Email Broadcast is a full-service email marketing agency located in Seattle, Washington that creates world-class email marketing campaigns for a small but distinguished group of client’s that believe email marketing is of strategic importance.

Why did you decide to use video on your website?
People love stories, and video allows you to quickly tell your story without asking people to read pages of text. With our TurnHere video we get our unique selling proposition across in 90 seconds instead of hoping people page through our website. It also allows us to convey a texture and tone that is difficult to communicate with mere text. Our bold email marketing agency has a goal to serve 100 great clients so it’s important for prospective clients to easily learn what we’re about – and what we’re not. We wanted to communicate that our campaigns are hand-crafted, strategic works of art that SELL; not bland, clip-art, run-of-the-mill junk you see in your inbox every day.

Tell us more about the TurnHere experience?
I attended a workshop from a local animation firm (Lilipip) who educated me on the value of video. Intuitively, I knew we needed it, but when I heard some of the stats on how effective video is, it forced me to act. They actually recommended TurnHere as alternative because of the great production value, and smaller investment (than using animation). I found the TurnHere team to be very professional, and was impressed by the process which had obviously been honed over time. The camera guy that came out was a total pro which gave me a lot of confidence. The editing changes were fairly prompt and they made all of my edits the first time without missing any which is important in reducing the cycles. I felt like I had plenty of time to work with them to get the video that was exactly what I was looking for. The only item they can improve on is allowing you to hear the different musical styles instead of relying on a two word description, but they also listened to my input on this and apparently it’s in the works – which is the hallmark of a smart firm.

How are you specifically using video as an email marketing firm?
In addition to us featuring a video overview on our home page, we are using video inside of our email and we are seeing huge results. Just like anything else, you don’t want to over do it, but when a message REALLY needs to deliver results video is a fantastic addition. We’ve seen large increases in open rates and clickthroughs when a video is featured. A key to increasing the open rate is to mention the video in the subject line. We did our own email lately with the subject line “First Name – Quick Video, Don’t Let This Happen To You” and a simple video still image in the email. It had a 29% open rate which was a little higher than normal, but a 17% click through rate which was WAY higher than normal even through there was only one thing to click on. We got a lot of feedback on the video as well – so our audience “engagement” went way up. We’re starting to include video for our clients as well including an upcoming “Ugly Sofa Contest” video idea we hatched for our furniture client Ivan Smith Furniture.

Curious about the profanity laced video we did? Here was the landing page: http://www.emailbroadcast.com/video/hurricane.html

Are you currently advertising online? If so, do you use video on the landing page?
Since we are a small shop, we aren’t currently advertising online because I’m not sure we could handle lots of additional new clients. We’re growing organically from word of mouth, and from some internal sales efforts and that is keeping us very busy. We grew over 100% last year without any advertising. It is something we are looking at however as we have staffed up to meet demand. One item on our plate is that we are going to use TurnHere to shoot a video at one of our Canadian clients who’s testimonial we want to feature on a landing page built specifically for their Medical Spa industry. Even though it’s in Canada, and several hours away from us, I know I can ask TurnHere to handle the production. Once that video is complete, we’re considering starting a very targeted AdWords campaign for the MediSpa vertical.  Also, we have spent some significant time on SEO and our traffic is picking up on our website, where we do feature our video front and center. Of course we also use the video on our other sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Biznik, and our YouTube Channel.

We think you did a great job on your video. What are some tips you can give other TurnHere customers?
I spent some time thinking about my video before the filmmaker arrived. I’m a photographer, so I had a list of what I thought might be interesting shots to include, and I even fooled around with a story board (with stick figures). I also spent some time thinking about the message I wanted to convey, answering questions like “What is UNIQUE about Email Broadcast that we need to communicate?” I wanted to answer the “So what?” question so people got a clear idea of our differentiation. When the filmmaker arrived I sat down for 5 minutes to give him an overview of what I was looking for. I know that he had looked at our website before arriving, but I didn’t want to count on that to convey our message. I felt like the filmmaker and I collaborated to make a great video and I didn’t just rely on him to figure out what our company was about. The “preparation” email I got from TurnHere was very useful in this preparation.

Any email marketing tips for small businesses?
My best email marketing tip? Why settle for one when we offer our Top 5 Tips as a reward for signing up for ROCK THE INBOX where we share other marketing secrets once a month? Putting aside the self promotion for a minute however, it’s important that small business using email marketing answer this one important question – Is our email marketing remarkable? Is it something so good that it will get passed around the office? Is it visually beautiful? Does it have a clear call to action? Do people look forward to getting it? Does it look great in the preview pane, without images loaded in all the major email clients? Sorry, you only asked for one tip, but we’re fanatics about doing email marketing right.

We at TurnHere have created a lot of videos for a lot of businesses and some of our favorite have been restaurant videos. There’s no better medium that can capture the sizzle of a freshly prepared steak or the enthusiasm of a chef as he/she prepares the special of the day. Here we talk about some of the Do’s and Don’ts of restaurant videos. If you’re a restaurant that is considering a TurnHere video, we hope this will help you prepare for your shoot.

