Jake Larsen

How To Really Make A Viral Video | The Truth that Nobody’s Talking About

August 30, 2013 by Jake Larsen

Well guys, here it is, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I asked Austin Craig, video marketing genius, the secret of how to make a viral video. Luckily for you it requires just a few easy steps:

1. Win the lottery
2. Use your winnings to buy a unicorn
3. Train your unicorn to ride a unicycle
4. Enjoy your life as a YouTube hero

Ok so basically what I’m getting at is this; expecting to think you can make a viral video is ridiculous. Austin and I get asked this question all the time. Every time I hear this I just want to face palm myself. His response is a little more professional. He says “I don’t immediately condemn them because that’s not a very good business practice., but education needs to happen in a situation like that”.

What you’re running is a business. A viral video is like winning the lottery, and buying a lottery ticket is not a business strategy” -Austin Craig

Now that I’ve ruined your dreams of creating a viral video, let’s talk about what you can do instead that is 100 times more likely to help your business. What would Austin do if someone asked him to help them make a viral video? He would first help them create a strategic sales video. Once they have found decent success in that, then he would be willing to try something a little more crazy so that the business would have a cushion to fall back on if and when their “viral video” only gets seen by 150 people.

Now you’re gonna say “Wait, but doesn’t Orabrush have a viral video? Isn’t that how they started?”. Kind of. Yeah they have a video with over 18 million views which I guess you could say is “viral,” but that didn’t just happen by itself. Orabrush has been promoting that video since the beginning to make sure that it would show up when people searched for relevant terms. On YouTube, there are 100 hours of video uploaded every minute. That’s a crap load of videos. How do you expect your video to get seen in all of that if you don’t promote it?

Planning for a Video to go Viral in your marketing is like planning on winning the lottery for your business to make money. It’s highly unlikely and it’s the worst marketing strategy you could have.

So what should your video marketing strategy be?

You need to gain people’s trust with a campaign of videos, like the Velcro Theory.

The Velcro Theory explains how to make a message or video stick. On one side of the velcro you have hooks and the other you have loops, when the two come together it sticks. The hooks represent Videos and the loops represent viewers. If you only have one hook your message won’t stick very well. For this reason you need to create a lot of videos to hook and stick with the viewers.

* If you are looking for more tips and tricks on how to increase your YouTube views and following, you should check out this Free Video Marketing Course

How Orabrush Used Video Marketing To Get Into WalMart

August 30, 2013 by Jake Larsen

I’ve been lucky enough to meet some pretty rad people in the world of video marketing. One of those people is Austin Craig. I first met Austin while I was speaking at a local conference and then also had the opportunity to work with him at Startup Weekend. Austin is a brilliant guy and has been the man behind a very successful YouTube video campaign for a company called Orabrush.

I sat down with Austin to talk about how he has successfully used YouTube to get his product (which is nothing more than a freaking tongue scraper) on the shelves of WalMart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and other big name retail stores.

So in case you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who Orabrush is, here’s a little bit of background. It wasn’t that long ago that Austin was just your typical college student studying Broadcast Journalism at BYU. When he saw that the industry wasn’t exactly taking off, he started looking into other options. During this little moment of soul searching he met Jeff Harmon, Chief Marketing Officer at Orabrush. Jeff basically said “Hey wanna help me sell some tongue cleaners online?”.

What would you do? Sounds like the business venture of the year right? Yeah it doesn’t sound like it to me either but it just goes to show that if you know what you’re doing you can use video marketing to sell just about anything.

Austin agreed to help, thinking he was getting into a one-time, fun little weekend project. They didn’t just take some expensive camera and take cool super slow-mo videos of their tongue scraper and cats or something then throw it up on YouTube.Before filming anything they started by researching what kind of videos were generally successful on YouTube. Research is often one of the most overlooked yet most important steps in any marketing campaign. Don’t forget it!

One thing that played a huge role in the success of Orabrush’s first video was testing different features like title tags, durations, thumbnails, and all kind of stuff in order to find out what brought them the best conversion rate.

