TimesLeader.com

Posted: January 26
Updated: Today at 6:26 AM
Putting local firms on YouTube

Man with business in Plymouth has channel on Web site that promotes regional businesses.

By RALPH NARDONE Times Leader Correspondent

The Internet site YouTube is not just a venue for amateur videos.

It can also be used as a powerful marketing tool. Just ask Scott Cannon, owner of Video Innovations in Plymouth.

Cannon launched a channel on the global Web site devoted to promoting businesses in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Cannon started on YouTube the Wyoming Valley Business Channel, which he emphasizes is an inexpensive way to post professional-quality videos and draw in new customers.

“Video on the Internet is relatively new, but more and more buyers look online, and that number is growing by leaps and bounds every year,” he said.

Posting online video has more impact on these consumers versus putting up Web pages that are “just words on a screen.” There is research that shows consumers perceive people depicted in promotional videos as “experts,” he said.

The majority of local businesses should consider how much more attention their Web site would get if it included video showing actual product presentations.

To promote the business channel, Cannon will give away a $600, two-minute “infomercial package” to one independent business within a 75-mile radius. Entrepreneurs interested in applying can visit http://www.videoinnovations.com/.

Using the business channel can eliminate the need and expense in developing a Web site altogether, Cannon said. And, users can monitor the success of their promotion easily by visiting YouTube.

Local companies Abe’s Hot Dogs on Barney Street in Wilkes-Barre, Death Row Motorcycles in Drums, and Blacksheep Advertising in Shavertown utilized Video Innovations. In one year, the video for Abe’s posted on YouTube had 7,300 viewers, Cannon said.

Frank Stancato, owner of Death Row Motorcycles, said online video provides a better method of promotion than traditional advertising because it “educates” the consumer.

The video for Death Row “helped tremendously,” Stancato said. It allowed consumers to witness what makes his motorcycles special, such as the workmanship and quality parts used. That makes them more apt to buy, he added.

Video Innovations creates the videos at the business location, bringing the viewer right into the operation at a price ranging from $600 to $1,800. Stancato said the whole deal is “pretty nice and a good price.”

All are made to “tell the story” of the business and its products, Cannon said.

Cannon, a proud native of the region, encourages consumers to buy from local businesses whenever they can. With 20 years’ experience making commercial videos coupled with production time at local television stations, he mates his experience with a fascination in making commercial videos.

In the 1980s, every company wanted a video tape to hand out to consumers, Cannon said. That has not changed, he said, but the “delivery method” changed with the digital age.

The prize package winner will be announced on Feb. 2.