Successful online marketing requires that you keep your marketing and website fresh. One of the best ways to do this is with new and innovative, and interactive, marketing techniques.  Currently, one of the growing mediums is the use of video to interact with and engage potential clients.  Here are 5 great ideas to use this fantastic medium.

1. Give away free video tutorials

What’s better than visiting a website that can show you how to do something useful?  For example, imagine that you have a website that sells mediation supplies. Cushions, altars, music, books etc…one great marketing video idea is to provide your website visitors with a quick video demonstrating how to use a product you sell on your website.  Even better would be to create a video that demonstrates a popular meditation technique.

Another example might be a website that sells information about pet training.  The video could be an image of an expert using a superior training technique to train their dog or bird an interesting or useful trick.  For example, teaching a dog to sit might be useful but demonstrating how to teach your dog to grab a beer from the refrigerator might me more interesting and exciting.  It all depends on your target market and their needs.

2. Video testimonials on your website.

Credibility is extremely important to a business.  If you’re considered an expert in your field, product or service, you don’t have to seek customers, they seek you.  Credibility can be enhanced by a variety of tools including but not limited to testimonials.

Let me just ask you this question, which would you spend $500 on, a product you thought was a good product or a product you knew was a good product because relevant and quality testimonials, success stories, and endorsements were available for you to review?  Personally, I’m much more likely to spend my money on a product with evidence to back it up.  Video is a useful tool to provide this credibility.

For example, you can ask customers to send in video testimonials, create a contest out of it to make it more fun.  Now it’s both a marketing campaign and an excellent credibility tool.  You can also take the time to visit some of your biggest fans and record testimonials.  Case studies and success stories are extremely motivational. They enable your prospective customer to not only see how successful they can be but to also connect with your customer on a personal level.  Speaking of connecting with your customer on a personal level, let’s move to the next great way to use video.

3.  Video welcome message.

Many businesses are enhanced by connecting on a personal level with your customer.  For example, if you’re selling a consulting service, a coaching service, or any type of product or service that helps people improve their personal lives, it can be extremely beneficial to share some of yourself  with them.  An easy way to do this is to connect with them via a video welcome          message.

It doesn’t have to be long, just a 60 second spot where you’re sincerely welcoming them to your site and inviting them to take the steps they need to improve their lives.  It provides reassurance that you’re a real and genuine person and encourages them to take the next step whether that is to make a purchase, make an appointment or simply to inquire and ask for more information.

4. Interview an expert.
    
Interviewing an expert is an excellent tool to draw traffic to your website.  You can offer the interview as a free giveaway in exchange for their email address. You can promote the interview as a limited time offer when they make a purchase.  You can simply use the interview with an expert as a way to improve your company’s credibility.  There are many, many uses for a video interview with an expert.  You can even use a portion of it to create a video advertisement.

5. Create an advertisement.
    
Advertising is a great way to market your business and video makes it easy.  You can create an ad and post it on YouTube.  You can also create a You Tube video and embed it on your site or pay others to post it on their site.  When creating a video advertisement, there are a few things that sell well.  They are:

· Humor.
· Talent
· Celebrities
· Special effects
· Animal/pet tricks
· Cute kids
· Spoofs

The key to any advertisement is to make sure it is both memorable, unique, and that it communicates the benefits of your product.  A good video advertisement will be forwarded and shared amongst fans thus generating a viral effect.

Videos must be quality or they will hurt your image rather than enhance it.  There are numerous tools available on the web to create quality videos.  YouTube is one of the most commonly used.  This is because it is fairly simple to use.

The steps to create a YouTube video are:

To first make your video.  In order for your video to be viewable via YouTube, it video has to be taken with a digital device like a digital camcorder, a digital camera, or a cell phone.  I’ve taken movies of my dog with my cell phone and depending on your cell phone’s camera, they can be very good quality.

To upload it from a digital camera or camcorder, it is important to know that any video uploaded into YouTube must be less than 10 minutes long, smaller than 100MB, and in an acceptable format, .AVI, .MOV, .WMV, and .MPG file formats.

Once you have your video in the right format, simply get online and go to the YouTube site.  Click “Upload Videos” in the upper-right-hand corner of the page and enter the video’s title, description, tags, and category to make it easy for people to find your video, and forward to others.  Set your video to Public Click the “Upload a Video” button and then select the file you want to upload by clicking the “Browse” button.

