Video SEO and Video Marketing - Austin SEM Meetup
Yesterday was the first Wednesday of the month, which means it was Austin SEM Meetup time! This month we talked a bit about video SEO and video marketing basics.
To say that we had some technical challenges would be an understatement! My laptop wireless became all hosed up by the time we started to play the videos embedded into the presentation. After much fumbling, Adam pulled up the slides on this laptop and we switched to that. His played them much better, but not perfectly.
Then we shot a little video to edit with the free Windows Movie Maker (to show that it’s really not hard to do), and Adam’s MM kept crashing. Over and over. So we switched BACK to my laptop, but the internet was still hosed, so I couldn’t upload the video. It was a bloody mess! HA!
We met at the Milwood Library, which seats 50 people, instead of Texpresso (where we were always cramped), but the rows of seats definitely made it less social. (Plus, I wanted some coffee!) We had some new faces comes - which was awesome - plus some veterans who have been to every meeting! (Love you guys!)
All in all it went well, but I wish we had more time to cover more things. I hate thinking that some people might have left missing some info.
As usual, here’s the slide deck. Non-YouTube videos wouldn’t embed, so just click the links. They are text-heavy so they make sense without the actual presentation. I would love any feedback on how to make this better!
Don’t worry about the tech difficulties - we can all sympathize and there’s some sort of Murphy’s Law going on when people use IT in presentations.
Anyhow, it was my first meetup and I thought it was great. Low key, interactive, casual, and informative. Plus the Milwood Library is only two blocks from where I live.
I was thinking about the SEMforSMB conference, which was a big production, but where I learned relatively little. Partly because many of the attendees were newcomers to the SEM world - it was too general. Yesterday’s meetup was more the type of thing I find useful.
Dan Crean
August 7th, 2008 at 10:17am
Yes, the setup did not make for a friendly conversation on SEO!
The location was not to terribly bad, and the room was definitely big enough. I guess I will have to get a library card to access the internet, if we meet up their again!!
I know the group is still very new, but I did notice there were not the usual regulars present? Do you think it is the location change? or it’s august and everyone is out of town?
Tim
August 7th, 2008 at 10:25am
This is great. I somehow missed the invite. I would have liked to attend. I have been doing web video for two years and have developed 100+ videos, video admin tools and video metrics tools.
I would be happy to present at one of the meetings.
The topics could be consumer focused, social network focused or integrated campaigns using video.
I have great contacts at places like MySpace, Fox Sports, MTV, NIckelodeon and many others to cite as examples.
Kerry
Kerry Brix
August 7th, 2008 at 10:28am
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I appreciate it!
@Dan - It’s definitely hard to cover many levels of expertise in a crowd, as your experience proves. I know that the organizers at SEMforSMB really wanted to cover a spectrum, but maybe they didn’t get it quite right. I’m glad you got something useful out of it!
@Tim - Yeah, the library felt like a classroom, right? I do wonder about some of the usual faces that weren’t there, but I knew previously that I few wouldn’t be there, so it may have just been timing (last weeks for summer trips). I am definitely going to talk to Buffalo Billiards about their space… Glad you were able to be there!
@Kerry - I would LOVE for you to present! I think everyone would love to go more in-depth about video. Let’s talk!
Laura
August 7th, 2008 at 10:59am
Last evening was my first “techie” meetup, and it was well organized, had a great “vibe” and exceeded my expectations. Things change so fast in the medium, and the audience enthusiasm was apparent.
I haven’t been yelled at by a librarian for staying late since college!
Here’s a relevant link on using qik in Congress and at a live concert.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151139
Also, a nice overview on the history of the moving image and a 1936 “budget” for making newsreels (about $10k/week):
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/classics/cl0301/gdcl12a.htm
mark o'brien
August 7th, 2008 at 12:04pm
Hey, Great overview. Just thought I would mention that there is a great site all about video SEO and online video - ReelSEO.com. Definitely worth checking out.
Joe
August 7th, 2008 at 1:24pm
@Mark - It was great to see you again! I am so thrilled that it was worthwhile to you.
Rep. John Culberson, from Texas, is doing AMAZING things with social media and government.
You can see his Twitter feed here: http://twitter.com/johnculberson. And of course, his qik.com stream: http://qik.com/johnculberson
This is what these tools are all about! Love it. Thanks for posting the links!
Hey Joe! Yes, that is the BEST resource for video SEO. Frankly, I am addicted to it.
It’s on the resource slide, but there are other sites listed there, too. Check ‘em out.
Thanks for the comments, all!
Laura
Laura
August 7th, 2008 at 1:49pm
Hopefully I can make it to the next meeting.
A question I would have asked: Can you compete hosting/streaming vids from your own server, rather than going through one of the cheesy networks, like YouTube? Or should you do both, maybe use YouTube to promote a full-length video?
PJ Brunet
August 7th, 2008 at 3:57pm
Thanks for another quality presentation. I thought the meeting room was fine, but a little north for us southerners.It was good to see some fresh faces, I’m sure some of the regulars will be at the next one.
I’ll share a few thoughts on video SEO on my blog when I get a min, your slides reminded me of a few things. Good stuff.
A couple topics for the next meetings: social media, email marketing, reputation management – perhaps some web design or copywriting might be fun.
@PJ - if you want to stream your own vids, Amazon S3 has the most economical way of doing so. For open source players, Flowplayer is the most widely used and works well.
Thanks again Laura (and Adam too)! See you at the next one.
judd@trif3cta
August 8th, 2008 at 12:05am
@PJ - One big reason to use YouTube and the like is Google’s blended results. Check out this post for analysis on which video sites appear and which don’t: http://searchengineland.com/080731-074335.php
If you are talking about not having a YT-branded player on your site, I can understand that. As Judd pointed out, there are players that you can use, but I wouldn’t totally discount video site players. For example, Gary V. uses Viddler to host his shows, and IMO, it looks great. http://tv.winelibrary.com/
If you are optimizing video that is not hosted on a video site, optimization is a bit different. Just take that into consideration. Here’s a post that focuses on that: http://www.reelseo.com/15-tips-video-seo/
@Judd - Thank you for letting me know it’s far for you. I agree that it was too far north - we will work to fix that! And yes, those topics are great. In fact, social media might be it because I think that Giovanni Gallucci is going to come down to talk to the group. SO excited for that! He’s got so much insight to share on what works and what doesn’t. Stay tune for more details, and keep your fingers crossed for Buffalo Billiards!
Laura
Laura
August 8th, 2008 at 9:43am