For this year’s update, there were four specific things we wanted to address:

1. Make it easier for a visitor to find the product they want and suggest related items that might meet their needs.
2. Treat customers with respect and make them feel safe about their decision to purchase with Floormingo.
3. Simplify the purchasing process.
4. Increase product awareness in the search engines.

At lot of research and attention to detail went into this design and it has truly paid off. Here are a few quick stats about the changes we’ve made to Floormingo.com:

• Visitors spend twice as long on the site.
• Unique visitors are up over 400% year over year.
• Sales are up over 500% from this time last year.

And don’t think for one second that we’re done just yet. We have a large number of new features, minor changes and tweaks that we are testing to optimize the shopping experience even further.

If you’d like to know more about the changes we’ve made and how we might help you sell on line, please give us a call at 317- 663-3296, ext 202.

Over the last two years we have been working hard to change this and bring video to mobile viewers. We found early on that people wanted to watch sports, podcasts, TV shows and even movies on the go. In 2008 there was really only one choice for mobile video – archival footage on YouTube for the iPhone. Live streaming was not supported and hosting it yourself was not worth the pain.

Thankfully, the landscape changed dramatically in 2009 and early 2010. We can now deliver mobile video to 100′s of millions of people in both archived and live streaming formats.

Apple, Android and Blackberry

Based on market share, there are three platforms you need to care about when providing mobile video. The iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android devices and some Blackberry phones.

All these platforms handle H.264 encoded video with AAC audio in an MP4 wrapper. This is a major bonus as the MP4 wrapper is great for both the desktop web and mobile as it allows you to start playing the video before it downloads the entire file. That’s the difference of seconds over minutes to start watching a video and also keeps them from clicking elsewhere.

The biggest challenge we have is what dimensions and bit rate we use for the video. Apple set the standard and the others are now following suit. The iPhone, iPad and Android all play nicely together, but some of the older Blackberry handsets need smaller video files.

Here are the specs to use:

H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .mp4 file formats.

If you have specific Blackberry phone coverage you need to meet, then we suggest you take a look at Blackberry’s list of supported media types for their phones. Many of the older phones or smaller screens only support 320×240 resolution.

I would also suggest you keep the bit rates closer to 650Kbps. Many cellular carriers can’t handle larger files and it will take too long to start playing the file.

Note: We haven’t been able to test it yet, but the specs for Windows Phone 7 show similar support for H.264.

Hosting Video for Free

At this point you have a choice in how to handle delivery of the video. You can do it yourself, pay someone to host it for you, or use a free service. There are pros and cons to each.

YouTube

These guys have been around the mobile space the longest. They know how to do it, and as long as you upload them an H.264 video file, they will convert it to the proper formats for both desktop and mobile.

There is one big caveat to YouTube though. You don’t have as much control as they are hosting it for free. Consequently, if you include copyrighted music or video from third parties, chances are their automated flagging system will pull your video down. Many news organizations have been caught out by this, even when they legally have the right to fair use.

YouTube works great at no cost, just be careful building mashups pulling in other video or music. The also have the best API for automating large numbers of video in the background.

Vimeo

Vimeo separates itself from YouTube in several ways. It has both free and paid options (faster conversion and larger files), has above average content from a great community, and does not allow commercial video. If you are a business, you can skip this one.

Back in January 2010, Vimeo announced HTML5 video support for desktops using H.264. This was a great first step that lead to their Universal Player announcement this past August. The Universal Player is an embeddable iFrame that works on iPad, iPhone and Android. Their support for Blackberry is suspect, but they are working on it.

If you want to use Vimeo for mobile, make sure you pay for the Plus option. It’s the only way to get it.

Viddler

This is a product built for businesses. Viddler provides some of the best ways to customize, monetize and track the video playback experience. I would suggest watching their promotional video for an overview of what they provide.

In order to get mobile support, you’ll have to be a business member (starts at $100/mo) and you’ll have to specifically enable iPhone and iPad support. This works with Android as well and may work with newer Blackberry models.

The Community Aspect

All three of these hosted services provide discovery features for visitors browsing their site. If you are providing video for wide audiences then you’ll benefit greatly from the community. However, if you are targeting a niche the impact will be near zero.

Live Streaming to Mobile for Free

There are three main competitors for businesses in the live streaming space: UStream, Justin.TV and LiveStream. As of today, the only one that supports live streaming to mobile devices via a web page is LiveStream. Ustream and Justin.tv have applications that must be installed, but frankly, that just doesn’t work for business.

In the long term, Ustream actually looks very well suited. They are currently working on the technology to stream events using variable bitrates from one master feed. This will allow you to stream a game or press conference to just about everyone on their desktop, mobile device on cellular or wifi and still provide the best video they can. Their uptime and load capabilities are also the best around.

