Master video marketing – three tips to get you started
So you made an interesting (aka unboring) video? Great stuff, go you! Now it’s time to master video marketing.
And here come the questions. Where can we see your video? How many views has it had? Oh! And what search terms did you use to make sure your audience finds it?
Is your video on Instagram? Did you share it to Twitter? Facebook’s a bit on the nose these days but there are still more than 1.9 billion people on the platform every day. It’d be a good idea to get your video in front of a few of those eyeballs.
And did you see this latest report on LinkedIn? Apparently there are 600 million daily users now. Woweee. Did you publish it there too?
If you’re currently thinking, “will you please stop with all these questions!”, we get it. We ask ourselves these questions all the time. it’s A LOT. But we just really want to make sure our videos (and yours) are …you know …watched.
So if you’ve been dreaming of oodles and oodles of watch hours, you’ve come to the right page.
In this post, we’re sharing the three things you need to get on top if you want to master video marketing and make sure your video has the greatest impact possible.
Shall we jump straight it?
Master video marketing with versioning
Ah versioning. It’s the ultimate in multi-tasking – trust us. But what on earth does it mean?
Let’s say you have a 10 minute video sitting pretty on your YouTube channel. You slaved over it for weeks. Gave endless thought to your audience, your message and your call to action. And then you hit publish. The thing is, it’s been live for three weeks now and you’ve only had 14 views (and you’re slightly suspicious 12 of those were your own).
So, what’s a video maker to do to ensure those watch hours clock up? Well, that’s where the versioning bit comes in.
First, take another look at your 10 minute video and pinpoint a few key sections that pack a lot of power. You could end up with five 15 second grabs or 10 two minute grabs – or a million other variations. As long as it’s captivating, it will work. Remember – you made a great video, so you will definitely have lots of powerful moments in there!
Next, ask your video editor (maybe that’s you) to version those grabs into individual micro films. Any competent video editor who knows their way around Premiere Pro or the like can try their hand at it. You don’t need to hire any whiz bang special effects artist for this, promise! It’s also not going to break your budget because the content is coming from your original video. You’re not recording anything new.
Now, take those micro films and share them across the various online platforms your audience hangs out on.
If you researched your audience before you rolled camera on your awesome video, you’ll know exactly who your audience is and where they consume content. Just be mindful that while your audience might frequent LinkedIn and Instagram, these two social platforms have distinctly different specifications. One of your two minute micro films might be perfect on LinkedIn, but something under one minute is more suited to Instagram.
The specs have a habit of changing quite frequently too, but SproutSocial keeps on top of what’s up. Here are the latest guidelines.
If you haven’t done the audience-research bit, stop right there! Before you go any further, can we suggest checking out our online course that’s all about defining your ideal audience? It will be a huge saviour if you’re serious about seeing those watch hours spike.
Want to know more about versioning? So glad we piqued your interest! Check out this episode of the Moonshine Moonshot series which is all about versioning.
Makes sure you get the written content spot on
Ok, moving on to tip two: written content.
Don’t fret – you don’t need to be a pulitzer winning novelist to bang out some written content for your video. But you will need to invest a little time to make sure what you’re writing is actually saying something.
Because words matter. Even when the subject is a video.
To begin, you’ll need to do a little bit of research on the right title. Because if you don’t have a title that engages people and makes them want to click straight away, you’ll lose them.
And there’s more. The title also needs to be searchable – if no one is searching for your video title, they’re going to seriously struggle to find it amongst all the other videos out there. And your video deserves to be found!
The good news is that’s it pretty simple to find out if your title is search worthy by having a peek around YouTube.
See if the title you’re thinking brings up results – it will help you work out if anyone’s even looking for those words, or if there’s too much competition.
If you’re serious about getting it right (and you should be), there are also a heap of handy plug-ins like Vid IQ – which was literally designed to “boost your YouTube views” – that can recommend keyword, title and descriptions to use around your video and make sure it’s found and watched.
Our last tip if you want to master video marketing? Embrace QR codes
Isn’t it funny that something that was super daggy in 2015 is somehow the hottest trend in 2022?
QR codes had a glow up in the pandemic era and now they are, quite literally, everywhere. Can you even remember the last time you walked into a store without using one? No? Us either. They’re just part of everyday life now, which is a great thing for video makers.
Why? Because if you link your video to a QR code – BOOM! It’s in the palm of your audience’s hand. They’re watching it straight away.
So what do you need to pull it off?
- A great video
- Other marketing campaign assets like a poster, brochure or flyer that relates to your video content
Then all you need to do is create a QR code linking to your video from a site like this one and include it on the artwork (or do a quick print run of the QR codes and stick them on your collateral if you’ve already gone to print).
Ta-da! You’re now giving your readers a visual experience by including a QR code to your video. Look at you, a master video marketer.
Let’s go over those three tips one more time
So there you have it – our top three tips tp help you master your video marketing and get your video watched again and again.
To recap those three tips were …
- Versioning
- Written content
- QR codes
All over it? Bravo. Need some more help? No problem. Mike and Sue chat these tips through on an episode of the Moonshine Moonshot series. Head here to watch now. And if you’re serious about making great video content, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel while you’re there!