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In-Person Interview with Leading Industry Expert

September 28, 2010 By admin

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with and interviewing Kipp Bodnar, Inbound Marketing Manager at HubSpot. On a recent trip to the Boston area, I visited the company’s headquarters in Cambridge near the MIT campus where the company’s founders met and charted their course.

Their space is very nice and the place is teeming with lots of activity.

During my visit there, I interviewed Kipp about content development, blogs and social media. I asked him a few questions about developing trust in a site’s content, how often you should post something on your blog and ways to share your site’s unique content through social media channels.

Below are the questions I asked during our 15-minute discussion along with a quick synopsis of Kipp’s answers…watch the videos below for the actual interview.

1.       What are ways you can recommend for site owners to build trust in their content?

One way is to give people answers to their most pressing questions and concerns. You can also ask the questions to different industry experts…diverse opinions make information really credible.

2.       What is the proper frequency of blog posts and does that amount have any bearing on what industry you’re in?

Kipp says once a week at minimum but as often as you have relevant, useful things to share. There’s no rule set in stone but publishing something that wastes people’s time is worse than publishing nothing at all.

3.       What kind of differences in content are there or should there be for B2B and B2C companies?

Not much really…B2B companies have an advantage here because their audiences are much more targeted but as far as the content itself, there isn’t a whole lot of difference. Any good business blog should strive to be the best trade magazine in its industry according to Kipp.

4.       In terms of impacts of keywords on search engine rankings, are there any differences between blogs and websites?

If your blog is hosted on your own server (http://blog.yourcompany.com/), then no. As long as you keep the blog in-house, the impacts of keywords are the same. If you keep the blog on the WordPress or Blogger server, they will get all the credit in terms of keywords.

5.       What types of content do you think warrant further publication through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter? Only original content the author develops themselves? Or content they developed through others’ ideas/writings?

Basically, any relevant information that makes you appear credible no matter if it’s your original thoughts or whether you’re expanding on someone else’s ideas.

6.       With the advent of social media channels like Twitter and Facebook, how important do you think blog directories will be going forward?

How they exist now, blog directories will become less relevant over time. With its metrics of fans and followers, it’s easier to gauge the credibility of content with Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels.

7.       At what point should marketers consider adding a Facebook “like” button to their blog?

With Facebook’s new one-step process of linking up with a business, you want to give people every opportunity to share informative content. But do some research and find out the main social network(s) your prospects hang out. Only include 2-4 to avoid overwhelming yourself and your readers.

We’d like to once again thank Kipp for his time. I really enjoyed visiting the team at HubSpot and found their operations to be dynamic and very active. The 2-hour journey from my brother’s house to the company’s headquarters was well worth it.

Enjoy the interview.

(And BTW, I want to thank my brother for getting me to and picking me up from the train station…thanks for being there for me man)

Part I

Part II

Filed Under: Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

9 Steps to Properly Filming a Video Interview

August 11, 2010 By admin

More and more, adding interviews to your website and blog are a great way to drive interest and traffic to your site. But many online marketers have yet to adopt this strategy out of lack of experience and equipment.

What you first need to have is someone to interview, or an interviewee. You can find someone just about anywhere – maybe a coworker or the CEO of your company. Or maybe even a client or a prominent figure in your industry who can share their views with your readers.

Once you have someone in mind and they have agreed to be interviewed, you need to prepare for the actual filming. Continue reading for 9 steps to properly film a video interview to ensure your interview goes as smoothly as possible and accomplishes your goals.

1. Know what your interview is about beforehand

First thing you need to do is develop your questions and send them to the interviewee ahead of time. The interview itself isn’t the time to figure out what your story will be about…be prepared for that before you even enter the room.

2. Take a moment and get to know the interviewee before setting up

Before you get your camera equipment out, take a few moments to build a rapport with the interviewee. This will get both of you in a more relaxed state of mind for the interview. If one or both of you are new to interviewing, you will need to calm down before going any further. Let the interviewee see you care about them and are appreciative of their time.

