WorldClassTV Launch: Using Skype Social Marketing to Supercharge Audience Connection! PART 4

This four-part article series explores how businesses of all sizes can use Skype to really connect and engage with their web visitors, encouraging lead conversions and greater online sales.

In our previous article post, we presented the first five Top 10 Tips for creating a successful and effective social marketing Skype “Guest Expert” Interview. These included (1) creating a professional user name, (2) making positive first impressions, (3) maintaining eye contact, (4) putting your hands where your audience can see them and (5) practicing to fine-tune your presentation.  In this article, the final installment of our four-part series, we shall explore the remaining five tips. Armed with this information, you can create media for your website or social marketing campaign that will engage a wider audience far more effectively, thus securing you greater and more sustained online interest.

Top 10 Tips for a Successful Social Marketing Skype “Guest Expert” Interview:

6. Social Marketing Tip: Remove Technical Challenges: Make sure you’ve got a wired connection if at all possible. Wireless connections tend to make lower video quality and connections tend to get dropped more easily. It is of utmost importance to ensure that your internet connection works properly during a social marketing Skype interview. It is difficult to have a discussion if the interviewer is unable to hear you due to technological difficulties and interruptions. The impression will be that you are unreliable.

7. Social Marketing Tip: Speak Slowly and Clearly: Slow down! It can be easy to talk over people on a Skype call so wait for the interviewer to stop speaking before you answer. This also gives you a few seconds to think about what you want to say before you speak. You can consider having headphones on to avoid getting playback from speakers, but if you turn the speaker volume down that will solve the problem in most cases. Also, set the sound on the microphone so that it’s not so loud that it creates static.

8. Social Marketing Tip: Assess Your Surroundings: Create a background to your social marketing video presentation that’s warm and inviting and not too busy or boring. Turn off your cell phone and make sure, whether you’re at home or at your office, that you let everyone know you are not to be disturbed. No kids or pets in the background! This comes across as unprofessional in your social marketing video.

9. Social Marketing Tip: Proper Lighting: Check the lighting in the room so that it’s adequate and not too bright or too dark. Lighting has a fundamental sub-conscious effect on people. If it’s too dark, the video can come across as sinister. Too light and your audience will not be impressed with the quality of the social marketing video. Make sure you are not sitting in front of a window and turn off any bright light sources directly behind you. What you should have for your social marketing video is some kind of lighting in front of you (behind your computer, behind your camera); preferably two task lights on either side of the computer/webcam. You will want to test the light to make sure it is flattering; bad lighting can accentuate facial lines and contours, making you appear far older and even quite intimidating. A lamp with a shade directly in front of you creates a nice soft glow and fewer shadows.

10. Social Marketing Tip: Dress For Success! On-camera dress tips for your social marketing video include:

(i)    Avoid color extremes. Stay away from black, white, orange and red. Bright colors will flare or strobe on camera; that is, any motion will result in a smear across the screen. Opt instead for pastels and colors in the mid-range of the spectrum. These include gray, blue, brown, maroon, purple and forest green.

(ii)   Avoid patterns such as checks, stripes, herringbone or plaid in your social marketing video. Patterns drive the camera crazy, creating a “vibrating” look. However, a very fine pinstripe on a gray or blue suit will work just fine.

(iii) If you wear jewelry, keep it minimal. Likewise, do not wear sequins or any    metallic-looking material. These reflect light very easily. Keep the outfit you wear for your social marketing video simple. A jacket with an embroidered patch on one side is distracting. Also, stay away from shirts with logos and pictures.

(iii)Ties should have simple, solid colors. For women, bows are fine, but scarves should be avoided.

(iv)Make-up and lipstick is a simple matter: the more natural, the better. A basic color to help highlight the face is okay, but it should match the outfit. Loud colors, no matter how fashionable, are not a good choice for your social marketing video. Eye makeup should follow suit.

(v)  The hairstyle you wear for your social marketing video is as important as the outfit. Simple haircuts are best. Longer hair should be pinned back or to one side (unless otherwise requested). Males should be clean shaven. For women, nail polish should be clear. You may be asked to wear face powder, which can be essential because studio lights can cause a facial sheen of perspiration. Shiny areas on the face – hot spots – will reflect light as much as any jewelry.

A Final Note from WorldClass on Your Social Marketing Video

A successful social marketing video can work absolute wonders for your website retention rates and in many cases, is the catalyst that leads to greater online interest, lead conversions and sales. If you’re interested in creating your social marketing Skype video with us, don’t hesitate to contact Kendell Lang, founder and CEO of WorldClass.

WorldClassTV Launch: Using Skype Social Media to Supercharge Audience Connection! PART 3

This four-part article series explores how businesses of all sizes can use Skype to really connect and engage with their web visitors, encouraging lead conversions and greater online sales.

