YouTube recently introduced new features that give generations of video content creators new ways to connect with billions of viewers every day. The first is YouTube Direct, an open-source tool that lets users embed the upload functionality of YouTube directly into their own sites. YouTube Direct is designed to bridge closer connections between individual users and news, media, and business organizations. Image via Now Public “Almost any event that takes place today has a chance of being captured on camera,” a statement reads on the Google blog. “As YouTube has become a global platform for sharing the news, media organizations have been looking for a good way to connect directly with citizen reporters on our site….” That’s why YouTube direct lets users upload videos directly into the application, such that others can request, review, verify, and rebroadcast their clips. Of course, these videos stay live on YouTube, so that users can reach other viewers while getting a chance for broader – Read the full article
YouTube as a free hosting site offers a wide array of handy tools for marketing Internet video content. What YouTube also offers is a quick route to Page 1 placement in the Google search engine rankings. The following article explores the six essentials ways to use YouTube’s features to benefit your Internet marketing and search engine ranking efforts. 1. Put Keywords and Phrases In To Your Video Titles & Tags The titles and tags on your video are perhaps the most influential pieces of information for search engines. Search engines frequently use titles and tags to find videos and bring up videos of a similar nature. By optimizing these fields and filling them in with appropriate keywords and phrases relevant to your brand, business, or niche you can help Google pick up your Internet video content in its regular search results. 2. Use Your Video Description Field To Your Advantage Descriptions are there to give information about your video. Use – Read the full article
One of the most exciting milestones that can be achieved by any business owner or retailer is a product or service launch. It marks the fruit of all the hard work that had been done. A launch, however, can also be one of the most terrifying, stressful, and expensive projects that you, as a business owner, will ever have to take on. So why not do it via social media? Traditionally, product launches feature a mix of advertising and PR efforts, pushed by a huge corporate event, media banquet, or some kind of conference. Yes, these still work. But what if you ran a business that was Internet-based? What if a great deal of Internet usage is critical in your day-to-day operations? What if you want to test the waters of Web 2.0 and use social media as your platform for launching a product or service? Don’t think it’s not possible. While many perceive social media as something that only – Read the full article
Open source content management systems offer a variety of benefits that proprietary CMS fail to deliver. Lower costs, more flexibility and control over your website, community support and other advantages make WordPress a better platform for hosting a website than a proprietary CMS. No Licensing Fees Because the content and design is not proprietary, initial fees when building a website on WordPress are minimal. Downloading and upgrading the software is free, and although some plugins and add-ons cost extra, these fees are generally relatively small. With proprietary CMS websites, there are typically only a few extensions that come standard and adding additional extensions can often involve high licensing and customization costs. Although there may be development costs associated with adding non-standard WordPress capabilities that aren’t available through plugins, these costs are probably much less than what you would pay for a proprietary CMS to develop the same capabilities, and offer the additional benefit of freedom to choose any developer to – Read the full article
Video sharing website YouTube recently marked its fifth anniversary, and all signs point toward even bigger growth – and more video content being uploaded, broadcasted, and shared through the website. According to the recent release of statistics, YouTube enjoys an astounding two billion hits every day – almost twice as much as people tuning in to America’s three biggest prime time TV stations. The milestone, which was announced in conjunction with the anniversary, also reflects a massive growth from when YouTube was founded in February 2005. While minor glitches and copyright issues have not been uncommon, the website has enjoyed more than its fair share of sensations and successes: the viral Iranian election protests video, President Barack Obama’s YouTube interview, the massive popularity of Nike’s Ronaldinho football commercial, and – more recently – the rise of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” music video to the top of the list of most watched videos ever on YouTube. Here are other interesting YouTube – Read the full article
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry continues to evolve. More and more experts are finding out ways and thinking up new strategies to make their websites – and their content – friendlier to the search engines. Nowadays, it’s no longer such a mystery to figure out how to rank higher, find faster, and optimize better. For the most part, SEO covers just text and image content. That’s because search engine robots understand only text. But times are changing, and we’re seeing new innovations in video SEO that bring us closer to being able to rank published video content more systematically in search. Why is this important? Well, it’s important for the simple fact that people are publishing videos on the Web more than ever. On YouTube, the well-established leader in this industry, users upload 20 hours of video every minute – and 10.5 million hours, or 120 decades, every year. More videos are uploaded using other platforms, which include Vimeo, – Read the full article
Thanks to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, charity is moving beyond direct mail, newsletters, and door-to-door campaigns. It has gone “non-traditional” – and so have forms of giving. What d’ya know: social media has churned out something we may aptly refer to as ‘social good’. This came to record-setting light in the recent #BeatCancer campaign. You might have heard of it. Actually, you may have participated in it. Here’s how the fundraising effort went. For every Tweet, Facebook status update, or blog post containing the #BeatCancer hashtag, eBay/PayPal and MillerCoors pledged to donate one cent to cancer research. The campaign went viral, mobilizing raised social media users everywhere. On October 16 to 17, #BeatCancer raised significant money for several cancer charities – to the tune of over $70,000, actually – and set the Guinness World record for the most social mentions in a 24-hour duration: 209,771. Not all have set records, but more and more fundraising initiatives are – Read the full article
As the Web grows increasingly social, so should you. Lakeshore Branding specializes in helping you tap into, initiate, and sustain engaging online conversations with your customers. Our social media consulting services build the foundation not only for greater online visibility, but also for richer social dialogue that’s guaranteed to make a direct impact on your bottom line. We offer a comprehensive set of social media services that are designed to show you where people are talking, what they’re talking about, where and how you can best get involved, and what you can do to propel your business and brand to the top of today’s social media user’s mind. Social Media Marketing Services Social Media Consulting Training on Social Media tools Management of blogs, podcasts, and social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare, Google+, Flickr, Tumblr, and more Social Media Marketing Strategy Social Media Identity Protection Social Media Implementation Guidelines and Social Media Policy Social Media Audits and – Read the full article
