Customer Service: Make a Video

Since the dawn of time, customer service has always needed improvement. If you’re not on hold, you’re busy being transferred from person to person or listening to automated recordings. When the age of the Internet came about, you were probably staring at a Frequently Asked Questions page. When the FAQ was no help, you had to resort to email, phone or a manual search for someone with a similar issue. The problem is, no matter which way you choose to seek help, you are either stuck listening to someone try to explain a solution or get drowsy reading an article about troubleshooting.  In either case, there is an easy solution for both the company and the customer: video content.

There is always going to be a common problem with every product. Sometimes the problem extends to the instruction manual not being comprehensive enough, causing a large percentage of customers to have trouble getting the product to function initially. Sometimes it may be a simple jam or a hidden switch not in the “on” position. Whatever the case may be, videos can offer not only great help, but they can alleviate a company from receiving an overwhelming amount of customer inquiries.

YouTube Does it Right With Launch of New Video Editing Features

Yes, you read it correctly. I am pointing out that YouTube has done something right, yet again. We know that many other sites implement new features that may not please their users, or a feature that has been glorified as the next best thing since sliced bread, only for it to flop during the release and eventually be taken off the site. So what has YouTube done exactly? Well what else, made sharing video content on its social platform even better with new added features.

As YouTube reigns supreme within its industry, it is no surprise that they would implement an update that will not only please the avid, regular users, but even spice things up for the occasional users as well. YouTube has released tools that allow you to edit your video right there in your browser.

Our Top Ten Social Media Tips

Here at Progressive Media Concepts, not only do we like to explain to our readers why social media is important and why businesses should be using it in their marketing plan, but we like to give advice on HOW to use it. Every Tuesday and Thursday we are posting new social media tips and tricks for our fans. Today, I am selecting our top ten tips and tricks, and sharing them with you. These are shortcuts and strategies we have learned along our own social media journey. Enjoy!

Social Media Lessons Learned From the Old Spice Guy

In today’s modern world of Internet marketing and leveraging social media campaigns to increase traffic and sales, video is the number 1 rated type of content. Having a social media campaign is great and once you have a strategy in place you are on the right track, but utilizing the platforms available to you effectively is a whole other ball game. Old Spice used professional athlete Isaiah Mustafa to be the face of their “Old Spice Guy” campaign, and looking at whether it was a success or big time upset, well, everyone has his or her own opinions. Let’s talk about some of the lessons we can learn from the social media campaigns of the Old Spice Guy, and now, The New Old Spice Guy.

Book Review: Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed

When Patrick Schwerdtfeger contacted PMC through our blog to offer an advance copy of his new book, Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed, I immediately took the opportunity to speak with him. A brief phone conversation led me to learn interesting things about Patrick; earlier he had self-published a book, Webify Your Business, and his new one is essentially an updated version. His first book received such great reviews that John Wiley and Sons, Inc. picked it up and published it. Because Patrick was very down-to-earth, educated in entrepreneurship, and extremely willing to network, I have decided to write a book review for Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed. This book shares valuable information, tricks, and advice for any self-started business.

The Webby Awards: Social Media Nominees

Do you love watching award shows such as the Oscars, the Grammys or even the VMAs? It’s time to tune into a different kind of award show this year – the Webby Awards. Started in 1996, this award ceremony celebrates the excellence of web experts, businesses, creative celebrities and visionaries across the Internet. This year, you can find nominee categories for interactive advertising, online videos, mobile apps, and viral marketing, to name a few. But among all of these intriguing categories, let’s take a deeper look into the 2011 social media contenders and give you a better idea of how innovative the industry is. From video and creative design sites to a social network for the deceased, we’ll cover it all.

And the social media nominees are…

Want to Video Chat Your Facebook Friends? The Skype and Facebook Merger Continues…

Skype and Facebook have been working on a partnership for quite some time now. Skype 5.0, launched in October 2010, allows its users to call, text, or chat their Facebook friends. Skypers are able to get in contact with any of their Facebook friends through their personal newsfeed. This new feature for Skype was big news, but now there is more hype about the Facebook/Skype relationship due to talk about a video chat feature for Facebook.

Back in November 2010, a Facebook app developer came across some interesting HTML code in the backend of the site. A code in the back of an application, named VideoChat, contained some links back to Skype. These discovered properties would allow Skype and Facebook users to videoconference with each other.

The Power of YouTube

For most small businesses and start-ups, YouTube is usually overlooked as a prominent social media tool. Some companies may choose not to use YouTube because they believe their videos will not be discovered, get many views, or ever go “viral.” Keeping these uncertainties in mind, let’s take a look at what success YouTube can bring to your company.