Personally, we’ve used LiveStream in the past, but switched away due to downtime issues. I still wouldn’t put them aside though. Their mobile streaming package is currently the best.

Hosting Video Yourself

If you are one of those companies who needs to have total control, then you’ll want to host it yourself. You have a lot of options here, but the most common for hosting archival videos are Amazon S3, Edgecast, Rackspace and Akamai.

You’ll need to do all of the file conversion yourself using tools like Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier or Handbrake before you upload, or pay someone to do it for you. Most of the time your video production or web design partner can do this for you.

You’ll also need some very specific knowledge around Flash video, HTML5 video and JavaScript to make this all work. We’ve spent a significant amount of time investigating the different ways to deliver video to the desktop and mobile devices at the same time. It’s not easy, but it works great when done right.

Streaming Video Yourself

If you are wanting to stream events live, there aren’t many choices here and you will pay a hefty fee for it. Edgecast, Akamai, Ustream and LiveStream all provide white label products so it looks like you host it yourself. However, unless you are a major corporation with money to burn, you don’t want to go this route. It’s highly cost prohibitive.

Planning for the Future

For a variety of reasons, video is great way to set yourself apart. With 100′s of millions of devices in the market, mobile video has tipped and is on a downhill rush. You are making a huge mistake if you don’t have your website videos viewable on the go. Consumers are eager to see great content about your product, or watch your events live, but they want to do it on the go.

Don’t make the mistake and hide what you have to say from so many people. It’s minimal work to make that sale or gain a new fan – Be mobile ready and beat your competition today!

Leads already have a desire for your product or service. They want to stay in touch and learn more about how you can solve their problem.

Here is a quick way to increase your targeted leads that your sales team can turn into easy wins without paying the search engines for clicks.

Keyword Research

The first step in generating leads is to get your company in front of the people that have a need and are ready to buy from you. At this point there are two ways we can go about this.

1. Go after the keywords with the most traffic and most competition.
2. Go after the keywords with less traffic and less competition.

It’s the second option that powers companies like Apple, Amazon and your local real estate agent. That’s the one we want to go after. It’s much easier to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

Here’s an example for the real estate agent to show the difference.

Indianapolis homes for sale

• 1,730,000 search results
• 74,000 Google searches in January  2009
• 5 results on the first page are Indianapolis companies

Zionsville homes for sale

• 64,300 search results
• 5,400 Google searches in January 2009
• Only 1 result on the first page is based in Indianapolis!

As you can see, Zionsville has less competition, but plenty of searches to drive leads to your website. It’s much easier to be at the top.

The Landing Page and Offer

Now that we have picked our keywords we need to design a new landing page to convert that visitor into a lead. It should look great and get to the point.

Let’s start by picking a name for the page that includes only the keywords we are targeting: http://www.myrealtorsite.com/Zionsville-homes-for-sale.html. That page name is very important.

On this page you’ll want to add great content such as a home search, MLS listings, the realtor’s information, contact numbers, etc. and a form to capture the visitors contact information.

On the surface it looks like we have given everything away that they want. The truth is that we have something much more valuable to give them. This is the offer.

When the user fills out the form they will now receive a white paper or e-book on buying homes in the Zionsville area. It contains every demographic you can imagine (schools, income level, low crime rates, mortgage companies, etc) in one easy to find document. Sure, they can find it elsewhere, but it may take 20-30 different places to find it all. You’ve just made their life easy in 1 step.

Driving Traffic and Measuring Results

The next step after creating your new landing pages is to get other websites to link to it. This isn’t about getting visitors from those sites to click through, but rather about building rankings in the search engines. Inbound links are the most important factor in making your web page rank at the top in Google, Yahoo and MSN. It’s a trust factor. If a lot of people link to you, you must have something important to say.

Here at TGFI we maintain a list of over 2500 directories, communities and websites where we can add your link in keyword targeted pages. It’s a slow, manual process, but VERY effective in boosting rankings. Once added to these other high traffic sites, the search engines will automatically pick up your page and move you up the rankings.

Now that we have the landing page created, a great offer to capture leads and people talking about it, we need to measure to see how well it’s working.

There are several great tools for managing leads from the search engines. Google Analytics, Web Trends, Omniture and even Webalizer. These tools will tell us how many visitors are coming to the site, to which pages and from where. If they are from the search engines they will also tell us which keywords were used.

Using this information we can compare the number of visitors to the page to the number of leads. It’s your basic conversion rate. If the numbers are low we can make some content changes or alter the offer, and then test the results to drive them up.

Once the landing pages are up and running smoothly you’ll get a continuous flow of traffic for months, even years to come.

For you next project, slow down, take a step back and think about each of the following. Short or long term, it could save you a lot of that precious money you have to invest.

