I want to put your mind to rest right away by saying “You don’t have to be on camera.” Whew, we got that out of the way. That said, you can be on camera if you want to. There are more styles of video than you probably knew about. First, let’s talk about why and how it can help you increase sales.
YouTube
Did you know that YouTube is the #2 search engine? Surprising, right? People spend a lot of time on YouTube every single day. I won’t bore you with the statistics. Okay, maybe just a couple:
- Over 1 billion people are on YouTube
- There are over 4 billion video views a day
- 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute
There is so much more I could share, but the point I’m trying to make is that people love video and you need to take advantage of this now.
Why Video?
Did you know video is the number one type of post that is shared on social media? Imagine if you had a virtual tour of your business on YouTube and Facebook. You could send potential customers to your video tour while you are on the phone with them. Other customer testimonials are great too. Or send them links to your videos and they can watch them later. This will entice them to stop by and talk to someone in person.
In just a minute or two of their time they can see what you are trying to tell them over the phone. You can also have the videos posted to your website. Why not feature a couple of your products, services, or staff members? By adding video on your site, you also keep visitors on your site for longer periods of time. Having people on your site longer helps you with search rankings overall. Sites with video also convert better.
Remember our tip on local search and Google My Business? Your YouTube channel will be tied to this listing. This happens when you create your business page first and then create a YouTube channel for this Google My Business page. Then, when you upload a video, it automatically shows up on your Google page!
Here’s another little nugget of information: Videos get displayed in the search results just like any other web page on the Internet. Video also helps you build trust and credibility with your audience.
Video Length
Generally, you want your video to be 0:30 – 3:00 long. The length depends on the goal of the video. If you are running an ad on YouTube — those videos that play before the video you actually want to see — then 0:30 is good. For a video on your website, 1:00 to 1:30 is great. For a virtual tour, you want to split that up into a series that showcases the different areas of your business.
Video Keywords
If you want to try and get your video on page one of the search results, then you need to add keywords to your script. Google actually came out with speech-to-text a few years back so that they can tell what your video is about. If you do some research for what can potentially rank on page one and write your script to include those keywords, you have a shot at getting your video ranked. Many times a video will rank even before your website does.
Video elements
One thing that will distract your viewers and have them clicking away from your video is poor sound quality. If you are filming, make sure to use an external mic as opposed to what is built into your camera or smartphone. You’ll thank me later.
Lighting also plays a role. If you are near windows, you’ll end up with shadows from cloud movement. If you don’t have professional lights, that’s okay. You should be able to get by with the fluorescent lighting in your rooms.
Music is a really strong branding tool. Find a royalty-free music track that works well with your message, and use that in the background for every video you make. Some videos may have no narration at all, and you may want to change up the music track to fit the style of the video.
Make sure to have an intro with your business name or logo. Also, and this is really important, have a call to action at the end of every video. Make sure to include your website address and your phone number.
Video Benefits
You will want to distribute your video to many video-sharing sites; don’t just stop at YouTube. Remember when we spoke about good backlinks, citations, and NAPs earlier? This is an opportunity to get more of these links and citations. Other video-sharing sites include Vimeo, Daily Motion, and even Photobucket and Flickr allow you to upload video.
One thing to note is that you want to optimize your videos within each site. Fill out all the requested info. Add good descriptions and always always always have your URL start off with https://. If you leave that off on YouTube, your link will not be clickable.
Don’t forget to share your videos on your social media sites! Ask your followers and connections to like, share, and comment as well.
Recap
- People love video – embrace it
- You do not have to be on camera
- Video is shared more than anything else on social media
- Video can rank in the search results
- Video keeps visitors on your website longer
- Make quality video – consider your length, audio, lighting
- Videos provide backlinks and you can add citations in your descriptions
Schedule a complimentary strategy session with us today to talk about a video campaign