They didn’t just make their video and upload it then sit back with their fingers crossed saying “Well, I hope this works”. They finally got the video to a point where they were their conversions were bringing in more cash than they were spending on advertising.

All of that extra money got put back into advertising and making other videos. It turned into a giant money snowball! They started hiring more people, making more videos, and with each video were making more money.

If you really think about this and you get creative, there’s probably a solution for your unsexy product or service that’s really going to capture people’s attention.”

-Austin Craig

The bottom line is this: Orabrush found success doing video marketing for a freaking tongue scraper, so who’s to say that you can’t find success for your product or service even if you think it’s kind of boring or unexciting. Austin tells me that the model that Orabrush used is “absolutely repeatable” and that “employing most of the same strategies today you could do a lot of the same things and see growth”.

I know what you’re thinking now, “Ok so what exactly did they do? How do I replicate Orabrush’s model?”. This is just the first video in a 5 part series I did with Austin. In the next parts he talks more about Orabrush’s success and gives some simple steps for you to follow, how internet video is changing the world of TV advertising, things to avoid in video marketing, and what everyone on YouTube wants to know: how to make a viral video.

4 Essentials to Marketing a Start Up Company with Video

August 30, 2013 by Jake Larsen

After my last blog post we know that Austin Craig knows what he’s doing when it comes to video marketing. He took Orabrush from basically nothing to being on the shelves of WalMart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and more basically only using YouTube. Now you’re thinking “How do I do that?”. In this portion of my five part interview with Austin we talk about some simple steps to using video marketing for start-ups like Orabrush once was.

The 4 C’s of Video Marketing

Content-

Probably the most obvious of the 3 C’s that Austin mentions is good content. People don’t want to waste their time with something that isn’t interesting. If they did, people would be going to hang out at the DMV just for fun. Make sure what your posting is visually interesting, or funny, or intellectually stimulating, or a clear answer to a specific question. Your video shouldn’t take people’s time, they should be giving it to you. Time = money. Don’t be taking people’s money, let them give it to you.

Collaboration-

Guys this isn’t school anymore. Use your neighbor/friend/follower to your advantage. You can collaborate with influencers in your market, online micro-celebrities, or even just fans to name a few. One thing that has worked well for Orabrush is that during their videos they will say something like “leave a comment below if…”. That has got people participating not only through commenting but sometimes in video responses which is basically free advertising for them. They also contacted a few different YouTube celebrities and had them make a review on the Orabrush. This will get your name out to a wider audience (not to mention to an audience that has already given their trust to your new spokesman).

Calls to Action-

The modern day consumer isn’t stupid, they just need to be told what to do. They don’t want this to be like trying to guess what you’re girlfriend wants when she says “I’m fine”. Just tell them what you want them to do or they most likely won’t do anything! In basically every video you make, have a button that says “Click Here To Learn More”, “Buy Now”, “Subscribe”, or whatever you want them to do.

Consistency-

Austin calls consistency “arguably the most important” of all of the four C’s. Your audience wants to know basically what they can expect. Be consistent in duration, frequency of upload, and style of video. Treat your YouTube channel like a mini TV station. On TV people know what day and time they can find their favorite TV show. If they just had to keep checking on that channel at random times during the day to make sure they didn’t miss their favorite show people would get upset and stop caring. Also they know what kind of content to expect. What if your favorite music artist had a different genre of music every time the released a new album? A few people might think that was cool but the majority of people would hate it because they want to know what to expect.

The Biggest Mistake People Make In Video Marketing

August 30, 2013 by Jake Larsen

This is the final part of my interview with Austin Craig, spokesman for YouTube success story Orabrush. I hope that they’ve been interesting and that you’ve learned something awesome. If you have, share these blog posts with someone else who might find them interesting as well. In this last part Austin talks about what to avoid for those of you doing video marketing.

The thing that Austin talks about isn’t so much a mistake in action as it is a mistake in mindset. That mindset is that people see online video marketing as something that’s new and scary and different and so they avoid it. Don’t be scared of it! If you’re too scared to mess around with it, you’re never going to learn how to use it. You’d be like our parents learning how to use the computer. They’re scared they’re going to break something if they play around with it so they don’t try and they don’t learn and then they turn their kids into their own personal Apple Care (am I right or am I right?)

