Your Video Marketing Strategy

If video marketing isn’t part of your marketing strategy, it’s time to make some changes to your marketing plan. By 2013 90% of internet searches with be video based. So if you are not utilizing video marketing then your products and services could be passed up almost 90% of the time.

Producing videos and sharing them online through social media boosts SEO and drives traffic to your website. The problem is, your competitors have probably already figured this out.

When companies realized the benefit of using video for SEO they flocked to YouTube and other video sharing sites. Now, like with all other popular social networks, the challenge is getting your content found ahead of your competitor’s.

So how do you stand out with video marketing and compete with corporations that have much larger marketing budgets?

Content Is Key

Investing in a video that no one wants to watch is the same as investing in search engine optimization for a non-functional and less than appealing website. There is no point in trying to get your video or your website found if they don’t add value to you or your prospects.

When possible we recommend hiring professionals to create informative, promotional videos. However, you don’t have to have a large marketing budget to create a video that people want to watch. It could be as easy as shooting a video on your smart phone and downloading an easy to use video editing software like Camtasia. Just be sure to keep your videos short, under two minutes if possible.

Here are a few low budget videos our clients have found success with:

• Testimonials – Don’t worry if your client isn’t thrilled about getting in front of a video camera. Another option is recording a follow up call and then asking if you can use some of the wonderful things your client said for a promotional video. If he or she agrees, then edit the comments in Audacity, a free audio editing software, and bring the audio clips into Camtasia where you can attach images of the products your client is raving about.
• Crowd Source Content – A great and easy way to generate content is by having your prospects produce content for you. For example, if you plan on hosting an event try developing a social media contest that requires people to submit videos, on the spot if possible because they are less likely to participate if they have to go home and submit the video. When participants produce the content they are more likely to watch and share with others. If you notice there is very little traffic try personalizing a public comment that will prompt participants to respond, just in case they forgot about the video they created or couldn’t find it.
• Images – Instead of, or in addition to creating slide shows or image galleries try turning them into videos. You can either record a script in Audacity or include royalty free music.

Video Optimization

After you create a value added video the next step is distribution. There is no shortage of video sharing sites out there. When it comes to broadest reach, YouTube is still your best option, but it really depends on what your needs are. The important thing is that no matter where you decide to share your video you use applicable keywords so your prospects find you.

YouTube’s relatively new and enhanced analytics system is another reason to stick with the video sharing giant. One of our favorite things about the analytics is it does some of the keyword research for you by telling you exactly what words people are searching for when they come across your video. If you have a lot of people searching for a particular phrase, boost your SEO by putting that phrase in the video description, title, and tags.

Video content can and should also be turned into text and used as blog posts. People are more likely to watch the video than read the script, but search engines troll websites looking for fresh and relevant text. Don’t be afraid to manipulate the script by sprinkling in extra key words and including “video” as much as possible without being obnoxious.