Personality Matters

First and foremost, you have to be compatible with the people you are going to work with. No matter how great each side is at executing, if you can’t get along and respect each other, your project will be a miserable mess and fail. There have been several times that we have chosen not to take a project because the vibe just wasn’t right. Would you grab a bite to eat or maybe a beer with them?

Brutal Honesty

Many companies will take any work that they can get. They’ll also sell you what you don’t need. When was the last time someone said to you “You don’t want that. It won’t work and here’s why.”?

And Now for Something Completely Different

Finding a company that knows the ins and outs of your industry can be very comforting. They know the language. They know the players. They might even know what works.

They might also be a safe bet that only gets you the same thing as your competition. If you just mimic the other guy, you’ll never win. Go to the edge and try something new. You’ll be surprised.

Strategy, Creativity and Vision

Most web projects are executed to check an item off a list – “Hey look, we have a website now!” What those projects should be is part of something much bigger. A strategy. A unique creation. A vision.

What other methods are you using to market your business? Print materials, billboards, hand outs, commercials, etc. A great design firm wants to know what else you are doing to make them all work for each other. Those firms then take this information and arrange the pieces into a cohesive plan. Only then will you get the most benefit for your efforts.

This is how marketing works for you.

Content is King

In the world of the web, the only differences between businesses are the people who run them and the information they produce. The best websites have great people providing truly useful content. They also work with search engine experts to make sure that great information gets in front of the people who are looking for it.

Grammar isn’t dead. It’s more important that ever. The search engines know it and you should too.

Technology

There are thousands of ways to build a website. Hundreds of languages, even more frameworks. Most design firms specialize in just one or two. What you really need is the right tool for the job done in a cost effective manner. Make sure you pick a vendor that can fill your needs and not shove their needs down your throat.

What’s it really going to cost me?

Last but not least, we’ll circle back to the cost of a project. As you may have seen from the items above, the dollar amount on the proposal is only one small piece of the puzzle. The people you work with and the choices you make together have a much greater impact in the long run.

When it comes down to it, you have to get in front of the people who need you and sell them what you have. A cohesive strategy to be the best is what will make you shine at the top.

In the early 1500′s, the rule of the Catholic church was unprecedented. It dictated the thoughts of the people in a similar authoritarian style to dictators, kings and monarchs. In 1517, Martin Luther set about to change all of that by pinning his 95 theses on the wall. In the years to come this caused a monumental shift in the thinking of the people and allowed them to think for themselves. It was the people spreading the word with the help of others.

Today, in the early 21st century, product marketing is seeing the power of the people shine once again. Only this time it’s the ad agencies that bare similarities to the church in their power. The shift started in 2000 with people like Doc Searls when he co-authored the book The Cluetrain Manifesto. In the book they even have their own 95 theses. Ironic? Not really. It’s not about being told what to believe. It’s about conversations and relationships, both personal and anonymous, and helping each other form our own opinions. Something we do everyday as humans but rarely think about how it works.

Seth Godin expanded on it in his series of free online PDFs entitled Flipping the Funnel. Instead of forcing a belief down upon the masses and seeing what sticks, seed the masses and let the sneezers tell the story for you.

Like most people, my thoughts haven’t been changed quickly. It’s been through a continuous cycle of reading, listening, analysis and execution. These thoughts have been building upon each other until I reached my own personal tipping point of sorts. Let’s just say that the light switch of creativity has been turned on.

Once you’ve done your own reading, listening and analysis, as I encourage you to do, look at the costs of social marketing. It’s next to nothing. No costly mailing campaigns, ineffective advertising or expensive ad agencies. The biggest challenges you will face are seeding the idea of social marketing with your peers and finding the right places to seed your product or idea. It’s radical, but it works. Apple does it with beautiful simplicity. Dell does it efficient processes. T-mobile does it with customer service. Seth Godin talks about how to do it in Free Prize Inside.

Corporate America is afraid of it. Agencies are afraid of it. That’s because it’s radical.

Small teams embrace it. People do it without realization. It’s viral marketing and it works.

Marketing didn’t used to be this way. Before the industrial revolution, it was about people and the conversations they had. True 1:1 situations with people talking to each other about something interesting.

During the revolution, innovations made production and transportation more efficient and cost effective. It brought products to the masses they never could afford, but now could. Companies looked at this success and tried to copy it. Afterall, it’s easier to copy than it is to innovate.

After the turn of the 20th century those effeciencies were applied to making products for war. Following along as they always do, those miliatry terms slipped in.

It’s also when the goodness of markets became an evil verb – marketing.

It’s conversations like this that make them an exceptional value and not overpriced. It’s why they can open 4 stores in a one block radius and be profitable at each store.

In case you’re wondering the answer, it’s a coffee with one shot of espresso (red eye) or two (black eye).