If you don’t know how to use AdWords for video, go to the University of YouTube and learn yourself something useful. Dedicate just a small budget to promoting your video at first. If you lose $50 so what? Consider it an investment.

Think about this: Imagine you have no job and I give you a guitar. You could be too scared that you might break a string, or strum a wrong chord and just leave the guitar in the case. Or you pick it up and learn how to play, go out on the street and play for people as they pass by, earning a little cash here and there. Then you take that cash and reinvest it into your guitar playing. Pretty soon you’re playing for small private parties, festivals, concerts, whatever. You’re a rockstar. Don’t just let this opportunity to use these video marketing tools pass you by.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently” -Henry Ford

When I worked at ZAGG we ran a campaign for one of our invisibleSHIELD’s and put a bunch of money into it right at the beginning thinking we knew what we were doing. When we got some numbers back we realized we were getting a horrible ROI on conversions. But because of how powerful these tools are we were able to go in and see that 18-35 year olds were converting really well but the 60+ crowd was just wasting our time. So we paused the ads for their group and only showed them to the age group that cared. We kind of learned the hard way, but we did learn and that’s what was most important. We were then able to apply what we learned to our campaigns in the future.

Well guys that’s it for my insightful interview series with Austin. I personally think that the content, ideas, strategies, and advice from these videos could be worth $1,000. Knowledge is priceless. If you apply the things you learned from watching and reading these, it’s very likely to bring your business much more than that. But here I am giving it out to you for free. All I ask is that you don’t waste what you’ve learned. Share these with someone else and as always, let me know what you liked, what you didn’t like, what you would like to learn more about, or anything else.

Why I Quit My Job a Month Before My First Child was Born

August 18, 2013 by Jake Larsen

Jake Larsen here. I’ve decided to leave my stable job of four years and pursue my freelance marketing and consulting business full-time. This decision has been snowballing heavily on me for the last year and it’s to the point where I could not pass up these opportunities.

The situation does not come at a convenient time. In one month I am going to be a first-time father. Luckily I have the best wife in the world who supports me more than any jock strap I’ve ever worn. She’s fully on board for the adventure. I see this added responsibility and pressure to succeed as extra fuel to my fire.

The hardest part about this decision is the fact that I had a great job at a great company. ZAGG provided me with a plethora of benefits including: Insurance, matched Roth401K, Stock Options, PTO, daily recreation time, (gym, pingpong, ZAGGsquare, foosball), soda, snacks, etc. I worked with an amazing team and got along great with management and peers. To top it off, there were many days that we would break iPhones and iPads at work. Who does that? I honestly enjoyed going into work on Mondays.

So why would I leave?

This heavy question requires a heavy answer. I’ve written this detailed and lengthy post to help explain myself and my decision process. Just a heads up, it’s a long one.

A Cess Pool of Innovation

When I was first hired on, I was told that ZAGG hires entrepreneurs; people who take responsibility and get things done. Given this entrepreneur mentality, ZAGG had become a breeding ground for talent. Many of these talented people have become my closest friends. Some of these friends have also moved on to blaze their own trial, while others are still there doing amazing things.

The internet marketing team at ZAGG would call our area a “Cess Pool of Innovation”. This was because we weren’t scared to experiment and test out ideas. One of the things I admire about ZAGG is their culture of experimentation. Failure is not a thing to be feared but encouraged as it’s necessary for growth. We’ve had many marketing successes but even more failures.

Using Both Sides of the Brain

I grew up very right-brain heavy. I expressed my creativity through the outlets of video production, design and filmmaking. This passion and talent of mine is what initially got me the job at ZAGG. I quickly realized the importance of using the other side of my brain, the left side that’s responsible for numbers, analytics and logic. I’ve never been interested in numbers and threw in the towel in math when we started using letters instead of numbers. (Letters were meant for spelling, right?)

Sure I could create great videos, but they were worthless because nobody ever saw them. It’s a problem that has plagued most businesses and people. They may have an amazing product or service, but what good is it if nobody knows about it?

