There’s no doubt that online video marketing is on the rise. Numerous studies and statistics prove that video works. According to Forrester Research, it was found that videos were 50 times more likely to receive an organic first page ranking than traditional text pages. That’s a pretty impressive stat!
Online video marketing is attractive to many businesses and individuals today for numerous reasons. Making videos and posting them online is fairly inexpensive. Plus, online videos stay online forever. If you spend the money to record once, your video could still be getting views a year from now.
In addition, social media sites and video go hand in hand and most sites encourage video posting and sharing. The viral video opportunities are endless when you use the right strategies to create and post your videos online.
In a recent article on SocialMediaExaminer.com, Amy Porterfield provides an extensive list of tips for marketing your brand through a video, especially if you’re new to video, or have been thinking about flipping on your camera for the first time. Here are several that can help you get started.
- Make your title count – Just like a headline to a blog post, video titles can pull powerful traffic. There are two main reasons why the title is so important. One, a great title can instantly grab a viewer’s attention. Two, when you use the appropriate keywords in your title, you are more likely to show up on search engines when people are searching for your topic. And remember Google owns YouTube, so there’s a story connection between video and searching.
- Provide excellent content – Take some time to think about your ideal viewer. What do you know that they’ll find valuable? What can you teach them? “How-to” videos are extremely successful because not only do they offer great value to your viewer, but also you’re able to showcase your knowledge and skill, thus positioning yourself as an expert. This is key as you continue to grow your brand. Also, no matter how good your content is, it won’t matter if your video is too long and you lose your viewer’s attention. Try to keep them short. In late 2009, ComScore reported that the average video was 3.8 minutes in length.
- Include your URL in your video – When you edit your video, take advantage of the different editing features. One easy feature is to add a text box to your video. This is where you can display your website address and it’s a great way to get exposure.
- Always provide an HTML link – When you post on YouTube, you have the option to write a short description of your video. Always start with the link you want to drive your viewers to so you don’t miss this key opportunity.
- Go beyond YouTube – Most people post their videos on YouTube. In addition to this, make sure to always embed your video on your own personal website. This will increase the amount of time people spend on your website and help grow a captive audience. Also, Google’s algorithms consider how many times a video is viewed, and embedded video views you receive get added to the ‘views’ tally on YouTube. This is important for showing up in Google search results!