In our previous article post, we discussed WorldClass’ promotional Skype Video Interview Package offer and what clients need in order to create their social media marketing videos. In this article, the third installment of a four part series, we shall begin exploring the top ten tips for creating a successful Skype “Guest Expert” Interview. Armed with this information, you can create media for your website or social media marketing campaign that will engage a wider audience far more effectively, thus securing you greater and more sustained online interest. This in turn translates into greater lead conversion rates and supercharged online sales!

Top 10 Tips for a Successful Social Media Skype “Guest Expert” Interview:

You may have everything you need to physically record your social media Skype video – Skype, a webcam and a microphone – but in order to create a truly successful social media marketing video, there are a number of points you need to understand and incorporate into your presentation. Having a profound and positive impact upon your audience requires some sophisticated fine-tuning. You can’t very well plunk down in front of your computer and expect to record material that will move mountains. So, without further ado, here are the Top 10 Tips for a Successful Skype “Guest Expert” Interview!

1. Your User Name: Create a professional Skype “handle”: Whether it's Skype, an instant-messaging client, or another videoconferencing app, you will likely have to create a user name or "handle" that you sign in with. Make sure it appropriately represents your company and is not something like beerbuddies2012 or 26E4u. As with your email account, choose something professional; if you can't just use your name because it's already taken, try your name combined with your industry, for example: DrSteiner_dentist.

2. First Impressions: As if meeting in person, create a great first impression! Treat a social media Skype interview as a real face-to-face interview. Make sure you log in and are ready at least five minutes before the scheduled interview time and do your homework well in advance! Make sure you have reviewed the interview questions beforehand and have prepared well-thought out answers.

3. Maintain Eye Contact: Maintain direct eye contact throughout the social media interview, looking directly into the camera:

(i)                Social Media Tip: During Skype interviews, be careful not to fixate on your own screen image. This gives the impression that the candidate is not making eye contact with the interviewer on the other end.

(ii)              Social Media Tip: Before an interview starts, take a moment to make sure you look fine on the screen, and then focus on looking into the camera.

(iii)            Social Media Tip: When you look directly at the camera, it appears to the interviewer that you are looking directly at them, thus making eye contact – the camera is usually located at the top of your computer in the center of the frame around your screen.

(iv)            Social Media Tip: Sit slightly forward and lean toward the camera so you become a talking head, just like on TV. This is the best way for our audience to read your facial expressions and establish a connection with you.

(v)              Social Media Tip: Be sure to sit up and maintain a straight posture. This gives your audience the impression that you have the confidence befitting an industry expert.

(vi)            Social Media Marketing Tip: Skype interviews tend to dampen one's personality so make an effort to smile and act like your pleasant self as much as possible. Be Yourself! Relax, smile and let your personality show through.

4. Put Your Hands Where the Audience Can See Them: Make sure that the camera on your computer gives a good shot of your head and shoulders, as well as of your hands. Remember that a good portion of understanding comes from body language and other non-verbal cues (80% of communication is non-verbal), so you want to make sure that the upper half of your body is visible.

5. Practice Makes Perfect: Practice on Skype before your social media marketing interview. This will ensure that you’re familiar with how the application works. Spending a few minutes familiarizing yourself with how you look “on camera” will also give you the opportunity to fix anything which could negatively impact your image: adjust your clothing, hair and position in the camera.

Social Media Marketing with WorldClass: Stay Tuned

In our next article post, the final installment of a four-part series, we shall be presenting the remaining Top 10 Tips for a Successful Skype “Guest Expert” interview. By integrating these points into your social media marketing video, you can be sure that your final product will be effective in securing your audience’s undivided attention.

WorldClassTV Launch: Using Skype Social Media Advertising to Supercharge Audience Connection! PART 2

This four-part article series explores how businesses of all sizes can use Skype to really connect and engage with their web visitors, encouraging lead conversions and greater online sales.

In our previous article post, we began discussing Skype as a very valuable social media advertising platform and how video can completely revolutionize the quality of your communication and interaction with potential clients and web viewers. We also discussed the recent launch of an innovative endeavor called WorldClassTV, which we are providing to all our clients along with a variety of new video production related services. The service of particular relevance to this topic is the Skype Video Interview, which is an excellent social media advertising platform for all businesses, regardless of size or industry niche. In this article post, the second installment of a four-part series, we shall be discussing WorldClass’ promotional Skype Video Interview Package offer and what clients need in order to create their social media advertising video!

