The one thing that you want to make sure that you express in your video is what you are selling.  This seems like common sense, but advertising executives in the 1980s often came out with “clever” ads that did not exactly represent what their client was selling.  These ads were mostly for upscale products that were supposed to appeal to “intellectuals” and not to the commoners.  The ads were mostly pretentious and not successful. 

While you do not want to be obtuse about your product, you also do not want to keep hammering the name of the product throughout the ad as if the client is either demented or deaf.  Keywords work well with SEO articles, but are not necessary in a video ad.  You want to make sure that you mention the name of the product at least twice, the benefits of having the product and where to get it.  You can do this quickly, but must make sure that the name of your business and website is clear.

If you hire someone to create your video, they will most likely present you with several ideas.  Advertising people are experts in marketing and very creative.  They may come up with the perfect ad.  But it is going to cost you.  They will, however, be able to come up with the right way to present the product and your business with the right amount of information, without overdoing it.  You can choose one of their ideas if it is something that suits you.

Suppose, however, you want to make your own video ad?  This is relatively easy to do as camcorders are easily accessible and relatively inexpensive.  With some imagination, you may be able to come up with something creative that will be remembered.

Sometimes, the best known commercials on television are those that featured interesting characters that were difficult to forget.  Those of us in Chicago know the “Empire Carpet Man” and would probably recognize him more easily than we would the Vice President.  The Empire Carpet company began filming their commercials in the early 1970s using an actor.  People assumed he was the owner of Empire Carpets, and he became so popular that they have continued to use the actor since.   This was a low budget commercial, but it made the carpet company a household name in Chicago.

There have been others who have stood out as well.  “Crazy Larry” in New York.  He owned an electronics store and used to shout and scream like a crazy man.  The commercial was very well known, not only in New York City, but across the country.  And it did wonders for his store.  This was another low budget ad and no actors were needed as Crazy Larry himself did his own advertising.

There have been others who have done this with much success.  In just about every city, there is a commercial character that people remember.  Even today, most of us know the Bob Evans’ “Sun” man.  These characters stick in our mind because of one thing - they are people. 

People relate to other people.  Particularly those who stand out.  This does not mean you have to act like a lunatic or dress like the sun to perform in your own video.  But if you have a pleasant appearance, a good voice, can appear before a camera without being nervous, you may have what it takes to perform in your own internet video ad.

If you add a bit of humor to your ad, you can generally get more attention and publicity.  Remember that you  want to make sure that your ad is entertaining.  This is the key and the entire purpose of video advertising on the internet.  Just as a film producer wants their film to be entertaining, so does an advertiser.  And if you are creating your own ad, you have to make sure that your ad not only gives the viewer pertinent information about your business and products, but also entertains.

Which type of advertisement on television sticks out in your mind?  Chances are, it is either those you remember from your youth, those with interesting characters, or those interesting commercials shown during the Super Bowl.

Some of these advertisements cost quite a bit of money to film and even more to broadcast during the Super Bowl.  Others cost very little to film and were only on local channels but generated just as much publicity. 

Many of the most successful commercials and advertisements contained quite a bit of humor.  Americans love humor and funny videos are often passed around the internet through e-mail.  Most people get several of these types of funny videos from their friends and relatives in their e-mail each week.  Again, Americans love to be entertained.

So if you decide to act in your own video internet ad, be sure to do so with a sense of humor.  No one will want to watch someone drone on in a monotone voice about how great his website that sells discounted DVDs is.  They will be bored quickly and press stop.   If you have an outgoing personality and pleasant speaking voice, you may be able to manage your own video ad.

A video ad featuring a person is more effective than one that just features an object.  Even if you have a real estate brokerage website and want to feature virtual tours of homes, be sure to put a little human quality in with the video.   Humanize your video for your audience. 

You do not have to be Cecil B. DeMille to come up with a good video for your website or as a way to generate business over the internet.  You simply have to have a bit of an imagination and a way to come across as honest and a person with whom someone would want to do business.

As much as you want your video to stand out, you also do not want to make a video that is so entertaining that it detracts from your purpose.  Remember that the purpose of video advertising on the internet is to draw more customers and business.  You want to use this as a way to add to the revenue from your business, not to become an internet star. 

No matter whether you have a professional create your internet video or if you decide to do this to it yourself, you want to make sure that your audience knows the name of your business, what you are selling and how they can contact you so that you make a sale.

You can also use your video, if you decide to create it yourself, as a marketing tool to advertise specials and sales by e-mailing the videos to your regular customers.  It will seem more personal than a standard e-mail and is also another effective marketing tool and yet another bit of content you can add to your internet video ad.