3. Setup camera equipment before they sit down

Wait until you have setup your camera equipment before having the interviewee sit down. Once you’ve set all of the equipment up, have them sit down to make your final adjustments.

4. Make sure you like where the interviewee is looking

Once your camera is setup and the interviewee is in place, be sure you’re okay with where the interviewee is looking. You will want them to maintain eye contact with you so don’t stand directly behind the camera but next to it a couple of feet away.

5. Stay in one place

The interviewee will keep looking at you so if you’re wandering around, that will look weird on film. Stay in one place and maintain eye contact with the interviewee.

6. Focus your camera closely

A big face in an online video is a good thing…focus your camera closely to get more of the interviewee’s face onto the screen.

7. Be aware of your background

Do your best to have a background free of any distractions. Don’t have anything going on behind them and check to see how any tall objects like power poles or trees look on the video. You don’t want to have your interviewee look like they have tree trunk growing out of their head!

8. Pay close attention to lighting

While you don’t want the interviewee to be squinting because of light in their eyes, you don’t want to have sunlight or strong light behind them either. This will make it difficult for viewers to see the interviewee. If you’re indoors, you may need to move lighting or get a lamp to balance out other light sources in the room.

9. Wear headphones to filter out abstract noises

Any kind of noise can come along and ruin your video. Keep your headphones on to monitor any abstract noises that may come along and ruin your video.

These are a few of the things you need to keep in mind when filming an interview. Below you can see some both good and bad ways to position someone on camera.

In the end, you can edit the film, post it on YouTube, link to it through your blog and include a short summary of the interview for those who prefer to read (…and to reap some of the advantages of SEO). And you can let the interviewee know when it’s up so they can link to it from their blog, giving you another high-quality link to your site.

Filed Under: Online Marketing, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Six Reasons Why Videos on your Website are Valuable

August 3, 2009 By admin

When someone talks about a video they saw online, most likely they’re referring to a viral video, which is a video clip that gains widespread popularity through email sharing, blogs and social networks. Videos on YouTube for example are viral.

Videos like this one from a Minnesota wedding choreographing Chris Brown’s “Forever” for example has received over 15 million hits since its posting on July 19th, a dream scenario for marketers…millions of views with very little production and distribution costs.

Sales of Brown’s song resulting from this video have caused it to skyrocket in the charts even though the song is over a year old.

Good viral videos are hard to create so many abandon video all together. Reaching millions of people in just a few short weeks is an extraordinary feat.

But videos don’t need to be viral to have an impact on your business. Any search engine optimization and marketing effort should include video. Read on for six reasons why videos on your website are beneficial.

1. Give your company a voice with videos

Websites are often loaded with impersonal text about a company or cause. Reading a paragraph about a company is one thing but a quick video explaining a company’s vision and purpose for instance is much more personable.

2. Videos are marketing assets

Like blog posts, videos on your site are there to stay. Once the initial burst of traffic fades, you will still receive good SEO benefits indefinitely.

3. Videos build company culture

Videos can serve as a morale booster for your employees. They are fun to produce and show your company can relax, giving it a more personable side as well.

4. Video is another channel for your content

Effective inbound marketing requires content come in different file formats. Some things are best communicated through a blog, some as photos or a graphic and others with video.

5. Videos are easy to produce

It’s true…videos are pretty simple and quick to make as long as you don’t get bogged down in production details. Simply plan it and schedule some time to shoot it. It doesn’t need to be completely perfect.

6. More videos means more likelihood for success

Online marketing is a portfolio business like artists and professional filmmakers.  No smart producer or artist bets their success on a single product but instead works hard on all their projects in the hope one will be a money-maker. Approach your online videos like this.

Watch this free video webinar from HubSpot to learn how to use video and podcasts to build your brand and drive more traffic to your website.

Filed Under: Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,