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Every business that wants a stake in the future has an Internet marketing plan. However, some companies still underestimate the power of video marketing.
When you use online video to support your business’s digital footprint, you show audiences that you are a leading brand–using the latest tools and technologies in your Internet marketing strategies.
Video marketing is one of the most essential elements of Internet marketing, and you’re about to learn why.
Video Marketing – What Kind of Content to Create
Coming up with video marketing ideas for a small business can be a challenge, but that is what marketing is all about.
Among all Internet marketing techniques is one common characteristic: getting out of your comfort zone and experimenting with new approaches.
Reaping the benefits of video marketing is only possible by trying a variety of content ideas and analyzing the feedback.
The specific video content your business creates will depend on what you do and what your mission is. However, observing the successes—and failures—of others is one of the best ways to come up with your own video ideas.
Research successful video campaigns within your niche to see what kinds of video your business can create.
No matter which type of video you choose, make sure your content is valuable to the audience. Don’t create videos just to fill your feed with content.
Instead, brainstorm each new video idea with the intent of captivating your audience and converting more viewers. The more relevant and creative your content, the more success with Internet marketing you’ll find.
How to Promote Your Videos
Once you have created the right content for your business, promotion is the next essential step to maximizing your reach. Two main platforms come to mind for video promotion: social media and your existing business followings (website, email, blog, etc.).
Social Media
Social media entails a lot of different networks. The key here is to avoid limiting your Internet marketing opportunities to only a few select social media websites and apps. Rather, circulating your content on as many social networks as possible allows you to build links to your video and to reach as many potential clients as possible. Follow this step-by-step process to promote your video on social media:
- Upload the video to YouTube. Because YouTube is the largest video hosting platform on the Internet, uploading your video here should be automatic. Although many social platforms are introducing the ability to directly upload social videos, YouTube ensures maximum playback quality, which leads to more views and less dropouts. Additionally, YouTube allows you to centralize your analytics.
- Post the video on social media. One benefit of directly uploading your video to social media is that the user doesn’t have to click on a separate link to watch it, and oftentimes the video automatically starts playing in the user’s newsfeed. Therefore, you may consider directly uploading your video and including a YouTube link.
- Add a call-to-action. This is the most essential part of promoting your videos on social media. Besides adding a CTA within your video, you must ask your followers to watch the video. Any video post without a proper text invitation makes your video appear negligible or not worth talking about. In addition to urging your followers to watch the video, encourage conversation in the comment section. The more attention your video can get, the better.
Existing Networks
Your business should already have a following on platforms other than social media. This may include an email subscription or website registration base, a blog, or your website. You should be able to contact your existing clients to promote your new videos and encourage them to share the videos or provide feedback. Even though these platforms are different than social media, promotion works in a similar way.
- Upload the video to YouTube. If you are an advocate for self-hosting your own videos and reaping the specific benefits provided by that method, feel free to do so. However, self-hosting can come with several drawbacks that make uploading to YouTube safer and easier. Additionally, most major brands upload their videos to YouTube rather than self-hosting, which opens up some perspective on the conflict.
- Distribute your video. Place your video on your landing page, include it in a blog post, send it out in an email newsletter, do something with it. Your brand’s existing following is a valuable asset. It is essential to promote your video to an audience you know will enjoy it. Additionally, your loyal following can help maximize your video’s exposure if you ask them for help.
- Add a call-to-action. No matter where you decide to place your video, there are a variety of ways to go about petitioning your audience to take action. The CTA can be as big as asking your email subscribers to share the video for a special discount code or as small as asking a website visitor to watch the video. Calls-to-action fuel the activity your videos generate, so don’t neglect them!
Conclusion
As you can see, the advantages of Internet marketing combined with a video marketing strategy are undeniable. The advantages of video marketing are unprecedented because online video itself is unprecedented.
Once you learn to harness video’s creative power, your business can reap the benefits of a successful marketing campaign, from greater brand awareness to increased sales.
All you have to do is follow these video marketing best practices and start paving your way toward digital success.
About the Author:
Brenna Clarine is a freelance blogger who writes and edits articles on a variety of topics. Check out her work at the Valoso blog, and benefit from her company’s unrivaled freelance video editing and videographer services at Valoso