YouTube hit the digital scene in 2005, and has quickly become a bona fide social media darling. With over 3 billion videos viewed each day, the site offers a powerful combination of traffic, engagement, and social features, and it’s now a must-use for businesses of all sizes and categories. Over 17 million YouTube users have connected their accounts to other social media sites, which means you have a chance of reaching an audience that will help market your business, if you produce the right compelling content. Need ideas and pointers around producing videos your demographic will go nuts for? Prepare to be inspired!
Tips on Creating Engaging Video Content
Before diving into a plethora of ideas for your soon-to-be viral videos, let’s first consider the ideal strategies to use when shooting your company’s content. It’s obviously important to create polished, professional looking videos, which is thankfully possible these days on just about any budget. If you cut corners here, your audience will likely not take you seriously as a brand, so commit to quality out of the gate.
Next, you absolutely need an end goal and a strategy. Staring at a blank script and attempting to conceive the next great viral video idea is a recipe for a pointless exercise. First, consider what marketing or branding goals you need your video content to fulfill. Chart out a clear cut strategy for a video or series of videos as it relates to your company’s success. Treat this as you would any legitimate marketing campaign; document the plan, incorporate tangible goals, and then let the ideas unfold from there.
It’s also critical that your videos be approachable to the average user, even if your company specializes in a niche market. Don’t use obscure, esoteric language or concepts in your content, without being willing to explain things in layman’s terms. Videos work best in an acquisition role, with some exceptions, but you should never alienate a new customer by showcasing elitist terminologies.
Viral is Not a Business Model
Yes, of course the ultimate goal in any YouTube creation is to see your video go seriously viral. Trying to guess what exactly will create this sensation should not, however, be your main concern (seriously, who saw this obsession with goat videos coming?) Predicting the oddities of mass trends is far more challenging than even the most seasoned advertising executives can shoulder, so your objective should be to clearly communicate your company’s goals.
Jason Rich, author of The Ultimate Guide To YouTube For Business points out that it’s a giant misconception that a video must go viral to truly be successful. “If a small business creates a video and it’s seen by only 100, 500, or 1,000 people and those people wind up making a purchase or becoming a customer of that business, then the YouTube video served its purpose,” he states. If your content happens to hit the viral scene, fantastic – you’ve hit a home run. But stick to your strategy, not a wild vision of popularity, and you’re bound to see positive results.
10 Fabulous Video Ideas
At a loss for exactly what kind of video to create? Try these suggestions on for a little inspiration:
- Film a testimonial from 1 or more of your truly satisfied (and camera-friendly) customers. Nobody markets you better than people legitimately happy with your products!
- Record parts of events you’ve already thrown, and use them to promote your next events or products.
- Film important meetings to share with board members, key staff, or investors.
- Include videos of important presentations you’ve given, showcasing pertinent slides.
- Interview an expert in your company’s field, highlighting valuable information and advice.
- Get creative and shoot a video that outlines your company’s history, as well as your industry focus and offerings.
- Film a walk-through of your headquarters – show your fans where the magic happens.
- Execute a contest or sweepstakes through a video spot.
- Shoot “how to” videos to add to your help section and customer support.
- Create a video blog series about news, headlines, and trends in your industry.
Whatever videos you decide to shoot, remember that brevity is key (attention spans keep shrinking!) and impact is equally critical (tell jokes, insert dynamic effects, include jazzy music, etc.)
YouTube Videos Equal SEO Gold
Every video you include on your YouTube channel will assist in upping your SEO stock. According to expert Jason Rich, “The additional videos on a company’s YouTube channel will result in more listings when someone uses YouTube or Google to search for video content. This helps improve a company’s SEO results.” And since YouTube is literally the world’s second most popular search engine, you are wise to use every description, every opportunity to showcase your business’s brand throughout the site.
Utilize all YouTube tools to title, categorize, and add descriptions, as well as add any appropriate keywords. And don’t forget to promote the heck out of your content via all your social media channels!
Cracking the YouTube code isn’t nearly as hard as it may seem if you haven’t yet posted a video. A little success makes a huge difference for most businesses, and with YouTube’s tremendous popularity, it’s clear your company needs a strong presence to truly be successful on the web.
