Several different networking sites come to mind when we say social media – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, to name a few. But what about video? I’m sure everyone has heard of YouTube, the second largest search engine on the planet. With millions of online subscribers and over 75% of the U.S. Internet audience watching online videos it is hard to make an argument as to why one shouldn’t use online video marketing techniques. Not only are the markets present, but video gives your business a myriad of innovative and creative options to explore in building video content. So the question is: how is your business using video marketing to increase its social media presence?
The first thing to consider when producing an online video to promote your service, product or business is quality. If you are trying to decide whether to shoot with a home camera versus in a studio go with the home camera. It is more real and people trust it more. Just make sure you have good quality audio. Audio quality can make or break the credibility of a video, and investing in an external microphone is not only inexpensive, but well worth it.
Another option, although not necessary, is uploading video in HD. Take note that shooting video in HD, uploading video in HD, and streaming video in HD are three separate notions. All users stream their videos from different sites and use different players, causing playback to be different for each individual. It would be extremely unfortunate to find that after shooting a beautiful HD video only a small percentage of your users can stream it.
An important advantage of video marketing is its SEO benefits. Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the “natural” or un-paid search results. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. Thus, the more video content you have on your website, YouTube, or other social networking platforms will result in a higher volume of search hits. This gives your website web presence and will drive traffic to your business.
Now is the time to start integrating video into your social media presence. Not only does video interact with your users and promote your brand in a creative way, but it also opens more doors to reaching and connecting with new users. Here are a few tips in blasting video content:
• Post videos to Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn and other social networking sites
• Create a YouTube page for your business and join live-streaming sites
• Shoot your own video blogs, webinars and training sessions
One last, final recommendation on incorporating videos into your social media marketing campaign is to ensure that your video content is quality. Videos should establish the topic and reason for the video within the first fifteen seconds. The great thing about social media is the user is in control, and if they don’t get what they want out of the video, or think it doesn’t pertain to them, they have the ability to look elsewhere at the click of a button. On that note, your video should not be about YOU. It should target your audience and make them feel that it is for them. So, start shooting! Be innovative, creative, and informative with your videos and add video to your list of social media tricks and techniques!
Amy McIlwain
@amymcilwain
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