Being at ZAGG exposed me to a whole new world of data, analytics and numbers, which forced me to use both sides of my brain. I became fascinated with Google Analytics and the ability to track the numbers of visitors, traffic sources, keywords, bounce rate, flow charts, event and goal tracking, sales, etc.

My mind was blown when I started playing around in Google Adwords. Keyword research, SEO, PPC, CPM, CPC, Conversions, conversion rate, retargeting etc. I was amazed at the targeting ability that Adwords provides advertisers to get their message to the right people. I was shocked that you could increase the click through rate by 200% by changing the headline or the placement of a button through A/B testing.

I learned so much by surrounding myself with talented people. ZAGG’s marketing and e-commerce team is among the best out there. Email, Social Media, PPC, SEO, Video, Designers and Developers; you name it, ZAGG does it and does it well.

Any marketer can track and measure numbers. Good marketers can create well designed ad campaigns. But it’s the great marketers that play off both sides of the brain to create emotion in people that drives action. Great marketers tell the story behind the numbers.

I’ve loved being a part of the ZAGG family as we helped each other grow. It’s crazy to think what ZAGG has accomplished in the last five years. Then I look at myself and it’s just as crazy to see the growth that has happened to me in the last five years.

The knowledge I’ve gained at ZAGG University far exceeds anything I could have learned at any other college. I came into ZAGG a student knowing next to nothing about online marketing. I’m leaving a seasoned professor having spoken about our experiences across the nation.

I don’t consider myself an expert by any means. I firmly believe there are no expert marketers, only expert testers and experienced marketers. What works for one company may not work for another. Similarly, what has helped a company get to where they are, will not continue to work to get them where they wish to be. Thus brings the importance of testing and measuring.

How We Became YouTube Marketing Ambassadors

ZAGG was one of the first companies that started to use YouTube heavily with their marketing. With the success of our videos and scratch tests, ZAGG became a YouTube case study on how people and businesses can effectively use video.

When I was first hired on, ZAGGtv, their YouTube channel didn’t exist yet. Now, 35 Million views, Millions of dollars in online sales and 4 years later it’s seen incredible growth. This success was a result of a super talented marketing team and the innovative culture that is fostered at ZAGG.

We did our job so well that we were one of nine companies, chosen by Google, to be YouTube Marketing Ambassadors. We were given beta access to TrueView, YouTube’s new advertising platform. They flew us out to the Googleplex in Mountain View and the YouTube HQ in San Bruno not only to get our feedback but to share their vision with us and what the future holds in online advertising. It was incredible.

All nine companies came into this Ambassadorship expecting to have Google tell us how to improve our campaigns. To our surprise, they told us that they actually learned more from us the value and potential of YouTube. They observe and studied how other people and businesses are using their products in ways Google never intended.

The Tipping Point

My decision to leave ZAGG reached its tipping point when I realized where the future is headed and how my experience and knowledge, positions me to take full advantage of the huge waves of opportunity that are inevitably coming.

When I worked at Fox Entertainment in LA, I was able to talk to several executives and leaders in the television industry. They were worried of the future because of the massive disruptions that have been going on in advertising.

Advertisers are willing to pay big money for your attention. TV stations make billions of dollars by renting out your attention to advertisers. When you watch the Bachelor, Breaking Bad, the Walking Dead or (Insert your favorite TV show here) These TV stations sell your attention to advertisers through commercials. So when you start fast forwarding through the commercials, the TV stations no longer have your attention, thus making the advertisers’ commercials worthless.

Our attention has been transferring from TV to YouTube. YouTube is doing to TV what TV did to the radio. Slowly killing it. I’m not saying that YouTube is replacing TV because there will always be a need for it. Even radio is still around and has it’s place. But the value that TV brings to consumers and advertisers is decreasing.

Their problem is our opportunity.

YouTube > TV

Gone are the days of forced advertising; watching and seeing ads that we don’t want to see. The tables of power have turned from the advertisers to consumers.

