Recently I read that 34 billion videos were streamed in the U.S. in May. I’m not big on stats, but some quick grade school math indicated that it’s equal to every single person on the planet watching more than five videos! More than 14.6 billion of those videos were watched on YouTube, with each user watching an average of 101.2 videos in one month.

With YouTube being the second-most used search engine after Google, video is no longer a marketing luxury for businesses.

So how do you incorporate videos to work for your online business?

1. Testimonials

There is nothing more assuring than a real, objective person telling you how and why a product worked for them. Reach out to the customers that already love you and ask if they could put together a 30 second video testimonial if they find value in your product - and put that on your home page.

2. Education

You can find how-to videos these days on anything from online marketing to how to make a calzone. The plain fact is that people thirst for knowledge, and the best way to transmit that (aside from having a one-on-one instructor) is through a simple tutorial video. If you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, you may want to create a computer tutorial instead, using screen-capture video software. Some programs even have the ability to add captions.

3. Product Demos

This cheesy video demo for a remote car starter might not be your style (or budget), but it works. There’s a reason it has over 212,000 views! These are all people who were exposed to Viper’s branding, and they are all assured that the product isn’t a lemon. Sometimes a money-back guarantee isn’t enough - people want to actually see your product or service in action.

4. Entertainment

Sometimes you just want to show that your company has a human side - that you have a sense of humor. Recently on our staff retreat, our team ended up playing one of most challenging sports known to man: tether-ball. The sight of grown men (yes that’s me in the yellow) reduced to swinging away incompetently at an elusive ball is the kind of thing I can spare a minute to watch - and forward to a friend as well.

These are just a few ways you can start using videos for your business. If you haven’t already begun, get out there and start shooting! And, if you’ve already started using video for your business, let us know in the comments how that’s working for you!

Let’s face it, not everyone can love you. I am one of those personality types that tries to please everyone, so it usually bothers me if someone has a bone to pick with me or my ideas. However, I’ve gradually learned that detractors can be as valuable as fans.

If you are doing something truly great, unique, or exciting in your small business – there are bound to be people who will have a problem with it. When someone takes a shot at you or your brand in a public/online space, you quickly learn who your evangelists are as they jump to your defense.

Consider this: whether they love you or hate you, they’re talking about you. So why play it safe and shoot for the middle?

There’s nothing that convinces the undecided like passionate supporters, and these fans are key to spreading your message.

I recently heard a story about the owner of a small pizza parlor long ago. This owner, let’s call him Hank, had a very small budget compared with the large Pizza Huts and Dominos of his neighbourhood.

This happened years ago, when businesses still advertised in phone books. The big chains, of course, could afford huge, full page ads which Hank could not compete with. He decided instead to run a small promotion of his own: for every competitors’ ad that customers ripped out of the phone book and brought to his store, Hank would give away an order of wings.

The customers came swarming, and Hank quickly saw that the cost of the wing giveaway was more than absorbed by the increased spike in business. His competitors understandably hated what he was doing: complaining, cajoling and even leaving him threats. However, his customers understood a great offer when they saw one, spread the word, and Hank’s business boomed because of his somewhat controversial move.

So the takeaway is this: don’t be afraid to polarize people. Ask yourself how you can stick your thumb in your competitors’ eye. Chances are, it will make your customers love you even more.

What moves could you make in your business that might tick off a few competitors?

For more, one of Apple’s original marketers, Guy Kawasaki wrote an excellent post on innovation.

This week, Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb, is giving up his home to prove a point about his small business: the product works.

Airbnb is a website that helps homeowners rent out space in their homes to make extra cash. Until the end of the year, Chesky will use his company’s service to find accommodation in San Francisco, where his company is based.

While undoubtedly a great PR idea, Chesky’s move also makes a very strong statement about the effectiveness of his business. If the CEO of the company is willing to stake the roof over his head, it must work.

Now, I’m not saying that you need to become homeless or do anything quite so drastic, but consider whether there might be some way that you could make a bold statement about your product or service through your own actions.

Do you have a creative way to stand behind your product/service? Tell us how!

If you’ve ever done keyword research for your online business, you know it can be a bit tedious.

