Mastering YouTube and putting your brand, product or service in the spotlight is not something that many modern marketers are familiar or comfortable with. In this guide we will offer you 10 easy steps to promote and market your small-business videos.
But first let’s hear from Rob Ciampa (@robciampa) of Pixability. On www.contentmarketinginstitue.com he writes,
“Businesses are flocking to video content marketing as an efficient and wickedly effective content tactic. But the focus on making the video often overshadows the marketing of it. And winning followers on YouTube requires different strategies than doing so through other types of content marketing.
Audiences are about 10 times more likely to engage, embed, share, and comment on video content than blogs or related social posts. Understand that YouTube is not just an online video repository; it’s also a powerful social media platform. Engagement is a critical part of earned media that allows brands to engage back, a critical method for driving views and action.”
So where to start? Get the right creative for the right message. Keep it simple. Sometimes professional grade content is required, sometime user generated content will suffice. Don’t over complicate your film creations and never put form over function. Ok, so we have (albeit briefly) addressed what the content is, now let’s start looking at the cleverness of YouTube and other promotional tools for your online video.
- YouTube already has some brilliant built in tools. By providing a detailed and accurate title you will get found more easily. Add a detailed description and you increase your chances further. Once you have included relevant tag words you are well on your way to success.
- Encourage people to like, rate, share and comment on your video within the film itself. This form of enhanced call to action will reap rewards.
- Remember YouTube automatically transcribes your audio and produces subtitles to your viewers, professional sound quality results in more accurate subs which by their very nature add more digital keywords to your online film.
- Start sharing your YouTube link with the obvious people, the friends and family, customers and clients that you already have a social network with. Encourage them to like and share your videos.
- If you represent your company online then ensure you have accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ where you can promote your content. These channels will help you drive viewers to your film and ultimately to your website where audiences can transact or learn more.
- If your company has a blog then make sure every new product or service video is discussed and linked/embedded.
- Separately you should consider using HTML emails to relevant target groups to share awareness of your online YouTube clips.
- Use free online PR tools to make other interested parties aware of your content. Try to engage with editors, journalists and bloggers who will pass on your expertise.
- Cross promote your YouTube channel within other channels like your company website, literature, email signatures and offline advertising.
- Google AdWords for Video is a powerful and cost-effective tool for promoting YouTube videos. Consider paying for keyword advertising on the likes of Google, Yahoo! and Facebook.
If you bear these basic rules in mind when you are developing your video marketing strategy you will be sweating your video assets and see an upturn in viewers, visitors and conversions.