We’ve been a video production company for almost 15 years. During that time, we’ve come to understand that (in most cases) the video itself is not the end product or the goal. Rather, it’s a tool that helps our clients get tangible results.
For that tool to work effectively, however, you need to follow a simple formula.
Craft your content thoughtfully + Take steps to get it in front of the right people.
Messaging Matters
First, your message must be crystal-clear. This means you have a detailed understanding of the audience you are trying to reach.
- Are they watching videos online or on television, for example? Are they browsing social media on their phones or on desktop computers?
- What gets them excited and how can you capture that excitement with the message you are sharing? What makes them scared or anxious and how can your product or service help?
- What length content is your audience comfortable consuming? Do they prefer a snack-sized video or are they willing to dive deeper into something more in-depth and detailed?
Once you understand your messaging, the content itself needs to be delivered in a clear and concise way. You get bonus points (and less people tuning out) if you can find a creative and visually interesting way to get your message across.
There are far too many distractions these days and clicking off your content and onto something else is easy to do. If you don’t get people’s attention in the first 5 seconds of your video, chances are you’ve lost your opportunity.
Raise Your Visibility
Once you’ve got your message honed and your video produced you want to make sure it’s seen by the right people. A proactive approach is best if you want to maximize your results. Here are three tips to increase your video exposure without spending a single penny of your marketing budget:
1. Put it in your newsletter.
People on your email list are there for a reason. They’ve already shown an interest in what you’ve got to say, so why not send them your new video? An added bonus is that you’ll be increasing your click rates too.
Pro Tip: Most email service providers don’t allow you to embed video in the email itself. (It’s unfortunate, we know!) Luckily, there are still ways of convincing viewers to press play. Our favorite method is to include a thumbnail of the video that shows a play button. This quickly tells your readers that you have video content and increases the odds of them clicking the image. By including a thumbnail that links to your video’s landing page, you’re increasing your website traffic too!
2. Add a link to your email signature.
How many emails do you send each day? If you’re having a lot of email conversations, this trick doesn’t cost you a penny – so give it a shot!
The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Signatures:
- DO limit your signature to 3 or 4 lines
- DO showcase something you’re proud of (like your new video!)
- DO include a call to action
- DO include social media icons (not text links)
- DO include an image (a professional headshot can establish trust)
- DON’T jam it full of links and information
- DON’T include your email address (this is redundant and a waste of space)
- DON’T over-design (limit to two colors and one image)
- DON’T use an image in place of text (some users default to block images)
3. Place your video above the fold.
This one is simple. When designing your website or landing page, the higher your video is placed on the page, the higher your play rate. If you have a page that already gets high traffic, this is a great way to get your video in front of more people.
To prove this concept and fully understand how video position affects play rates, Wistia (a video hosting software company) collected data on 95,000 pages with embedded videos. They found that videos above the fold see play rates of 46% and higher, whereas video underneath the fold perform 27% and below.
4. Don’t forget the share button.
You never know who might be watching! If someone is impressed by your video, you should make it as easy as possible for them to share it with their network. Adding a share button is as simple as changing a few settings wherever you’re hosting your video, whether it be on Vimeo, YouTube, or other platforms.
5. Pin the video to the top of your feed.
If you’re on Facebook, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn, pinning video posts to the top of your feed is a great way to bring them extra attention and grab more views. When someone visits
your profile, your shiny new video will be the first thing they see!
To see just how much of a difference pinning makes, Buffer (a social media management platform) performed a series of tests on Facebook. They found that within a 24-hour period, they received 30 extra views, three extra likes, and three extra shares after pinning a new video to the top of their feed. They saw even more success on Twitter, 5 receiving 10x the number of conversions! To read the full study, visit their article The Art of Pinning a Tweet or Facebook Post: Inside Our Stats and Strategies on Pinning.
Pro Tip: To get the best results, try mixing up your pinned posts. If you leave the same post at the top of your feed for too long, your audience may get tired of seeing it. They might start to think that you’ve got nothing new to share.
6. Optimize your video for search (SEO).
Did you know that in 2020, 500 hours of video were being published to YouTube every hour?! That’s a lot of video. And a LOT of competition. In order to stand a chance, you should be optimizing your video for search.
Decide which video hosting platform will work best for you.
Are you trying to lead people to your website and generate more leads? Or are you trying to increase brand awareness and establish yourself as a thought leader? If the latter, YouTube will serve you well, as Google tends to favor YouTube in search results. However, if you’re more focused on website traffic, consider options like Wistia so that your viewers don’t get lost in the sea of other video suggestions which show up beside your video on YouTube. Side note: if you’re going to upload your video to multiple hosting sites, be sure to change your titles and meta descriptions for each so that you aren’t competing against yourself!
Pay attention to your title and description.
Spend some time creating a compelling title and description. Consider your keywords and make sure that it accurately reflects the content of your video.
Create a custom thumbnail.
A custom thumbnail can make a huge difference when a user is deciding which video to click on. To learn more tips on creating thumbnails that boost engagement, visit YouTube Academy’s Lesson 2 in their course “Get Discovered”.
Insert captions and a transcript.
Adding a transcript alongside your video makes a HUGE difference in SEO. Search engines can’t watch videos, but they can crawl through text so that it’s properly indexed. Including captions on your video also increases your ranking and makes your video more accessible to audiences.
Make sure the video that you want to rank appears first on the site.
Google typically only indexes one video per page, so if you’re trying to optimize one, put it at the top!
Don’t forget about video quality.
This may sound obvious, but video quality counts too. If viewers are only watching a few seconds of your
video before they click away, this tells Google that your content is either not relevant or low quality.
What else can I do?
Looking for more ways to ensure your video gets the highest return on investment? At Riveo Creative, we offer Branding and Content Strategy to build you a roadmap so you can maximize your ROI while still being true to your brand. Whether you’re looking for more sales, better job applicants, or higher rates of retention and employee engagement, the key lies in your story, how you’re telling it and where you are sharing
