For a marketer who wants to make the most of the internet, diversifying your media output is an important step. Video engages an audience in a visceral way, and if invested in properly, can boost your brand awareness as well as creating trust. Its important to remember that with the popularity of smartphone technology, video is a very real part of the way a potential customer can find your content on the move. In a digital marketing strategy, video content is a powerful weapon.
However, not everyone is using video because it can be resource draining. It requires foresight, a good idea, professional execution and an understanding of the promotional algorithms of your chosen platform.
Planning
This is universal across marketing strategies: understand your audience. Thorough understanding of your USPs and target market will inform your content; do you promote your video with an attempt at a viral or joke video? Or do you take a more serious route?
There are two basic types of video: straight promotional videos, or content-specific videos which are useful in generating links. Promotional videos are useful for your web page or social media profile, as they can summarise your brand strategy and advertise in a clear, clean way. However, if you create genuinely good content you can create genuinely interested fans and they often equate into loyal customers.
The execution is also difficult, do you get other companies involved or do you try it yourself? Luckily, YouTube has pioneered the white background video, which means that making a professional looking YouTube video is easy. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll convert into a good advert and whilst you are using video, you might as well make the most of the format.
Creating The Video
It's becoming somewhat of a cliche, but content is king. Grab your audience with something entertaining but relevant to your company. Because of how easy it is to produce adverts in the digital age, all marketers are up against the big companies, who understand the potency of the video world. This is the daunting part.
Some ideas, such as animation or digital typography (which is an engaging text-based video format) require an expert to get a professional sheen. Others, such as a series of how-to videos, or a tour of the office, or conversations with the staff, help to personalise your brand identity without much effort outside of the purchase of a camera and basic editing software.
Traditional advertisements are within your reach too. Just think outside the box: in the internet age, a unique and interesting idea is the best way to get people on board.
Promotion
This video explains the main processes behind the search relevance of a video on YouTube. Using YouTube videos to boost your SEO requires a version of SEO itself: you need your video to do well on its own right on the site.
The best way of getting your videos to reach a wider audience is simply to publish more than one: if you create a plan for a running series of videos (for example, how to or latest news in the industry) that are easy to execute, then you could build up your internet presence with ease. When it comes to YouTube content, the more the merrier.
It's also important to understand the specifics of YouTube, how to best make the most of the format. Make sure that titles and descriptions are engaging and include keywords. Also make sure that tags have variation with both common and specific words.
Finally, make the video something that people will want to respond to. Ask questions, get video responses. If your video elicits a reaction, it (and your brand) will be remembered. At the end of the day, your ultimate goal is engaging your customer.