Online marketing has gone through many changes over the years, and at times it has seemed like the “wild west” with lots of shortcuts and tricks that could get you ranked very high in the searches without much effort. However, those days are seemingly over, as Google has made many changes and patched up the “loopholes” that existed when it came to rankings. Fortunately or unfortunately, depends on your point of view, it also means that online marketers have more work to do as things constantly keep changing. With regards to YouTube video marketing, there are some best practices in order to get the most bang for your buck…
YouTube video marketing has undergone huge changes over time as more and more people have started using it. It is extremely easy to upload videos, but does take a little more effort to create something interesting enough for others to watch. Google now owns YouTube, so that makes it much easier to get good rankings on that search engine since they want to promote this valuable site.
Optimize the SEO for the video so that others will find it when searching. Make sure that you use good search terms in the right places and in the right amount in your description, as this can really make a difference for getting people to find you. Use a good description when uploading with YouTube video marketing, since this is what will show up in the search engine to let potential viewers know what the video is about. Include the most important information early, since there is always a character limit as to how much can be shown. Also, make sure that your website, landing page, or social media link is located at the beginning of the description, since this is the most important bit of info.
Good content is king, so make sure you are making quality stuff! Experiment with your videos, and test to see what works best. Get really good with using your video editing software, because they always have great tools in them that may help your videos look more professional. However, even if you have average content that you filmed, think about including a professionally done intro and/or ending to make it shine.
Link back to your main site or other social media accounts. Again, always be sure to include your link back to where you are trying to get the viewer to go to, since that is really the whole point of having them view the video in the first place! Include it early, and even inside of the video if you are so inclined.
Use YouTube Insights to better understand your metrics. Just like Facebook Insights, YouTube Insights contains lots of great information you can use to further fine-tune your SEO efforts and to ensure that your reach is as wide as possible. Learn to like metrics, and study this tool to optimize your YouTube video marketing efforts.
Annotations in your videos are great for clickable calls to action. Annotations are a fantastic addition to your video, since they can get viewers to interact with it and actually click on a link that will take them to somewhere you want them to go, such as a landing page, email capture program, or other social media page. Using this option differentiates between the amateurs and pros, as it adds an extra dimension to your marketing that really stands out.
Partner with YouTube to further monetize your videos for more income. It used to be extremely difficult to become a YouTube partner, since you had to have a certain amount of experience on the site, and also showing enough page views for them to be interested in sharing ad revenue with you. However, it is much easier today to do so, and all you really need to do is apply and get accepted. It is similar to Google AdSense revenue, and works in the same way. People who are viewing your video will see some ads while watching, and if they click on them you will get a predetermined share of the amount, which depends on what the advertiser is spending on the ad. With YouTube video marketing, always monetize everything you can, because there is no need to leave money on the table.
Research a good topic that is trending before making an arbitrary video. The best topics will always help you in your efforts to going viral, as those will be what everyone wants to click on and view at that time. You can find the latest trending topics by searching on Google Trends, or even checking out that information on YouTube. After all, there is not much sense in trying to create a video on a topic that nobody will ever watch, right? When utilizing YouTube video marketing, doing the appropriate research up front will pay off many times over in the end.
Create and upload lots of videos! Don’t just upload one video and think that you’ve done something! Creating videos for YouTube is both an art and a science, but it does take a certain amount of experimentation in order to know what will work best for you or your company. Create lots of videos, and ensure there are a variety of different kinds and techniques involved that you can test. Get very comfortable with your editing software, such as Camtasia, and the upload process so that you can eventually do it in your sleep. Remember, you will get better and better at it the more you do, so make sure you get creative and upload a few times a week at the minimum.
Hopefully, these ideas will help you get started with YouTube video marketing, and also give you some ideas of your own to explore! There seems to be no end in sight for the popularity of YouTube, and anyone who has spent more than a few minutes perusing the site knows just how much information and entertainment is available. Be creative, think outside of the box, discover trending topics that people want to watch, and have fun!
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Category: Integrating with Traditional Marketing, SEO