Mark Cuban's Next Investment

Mark Cuban’s next investment is the marketing industry.

Video marketing suite VidIQ garnered over $800,000 in investment funds, with Cuban as one of the many contributors. Cuban and his fellow investors capitalized on an underappreciated market while foreseeing how many companies could benefit from VidIQ’s services.

This is a basic rule of investing and something that every novice investor show follow—the ability to recognize a problem within a given market and invest in companies with solutions to those problems.

VidIQ is crucial for marketers in raising viewership and optimizing videos on YouTube. There has been more than enough promotion on Twitter and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), but YouTube is one of the most underutilized platforms in the marketing realm.

YouTube is the “second largest search engine in the world,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle, but many companies are not aware of the video website’s true marketing prowess.

High profile users such as AOL (NYSE: AOL) have used VidIQ for promotional value.

Why is YouTube being underused by marketers?

While social marketing has been popular in the last few years, this new field of advertising is fairly new. Many companies are still experimenting with social network marketing, and not every marketer realizes which websites are the best for advertising a product or service.

Also, many companies do not know how to convert their videos to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) format or how to rank their videos on search engines.

Who is behind VidIQ?

TechCrunch names Rob Sandie and Todd Troxell as founders of VidIQ with Sandie as CEO. The duo decided to move operations from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to San Francisco, California in 2011.

Sandie and Troxell are also behind the video distribution service Viddler which explains how they were able to make a smooth transition into an all-encompassing marketing machine in the form of VidIQ.

How does VidIQ work?

Many companies are having video distribution problems, but VidIQ solves this issue by introducing companies to the world of YouTube. Many marketers are not aware that YouTube alone can solve their distribution woes.

VidIQ has two versions: a free version for managing one YouTube channel, and a fee-based service for marketers with something bigger in mind.

VidIQ’s primary goal is to help marketers drive more traffic and subscribers to their videos. The suite will also help users follow keyword trends. These keywords are always current, so companies will know the exact words that Internet surfers type into search engines.

VidIQ also offers an analytics platform that allows marketers to extract vital information on viewer engagement such as comments, vote counts, and anything else that will help businesses market their videos in the future. Based on past activity, marketers can build off of their success and add more of what viewers want to see.

In essence, the analytics tool will be a marketer’s secret focus group; viewers will not realize that their actions are being used to improve future content. According to Gigaom, the analytics tool can also break down male/female ratios, which will be a great tool for marketers to have in determining gender demographics.

VidIQ can also automatically upload videos based on a set time. This is based on a marketer’s knowledge of a certain demographic. For instance, if a marketer is promoting office supplies, then a person fitting that demographic may have a typical 9-5 job. This means that an office person would most likely search the Internet around 6 p.m. or later into the evening.

VidIQ is not simply a video marketing service, but a tool that will allow marketers to know their consumer base and engage them at just the right moment.

Why is this important to you?

Cuban’s investment could open a floodgate of VidIQ subscribers, which will translate into more revenue for VidIQ while handsomely rewarding investors. Cuban did his part in bringing attention to this small networking suite, and there are times when all it takes is a big-name investor to shine some light on a particular company.

Heads turn when Mark Cuban or Warren Buffett shows interest in a certain industry or company.

It is also a way of recognizing hidden trends. Social marketing is a popular platform, but many investors do not see this field as a profitable venture. However, Cuban highlighted a niche within social marketing that has been under-served, and his investment in VidIQ could encourage more investors to do the same.

It is a win-win situation for marketers, consumers, and investors alike. Viewers will be treated with engaging content based on extensive information that VidIQ offers to marketers, VidIQ will benefit from Cuban’s support and future investment, and YouTube will gain more traffic from highly optimized videos.

If you are a marketer, you can get a head-start on the competition by using VidIQ’s services. While VidIQ is getting the exposure it needs, there are still many companies that are not using YouTube as a marketing platform.

The time to use VidIQ is now because with all the investment and attention, it will only be a matter of time before competing marketers begin to use YouTube.

Will Cuban’s name elevate VidIQ to the next best investing hotbed within the marketing world?

Only time will tell regarding VidIQ’s success, but the company now has a better chance of attracting more investors.

Until next time,
Jon Carter