misrepresent themselves and their services due to the lack of professionalism portrayed in the production of the video. Other than that, very informative!
Posted by Sue Oliver, Seattle, Washington | Dec 24, 2008

AWESOME and just what I needed right now. You saved me tons of searches (which I've already tried). Have you considered being a consultant in this regard? Heck I'd pay ya to help me create a great podcast and video. Thanks and happy holidays.

Release Your Passions and Possibilities (sm)!
Posted by Zeke Camusio, Aspen, Colorado | Dec 24, 2008

Hi Sue,

Actually this is what I do for a living, so I'd be happy to help you.

My company is called The Outsourcing Company and its website is www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com.

Happy Holidays to you too.

Zeke

Visit My Blog!
Posted by Sue Lundquist, Woodinville, Washington | Jan 23, 2009

Zeke,

Great gifts here, THANK YOU!