Profiled - SEO-PR - The press release and online video optimisation company
An interview with Greg Jarboe, Founder, SEO-PR
The Social Media Portal talks to SEO-PR's Greg Jarboe about optimising press releases, content and online video for UGC sites like YouTube. Jarboe also gives insight on the his forthcoming book YouTube and Video Marketing - An Hour a Day
Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your full job title and role at SEO-PR?Greg Jarboe (GJ): President and co-founder.
SMP: What made you start SEO-PR and what does the agency do? GJ: We saw the launch of Google News in September 2002 as the opportunity to optimize a new type of content (press releases) for a new audience. We saw the launch of YouTube in December 2005 as another opportunity to optimize a new type of content (online videos) for a new audience. Then, with the advent of Google universal search in May 2007, information from a variety of previously separate sources (including videos, news, images, maps, blogs and websites) were incorporated into a single set of results. This put our agency in the forefront of digital asset optimization.
SMP: Briefly, tell us about the book, YouTube and Video Marketing - An Hour a Day GJ: The new paperback book is a complete, task-based guide to developing, implementing, and tracking a video marketing strategy. This 504-page guide provides extensive coverage of keyword strategies and video optimization, distribution and promotion strategies to other sites and blogs, YouTube advertising opportunities, and crucial metrics and analysis.
SMP: What was the most challenging aspects of writing the book? GJ: I started writing the book in September 2008 as YouTube was rolling out major changes and new advertising programs. When I was scheduled to finish writing the book in May 2009, I needed to go back and revise earlier chapters so that they weren't out of date before the book was published in August 2009.
SMP: Who are your target audience and why? GJ:This book is for veteran marketers. Internet marketers, search engine marketers, business marketers, sports marketers, event marketers, product marketers and corporate marketers should read this book because they didn?t learn about video marketing in college -- because there were no courses on this topic a couple of years ago -- and their marketing jobs and marketing careers are rapidly being reshaped by YouTube. This book is also for new YouTubers. Comedians, directors, gurus, musicians, partners, and politicians YouTube should read this book to learn how to market and promote their YouTube videos more effectively. Finally, this book is for entrepreneurs. ?Do it yourselfers? and small business owners should read this book to debunk popular myths and gain actionable insights from your YouTube and video marketing efforts.
SMP: What should readers expect to take away after reading your book? GJ: This book will show you how to implement a successful video marketing strategy in a relatively new and rapidly changing field. It will focus on YouTube, which is the top online video website with a 79 percent share of US visits in February 2009, according to Hitwise. But it will also cover Google Video (4.5 percent) and other video search engines, as well as MySpace Videos (4.0 percent) and other video sharing sites. It will focus on the United States, but it will also cover Canada, where YouTube is also the top video destination.
SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far? GJ: Well, launching innovative new services in the worst recession since 1947 has been among the low moments of what we?ve been doing in the past year-and-a-half.
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far? GJ: Winning the 2005 Golden Ruler Award with Southwest Airlines for Excellence in Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation was one of the high moments of what we?ve been doing since 2003.
SMP: Now that you are established, what do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities? GJ: The biggest challenge is keeping pace with the rapid changes in this industry. The biggest opportunity is figuring out where this industry is headed before everyone else.
SMP: What?s the next big step for social media, social networks and UGC sites? GJ: The next big step is creating higher quality content. You see this on YouTube, where you can now watch TV shows. You see this on blogs like The Huffington Post, which has started an investigative unit. Higher quality content attracts and retains audiences more effectively than lower quality content. And that?s important if you plan to sell advertising.
SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media / technology throughout 2009? GJ: The hottest new job is called ?community manager? or ?community rep? -- but the people who get hired are the ones who can relate online activities to quantifiable metrics. So, quantifiable metrics will be the most interesting aspect throughout 2009.
SMP: What impact is the global recession having and what do you think the best way is to manage it for businesses such as yours? GJ: It?s been the worst recession since 1947, so the impact has been very significant. In June, I posted a story to the Search Engine Watch Blog entitled, ?In Today?s Global Recession, Flat Is The New Up.? In July, Newsweek ran a story entitled, ?The Economy: Why Flat is the New Up.? So, if you are flat in a global recession, you?re doing relatively well.
SMP: How does this fit into plans at SEO-PR? GJ: We are already planning for the economic recovery. We know the recession isn?t over yet, but if you aren?t already planning for the future, you?re staying hunkered down too long.
SMP: What are the next moves for SEO-PR? GJ: We?ve created a 9-step model that links search engine marketing and social media marketing. We?ve tested it with a non-profit organization and it helped to boost turn out for a series of three events from 25,000 last year to 125,000 this year. I?ll be presenting the case study next week at SES San Jose 2009 and we?re ready to roll it out for our commercial clients.
SMP: What are your top five tips for using online video and a marketing channel? GJ replies with:
- Identify your target audience
- create compelling content
- Optimize your video for YouTube
- Engage the YouTube community
- Measure outcomes instead of outputs
SMP: What is your greatest achievement using your techniques? GJ: We helped a non-profit, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), attract 125,000 attendees to its Save the Dream events in Cleveland, OH, Chicago, IL, and St. Louis, MO, to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, restructure home loans, and reduce mortgage rates. This was five times more than the 25,000 attendees NACA attracted to earlier Save the Dream events in Columbia, SC, Stamford, CT, and Washington, DC.
SMP: Best way to contact you? GJ: Email at greg.jarboe @ seo-pr.com
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch? GJ: A tuna fish sandwich and Dr. Pepper.
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone? GJ: Blogged about why NYC public relations firms should give PR jobs to CCNY students.
SMP: How many hours to you work a week? GJ: About 60.
SMP: If you weren?t running SEO-PR what would you be doing? GJ: Watching the Boston Red Sox.
SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday? GJ: I took my family to Florence and Tuscany.
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning? GJ: I read Google News.
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why? GJ: If you?ve seen the movie, Mystery Men (1999), I?d be the shoveller. I shovel well. I shovel very well.
If you are interested in being Profiled, get in touch with the SMP editorial team via our contact
form.
Read more