Use Video to Amplify Your Marketing and Drive Results
Using video to promote your business can really kick your marketing up a notch. Read on for tips to getting started, with a specific focus on using social media’s live video components.
Video is a popular way to connect with people and it’s a tactic that’s here to stay. John Sammon, CEO of Sixth City Marketing, presented a recent WebEd Series Webinar focusing on how to use video to enhance your business’ marketing strategy and boost your bottom line. (Scroll to the bottom of this article to view the webinar in its entirety.)
Video can be effectively used to:
- Put a face to your business;
- make a personal connection with your pitch;
- showcase your company’s culture;
- broadcast what you’re up to at a live event (conference, etc);
- differentiate your company; and
- show off a product or service in detail—go live with it and do a walk thru of it.
Creating a more formal video and purchasing the necessary equipment can be costly. Sammon recommends that if you’re just beginning to dip your toe in the world of videos, start on your social sites.
Facebook: When most people think of live video options they think of Facebook. And with good reason—Facebook algorithms reward you for using live video by pushing them to the top of newsfeeds. Live videos can drive ten times more comments and shares because of the connection between users.
YouTube: The live components are easy to navigate on YouTube, which is the second-highest used search engine.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn Live is available only in Beta testing currently but is expected to corner the market on professional working life connections.
Here are some live video tips you can use as you start out:
Live video tip No. 1: It doesn’t have to be perfect. While it’s true that live video cannot be edited, your audience is aware of that and understands that your videos won’t be flawless.
Live video tip No. 2: Tell all your friends. Especially as you’re just starting out and looking to build your audience, alert your friends when you’re going live so you know you have people tuning in. Have them type in some questions to give you the opportunity to interact with your viewers.
Live video tip No. 3: Keep it short and sweet. Video on social sites should be brief segments so that you keep the attention of your audience, which tends to have a short attention span.
Live video tip No. 4: But don’t be afraid to go a little longer when appropriate. If you’re showing off a new product or service, you might want to really go into detail to hook your audience. Don’t worry as much about brevity in these cases.
Live video tip No. 5: Provide value. Release a product, make a big announcement—make sure you’re offering insight or something else of value to your viewers.
Live video tip No. 6: Show off your credibility. Feature a regular industry news wrap up, talk about what you’re up to at a conference or speaking engagement, or show your audience what’s going on at an event you’re attending. Steps like this can show you’re committed to being proactive in the industry, lead you to be identified as an industry expert and help build your credibility.
Live video tip No. 7: Watch the metrics. The great thing about video is you can get statistics on how much it’s viewed, when people drop off, etc. Keep an eye on these numbers and use it to drive your decisions on what kind of content, length of videos, day and time, frequency and other important elements.
Once you are done with your live video, you need to continue marketing it. Here are some things to consider as you’re doing that:
Market it tip No. 1: Reuse the video. You made a live video on Facebook and now it’s living on your timeline. From there you can export it and embed it on your homepage, or wherever you want to feature it.
Market it tip No. 2: Optimize the video. Make sure the title and description of the video contain keywords that will make it easily searchable.
Market it tip No. 3: Hashtag and link it. Include hashtags that are recognizable for your business and industry. And also make sure you include in the description a link back to your website.
Follow other companies making live videos and check out what they do—or just jump right in and start playing around with it. As you do more video, you’ll become more comfortable with doing video, and you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.