Using Video for Content Marketing

In a digital world, words may not be enough

Content marketing doesn’t have to be just about the written word. It involves any type of content and the sharing of that content with some amount of it being free. The free aspect is designed to show consumers the value of your content before ever asking for their money.

Within the digital world, this content should be created to live harmoniously along multiple mediums.

Video as content

Google purchased YouTube in 2006. They saw the immense potential that YouTube had then, and still has now.

Let’s not forget that Google is the most popular search engine in the world. I don’t know about you, but many searches I’ve been conducting lately have retrieved video content on the first page of rankings. It seems that more cross-pollination between Google and YouTube is taking place.

So what does this mean for the current state of online video?

For starters, if you aren’t using video, and feel that it can fit with your content, you should seriously consider it. Using video will open new audiences of consumers who are primarily engaged by video content. This may include younger generations, adopters of video-ready devices like smart phones, or simply those who prefer to have more of their senses and emotions catered to.

Also, just because it’s video content, it doesn’t mean that it has to be extremely produced. With the help of programs like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker you could create video content comprised of images, slideshows or even PowerPoint presentations.

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A new means of marketing

We have all been victims of horrible television commercials for years. In fact, I have drastically cut down on watching TV because the advertisements were so mind-numbingly brutal that I lost all interest. If companies want to continue with screaming “messages” at their audience, they can do so. But I feel the days of that working consistently in a successful manner are over. I do not like to be spoken at, or in most cases screamed at, in order to buy a specific product. Show me the value and then I will consider it.

This is what content-based videos can do for marketers. If you have a product worth investing in and you understand the fundamentals of internet marketing that we discuss at the Mequoda Daily, then chances are with the depth and reach of the internet you will be able to connect with the correct audiences.

And unlike television commercials, online-based video content can engage the audience member. The video can be interacted with and the viewers can feel like they are engaging in an actual relationship with a company, opposed to being screamed at to buy something.

Video content and Google

If you do decide to enter the world of video content, be sure to treat the content as you would blog articles or other website content you’d like to have found by search engines like Google. By this I mean:

1. Make sure you optimize the video for keywords
2. Have a catchy, preferably keyword-rich title
3. Add keyword-rich copy to the page the video is on
4. Tag your videos with keyword phrases
5. Brand the video with your logo and link to your site if you’re primarily using video hosting sites like YouTube
6. Add descriptive meta data
7. Keep the video to an appropriate length and make it full of great content

For more information on the best content marketing practices of the year, sign up for our Content Marketing 2010 webinar which will take place on April 13^th at 12:30pm EST.