If you had the choice between watching a video and reading an article, which would you choose? In today’s digital age, it’s no secret that the majority of people will choose the video. In addition to blogs, photos and infographics, videos are playing an essential role when it comes to brand content. In a study, B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America conducted collectively by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, results show that video had the most significant growth of any content marketing tactic in 2012. Many believe these numbers will continue to grow.
To successfully incorporate video into your marketing strategy, keep in mind a few of these helpful tips:
1. Planning
What is the reason for your video? What would you like it to accomplish? Generate sales? Education? Or maybe it’s just to make your viewer laugh? If you cram too much info into one video, you will lose your viewer. Know who you want to target, how you want to make them feel and set the tone.
2. Length
Keep in mind that when people are searching the web, they are typically skimming for the information they desire. When they come across something intriguing, they want the information fast. That being said, the golden zone for videos is 3 to 5 minutes. According to Forbes Insight’s report, Video in the C-Suite, 47 percent of executives prefer three to five minute videos and 36 percent actually prefer videos that are one to three minutes in length. You want to give them the information they’re seeking before they get bored and look elsewhere.
3. Incorporate SEO.
It’s important to utilize the appropriate keywords so that your audience can find your video. This means including keywords in the title, with the most important words at the beginning, while also incorporating them in the filename and description. Google and other search engines aren’t able to decipher the content of your actual video so providing SEO in other ways is essential.
Once your video is ready to go, it’s not ideal to throw it on your site and expect your traffic to grow.
It doesn’t work like that. An awesome perk of producing videos is that you can embed them and share wherever you desire. It’s important to distribute your video through multiple channels. Let’s start with YouTube. It’s beneficial to link your YouTube channel with your website. YouTube is available on mobile and tablet devices with mobile making up more than 25 percent of YouTube’s global watch time, which equates to more than one billion views a day. It’s free, and to put the icing on the cake, YouTube is owned by Google, which therefore leads to quality backlinks.
Although YouTube is a great place to start, don’t throw all of your eggs in one basket. YouTube is helpful in reaching a huge audience but you may want to narrow the scope a bit in order to reach the targeted audience you’re looking for. Some other channels include BrightTALK, which provides webinars for business professionals, Slideshare, which is used for sharing presentations online and Xavy, which provides industry insights from experts. Utilizing these hubs will make it easier to reach that professional audience.
Once you’ve reached the video hubs, always utilize your social media outlets.
You can grow your audience exponentially by taking advantage of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. A great way to do this is by encouraging your viewers to share your content. Ask for “likes”, comments and feedback. What’s great about posting a video on, let’s say, Facebook is that your viewers don’t even have to leave the page to watch your video. It’s very simple and convenient for them. Keep in mind, the actual content is key. If you were to share something yourself via social media, what would be your reasoning behind it? For me personally, I share something if it’s surprising, comical or thought provoking. By connecting with your viewers personally they will be more inclined to share your content.
Lastly, always keep in mind that video should not be your only content channel. Video should be used to supplement other valuable quality content. To be the most successful in your content marketing strategy you should utilize a blend of video, SEO, blogs, articles and pictures to connect with your audience. Taking these steps will lead you towards a higher rank, loyal audience and overall more successful business!