That’s it. You have now created a highly interactive and viral marketing tool that you can use to build your business.

Business, great, Ideas, Market, Video

Who doesn’t love chocolate?! The rich sweet taste appeals to everyone from little kids to their great grandmothers.  So if you’re looking for that special ingredient to add something extra to your next party, why not choose chocolate?  You can make it your entire party theme or just the crowning touch to your celebration.  Here are seven ways you can use chocolate to elevate your party to the next level.

1. Chocolate invitations.  Set the tone for your party by choosing invitations with a rich chocolate brown color scheme.  It’s become a trendy color in the past few years, so the invitations shouldn’t be difficult to find.  Add a drop of chocolate fragrance oil, chocolate scented perfume or even chocolate scratch and sniff stickers to the back of the envelope before mailing.

2. Chocolate atmosphere.  Just about any candle shop will carry scented chocolate candles.  Scatter small lit chocolate candles around the party for an inviting scent.  Decorate with chocolate brown balloons.  You can use other balloon colors to accent the brown, such as silver, gold and red.  If you want to take it a step further, you can have napkins, plates and tablecloths in the same or coordinating color.  Using your digital camera on macro mode, take super close up photos of candy bar wrappers or the inside of a box of chocolates.  Make poster size enlargements of your candy pictures and display them at the party.

3. Chocolate fountain.  This makes an elegant centerpiece and is a lot of fun.  Although a word of warning, it also very messy.  You can buy small chocolate fountains for a reasonable price and rent larger ones.  For a cheaper alternative, consider a chocolate fondue pot.  You can still dip pieces of fruit, cake, marshmallows, graham crackers and pretzels into the mixture.  But since the fondue tends to be a bit thicker in consistency than the fountain chocolate, there is also less mess potential.

4. Chocolate games.  If you’re having an entire chocolate theme party, you might want to also include some games.  Hide gourmet wrapped truffles for a sort of Easter egg hunt.  You could fill a jar with M&Ms and have everyone guess how many candies it contains.   The person that comes the closest can take home the entire jar as a prize.  Play chocolate trivia by researching chocolate facts online.  Use wrapped chocolates as game pieces for bingo or other games.

5. Chocolate tasting.  You could build a whole party around this.  Invite your guests to taste and rate a variety of chocolates.  Break apart each bar of chocolate and display on individual plates. Make sure you label each chocolate plate with the name of the chocolate, country of origin, and anything else interesting about it.  This way, your guests can distinguish between the samples, when they mark the cards you printed for their ratings.  Don’t forget to offer breadsticks and crackers to cleanse the palate between tastings.

6. Unique chocolate menu items.  Instead of just the usual chocolate cake, how about chocolate croissants?  Replace standard brownies with chocolate raspberry cookie bars.   You can serve chocolate covered potato chips, white chocolate covered popcorn and chocolate dipped orange peel. Believe it or not, chocolate covered bacon is actually for sale.  You don’t have to go that far, but it certainly would be a conversation starter!

7. Chocolate favors.  Whether you have a chocolate theme party or a regular traditional event, you can’t go wrong if you send your guests home with chocolate party favors.  Personalized chocolate bars are popular.  The candy bar wrappers are imprinted with your message and sometimes even a photo.  You can also find little mint size tins filled with gourmet chocolates with the top cover displaying a personalized design customized for the occasion.  Your chocolate party favors don’t have to be limited to the edible variety.  You can also give away chocolate scented candles, lip balm and bath beads.  Or how about a funny T-shirt or magnet with a quote about chocolate?

So, the next time you plan a party, think chocolate.  Whether you add just a little sweet touch to your celebration by giving your guests chocolate party favors, or pull out all the stops and throw a big chocolate theme party, your guests will be delighted.

Celebration, Chocolate, Ideas, Party, Sweeten, Ways

Your baby’s baptism is a special and spirtual event meant to be shared with family and friends.  Whether you’re planning a small get together at your home after the church service or an elaborate reception to celebrate, you’ll want to commemorate this important day.  Here are some easy ideas you can use to personalize your baby’s christening with photos.

1. Photo baptism invitations are a wonderful way to set the stage for your baby’s special day.  You can include one or more photos of your precious little angel, plus information on the church service and a request to share the celebration after the ceremony.  It’s a great way to introduce your little one to those who may never have met him in person. These photo christening invitations will stand out and get your invitation noticed.

