Small Business Video Branding For 2010
There are still debates going on about how business owners can use social media marketing
, but the number of CEOs using social media to engage customers is still very low, even among technology companies.In the past year it seems that executives have become more comfortable with platforms like Twitter and Facebook. For instance, there are many impressive CEOs using Twitter to reach out to consumers by creating a personalized touch to their business. Tweeting CEOs like Tony Hsieh of Zappos and Guy Kawasaki of Alltop are well-known for their successful social presences and large followings as a result.
With all of the talk about how CEOs are getting social, we were curious to see how many CEOs are also branching out into web video. If we take a look around the internet we can see how these CEOs and owners are taking advantage of web video to engage and educate consumers.
Unfortunately this list was very small, which leads us to wonder how long it will take for businesses to catch on to the 800% growth in video viewership on the internet. But for those business leaders taking an active role, we've uncovered some great successes. Here's a list of 9 CEOs and founders leveraging web video to boost their unique companies.
1. Tom Dickson, Founder & CEO, BlendTec
Tom Dickson, Founder and CEO of BlendTec, an appliance production company that specializes in blenders, host's his own Youtube channel - Will It Blend? In the video series the blenders are tested against everyday items. Popular items that were blended include an iPhone, a vuvuzela, and an iPad just to name a few.
Dickson's YouTube series is a big accomplishment. With just over 100 videos uploaded, total video views presently total practically 131 million. We would be amazed if that level of visibility wasn't influencing the bottom line.
2. Gary Vaynerchuk, Founder, Winelibrary TV
Gary Vaynerchuk is the founder and host of Winelibrary TV, a daily wine video blog in which Vaynerchuk reviews wines and updates the world on the latest wine news.
Vaynerchuk uses Viddler to post his daily video posts, and he also maintains an established personal account on Viddler, where he uploads videos on social media, technology, and branding, among a variety of other subjects.
Business owners with large personalities should pay attention Vaynerchuk's openness to be straightforward. He's a straight shooter with an honest mouth. This is why his fan base always comes back for more.
3. Mitchell Harper, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an e-commerce platform that provides on line stores for businesses big or small. Mitchell Harper, co-founder and co-CEO of BigCommerce, posts videos to BigCommerce's YouTube channel around once a week, focusing on topics of interest to his main target audience, e-commerce professionals. His videos take an educational point of view while maintaining a down-to-earth, yet professional tone. He says:
"I think it's important to use a whiteboard to explain concepts, and it's kind of become my trademark in the videos. I could use a proper studio but I want the videos coming off as genuine and not professionally made. Even when I make a mistake, I don't edit it out, because I feel it takes away from the authenticity of the message."
Harper would seem to be incorporating value to his business and web community. Ever since starting the channel about six months ago, they have reached nearly 420,000 video views.
4. Tim O'Reilly, CEO, O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media, a media company founded by Tim O'Reilly, publishes books, magazines and websites, and produces conferences on computer technology topics. With 1,000 videos and 2.5 million video views, the O'Reilly Media YouTube channel is an updated source for the organization.
The channel often features speeches by and interviews with O'Reilly. We applaud O'Reilly Media for repurposing valuable content that might have otherwise been lost in the great unknown.
5. Kevin Rose, Founder & CEO, Digg
Kevin Rose, founder and newly appointed CEO of Digg (Digg), a social news website, co-hosts a weekly video podcast called Diggnation, alongside Actor Alex Albrecht, in which they look at the top stories from Digg. Diggnation at present has over 3.3 million video views, verifying that advertising your business can be as simple as putting together a video series where you discuss the latest news from within your community.
Rose keeps his Youtube and Vimeo sites up-to-date as well with information that explores technology, travel, food, and hosts The Random Show with Tim Ferriss, creator of The 4-Hour Work Week.
6. Aaron Patzer, Founder & CEO, Mint.com
Aaron Patzer is the founder and CEO of Mint.com, and at present the vice president & general manager of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, since Mint.com was recently acquired by Intuit (makers of the popular personal finance apps Quicken and TurboTax). The single most powerful contribution that a company can make to social media networks is educating them on how to use products and services. For video, that doesn't always mean uploading a ton of videos on every little feature.
Mint.com's YouTube channel delivers powerful information on how to use the products and services that Mint provides. With just over 20 videos uploaded, many of which Patzer appears in, Mint.com has gained almost 700,000 video views. Congrats to the Mint.com team for continuing to keep it minimalist while still increasing video views. Their videos are a prime example of how quality means more than quantity.
7. Pam Liebman, CEO, Corcoran Group
Many real estate experts are joining the social media train, and Corcoran Group, the biggest residential real estate firm in New York City, is on top of the pack. Corcoran has an massive social media presence, and their video presence spreads across to YouTube, Vimeo and blip.tv.
The videos display CEO Pam Liebman responding to questions posted by Facebook and Twitter followers relating to the state of the housing market and New York living guidelines. For example, in the video above, Liebman answers a question posted by Inman News' Rob Hahn via Twitter. These videos not only showcae the companies expertise, but it allows Corcoran to truly engage with potential customers.
8. Rob Banks (Co-Founder), BuildDirect
Rob Banks, Co-Founder of BuildDirect, a manufacturer and wholesaler of flooring and building materials, has a very active role in the companies marketing strategy. He is in hundreds of videos on BuildDirect's YouTube channel, talking about various flooring and building materials. The videos on occasion also feature Jeff Booth, President and CEO of BuildDirect.
BuildDirect's mission for the YouTube channel is clearly stated: "We want to educate, to entertain, and to let you know who we are as a group of people." The occasional Pancake Day video certainly gives us a glance into their lively company culture.
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