If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million. Think about how often we encounter videos in our daily lives. Videos are viewed 8 billion times each day on Facebook. Every minute, more than 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. GIFS have taken over the popularity of memes, and Vine sensations are just as popular as celebrities now. On average, American adults watch five hours of TV a day. If you’re not utilizing video marketing in your content marketing and on your website, you’re missing out on a whole lot of potential customers. There are plenty of ways to create a homemade video that you can share on social networks and though search engine results. Also, remember that YouTube videos are responsive. If you embed a YouTube video on your site, it will adjust to accommodate all screens.
Video Hosting and Video Interaction
Video helps improve your SEO. Adding video to a website can increase the chance of a front page Google result by 53 times. In order to get this improved ranking though, you need to make sure you’re following a few rules. For one, you should never upload video files to your own web server. This is because video files are large, and a limited server bandwidth means too much traffic will prevent your video from playing. Hosting through a site like Vimeo or YouTube ensures your videos adapt to the screen resolution/size, don’t take up too much storage in WordPress, and play reliably. You might create a new page for your video, so Google can more easily index it. Another idea is to make your content interactive through an annotation, caption, questions that can be answered in the comments section, etc. Video marketing is all about creating content that people want to share. To make things user friendly, you may split longer videos into shorter clips. It’s easier for someone to commit to a three-minute long video about your brand versus a 10-minute video.
Thorough Metadata
Besides just producing a stellar video though, it’s important to include relevant metadata to make it easy for search engines to index your content. The most important components of the metadata are the title, description and thumbnail. The length of the video, file name, and description are also necessary. If your video title isn’t short and to-the-point (ie: ‘How to Make Apple Pie’), people are going to pass by your video. Descriptions can give more details and keywords, so save the wordy stuff for here. Your file name should be relevant to make it easier for search engines to index it.
Successful Thumbnails
The thumbnail gives viewers a quick snapshot of what they can expect from your video, so it might be smart to include text or an intriguing image in your thumbnail. You should treat the thumbnail like a movie poster for your video. Successful examples include a close-up of the subject, title or keywords, expressive faces that hint at controversy, and professional-looking lighting. You can A/B split test in your video marketing to find the image that works best for you!
Keywords and Transcripts
If you’re familiar with SEO, you know that keywords can make or break your ranking. Before creating a video, you might make sure that the topic is going to have 1. A high number of searches and 2. A low competition percentage. These keywords might include a geographic location if you’re a local store that doesn’t sell products online. Adding a full video transcript not only helps you comply with ADA regulations, but also gives you a chance to throw in those keywords. Either add transcript to the audio portion of the video or to the description box (with the HTML of the page). This gives viewers an overview of what they can expect from your video.
Sitemaps
The video sitemap gives search engines details about your video so they can accurately sort it. It’s another way to show the title, description, subject, and duration, as well as additional details like country restrictions, expiration dates, platform restrictions and live streams. Your video can be promoted through an infographic, slideshow, or shorter videos before the actual release. Building up the anticipation ensures your video gets the viewership you’re looking for.
Embedding Your Videos
Be sure to allow embedding of your video so users can easily add your video to their website or blog. That way, you can earn more inbound links to boost your SEO. However, if you sell or distribute your content to a third party or TV broadcaster, there may be a clause in your contract that regulates whether your video can be embedded. On top of getting people to share your video on their site, you can spread the word about your video through social media. Paid promotions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter might be a viable option for you if you anticipate that this video will bring in a lot of revenue for your business. Audiences are 10 times more likely to engage, embed, share, and comment on video content than text only blogs.
Trackable Data
Since video has a feedback loop built in, it’s easier for you to identify the parts/types of video that are well-received and fine-tune your marketing efforts to get the biggest bang for your buck. Because video is linear, the count and time elements are already built into the analytics. It’s beneficial to know how long it was watched, so you can give this feedback to your clients, CEO, etc. The click-through-rate tells you that viewers were interested in your content, and the length of time someone viewed your video is an indicator of how intriguing your content is.
Evoking Emotion
Studies have shown that 65% of viewers watch more than 75% of a video, a much higher rate than text only blog posts receive. 71% of marketers say video conversion rates outperform other types of content marketing. Part of why videos are so popular is that they evoke emotion. Emotional triggers can cause two reactions after viewing: sharing or viewing. While one generates actual revenue for your business, the other drives brand awareness for potential conversions in the future. People are more likely to share a video is it surprises them or creates anticipation. Other emotions to tap into with your video marketing campaign are amusement, interest, surprise, happiness, pleasure, hope, affection and excitement. For an even greater connection with your audience, you can tap into these themes:
- Excitement of Discovery
- Family Values
- Desire for Control
- Desire to Belong
- Poverty of Time
- Self-achievement
- Reinventing Oneself
- Power, Dominance and Influence
- Wish-fulfillment
Memorable Music
If you decide to include music in your videos, choose wisely! Music is closely linked with emotions. One study found that visual stimuli shown with different music created varying interpretations and emotions in viewers. You’ll need to consider genre, instruments, and frequency for your music. Oftentimes, you don’t even need words in your videos. The music sets the tone and the visuals do the rest.
Brands to Follow
Some brands, like Coca-Cola and Toyota, are doing more than publishing to YouTube channels; They’re also embedding these YouTube videos on their website. If 61 of the top 100 brands embed YouTube videos on their website, that’s a clear sign that you should be doing the same. The great thing about a YouTube channel is that you can share other people’s videos as well as promoting your own. The top quartile of YouTube marketers have an average of 181 videos, yet the bottom had only 29 videos. Video lengths ranged anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes, proving that video marketing is as diverse as it is popular. If you want an example of a business that really knows how to utilize video, check out all the work that BuzzFeed has done. Their Tasty videos get millions of comments and shares on Facebook, combining visuals and text to make following a recipe as easy as pie.
Video Production Company
We work closely with production experts to utilize video marketing in your web design and campaigns. Brand videos can cover everything from product ads to trailers to product development stories. For those utilizing our website design services to revamp their brand, consider including an introductory video or product spotlight on your homepage (such as the one featured on Midland Radio’s homepage).The ability to tell your brand story as soon as a visitor lands on your site is a powerful thing. Watch bounce rates drop and sales soar when you take advantage of video in your site and marketing strategy. This service is an additional cost to a website redesign, but film and photography services can be purchased separate from a new website design if your site’s only looking for a touch up.
Contact Us
If you’re interested in incorporating more video marketing into your website or marketing efforts, contact us to learn more about how we can help. Our collaboration with a local video production company gives us the chance to combine our SEO know-how with creative artists that really know how to attract a viewer.