Video has always been one of the tools in a marketers kit bag but historically it has been the domain of corporate marketing with big budgets. The internet has changed all this and now video as a marketing tool is within the reach of most businesses! What’s more, video SEO is rapidly becoming a vital part of any search marketing strategy. Arm yourself with an inexpensive digital video camera and some software (eg VideoPad), and you have everything you need to make a corporate video. If you don’t fancy yourself as the next Steven Speilberg, there are an increasing number of professionals who will create a video for you on a very modest budget (Created by a local Videographer Jack Hoad, the video below cost less than £300). [responsive_vimeo 44887638] The marketing benefits of video are also on the rise. With Google’s purchase of Youtube, video should now be a key component of any search marketing strategy. Youtube is now ranked the number 3 website globally (behind Google and Facebook) and as such having a good presence here can really reap benefits.
Creating a Brand Presence on Youtube
As with other social network sites Youtube allows you to create a branded “Channel”on the site. This channel allows you to mix your own marketing videos with collections of other relevant videos thus creating an information resource that can really enhance your brand image. A good example of this is the Avande UK Youtube channel through which, amongst other things, they use “talking head” videos to answer questions posed by their customers. Simple to create, and engaging for their audience.
Video SEO
When considering video as a marketing tool, we should not forget the SEO benefits it offers. Youtube and Google are now one and videos are now increasingly included in Google’s listings. Making sure that you have well optimised videos (if you are using WordPress, Yoast offer a great plugin for Optimising videos.) should be a key element of any SEO strategy.
Video and Email Marketing
Finally a word about videos and email, although we can not recommend embeding videos in the content of email, placed on your website and linked from emails, they offer some great benefits. One emailer estimated that inncluding a video in their emails reduced unsubscribe rates buy 75%, whilst another estimated a 51% increase in conversions when video was used. You will find some other interesting stats related to the use of video here.
