8 Tips for Using Video Content Effectively

Are you looking for a great way to stand out in your industry? Then video content is the perfect solution! Video marketing has quickly become one of the most effective ways to show off your products and services to potential customers. Here are 8 tips on how you can use video marketing successfully to get noticed.

1) Make sure your videos are short but sweet

People have limited attention spans so if they’re not interested or engaged within 10 seconds, they will move on to something else. This means that it's important that you keep your videos brief, but informative enough that viewers understand what you're trying to convey to them.

Making videos that are too long will only frustrate your viewers! Make sure that the message is clear, concise, and to the point.

If you include more than 3-4 sentences in a single video it's likely they will go over people's attention spans. Short, sweet, and to the point! That’s what your viewers want and that’s what you should deliver.

2) Create an easy-to-follow storyline

If people don't know what's going on in your video content, they may not watch it to the end. Make sure your videos have a logical start, middle, and end so that viewers can follow along with you easily.

Be sure to plan out what you're going to talk about before you start recording. You can write a script or just jot down notes so that you don't forget anything.

Keep it short. If you can't make your main topic clear in a couple of minutes, you might need to rethink the message of your video.

End on a strong note that will leave an impression on viewers. You want them to remember what they learned from watching your video and share it with others!

3) Keep your videos relevant

If your audience is expecting one thing from your video content, but they get something else instead, they'll be turned off. For example, if your videos are usually about product reviews, but then they become an ad for a new service you're offering, viewers will stop watching.

The same holds true for information videos. If your audience is looking for a tutorial, and instead they watch something that just explains what you're doing, they'll find it boring and stop watching. In this case, the video content was not relevant to its viewers' expectations or needs.

In general, if your video isn't relevant to an audience, they'll stop watching. That's why it's so important to focus on the content you're creating.

Break your video into parts

A great way to keep each part relevant is to break the subject matter into pieces and then create separate videos for each part. This not only makes videos more appropriate for their audiences, but it also makes it easier to create, edit and search for videos.

Making each video relevant to its audience has several benefits. For example, if your business is creating tutorials about how to use new equipment, then you might break the subject matter into different pieces like setup, settings and functions. That way, anyone who's looking for advice on setting up the equipment can find it easily, and they won't have to watch a video with information on everything in the package.

Keeping your videos relevant is important because an audience will stop watching if you fail to keep them engaged. That's why it pays to break up long content into smaller pieces and create videos that are aimed at different people or groups.

4) Let people know who you are

What is it about you or your company that makes you unique? You don't have to have millions of dollars in equipment to stand out. Just be yourself and give your viewers an idea of what you're all about.

Don't use technical jargon. Speak like you were talking to someone on the street. It makes your content more personal and keeps your viewers more engaged.

Keep your video consistent with your overall brand personality, look, style, etc. This is crucial in establishing trustworthiness. People will see that you are professional and know what you're doing.

Put your website, email address, phone number, Facebook page, Twitter handle...you get the idea anywhere you can. You want your viewers to be able to find more information about you or your company easily; plus these are social media platforms where new fans can follow you!

Don't be afraid to show a little personality. Your viewers want to know the people behind the video, so let them see who you really are. You can be professional without being stiff or boring. Just make sure your content is high-quality and interesting. The biggest mistake rookie marketers make is bad lighting, sound, and camera quality. Your video is only as good as its weakest link. Invest in professional equipment if you can and always do a test run before you film for real!

5) Develop a consistent voice

Before you create your first video content, think about the tone that you want to set and then stick with it throughout your campaign. For example, if most of your videos are light-hearted and funny, don’t mix in serious ones as well.

Consistency will also help your audience to understand your brand better. If you have a large social media following, it may be helpful for them to watch the evolution of your company as it becomes more established and gains a better understanding of what kind of content interests them most.

6) Make use of video hosting websites

There are a number of sites that can host your video content for free. This makes it easier to share your videos with the world and start building a following. Some popular sites for hosting videos include YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.

While you can use a number of different video-hosting websites to upload your content, it's important to keep an eye on the type of audience that the site typically caters to. If you're going to be uploading content related to football matches, then maybe YouTube would work best. If you regularly make cinematic videos, using a site like Vimeo might be your best bet.

There's also the option to upload your video to more than one hosting website, but make sure that if you do this, each of the sites used is appropriate for the type of content you're uploading and that they all target different audiences.

7) Include a call-to-action in all of your videos

People have short attention spans so let them know what you want them to do next. You can do this by using a call-to-action overlay on your videos, having people in the video ask for a click-through, or creating a separate landing page that they can visit from the video itself.

The call-to-action could be as simple as saying "subscribe to our channel" or it can be a more complicated request like "subscribe and visit this link: [link] to get your free eBook." It doesn't matter what you say but make sure you aren't asking for anything too difficult.

Use annotations to get more views on your videos. Annotations are clickable links that appear on the corner of your video while it is playing. YouTube allows you to choose whether or not the person has to be watching the video for an annotation link to appear. Annotations are usually set up with a call-to-action at first, but then the call-to-action will take people to another video or a website.

8) Promote your videos effectively:

There are lots of ways to spread the word about your new video content. This includes sharing it on social media, embedding it on your website, and sending out a newsletter blast. You should write a blog about your video or create a press release, then distribute it to your target market. Try submitting the video to relevant sites, such as Huffington Post or The Wall Street Journal. Organize an event around the launch of your new video so that you have an excuse to get people excited about it in real life. The possibilities for promoting your latest video are endless!

You can also help promote your video by sharing it on social media sites. Make sure you use relevant hashtags to make the content easier for people to find. You should definitely post images or short videos of your video content with engaging text, this will encourage viewers to check out what you have to say. If your brand has a Facebook page, you can also put the video on your wall so that ALL of your followers have a chance to see it.

Although you should be using your social media accounts to share the content, you should also try reaching out to influencers in your industry. Try sending a tweet or Facebook message to a popular blogger and ask them if they would like to review the video on their site. In exchange for a link back, of course! You can also simply ask your friends to share the video with their followers, this might get you some more exposure. Be sure to thank them either way!

If you have a little bit of money in your marketing budget, you can also try spending it on paid advertisements. You can put up an ad on Facebook or YouTube and target people in a specific location. If your video is about an event happening in New York City, for example, you can target all Facebook users who live there. This will get your ad in front of a massive number of users without costing too much money. You'll likely hear from people on social media telling you how brilliant the video is and asking where it came from!

Even if your video content isn't about an event, you can still run a similar campaign on Facebook. Instead of targeting specific locations, target users based on their interests. This will allow your video to pop up in front of people who are really enthusiastic about what they're watching! You'll eventually start seeing some engagement rates that are significantly higher with this approach.

Congratulations! You've made it to the end of this article on Tips for Using Video Content Effectively.

To recap all eight tips for using video content effectively:

1) Make sure your videos are short but sweet

2) Create an easy-to-follow storyline

3) Keep your videos relevant

4) Let people know who you are

5) Develop a consistent voice

6) Make use of video hosting websites

7) Include a call-to-action in all of your videos

8) Promote your videos effectively

If you have any questions about what we discussed Leave us a comment or private message me.