The Ultimate Video Marketing ROI Cheat Sheet (Part 1)

No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story - Gary Vaynerchuk

As usual, Gary V. is RIGHT. The following stats prove it.

• 52% of marketers worldwide believe that video best ROI compared to other types of digital content (Source Syndacast)
• A staggering 90% of online shoppers watch videos prior to making a purchase (Source Ethos3)
• Viewers spend 100% more time on webpages that include videos (Source:MarketingSherpa)

It goes without saying that video marketing is a HUGE! That's why; the vast majority of internet marketers are no longer questioning whether or not video marketing is an option. The real question is how to leverage video marketing for optimal ROI.

Since video marketing ROI is a very broad subject, I will divide it into a comprehensive, 2-part article series in order to cover all the proven techniques for maximizing video marketing ROI at all stages.

This article will focus on video content and video SEO tactics. The next article in the series will discuss video marketing analytics in vivid detail. Stay tuned for that

Video Content Production Best Practices

Did you Know?

• Did you know that people can spend 1000+ years watching YouTube videos that are published to date?
• Did you know that Google ranks videos based on the time audience spend watching it (watch time) NOT total views?

Based on this information, striving to create compelling video content is not an option: It's a must!

As a general video marketing rule of thumb, limit your video length to 5 minutes at maximum. If your topic is too broad, turn it into video series.

Start With The End In Mind. Define Your Video Marketing Objectives

I firmly believe that the why dictates the how. In other words, precisely pre-setting your video marketing business objective(s) is an essential prerequisite for video creation.

Lets address the top 3 common reasons for business video production:

1. Corporate Branding
2. Lead Generation
3. Customer Acquisition

1. How To Create Videos For Enhancing Your Corporate Branding?

• Offer excellent, authentic content that brags why your brand is unique and how does it add real value to your customers
• Give your video design the same look and feel of your website and brochures
• If you are offering an educational/how-to video, make sure to have your logo and website address displayed in the same place in all slides
• Close your video with an enthusiastic voice saying your company's slogan

2. How To Create Videos To Boost Lead Generation?

• Its a clever idea to create a video that's so relevant to your lead generation reward. For example, if you are offering an e-course in return for subscribing to your mailing list, entice your audience by sharing a compelling part of it in your video. If they like this tiny piece, they will devour the rest of the pie and your ROI will soar
• In addition to great content, the video should have a clear call-to-action (CTA). (I will be discussing effective video marketing CTAs in details below)

3. How To Create A Video To Increase Customer Acquisition?

• Focus on highlighting your unique value proposition. In other words, showcase how you products/services will solve a problem or meet a need
• If you offer tangible products, create individual videos for each product with real people using your product. Make sure video actors are identical to your target market in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and so forth. This way, your potential customers will relate to them and feel a magical bond with your product
• If you're selling products online, keep in mind the stat mentioned above: 90% of online shoppers watch videos prior to making a purchase. In this particular case, creating high quality videos that showcase your products should be a no-brainer
• Make sure to provide a crystal clear answer to the eternal question that all prospects ask: What should I confidently buy from YOU instead of your competition?
• This type of video is a good place to brag written or practical testimonials. Case studies are also very effective in that regard
• Don't forget to let your soon-to-become loyal customers know how they can find your great services by providing relevant links

Video SEO Best Practices

After you complete your video production, you will need to add textual and visual components to it in order to make it noticeable to search engines.

Video Title

• Create Compelling titles, making sure to include keywords in the beginning whenever possible (Do NOT force keywords into video titles if they're not suitable for video content. You may always use keywords in the tag section as I will explain later.)
• Avoid misleading video titles that trick audience into opening your video. These titles are your credibility killers that can instantly damage your reputation and shrink your videos watch time. Avoid them at all costs!
• Limit your video titles to 66 characters at maximum because Google truncates the rest in search results
• Update your video titles occasionally to keep your videos evergreen so they continue to attract viewership over time

Video Thumbnails

• Think of your video thumbnail as your mini-marketing banner. Make sure it looks eye-catching and stands out with an attractive design that's relevant to your video content. (Misleading thumbnails are as deadly as misleading video titles!)
• Its a good idea to create a general template for your video thumbnails where your logo is prominently displayed in a fixed place and background colors are the same. Then, you can get creative with the rest of the thumbnail and customize it to specific videos. Uniform thumbnails is an excellent e-branding tactic
• Make sure your thumbnail looks great on different devices by checking it on computers, iPads, cell phones and so forth.
• Include human faces whenever possible as they draw attention and make sure the foreground stands out from the background
• Bright colors are your best bet if you prefer animated thumbnails
• Audiences are not drawn to poor-quality videos. Google recommends the following size constraints for thumbnails:
  • A 1280x720 pixels resolution
  • A minimum image width of 640 pixels
  • Acceptable image formats are .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG.
  • Image size should be no more than 2MB
  • Go for 16:9 aspect ratio whenever possible because it's the most used ratio in YouTube players and previews.
• Google displays thumbnail at a smaller size in search results. Its a good idea to test your thumbnails in smaller sizes to make sure they still look clear.
• The following video tutorial showcases custom thumbnail creation tips and tricks:

File Names SEO Optimization

Optimize the raw file names of your videos and thumbnail images for SEO by including keywords separated by -or _ in the saved file names. For example, your video file name can have the format keyword1- keyword2.wmv and your thumbnail image file name can be in the format keyword1- keyword2.jpg.

Video Description

• Video description is a very important factor SEO factor. Search results return the first two sentences of your video description so make sure they sum up the most important information
• Make sure your video description is keywords rich
• Its recommended to include a video transcript in the video description whenever possible
• Include your website URL within the first two sentences of the description and include your social media accounts at the end of the description

Video Tags

• Video tags are invaluable SEO components. When users type keywords on search engines, your video will appear in the search results if it includes matching tags. Make sure to use the most accurate and relevant keywords in your video tags section
• Its ok to use tag phrases. Make sure to add them between quotes in the format my tag phrase
• You may also use long tail keywords in your video tags

Video CTA (Call-To-Action)

As the name implies, a call-to-action is a specific action you want video audience to take such subscribing, liking, sharing or commenting on your videos. There are several ways to leverage video CTAs. I recommend applying all of them for optimal results.

1. Take advantage of YouTube Call-to-Action overlays
2. Verbally request your CTA at the end of the video
3. Visually display your CTAs at a prominent place in your video. Visual CTA displays may include the like button sign, your website URL, your social media account names and so forth

Video Marketing Analytics Best Practices

Stay tuned for the upcoming article in the series as I will go through video marketing analytics in vivid detail.

What's your take on the tips presented above? Which of them resonated with you? Do you have additional video production and SEO best practices in mind?

Please share your insights in the comments. Your valuable contribution is much appreciated. To your video marketing ROI Success!

Now Read

• How To Promote Your YouTube Video Content
• 7 Hot Tips To Maximize Your Video To Generate More Sales Leads
• Vine vs. Instagram: Tips for Marketing Success with Short-Form Video

^{* Title images adapted from wmrice, chrisschuepp, LeeLeFever}