TrueView (YouTube) advertising allows consumers to skip an ad if they’re not interested. It also allows advertisers the ability to hyper target their ads at an affordable price.

The billions of dollars that are being so carelessly spent on TV will inevitably flow to YouTube.

Everything that YouTube Advertising is, is everything TV is not; Engaging, Targeted, Affordable, Trackable, Relevant and the Future.

The ability to hyper target an audience in TrueView is unreal. For example, anyone can create an ad that targets…

Males
18-25 years old
Interested in technology
Uses an iPhone
Lives in San Francisco

To top it off you, the advertiser only pays if the viewer watches half of the ad or 30 seconds. Whichever comes first. It’s performance based advertising. No longer a shot in the dark hoping to hit something.

The analytics learned from the advertising campaign is just as amazing as the targeting ability. Advertisers can know…

Number of times the Ad was played
Number of times the Ad was clicked
Where the Ad was shown
When the Ad was shown
How much of the Ad was viewed
If a product was purchased afterwards
The Cost Per View
The Cost Per Conversion / Customer Acquisition
The Conversion Rate

Compare this to the TV Model…

Give us $200,000. We estimate that your message will be shown in 500,000 households. Whether people actually watched your Ad we don’t know. They may be in another room when it airs. We also don’t know if the viewers actually did anything after the commercial. Did they drive to a store and purchased your product? Probably not.

There’s so much valuable data gained in online advertising that just isn’t possible with old media (TV, Print, etc)

For this reason, I’ve been calling YouTube the Wild West for a while now. It’s new online real estate that is high in supply but low in demand.

The CPV (Cost Per View) in YouTube is now where the CPC (Cost Per Click) in Search was 10 years ago. Low cost real estate that will grow by 1,000% in the next 5 years. Since Google owns YouTube this is all done in the AdWords platform.

Think of the massive dent that Google has placed in the universe in the last ten years. What Google will accomplish in the next ten years will make this dent look like a small scratch.

Good Things Fall Apart So Better Things Can Come Together

The last couple of months have been busy as I’ve tried to balance my day job, grow my company on the side and cater to clients’ needs. I was coming home from work only to do more work. Combined with trying to maintain a healthy home and social life, it began to be too much. I wasn’t being fair my day job, my clients, my wife and I wasn’t being fair to me. Sure I may have been at the office, but I wasn’t really at work. My mind was off somewhere else. I was no longer being fair to ZAGG with my time and work and I didn’t feel good about it. My current clients and future opportunities demanded more of my time and focus which left me no other option but to end my current employment. With the growth of my side business, I handed in my letter of resignation.

I would not have made this leap of faith without a safety net, in this case being: two separate companies who are in need of my services. Just last week I received two signed contracts and a retainer amount that will easily replace my income from my day job and only consume a quarter of my time.

My New Off Road Vehicle

ZAGG has been a great vehicle for me to get me where I currently am. I am where I am now because ZAGG has trusted me with their keys. The road I was headed down was a safe and stable road headed to a nice place. The place where I aspire to be requires a different vehicle. An off-road vehicle. A vehicle that requires me turn off the stable road to blaze my own path to a destination not yet known.

My new off road vehicle is Video Power Marketing, a company I created that specializes in video marketing and advertising. Helping people and companies increase their sales, traffic and exposure using video. If you are in need of our services you can contact us here.

Is leaving my job a month before the birth of our baby daughter risky? Sure. But anything worth doing is risky.

How Austin Craig Funded Over $70,000 on KickStarter with Life On Bitcoin

August 1, 2013 by Jake Larsen

I had a chance to interview Austin Craig about his experience funding his Kickstarter Project, “Life on Bitcoin” as he was going through the crowd funding process. In this segment of the interview Austin Reveals what he did to raise over $70,000 on KickStarter.

“New platforms present new opportunities.”

Bitcoins are basically digital money. They’re virtual tokens that can be exchanged for products and services at places that accept it. Now that the Kickstarter campaign was funded, Austin and his now wife are going to document their first 90 days of married life, only using bitcoin.

Checkout Life on Bitcoin and You can follow Austin and Becky along there adventure