MAKING BEAT SOFTWARE

In November 2009, YouTube, the world's most popular online video community, had the second most Internet searches. It only trailed its parent company, Google, and beat out Yahoo and Bing.

For August 2009, comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, released data showing that 161 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month, the largest audience ever recorded. Online video reached another all-time high in August with more than 25 billion videos viewed during the month, with Google Sites accounting for more than 10 billion.

Some other interesting facts are that 81.6% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video. The average online video viewer watched 582 minutes of video or 9.7 hours. The duration of the average online video was 3.7 minutes.

Now that you read some of the facts about online video, do you think your business should be using video to market your products or services? I definitely think so.

Using video can allow you to stand out from your competition, especially if they are not using video yet. If you include video of yourself or your staff, people can get to know you and hopefully like and trust you. People like to do business with people that they know and trust. Your videos can speed up that process.

There are several different ways to create videos. The first one is obviously with a video camera. The video camera you use doesn't need to be very expensive either. You can create videos using the Flip Mino or the Kodak Zi8 camcorders for under 0.

The second way to create videos is to use Windows Movie Maker to take still pictures and turn them into a video. The software is free for PC users.

The third way is to create screen captures of your computer to make a movie of a power point presentation or a software demonstration. You will need a program to do this. You can use some free software such as CamStudio or Screen Toaster. You can also use paid software. I highly recommend Techsmith's Camtasia Studio.

Before jumping in to make your first video, I want to give you a couple tips. First and foremost, don't try to sell your product or service in your videos. You are not creating a commercial. Focus on providing valuable information to your current or potential customers. You can create How To videos or record a presentation or talk that you are giving. Remember, educate and inform, not sell.

Keep your video short and to the point. Try your best to keep them between 1 1/2 - 3 minutes long.

Don't worry about making your first couple of videos perfect. As Nike says, Just Do It. Get a couple of videos under your belt and listen to feedback to see how you can improve them.