Perhaps you’re planning to produce a killer video that will truly embody your company’s image. Or maybe you’ve just put the finishing touches on one. You’ll likely be eager to get it in front of as many people as possible, once it’s ready. Are you sure how to use the video in a promotion?

More than 80% of companies like yours use video in their marketing strategies to engage audiences. They’re telling great stories about their businesses, products and services with today’s most popular medium. In fact, 83% of marketers are convinced the importance of video in marketing is only growing.

Since so many marketers have discovered the power of video for telling great business stories, it may be easy for your video content to get lost in the digital sauce. In this article, we share five ways to promote your videos so they will get seen and help you achieve your marketing goals.

1.  Use videos in email marketing

Including videos in email content is called video email marketing, one of the hottest techniques to increase click-through rate (CTR) with dramatic results. Simply including the word “video” in email subject lines can ensure success.

Video makes checking emails a more personalized experience for your audience. Video instantly engages more of their senses than the written word alone, which helps make nearly any topic more compelling and complete in your audience’s imagination.

The ways to use video in email marketing are limited only by your imagination, by the way. Announcing a product line, a service launch or an event with a video in an email gives your audience more information to be delighted about. Using video in nurture emails can move your audience along in their customer journey. 

You can explain your topic, such as company culture, how to use a product, even the excitement of an event, more vibrantly with video. Introducing your videos directly to your audience through email marketing will boost their online visibility.

2.  Optimize video content

Optimizing your video content helps persuade your audience to watch your video now. It involves several areas:

Optimize for search results - Search engine optimization (SEO) incorporates relevant keywords and phrases in your video title, meta-description and tags to give it the greatest chance of showing up in search results. Include video transcripts so search engines have an idea of what your video content is about. SEO also ensures your video content is shareable and linkable.

Optimize for mobile watching - Statistics show viewing video on a mobile device rises by 100% every year. Enjoyable viewing on a smaller platform on the go is a different experience than even a desktop viewing experience. It requires a little “phone friendliness.” This could mean including a graphic transcription of an audio interview or using music only. It always means choosing a mobile-friendly format for your video.

Optimize for each social platform - When creating videos for social, choose dynamic, topical stories that will keep your audience engaged from beginning to end. Tell those stories using attention-grabbing titling, editing and graphics. Consider different formats that are native to different social platforms, like square or vertical videos. Keep it as short as possible, and include a strong call to action to persuade your audience to do the exact action you want them to do.

3.  Publish videos on a native platform

They say great video content is meant to be shared. And the best way to share it is to host your video online.

Popular platforms include Facebook, Vimeo and Instagram, but the largest and most influential platform is YouTube. YouTube is second only to Google in terms of internet search volume (Facebook is fifth, and Instagram is 25^th), so you have more opportunity to reach your target audience by using YouTube.

They also say never underestimate the power of a great thumbnail. When people are searching through YouTube, they're looking at video thumbnails to make viewing decisions. So it’s a good idea to use an image for your video that has the best chance of teasing your audience into wanting to watch now. This may take some time to produce, but it will be worth it.

4.  Promote videos on social media

Leverage the promotional tools and services available from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and others to draw attention to your videos. These services allow you to target your advertising for your audience based on a variety of factors, including demographics. You also have access to analytics to test the results.

Plus, if you’re successful at touching the hearts of your audience with the video content, you’ll create more engagement and get more shares, comments and likes.

5.  Share videos

In addition to sharing videos on your company’s social media platforms, make sure to share with specific or popular online communities you know will have an interest in your video content, such as LinkedIn or Facebook groups, online forums and internet destinations designed specifically for a common interest.

11outof11 for video marketing optimization

When you want to optimize your video promotions for the best results, connect with 11outof11. Request a complimentary call with an 11outof11 expert. Contact us to learn more.