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How to Take Advantage of the How-To Video Craze
April 23, 2008
As reported in today's NYT article, "Making Money, the How-To Way," by Miguel Helft, how-to videos are growing in popularity, and even "folding towels so they look just so" can be a trendy video subject.
So why do people like how-to videos anyway? Maybe they want to learn something, but many times these videos are great entertainment too. My all-time how-to favorite is Video Jug's "How to Fight a Duel," which could come in handy the next time I need to fend off my neighbor's dog.
I really can't stand the reality shows on TV, and if you are selective online you can find some real how-to video gems, like "How to Fight a Bear," or the more mellow "How to Care for Puppies."
Marketing using how-to videos can be a new avenue for companies to explore. Users probably won't enjoy an overt pitch, and since the idea is to get the videos to spread virally, setting up an "expert" series is a great idea. Say your company sells cowboy boots. If you shoot a series of videos on "How Acme Cowboy boots are made," you can present a short piece on the quality and uniqueness of your product. You could even create videos on "How-to select the right cowboy boots to go with your outfits," optimize them (video submission sites like ExpertVillage.com provide sections for written summaries), embed them on your site and more.
Now there must be a how-to video on how to make a good how-to video...
All posts by Lisa Santora
posted by Lisa Santora at April 23, 2008 05:15 PM
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