The Secret Weapon in a Smart Marketer’s Arsenal

It’s hard not to notice video’s growing importance as a tool in every smart marketer’s arsenal.

This past fall, Facebook began urging publishers to upload video content directly to their platform, and these users have been enjoying the rewards of increased reach and engagement ever since.

Last week, Twitter announced that users now have the ability to seamlessly capture, edit and share videos right from their mobile app. On the very same day, Snapchat revealed the exciting launch of their Discover feature, allowing consumers to interact with companies like ESPN, CNN, Vice, and Warner Music, who are creating exclusive content.

With content creators now publishing directly to these platforms, it’s easy for marketers to overlook the importance of YouTube, which still has more than one billion unique users per month. By neglecting your company’s page, you may be missing out on the opportunity to inspire, educate, and connect with consumers through the world’s second-largest search engine.

Investing in a Channel That Attracts Viewers

It’s not surprising that 76 percent of B2C marketers have created a YouTube channel, however, only 49 percent of them are using it effectively. By spending the time to optimize their channel, the other half of these marketers can get the most out of their efforts.

Jon Mowat, Managing Director of video marketing and production company, Hurricane Media, suggests utilizing SEO techniques for both your channel and content. Although the video itself is not yet able to influence YouTube’s search and relevancy algorithms, keywords can be used to help viewers find your content.

Did you know that Google Trends includes YouTube search data? Google Trends can be used to find relevant keywords for use in the title, description and tags sections.

Mowat also suggests keeping the channel well-organized with keyword-rich playlist titles, properly ordering the videos, and staying active with fresh content.

You may have captured a wealth of knowledge through your collection of videos, but they may not be discoverable through search. One-hundred hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. How will hungry users find your valuable content without optimization?

Amplify Your Content Through Social Shares

Once you’ve optimized your page, you can drive traffic to your videos through your social media channels.

During a recent webinar, Wistia’s Kristen Craft explained the importance of tailoring video content for each social channel. Throughout the process, it’s important to think about who interacts with each platform and what drives the highest levels of engagement. Your LinkedIn followers respond differently than customers on Twitter. What kinds of communication styles work best?

Further Reason To Show YouTube Some Love

Despite Facebook’s increasing efforts to render YouTube obsolete, the power of the platform remains difficult to compete with.

Did you know YouTube drives more engaged traffic than any other social network? According to a Shareaholic report examining engaged social referrals, YouTube referrals have the lowest bounce rate, highest pages per visit, and the longest visit.

While social networks like Facebook may no longer be satisfied to merely facilitate the spread of other publishers’ products, marketers should continue doing what they do best — experimenting, analyzing, and then adjusting their strategies as they observe what’s working.

Social Media

Social Media

Now social media marketers can get the credit they deserve by automatically delivering Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn reports that prove value.