Employ these simple tips to your video marketing campaigns to boost SEO and connect with qualified leads.
The consensus is clear–one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience today is through video. In light of this trend, many video-savvy individuals are capitalizing on their expertise and offering insights to help others take advantage of the limitless opportunity that video offers. Starr Hall is one of those generous experts. Below is a list of her nine tips for creating optimized online video. We look forward to applying them at Reap as we jump into the video marketing game, and we hope you will too.
1. You Don’t Need Expensive Equipment: When she originally posted this article, Starr Hall suggested using the Flip Video Camcorder, which was great at the time, but has since been discontinued. Your smart phone is just as good, if not better! Check out this video I shot on my iPhone 4 and edited with iMovie last year (WARNING: video contains ridiculous content). My iPhone was sufficient to capture the content and get it out quickly to my audience.
2. Don’t Worry About Being Perfect: Chances are you won’t like the first take of any video you create. It’s OK to record a few extra takes, but don’t let multiple takes slow you down to the point of taking weeks or months to finish your video. Find the key points, rehearse and then speak to your customers from your heart. Your confidence will grow as you get more comfortable in front of the camera.
3. Keep it Short: The less people know about you, the shorter their attention span will be when watching your video. Your prospective customers want to know who you are, what you do and, most importantly, what’s in it for them. So give them the message in less than three minutes. Often, 60 to 90 seconds can be enough.
4. Include a Call to Action: So many websites have great videos but no call to action. If you want clients to call you or click on a link, then ask them to do so. You can also ask them to sign up for your e-mail list or visit your blog. If your video is focused on what’s in it for them, you’ll have their undivided attention. So take maximum advantage of this and prompt them to take the action you want them to take.
5. Make Your Video Visible: It must be on the first page of your website. Don’t hide your video on some obscure or deep page an online customer will never find. Including a short video on your home page can keep visitors on your site longer. Make sure you keep your video “above the fold” on your site, meaning visitors shouldn’t have to scroll down to view it.
6. Determine Whether You Want Your Video to Begin Playing Automatically: When your customers (or prospective customers) visit your website, do you want your video to play automatically? Your decision comes down to the behavior of your customers. If you’re selling a “one off” and customers will only visit your website once to purchase, then a video that plays automatically might work just fine. However, if your customers visit your website multiple times, you may want to consider having your video play on demand, as an automatically playing video could irritate them and make them leave.
7. Include Your URL at the End of Your Video: It’s a great way to get additional exposure online, especially if you are posting it to YouTube or Viddler, as there are millions of viewers on these sites. Make sure your URL is in a larger font, and place it at the bottom middle for better viewing and exposure.
8. Upload to Multiple Sites at Once: Uploading your video to all of the video sites available can be time-consuming. There are paid tools and services you can use to upload your video to multiple video sites simultaneously. There are also free sites, such as TubeMogul. After uploading your video, you can log in to your TubeMogul account and track the number of views, clicks and comments on your video. You can also track 10 other videos within the TubeMogul system, so if you’re in a competitive marketplace where video is used a lot, this is a great way to see what other businesses are doing.
9. Name Your Video Correctly: Give a relevant name to your video, and your video will show up better in search engine results. Your title should be something that matches what your customers are looking for. For example, if I’m selling widgets, then “Mybestwidget.mov” would be a better title choice than “9077709845wdgt.mov.” Use keywords in your title, and search engines will find it much easier to index your video file.
*Additional Note: Today there are many video uploading platforms that allow you to easily employ these tips. At Reap we have landed on Wistia. The guys there have made it super easy to optimize online video with clickable Call To Actions and email captures at the beginning, middle, or end of your videos. You can also choose to have your video play automatically upon page upload, or upon user click.
Read more from the source: Entrepreneur
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