DO:

• Food shots are always key especially close-ups of plated dishes.
• In the interview section, reference specialty dishes or the most popular menu items and be sure to have shots of them being prepared or served.
• Talk to your audience. If you mainly have families as your customers then talk about how your restaurant is kid-friendly.
• Show the cooking process. For example, food being prepped, chopping, flames from the stove and food sizzling in a pan. Nothing gets a customer more hungry than these shots.
• Always show the business in action – customers’ at their table, chef’s cooking, bartenders bar tending, etc.
• Include customer testimonials. Have one of your regulars talk about their favorite dish and how often they visit your restaurant.
• Show decor, awards and signage.

DON’T:

• Avoid shots of empty dining areas. You should consider booking a shoot during your semi busy hours.
• Avoid shots of people eating. Unless you’re a model eating a Carl’s Jr. burger, you probably aren’t looking your best when your chowing down some food.

Here are some restaurant videos to give you a sense of what we’re talking about:

Our choice for this week’s video of the week goes to Gymboree Play & Music Center. Having a 2-year old son myself, I love this video because I get to meet the staff, see the activities and best of all see all the little happy faces. It’s great to see such a friendly staff that seems to understand how to properly develop a child’s cognitive and social skills. Great work guys!

Footnote: YouTube for some reason is suggesting a Russell Peters video. Being a fan I had to watch his video as well.

Here are four places that we recommend you provide a link to your video:

There’s no better way to introduce your business than with a video. It gives you the opportunity to show your personality, highlight what makes your business unique and help potential customers understand what it is that makes your business great. It’s the next best thing to having the customer actually walk through the front door.

Once you have this wonderful video in your hands, you’re left to wonder what in the world do I do with it? We at TurnHere help you create this wonderful video and also distribute it to YouTube, Facebook, Google and the other popular sites. We also make it easy for you to put your video on your website. Even with all that, there are some other places that you should definitely give your video some love and may have overlooked.

Here are four places that we recommend you provide a link to your video:

1. Email Signature

Even with the advent of social media, email is still the number one way we all communicate. As a business owner, you probably send hundreds if not thousands of emails a day to potential and existing customers, so it’s the perfect place to get your video and business in front of relevant eye balls. Just think of all the customer service emails you send out a day and what a video can do to show the face behind the name. A simple link to your video can have a huge impact on whether or not you close the deal. As an example, here’s what I use on my email signature:

Steve Young
steve.young@turnhere.com

Get a Video for Your Business Today at http://www.turnhere.com

2. LinkedIn Profile

Social media sites are quickly dominating the first page of Google search results. Just see how many social media sites show up when you search for “turnhere” or “steve p young” – that’s me by the way. I put the “p” in there to distinguish myself from the quarterback, but you can leave it out if you feel better knowing that a Hall of Fame football player wrote this blog. Funny how the only “correct” search result for my name is my LinkedIn profile, which brings me to my next point.

LinkedIn allows you to put three links on your profile and one of them should be a link to your video. You can also customize the text of the link, so you might consider putting a call to action. For example, “Watch a video to learn more.” There are character limitations so you’ll have to be more clever about the text than I was.

3. Twitter Profile

Twitter connects you to your customers right now, in a way that was never before possible. The conversational nature lets you build relationships with customers, partners and other people important to your business. That’s why it’s the perfect place to put a link to your video – the perfect medium to introduce and connect with your customers. On your Twitter profile you can put a link to any URL, so make sure that URL has your video on it.

4. Your Blog

If you haven’t started a blog, then what are you waiting for? It’s easy to set up and doesn’t cost a thing. SEOmoz has a great blog post on 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic. See they’re already increasing traffic to their blog just by creating fantastic content.

Most blogging software allows you to customize the content of the right or left column – the part of the blog that is usually static. Think the right side of your Twitter profile. Embed your video in this section and introduce your business to all the new visitors that will be coming to your blog.

[Image courtesy of flickr user ulldepeix.]

We want to dedicate our video of the week to the fine folks in the state of Ohio. We realize you just lost LeBron James, one of the biggest sports stars in history, and wanted to provide a place for you to relax over the weekend. Check out this fantastic video we did for Nail Addiction where you can an hour long, full-body massage for just $45. We know it won’t fully make up for your lost, but we hope it helps.

Nothing like a little BBQ to start the Fourth of July weekend. Check out one of our favorite videos that really shows how video can entice even a full belly. I love ribs and this video has me wanting some ribs right now. See for yourself.

Here are some reviews for Brock’s Smoke Hut from TripAdvisor:

AWESOME!!!!!!
I have been eating at Brocks for a couple of years now, and it is by far the best BBQ I have ever eaten! From the ribs to the chicken, you won’t find better ANY where else!

Great whole bbq chicken ever!
Brocks makes the best bbq whole chicken we have ever eaten! They only make them to be ready after 4pm and they go fast! The best way to is call and order one. They are plump, juicy and YUMMO!! The leftovers (if you have any) make a great sandwich the next day!

If you’re in the central Florida area, you should check out Brock’s Smoke Hut.

