There’s no doubt about it – video marketing is huge. No matter what social site or website you land on, you’re bound to see at least a few videos, ranging from vlogs to LIVE sessions to carefully constructed advertisements. Video gives marketers the opportunity to grab the attention of their audiences with short, creative bursts of information, and there’s no end to the litany of unique things you can do to stand out.
As video marketing grows, some people are shying away from YouTube, instead looking towards platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others. I’m here to tell you that if you’re going to spend time on video marketing, you need to leverage all available platforms.
And YouTube, despite what you may have heard, is far from dead.
Why You Need Video Marketing
According to Forbes, “By 2019, online content will consist of 80 percent video marketing, and mobile consumption of video content continually rises by 100 percent annually.” Those numbers are astounding. Consumers who respond to visuals are retaining more of the details they get from video ads and up to 90 percent admit that video has an impact on their purchasing decisions.
Properly utilized, video marketing can have a huge impact on your business’s organic SEO rankings. A properly optimized video can increase your odds of a front page Google listing 53x. It’s also a lot easier to measure the reach of video content versus plain text. Sure, you can see how many times a blog post was visited, but with video you can track how many times a visitor watched the video, exactly where they stopped watching, and much more. The amount of feedback you can get will help you to better tailor your future campaigns.
Video, in general, drives engagement. Audiences, regardless of niche, love to interact with videos. They will share, like, comment, and otherwise interact with videos they love (and sometimes hate) more than any other type of content, including photos.
Facebook Versus YouTube
While Forbes indicates that 49 percent of consumers consume video on Facebook, another 32% still turn to YouTube. Considering YouTube is still considered the second largest search engine next to Google itself, there’s no reason at all to ignore the platform when creating your online video marketing campaigns.
Youtube and Facebook have both seen huge successes and there is no question as to whether or not video marketing is a passing trend (hint: it’s not). As a matter of fact, YouTube has surpassed live television in terms of overall popularity. Approximately 61% of the American population uses YouTube regularly. The site sees a billion unique visitors each month, globally consuming over 6 billion hours of video. The site is available in 75 countries and 61 languages. That type of reach has huge potential.
Even if you get a ton of engagement from LIVE videos on Facebook, you can leverage the content you’ve created by downloading it, making some simple edits, and uploading it to your YouTube channel as a replay. Anything you create for one channel can be duplicated for cross-promotion on another.
How to Rank Higher on YouTube
Of course, the methods you’ll use to rank and gain engagement are different from channel to channel. As you do create a larger content library on YouTube you’ll want to make sure your videos are properly optimized so that they’ll continue ranking, earning you new views and subscribers (and the future potential for monetization within the platform if you haven’t earned it already).
So what should you do?
Keep your Videos Short
Anything from a minute to three is considered golden. You can go longer from time to time, but the most engaged with videos are usually three minutes or less.
Contribute Something Educational
Don’t make videos that are full of fluff. Be creative about sharing an incredibly useful tip or piece of information your users will eat up. Video marketing isn’t about being salesy. It’s about adding value and educating the public. The sales will follow naturally when your audience realizes your product or service can solve a problem in their lives.
Aim for Quality
Quality beats quantity when it comes to video. Smaller businesses with a cozy personalized strategy can get away with live videos in well-lit rooms with good sound and a stable base for the camera. Larger businesses will need to be more competitive, with good video equipment or a strong video marketing team. The sharper you look, the better your response.
Improve Your Headlines
Your title matters as much on video as it does on a blog or other written work. Keep it short and sweet and try to naturally include a relevant keyword. This is important to the SEO and overall visibility of your video. Never leave a video with a standard numerical file name or title; it will decimate your ability to rank.
Write Clear Descriptions and Add Tags
YouTube’s description box is there for a reason. Use it. Your description should be written for the reader, but should also include some carefully placed keywords. Gloss over what’s included in your video, but try to keep it to a maximum of 3 lines. Less is more. Use the tag section for all of your short and long-tail keywords.
Customize Your Video Thumbnail
Make sure your video contains a clear thumbnail image that will look good on any size mobile device. The thumbnail needs to clearly depict the content of your video and should be high-resolution. You can include the thumbnail within the video or, if your account allows, upload a custom thumbnail after the fact.
The CTA Matters, Too
Just as with any other type of content, make sure your YouTube video has a clear call-to-action. Ask them to subscribe to your channel, like the video, click the link in the description to sign up for your newsletter. No one in your audience is a mind reader. You need to tell them what you want them to do – and they’ll do it!
Video marketing is growing and YouTube isn’t going anywhere at all. Utilize as many video marketing platforms as you find appropriate for your business, but don’t ignore this one. It’s guaranteed to make a measurable difference.
As always, if you’re stuck or struggling to find your next best digital marketing move, I’m available for consultations. Follow this link to reach out. Let’s connect!
Eric Sachs
SEO virtuoso, CEO @Sachs Marketing Group. Focused on being of service to business owners - helping to better position them in the eyes of their audiences.