We here at WorldClass have developed a very convenient and cost-effective way to interactively interview you from the convenience of your home or office. The Skype Video Interview Package is available for a limited time and only for a limited number of Small Business Owners. This promotional social media advertising offer includes the following:

·         A 30 minute personalized interview

·         All questions provided in advance

·         Your graphics and logo included in the social media advertising video

·         Call-to-action close with your contact information

·         Royalty free background music included

·         The review and approval of your final social media advertising video

·         Full length video included

·         Short promotional social media advertising video included

·         Source video file for both is yours to keep.

Getting Started with Your Promotional Skype Video: What You Need

The great thing about creating a promotional social media advertising Skype video is that – without the need for any fancy equipment - you can almost be certain that you have everything you need to get started immediately. The same applies to your business clients, which is great for easily building a library of testimonials.

Here is the starter list for all WorldClassTV Skype Interviewees:

·         A microphone

·         A webcam

·         Skype: This is a free download and offers Internet-users the ability to make video calls to others across the world. You can download Skype Here.

Once you have downloaded Skype and have organized a microphone and webcam, we are ready to create your social media advertising video!

 Skype offers a fantastic way to create a great first impression. As such, you will want to take your Skype social media advertising video seriously and make every effort to treat it like a real interview that captures your audience’s complete attention. You are going to be on WorldClassTV as a “Guest Expert” so it is important that you invest the time to make this a high quality interview that will secure you greater interest, which translates to more business for your enterprise!

Social Media Advertising with WorldClass: Stay Tuned

In our next article post, the third installment of a four-part series, we shall be presenting the Top 10 Tips for a Successful Skype “Guest Expert” interview. By integrating these points into your social media advertising video, you can be sure that your final product will be effective in acquiring your audience’s undivided attention.

WorldClassTV Launch: Using Skype Social Media Marketing to Supercharge Audience Connection! PART 1

This four-part article series explores how businesses of all sizes can use Skype to really connect and engage with their web visitors, encouraging lead conversions and greater online sales.

Social media has become an integral component of the modern marketing and advertising campaign. And what makes sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn so incredibly unique as a platform for audience connection and communication is that businesses of all sizes can capitalize upon their incredible benefits. No longer do you need to drop a few hundred thousand dollars on your marketing budget in order to have a profound and widespread impact upon your audience. Social media marketing is accessible to all and, because the vast array of social media and networking sites are free, it’s incredibly cost effective too!

Social Media Marketing: Skype and WorldClassTV

Now, when it comes to social media marketing, the focus lies quite heavily on sites such as those mentioned above – Facebook, Twitter, etc. But what about Skype? Skype is a software application that enables users to communicate with each other using audio (voice), video and instant messaging via the Internet. It also facilitates contact between Internet users and those on traditional telephone and cell phone networks, but these are charged at a fee. So, how does Skype offer businesses a valuable social media marketing platform?

We here at WorldClass have recently launched an innovative endeavor called WorldClassTV, which we are providing to all our clients along with a variety of new video production related services. One of these services is titled the Skype Video Interview, which is an excellent social media marketing platform for all businesses, regardless of size or industry niche. The benefits of producing video messages and then loading them onto your business website for all web users to see are:

·         Video is far more engaging and stimulating than reading reams of black-and-white text. You are far more likely to catch a prospective clients’ attention – and hold it for longer too - with a video on your website than any other social media marketing medium.

·         A social media marketing video message is much more appreciated by prospective new clients because it feels more personal to them.

·         Instead of reading words, your web viewers can see your facial expressions, smiles and other emotions you wish to convey. This transforms your business from a nameless entity into something that potential clients feel they can respect and trust.

·         A social media marketing video could make your web viewers and potential clients feel as if they’re talking to you, thus establishing a personal rapport.

·         You can engage your prospective patients by requesting them to send in their videos, such as a video of themselves talking about your service and the great experience they've had with you.

·         And lastly, there is a great new way for you to be presented in a "real" format by being interviewed through the WorldClassTV Social Media Internet Show.

Social Media Marketing: Be a Guest Expert on WorldClassTV

If you have been watching the news recently you've likely seen the increased use of Skype to remotely interview Guest Experts. If you have a laptop computer with a video camera, we can provide you with a great new Guest Expert Video personalized for your business. This social media marketing video is produced at your convenience, no travel involved and done at a time convenient for your schedule.

A 30 minute to 50 minute "Infomercial" TV Interviewers are charging $12,000 to $15,000 to produce this type of Guest Expert Interview and are then charging you thousands of dollars per month for local cable distribution. Our social media marketing production costs are a fraction of this, and we will give you the source video for you to freely distribute through your social network. We will also host your social media marketing video on our Internet Channel at no additional cost!

Social Media Marketing with WorldClass: Stay Tuned

In our next article post, the second installment of a four-part series, we shall be discussing some very convenient and cost-effective ways you can be interactively interviewed from the convenience of your home or office.