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Guest Post: Submitted by Gate6

These days, video is an incredibly popular way to promote a brand, drive web traffic, educate an audience on a subject and benefit your SEO.  YouTube has become a phenomenon in and of itself with many of its videos going viral – becoming extremely popular in a very short period of time.  And Forrester Research recently reported that videos are roughly 53 times more likely than traditional web pages to receive an organic first-page ranking on Google.  Clearly, it makes good business sense to capitalize on this hip medium, but how do you know what to do and what to avoid?  These expert recommendations will help you create videos that make a big impact.

Choose the Right Title

The title of your video seems very obvious and basic, but it’s a critical element and should not be taken lightly.  Make your title interesting, engaging and specific so people actually want to watch the video.  For example, if your video teaches viewers how to train a dog to sit, instead of naming it “Dog Training 101,” you’d be better off naming it “How to Teach Your Dog to Sit in Five Minutes or Less.”  Be as enticing and specific as possible.  A video named “Top 3 Secrets to Building Better Websites” is more likely to be clicked on and watched than a video titled “Website Design Fundamentals.”  Your title, in addition to being engaging and motivating, should also contain the keywords that people are likely to be searching.  Come up with a catchy, keyword-rich title for your video and you’ll vastly increase your viewership and success rate.

Make it Creative and Original

These days, people expect videos to be unique, fun, funny, entertaining, exciting, controversial, thought-provoking or somehow outside the box.  No one wants to watch a talking head on a screen drone on about some topic or watch a flat PowerPoint slideshow set to bland music.  Figure out what you want to tell people, and then come up with an original video idea to powerfully deliver your message.  Once you have a basic concept, continue to brainstorm ways to make it even more unique and compelling.  Ask yourself if people will really want to watch a video like this.  Spend time watching successful, extremely popular videos on the internet.  Be sure you devote plenty of time to your video concept and be as creative as possible to ensure the highest level of success.

Tell Viewers What You Want Them to Do

Many videos (and many marketing attempts in general) forget to tell the viewer what to do after they watch the video.  So they watched your 90-second dog-training video on Vimeo, now what do you want them to do?  Share it on Facebook?  Tweet it?  Post a comment?  Call your office for a free quote?  Visit your blog?  Take an online quiz?  Successful online videos always end with a clear and strong call to action that encourages the viewer to continue engaging with the brand.  Your call to action at the end of your video is a tremendous marketing opportunity so be sure to include it.

Video is a fantastic, fast-growing digital medium that can help you increase brand awareness and connect with your target market.  Incorporating these three critical elements will help you get the most out of your online video efforts.

Redlincook

Elise is the eMarketing Specialist at Empire Southwest, an authorized Caterpillar heavy construction equipment dealer which also offers top brands of used machinery to clients across the United States and Mexico. She specializes in content strategy, content marketing, search and social technologies and has been on the AZIMA Board of Directors since the very beginning.

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