We all know the popularity of YouTube, but did you know that it is the #2 search engine on the web? That’s right it’s ahead of Yahoo and Bing. YouTube is quickly becoming a place where users go to get information on different products and services.

For example, Blendtec has cleverly used YouTube to produce a series of videos called “Will it Blend” where Tom Dickson, the Blendtec founder, tries to blend different objects including the new iPhone 4 to show off the power of his blender. What can we learn from Blendtec? For small businesses it’s important to have high-quality video production combined with information-rich content. Throw in a little creative humor and you have a winning combination. Here are some useful YouTube tips to maximize your exposure.

1. Don’t Forget “Video” in Your Title

Similar to the the early days of Google where the title of a web page was an important factor  in how well the page ranked, the title of your video is the most important piece of information that you can provide to YouTube. Make sure your title contains all the relevant keywords to your business and don’t forget to use the word “video” when appropriate. Considering that most searchers include the word “video” when searching for a video, this inclusion can boost the relevance of your page.

2. Provide Links in Your Description

Write a unique, keyword-rich description that includes a URL to your business. Make sure to put the URL towards the beginning of the description, so users will still be able to see the link even if the description information is collapsed.

3. Tag Your Video with Keywords

As with many other sites, YouTube’s content is organized on a tag word basis. Along with the title and the description, tags help YouTube identify the substance of your video. The beauty of a tag word system is that the more tags you use the better. By using relevant keywords in your tags, you’ll be maximizing the possibility that your video shows up on a related search. However, you want to use tags responsibly and only use keywords that are relevant to your video otherwise you may leave your viewers a bit agitated.

4. Add Subtitles & Annotations

Adding captions to your video allows for the hundreds of millions of hearing impaired around the word to enjoy your content. With YouTube’s auto-captioning feature, there’s no reason not to do it. Plus, you can re-purpose the transcript and video on your homepage making your website very SEO-friendly. Annotations are a great way to get a user’s attention, but you want to be careful to not overuse them because they can be quite distracting. Currently, only links to other YouTube pages are clickable, however, you can place a call to action that points to the URL you included in your description. For example, “save 10% off your next oil change by visiting our site below.”

5. Get Free Insight

For every video you upload, YouTube offers free analytics data via the “Insight” feature where you can see statistics on views, demographics, community and subscribers. Most importantly, there’s “discovery” data that shows you how people are finding your videos, including the links they followed to get there. In addition, you can see how many views you are getting through the YouTube player page, embed player and mobile devices.

According to TubeMogul, Nike’s “Write the Future” commercial was the most watched non-music video of May. With the World Cup starting today, the fever sure is on.

Small Businesses Use Custom Videos to Enhance Yelp Business Profile Pages

Emeryville, CA.— June 7, 2010 – TurnHere, the leader in local online video, today announced its selection as the exclusive provider of video creation services for Yelp, the community-led local search site. TurnHere, through its network of over 8,000 professional filmmakers, is providing local video production for businesses that advertise on Yelp, as well as a slate of video-related services, including expanded distribution of their video across the Web.

“TurnHere helps Yelp advertisers by engaging potential customers with video in a way that helps them stand out from the competition, showcase their business in a positive light, and create more business from their Yelp listing,” said John McWeeny, COO of TurnHere. “Video has proven to increase the number of clicks, calls and leads from online business listings and we’re excited to work with Yelp to bring video that works to small businesses everywhere.”

With Yelp’s local presence and TurnHere’s video capability, more small businesses than ever before now have access to low cost, high quality online video. TurnHere enables Yelp to provide their advertisers with two compelling video options (watch sample videos here):

• Premium Video:  Advertisers receive a 30-60 second custom video shot at their place of business by a professional filmmaker from the TurnHere network.
• Standard Video: Advertisers receive a 30 second video slideshow made from a series of photos provided by the business with music and custom voiceover narration.

TurnHere provides professional editing of each video and advertisers are able to approve their video prior to it being displayed on their Yelp business profile page. Additionally, advertisers can choose to increase the visibility of their video through TurnHere’s premium video promotion package which includes distribution to YouTube, Google Places, Facebook, Yahoo! video and more.

Online Video Advertising Moving Local

Increasingly, small business owners are turning to online video because it is a compelling way to tell a business story while reaching local customers. Local information is the focus of about one in five Google searches* and 66.7% of US Internet users, or 147.5 million people, are watching online videos each month**.  BIA/Kelsey reports that of Internet users who view a video ad online 52% visit the company website, 26% visit a store and 21% made a purchase***.  And by 2014, online video advertising spending will surge from $1.4B to $5.2B.**

Update: Here is a link to Yelp’s blog on the topic including the video they are featuring on their blog:

*eMarketer, April 2010
** Google, April 2010
*** BIA/Kelsey User View Study, February 2010

We’re starting a new segment here on the TurnHere blog. Every Friday we will be posting a video of the week or what we’re calling “VOW”. Here’s one that I really like. It shows you the real power of video when selling your product. Something a photo or text would not do justice. I love this video even more since I have a 2-year old son and my wife and I are starting the potty training process.

Click here if you’re interested in getting one even if it’s for yourself.