Social Media Marketing With Video – Our Visual Society

Magic Lanterns

Have you ever heard of a magic lantern?  Unless you’re an avid history buff, the answer is probably not.  The magic lantern marked the beginning of modern society’s fascination with visual images.

In the mid- to late- 1800s, different investors experimented with glass slides viewed with a projector (all operated by hand of course).  The idea of projecting images from glass plates (usually onto a wall; screens came later) began many years before photography came on the scene.  Magic lanterns became popular as an accompaniment for speakers on the lecture circuit. This became the precursor to slide presentations and the movies.

Moving Pictures

Moving pictures – the silent films – took the nation by storm in the early 1900s.  In 1903, most Americans had never even heard of a picture show, let alone a moving picture theater.  By 1910 there were nearly 10,000 theaters across the country and movie-making had become a million dollar industry.

And we were never the same again.

From Then Until Now

We follow the trail of the movies as it transitioned over to television.  From there it grew to personal computers and now to handheld computers and smart phones.  The public’s fascination with visual medium has never slacked but rather has grown exponentially.

Now couple this growth of visual venues with the emergence of Web 2.0 and social media marketing.  It’s what some are calling the perfect marketing storm.

It is the combination of social media and online video converging as a marketing strategy.  Voila!  Meet social video!

Social Video

Social video is an interweaving of video sharing sites (YouTube for instance – but there are many more) with social media outlets such as FaceBook and Twitter.

You may be wondering what this has to do with you and the growth of your business.  The answer is simple.  For those who pay no heed to this exploding phenomenon do so at their own peril – in the business sense at least.

Stop and consider your own marketing and advertising strategies.  If you still think a few stock photos on your website, or awesome photos displayed in your online catalog, are putting you at the head of the game – think again.  That is fast becoming old school.

Why Videos Are Vital

Today’s savvy consumers have never lost their hunger for all things visual.  Additionally, they are now looking for value-laden content, and at the same time are looking for – and expecting – interaction.

In this series of articles, Social Media Marketing With Video, you will learn why it’s vital in today’s business economy to include videos in your overall marketing plan.  Among other things, video marketing:

• sets you apart from your competition,
• gives you a stronger standing with search engines.
• establishes you as a distinct personality
• builds your personal brand

Summary

Think of that forward-thinking speaker on the lecture circuits in 1840.  If his advance flyers heralded the fact that his talk would be accompanied by magic lantern slides, the number of tickets sold would far exceed those of the speaker who relied on his personal presentation alone.

Take a lesson here.  Video marketing is exploding all over the Internet.  It’s easy to learn, simple to produce, and will greatly enhance your online presence.

Social video marketing is too important to ignore.

About the Author

John Lawson is the CEO of 3rd Power Outlet and the founder of the award-winning ecommerce industry blog at ColderICE.com. John is an Platinum eBay Power Seller, Top-Rated Amazon Seller, Social Media Personality and ecommerce analyst for Wall-Street firms. John specializes in ecommerce, social rich-media marketing and mobile commerce. He is a dynamic and entertaining speaker whose presentations are packed with usable, actionable information.