Most of us are not fans of scrolling through pages and pages of website text. A short and dynamic video can help a visitor compare offerings, learn the benefits of your services, and/or view your products in action.
How often do you observe (via online video no less!) savvy marketers and SEO experts offer a myriad of fantastic ideas to help you create a business video. None of this information is worth anything - unless - you learn how to implement these practical ideas when leveraging your video to generate more sales leads.
In this blog, I have defined seven easy tips on how to promote your video on your website and in your communications to generate more customers. Part 2 of this blog will outline social media tips to help you achieve gazelle-like growth.
Before diving into the "How To's" to promote your video consider this:
Video is a competitive advantage:
Absolutely, video is more powerful at converting visitors to customers, but only 9% of small businesses (24-99 employees) and 19% of mid-sized businesses (100-999 employees) have a video on their website. (Source: SMB Group U.S. 2012 Survey)
Skyrocket your website conversion rate by adding a video on your landing page. Refer to tip 4 for details. Yes, I'm teasing you to read this entire blog!
An online video propels you ahead of your competitors but only if you leverage it! Here are my seven points, (garnered through my experience over the years), to support you in leveraging the video you have created to promote your business, products and services.
How to promote the video on your website:
1. Host the video on your site
Do you want to get more bang for your video buck? Don't post your video on YouTube and then insert the link on your site.
A hidden tip that few experts will share is that you should host your company video on your own website.
Why is this important? Google indexes websites and images separately which is why everyone uses ALT tags. Few companies have a video but even fewer host it on their website. I have no doubt that they will be sure to investigate the pro's and con's of doing so after reading this blog!
NOTE: It is best to host the video on your website, however, failing to do so, you should host it on Vimeo as it will display clearer on your site and more importantly, it will load faster than on YouTube.
This being said, utilize every opportunity to promote yourself and post the video on YouTube as well as other video sharing sites (to be discussed further in Part 2 of this blog).
2. Create a video sitemap
Many web developers are unaware that they can create a video sitemap and leverage it to improve your SEO. Remember, web developers are good at building sites - they are not SEO gurus. Avoid engaging a web design company who is a "Jack of all trades but master of none!".
Refer your developer to Google which has great resources and an excellent video on how to create a video sitemap.
NOTE: There is only value to creating a video sitemap, if it is hosted on your site.
3. Where to feature your video on your site
The first and most obvious place is to post the video on the top of your homepage or in a specific box. If your website design doesn't allow for this, there is no need to redesign your site to include it. But, keep in mind should you refresh or completely redesign your website at a future date, video should be a key element.
Ideally the video should be a separate page so your SEO team can optimize it. You can include it as a separate page under the "About your company" section or you can insert it into the "About" page.
Always include the video in your mega footer and sitemap - people do spend time searching in these areas for hidden gems. If you have multiple videos, it would be best to create a "Video Gallery".
4. Add your video to your landing page
Every landing page has an image or two. A picture is worth a 1,000 words. A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. If your video message is appropriate for your landing page (which is typically used for a pay-per-click ad) then add it. Here's why:
A/B testing has demonstrated that when a video is used on a landing page, the website conversion rate dramatically improves. In a landing page case study, when video was used, the conversion rate was 11% versus 6.5%. In this case, the conversion lift skyrocketed by 69% which is fantastic! When the video was in a light-box modal pop-up conversions doubled - phenomenal! (Source:VinYard Case Study 2012)
TIP: Proof-point for senior management
If your organization still doesn't have a video, refer your management team to the above VinYard case study.
How to promote your video in your communications and correspondence:
5. Include video image and link everywhere
Don't hesitate to take advantage of marketing your company at every opportunity by including your video in play buttons, your newsletters or e-news, in White Papers and customer proposals as well as a hyperlink in a pdf.
I even include it on my invoices... seriously!
6. Email signature
Have you considered the value of inserting a video image and link in your email signature? This is a great way to promote yourself and your company and in an instant, the reader will link to the video. Think of the bonus benefits on a video email signature. For example, when the reader forwards your email to other people in the organization - ta-dah... your video is promoted yet again!
TIP: Multiple email signatures
I have set-up multiple email signatures to maximize my time versus customizing each email with the appropriate video. In the 'video portion' of your email signature, imbed the image, short title, a request to watch the video and the hyperlink.
Here's an idea that consistently works well for me. During every phone consultation with a prospective client, I probe to understand which video(s) they have viewed. Why? After the conversation, I send a follow-up email. Since my goal is to be hired, if they haven't watched my Marketing Check-up video (which was created to highlight my 10-hour package or "close the sale" so to speak) then I will send it to them. If they have viewed this particular video, then I will send them a different one.
7. Re-purpose or re-use video content
We hear much about recycling these days but I bet you would never dream of applying it to your business video. Recycling isn't just good for the environment - it's good for your marketing budget too. It is effortless and easy on your budget to re-use most of if not all of your content and key messages.
Create a blog with a link to your video. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can write your blog or guest blog - in literally less than a half hour versus the hours that we spend on each one.
If you happen to work for a corporation or government agency who must vet your blog, a video would be less time consuming for them and they may not even need to approve it.
The bottom line
A well-done video is engaging, social and interactive. It generates higher conversion rates.
You have invested time and effort in developing a video. The same should be said about promoting your video because "hoping" that it will be found and viewed, will likely yield poor results. Need I say more!
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy One Simple Step to Increase Online Video Exposure by 5760%
