Video has become a must in marketing and it's easier and more affordable than you think. Plus, it's fun and creative. We are always interested in effective ways to spend our marketing budget and increase our ROI, and video could be it.

A study by the research firm Forester, http://www.forrester.com/home/, shows that a web page with video is 50 times more likely to appear on a first page search than a text only page. SEO at work! According to the Online Publishers Association, 80 percent of all video viewers have watched a video ad online, and 52 percent have taken some sort of action

Your first step could be creating a one to two minute welcome to your site.Just pick up an easy to use camera at a Best Buy or Amazon, and you're good to go. For a few hundred dollars you can purchase a Kodak Zi8, tripod and microphone and learn to operate it yourself. If I can do it so can you, and it really does make a difference in exposure. Once you've done it a couple of times you'll feel more comfortable and might even enjoy the experience.

Choose a location with good lighting and use cue cards if that helps create a smoother delivery. Just smile, speak naturally and anticipate a few takes before you have a video that you feel comfortable posting.

Once you have a video recorded you can also go to youtube, https://www.youtube.com/, set up a free account and post your video there.

See you in the movies!