So how many people are watching videos online these days? Based on a ComScore report in 2010, in the United Kingdom, there were more than 5 billion videos watched. Now, that is only one country. So you can just imagine how many are actually checking out videos on a daily basis and not only in YouTube but also in other websites. In fact, videos have grown so much YouTube is already considered a search engine.
The good news is you can use videos to promote your products and services. A lot of people have already found success just by doing that. Think of Justin Bieber, for example, or BlendTec and its series of videos called “Will It Blend?”
You also can achieve the same status they are enjoying right now, only if you are willing to do the following:
Limit your video. Have you seen TV shows? A lot of them last for only a couple of minutes, 40 minutes max. Otherwise, it gets really boring. If you are creating a video, you should also limit its airtime. A single YouTube video normally lasts for around 10 minutes. If you can cut that to half or even a fourth, then better.
Do not forget your call to action. Sometimes you get too engrossed with the video’s production value you forget the most important thing: call to action. What is your objective for coming up with a video? Is it to convince your viewers to buy the product? Should they call your hotline? Must they anticipate your launch? The call to action should be very clear. If you have someone in front of your video, make him say, “Call us” or “Buy our product now.”
Come up with something ingenious. Seriously, this is the hardest part. How do you come up with a very original, fun, and worth-sharing video? But with a lot of brainstorming and coming up with a strong creative team, it is something that can be done. Here is one good tip: let them feel some emotion. Make them happy, sad, or even angry. The goal is to get into their psyche. Let them be inspired by your video they would love to hear what their friends and family say about it.
Allow embedding of your videos. Now that you have accomplished a video and you have already uploaded it, it is time to let your viewers do the job of marketing. One of the best ways to do that is including your embedding link or code on your video. It is the one viewers have to copy if they want to share your videos in their website or blog.
You can also turn on all those sharing buttons, such as Facebook and Twitter. That would also make sharing your content so much easier for your viewers.
Interact with your subscribers. If you happen to have some subscribers, take the time to be more engaged with them. Ask them questions. Let them look forward to more of your videos. You can even solicit ideas from them.