subject: Online Video Marketing Tips for Beginners [print this page] Online Video Marketing Tips for Beginners
I started creating and posting my videos on Youtube about a year ago. My theory was that I could generate traffic to my blog by placing my link in the description areas of my videos. So I quickly proceeded to testing it. I uploaded about 15 videos and waited for few weeks. It was intriguing to see that the clicks/day of each video were fluctuating between 1 and 4. Now you may think that it's too small to generate a considerable traffic. But before you come to a conclusion, let's do the math for a minute. Let's say for example that one of my videos had an average of 2.5 clicks/day (this is not the views/day). If we use this data for all the videos, the equation would be as follows:
2.5 number of videos = number of visitors
for 15 videos,
2.5 15 = 37.5
for 100 videos
2.5 100 = 250 visitors
for 200 videos
2.5 200 = 500 visitors
This means that my blog would get an average of 37.5 visitors every day. The example is a good illustration; however, it's not accurate because we didn't consider many factors which determine the number of views each video gets (tags, video titles, thumbnails, viewers, etc.).
Tags
Tags are simply keywords that help viewers find your videos on Youtube. For the example above, each video had about 3 tags. I later realized that using only 3 tags was a mistake. So I decided to launch another experiment. I edited one video and uploaded it twice. For the first upload I used 2 tags, and for the second one I used about 24 (the two titles were the same). After 2 weeks the first video had only 200 views while the other was watched 1,500 times. Adding more tags obviously made the difference. Therefore, using as many tags as possible is crucial to get views.
Another important thing I need to point out is the logical and natural order of your tag strings. Youtube works just like search engines. For example, if your video is about how to program using Java, don't change the order when typing. You may add some variations but the main sentence has stay as it is.
Spam Tagging
Some Youtubers add irrelevant tags to their videos in order to target a much larger audience. I call it spam tagging. I wouldn't recommend it.
Video Titles
Video titles are also important. They play the same role as keywords. The more compelling your titles are, the more you will get views. For those who don't know, when visitors are searching Youtube for videos, they look at two things: video titles and thumbnails.
Thumbnails
These are little image previews that represent your videos. Every video's default thumbnail is created from its middle frame. However, Youtube gives you the option of selecting the image at the beginning of your video or the one at the end.
Arranging your thumbnails can be a time consuming task, but it's worth the results. Your thumbnail can easily be the difference between 1,000 and 50,000 views. A simple example would be a trick that some people have been using. They manage to incorporate a little image in the middle of their videos when editing. The images will later become thumbnails once the videos are uploaded. Their goal, of course, is to get views (even from people who are not interested in their videos). If you have been using Youtube, you've probably seen some of these videos.
Related videos & response videos
Every time one of your videos is being watched, there will be related videos on the right side. This group of videos is determined by the entered keywords for the video that is being watched.
You can also respond to videos on Youtube by either uploading a new video or selecting from your previously uploaded ones.
Description Area
This is where all the elements start to stick together. Your description areas are where you describe the content of your videos. You can also use your keywords but the most important thing here is to include your blog link. As I said before, a lot of people do it; however some of them forget one important thing.
Before adding your link in the description area, you have to make sure that your video is relevant to your blog (or site). In other words, if your video is about Internet marketing, you can add your link only if your blog is related to the topic. Why? The link you place in the description will be considered as a back link by Google. And if your video isn't relevant to your blog, Google won't give you rankings.
An Useful Trick
If you want to build a successful online business, you will have to learn how to seize opportunities. That is the real key to online success since the Internet is constantly changing. For example, one of the tricks I've been using to get tons of views is uploading music videos. How do I proceed? I visit MTV billboard first to know what are the most popular singles. I then download a video from Youtube and re-upload the watermarked version. It's so effective that in two months I would get more than 2 million views. The only problem is that you will sooner or later get caught for copyright violation and be obliged to either take down the video or let some ads run while the video is being played.
Watermarks
You may want to add some information to your videos before uploading them (date of creation, logo, your blog link, etc.). Your objective is to get people to visit your website. Therefore, I recommend you include your link while re-editing.
Note: There are lots of good movie editing programs that you can find on the Internet and that don't require a lot of skills.
Annotations
These are little messages that appear on the screen of videos that are being watched. This is another way to promote your website. Consider them as a substitute when you didn't watermark your videos.
Download Youtube Videos
You can actually download any Youtube video. There are websites that provide this service. I use vixy.net and a free software software called Youtube Downloader.
The Equation
Now let's go back to the equation mentioned above. Let's say that you optimized your videos (tags, thumbnails, etc.) so well that each of them gets an average of 10 clicks/day (clicks/day is different from views/day, although they are connected). You compute as follows:
10 number of videos = number of visitors per day
if you have 100 videos, your blog will get an average of 1000 visitors per day
if you have 200 videos, your blog will get an average of 2000 visitors per day
