Video Marketing

There is a marked trend towards increased digital video spending. The “extra” money is being funneled away from traditional television ad budgets. Forrester Research says that digital video advertising spending will hit over £1.28 billion in 2011. In just five years, the respected research firm predicts it will increase to £3.45 billion. Andy Tu, of digital video ad network, Break Media, says, “Video advertising spending is growing faster than expected, and this is the first time a significant portion of the increased resources devoted to it are coming from television budgets.”
While we do not expect TV advertisements to vanish anytime soon, there is no doubt that marketers are finding increased efficacy and relative affordability online. Billions upon billions of videos are viewed on YouTube, which is just one (albeit the largest) forum for videos. Other sites, like Vimeo, are on the rise, and business is taking notice. How can marketers optimise their video efforts?

• • Create a strategy. What do people NOT want to see when they are on YouTube? Sales pitches. The quickest way to kill a video is to try to sell the viewer something they weren’t even looking for. They are, however, looking for entertainment. Volkswagen’s Darth Vader ad, one of the year’s most popular, for instance, offered a cute two-minute video of a pint-sized Vader trying to command the electronics. Will he succeed? Watch the video and see.Obviously Volkswagen wants to sell cars, but this ad doesn’t hammer you over the head with sales-speak. It’s fun. It’s worth a minute or two of your time.

    What is your strategy? Why should people spend their time with you?

• • Create a bank of videos – fun, engaging, interesting, or informative. Not everyone is a cute baby or fluffy dog, so that winning approach won’t work all the time. Be yourself but make sure “you” are interesting. Create a store of videos that offer your viewers something, whether it is a how-to, a thorough product unboxing and review, or something completely inane and fun.

• • Make a channel to create an easy way for viewers to find you and more of your videos. Make sure to add optimised titles, tags, and descriptions.

• • Consider purchasing “Promoted Video” ads so YouTube will highlight your video. The increased exposure can help you stand out from the crowd. As with text ads, make sure you target your keywords very carefully to maximise results.

• Add an overlay; this text on your video is clickable and will lead viewers to your main website.

The allure of video is that anyone with a webcam or phone can create a viral hit. This also tends to fool marketers into believing it is easy to do so. You have to have the goods, so to speak. To be viral, you either have to be very, very good or egregiously bad – if you are banking on the former, take the steps above. Viral doesn’t happen; it’s earned.

Posted by Ed Shutenko, SEO Manager at Bullseye Media