It’s not always easy brainstorming different phrases that your customers might use to search for your business. That said, Inc. Magazine Online recently published a great keyword selection article that drew attention to one of Google’s less talked about features – the Wonder Wheel.

The wonder wheel is a bit of a hidden gem on the results page. If you look to the navigation on the left side, click “More” and you’ll find it about halfway down.

As opposed to the typical list-style results page, the wonder wheel is a graphical representation of related search terms alongside results for the searched term.

For example, when I typed in “naturopathic clinic”, the following is what I was shown:

The initial keyword is linked to eight others, and it gives you an idea of what other terms knows your searcher is interested in – meaning you get a hint as to what search terms you may want to focus on.

When you click on any of the suggested phrases, it also keeps on linking to more suggested terms, so you can create quite a big list.

Keep in mind that you do need to pare down your list and make sure that the keywords you choose are applicable to your business.

For the complete article that inspired this post, see 5 Secrets to Selecting Highly-Effective SEO Keywords.

Do you have any “magic tricks” for choosing keywords? Share in the comments!

What business tips can you learn from an obscure indie rock band from Baltimore? And what might they have in common with Zappos, the powerhouse online shoe store?

I just returned from a weekend at Bonnaroo, a massive (90,000) indie/folk music festival on 650 acres of farmland in Tennessee. While there were some big names such as Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, and Jay-Z, no performer surprised and impressed me as much as the Dan Deacon Ensemble.

It wasn’t that their music was so amazing – it was good. However, their live performance and creative way of engaging the audience was mind-blowing.

For example, imagine a concert tent packed with hundreds of people dancing.

In the middle of their set, the frontman (Dan Deacon) stops to command the crowd to form a circle and bend down on one knee.

Difficult to say the least, but possible. A man named Jeff then stood in the centre of the circle, and we were told that Jeff was going to be performing interpretive dance, with the crowd imitating every motion.

Watch the video to see what happened:
(Disclaimer: some strong language)

The result was the most participatory audience I have ever seen at a show. Most rock concerts involve a lot of watching, some head-nodding, and probably some dancing – but fans don’t expect the spotlight to be turned on them. As a result, everyone that’s since asked me who my favorite band was at Bonnaroo got the same answer - a long-winded rave about Dan Deacon.

So the takeaway is this: Provide an AMAZING, SURPRISING, and ENGAGING experience for your customers, and they will evangelize about you until the cows come home.

Not sure how to do this? Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, has a few creative ideas, stemming from their values.

Start getting creative! Don’t worry about ruffling a few feathers, just focus on providing the most spectacular experience possible for the audience that matters to you: your customers. Good luck!

I recently read a great book called Switch, by Dan & Chip Heath (the writers of Made to Stick). The focus of the book is on how to make big changes happen more easily, whether personal or professional.

As someone who doesn’t always love sitting down and reading non-fiction, this book had me hooked with many ideas and examples that hit close to home – and many that will probably be helpful as you run your online business.

There is a lot in this book to cover with a blog post, so I’ll pare it down to one of my favorite takeaways – the idea of “bright spots”. Never heard of it before? Neither had I, but here’s the gist.

A bright spot is an instance of something working perfectly, when it usually doesn’t.

For example, say you’ve run seven promotions over the past year. Two of them did really well, but the other 5 didn’t really do much for your business. The two that did well are your bright spots!

Instead of throwing your hands up and plodding along, hoping that your next promotion will turn out well, take some time to examine those bright spots.

• Did you appeal to a specific group of customers?
• What kinds of products were you promoting?
• What time of year were you running the promotion?

These questions are just the tip of the iceberg – if you can really delve in and figure out what made those particular promotions a hit, you can dramatically improve your chances of future success.

Best of all, you can apply the bright spots theory to just about any situation – from administrative tasks to communicating with your partner.

Do you have any big changes that you’d like to make, either personal or profession? If so, what? Can you apply the bright spots theory?

Every year, Small Business BC hosts The Successful You Awards to support and recognize entrepreneurs from all over British Columbia for their efforts to grow successful small businesses.