2. Photo baptism bookmarks can be given either to each person who attends your baby’s christening service at the church, or just to family and friends who celebrate with you later.  But either way, they’re unique keepsakes.   There’s room for your baby’s photo and a personalized message.  You can even add a favorite Bible verse.  They’re especially appropriate for the occasion, because they can hold a place in the Bibles of your guests as a constant reminder of your baby’s christening. 

3. Photo baptism favors are available in a variety of products.  Photo magnets are a popular choice, because it is inevitable that they will end up prominently displayed on your guest’s refrigerators.   There are photo candles, coasters, keyrings and mirrors, just to name a few. 

Sweet treats are another good choice for photo christening favors.  You can make your own photo candy bar wrappers, download free templates from the internet or have them made for you.  These wrappers replace the brand name ones on standard chocolate bars.  Or for something even more unusual,  you can order photo chocolate lollipop favors, which contain your baby’s photo and personalization.  The photo is actually printed right onto the chocolate itself using safe, tasteless food dyes. 

4. Photo baptism centerpieces are easy to make.  Place teddy bears on your table and have each of them hold a small framed photo of your baby.  To take it a step further, you can find angel bears on the internet or pick up a pair of teddy bear wings and accessories at your local Build-A-Bear.

Another idea is to use flower pots spray painted a pastel color. Fill with styrofoam.  Take heavy gauge craft wire, cut to different lengths, coil, and then flatten the coil.  Stick the uncoiled ends into the styrofoam, and slip photos of your baby into the the flattened coils. 

5. A photo baptism memory book is one of the nicest gifts you can give to your baby as a tribute to the occasion.  Because he is too young to remember this day, you can document it for him.  Take lots of photos of your baby and your guests.  Don’t forget to take snapshots of the outside of the church, as well as the party decorations at the reception.  Include the photo invitations and a photo favor.  Have each of the guests write a comment on a page that you slip into the memory book.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much effort to personalize your baby’s baptism with photos. You can be sure your guests will appreciate and admire the pictures of your baby as they join in this joyful celebration.  After all, it’s all about your little one and his christening day.

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Photo gifts offer a truly unique and great looking way to commemorate or celebrate special occasions. Whether you’re celebrating the arrival of a newborn son or daughter, or your fifth wedding anniversary looms, there are photo gifts that can be customised to meet your needs by displaying a photograph or image of your choice. The possibilities are virtually limitless because of this level of personalisation.

Newborn Baby Blanket

Baby blankets are a traditional newborn baby gift and by adding a photo of the new arrival you can give a blanket that will become a keepsake or memento as much as it will a comfortable blanket. By having a montage created of the best baby photos you have, you can even create a modern and customised take on a patchwork quilt.

Anniversary Photo Montage

A photo montage can be used on many items to help celebrate special occasions. Anniversaries celebrate a number of years together and, as such, anniversary gifts are the perfect opportunity to use a montage of many different photographs. This can then be printed on to high quality woven canvas prints or onto many other different items.

Customised Wallpaper

For a fun and incredibly unique gift idea, you need look no further than customised wallpaper. You can either add a photograph or any other high resolution digital image to assist in making a feature wall or decorating an entire room. Not only is customised photo wallpaper an unusual gift idea but it allows you to really let your imagination go and create a room in your home that is exactly what you want.

Wedding Photo Albums

The wedding photo album is one of the most important documented albums in a couple’s life and it will undoubtedly see a lot of thumbing throughout its own life. Photo albums and photo books can be used to update existing albums or they can be used to help store new memories from your wedding day or the big day of another happy couple.

This Is Your Life Photo Books

Photo books can be customised to include many images printed directly onto the page and the cover can be customised too. A This is your Life book takes its lead from the television classic of the same name and makes a great birthday gift; it can also be used as a tailored leaving gift. As with all photo gifts, the uses of the photo book are only governed by what you choose to do with them. They can even be used as a model or designer portfolio.

Personalised Calendars

Personalised photo calendars include 13 images (one for the cover and one each for the twelve months of the year). You can choose the sequence of the photographs and even the start and end month while also adding your own captions to each of the pages. Perfect for anniversaries, Christmas gifts, or birthday gifts, you don’t have to include photographs and you can use images or pictures of any relevant item, person, place or any other subject.

Gift, Ideas, Photo