They also recognize companies that foster entrepreneurial spirit and this year, we were extremely honored to win Company of the Year!

The event was held at the Birks flagship store in downtown Vancouver, and we met such a great assortment of entrepreneurs – including Chris and Larry, the Clodhoppers Candy Kings! Their inspiring story showed us just how much of a roller coaster (and how rewarding) the entrepreneurial life can be.

Below you’ll find a few shots from the event – enjoy!

Huge congrats go out to our fellow winners, Growing City (Business Start-Up Award), My Tech Guys (Business Growth Award), and SEEDS Development Centre (Small Business Champion Award).

What do you get when you combine a creative business mind, rubber stamps, and cheeky retro humor? The answer is our Website of the Month: BombshellStamps.com!

The brainchild of Shannon Lucier, this San Diego-based small business sells vintage style rubber stamps with attitude. Shannon has been using the CityMax.com website builder since 2007, when she first created her business plan. Shannon told us her story:

“I had another company which seemed like a lot of hard work with little reward – so I did a business plan that emphasized balance: between my creative side, time I would have to invest and the income I expected to make. This took me a month of brainstorming, trying to look for a niche that hadn’t been done before.

In August 2007 I decided to go for it, and the CityMax.com tools were so extensive and clean that it was just perfect for my business. I knew nothing about HTML or how to get a website up – but it was so easy that now I have to streamline my content!”

BombshellStamps.com currently averages over 290 unique visitors daily, and generates thousands of dollars in revenue every month. She has even managed to drum up some pretty impressive publicity for her business. Shannon is currently rolling out an innovative new line of digital products for her business to help support new customer markets, rather than compete with other existing products.

Shannon was kind enough to pass on a few tips for other aspiring entrepreneurs:

“If you’re just starting out, really think through the entire aspect of your business: a business plan is so important. I gave up three different ideas that didn’t work because of money, or time. I’m proud of the fact that I planned for everything from pricing to shipping, which made it easier for myself. Those details will make or break your business.”

These are definitely sound words of advice from a veteran entrepreneur. Thank you Shannon and congratulations to you again on making our Website of the Month!

Since our Support Team gets asked this question a lot, we thought that it might be worth a blog post!

It’s something that PC users take for granted, but for a long time there was no such thing as a right-click on a Mac. To access those right-click mouse menu options, you had to hold down the control button on the keyboard and then click the one-buttoned mouse.

If you’re running Mac OS X 10.2 or older, you still do.

But for those of you running Mac OS X 10.3 or newer – the right-click is now yours. You can set preferences for the right side of your mouse and easily do things like:

• Copy
• Paste
• View Source
• Bookmark
• etc!

To set up your Mac to right-click:

1. Go into the Apple menu and select ‘System Preferences’.
2. Ensure that the right side of your mouse is set to ‘Secondary Button’.

For more detailed instructions visit Apple Support.

Father’s Day is coming up, and most people I know (myself included) have trouble coming up with a great gift for the man responsible for giving us life. After all, shopping for women is easy – spa gift certificates, flowers, chocolates – but most men don’t have the same passion for luxury and sweets.

But what if you sell products online that are perfect for Dad’s Day?

As a retailer, you can effectively capitalize on the rest of the world’s complete bewilderment at how to show Dad they care.

Here are a few tips to help you sell more this Father’s Day:

Put it in HER eyeline
Chances are, it’s Mom or Daughter doing the shopping, so get your message in front of her eyes. If you are advertising, put your ads where she’ll find them and make them appeal to a female shopper.

Put HIM in the picture
If you have products perfect for Papa, include photos of men using the product in your promotion – or even just in your product catalog. If you make the connection between men and your product, your customers will too.

Highlight the perfect presents
If you carry a variety of products, make sure to feature the ones that are Dad-friendly right up front. Place some images and information prominently on your home page so they’re not missed, tucked away in your catalog.

Wrap it up
Top it all off with complimentary (man-friendly) wrapping paper and gift cards to help seal the deal.

Just like any promotion, it’s all about knowing who you are selling to, and there are many ways to cater to your audience.

So what about you? What Father’s Day promotions have worked for you – or on you?