Tying into SEOmoz’s Whiteboard Friday post for today, I would like to discuss share-ability, and how video can help improve your share-ability ranking. While viewing the myriad of video sites available online, it’s a wonder that more businesses or organizations are not utilizing these effective tools. One common misconception that may account for the lack of viral video creation in an organization is the belief that it is difficult to produce and post. However there are new tools and video sites that make it increasingly easier for companies to regularly upload their own videos.
There is of course YouTube, which is an online video site that many of us are familiar with. But I encourage you to also check out the benefits of other sites including Vimeo which is a much cleaner site with easy to follow instructions and guidelines. Plus Vimeo offers the benefit of joining Vimeo Groups, searching by category, etc. There are also some up-and-coming social video sites like VodPod and PopScreen . While PopScreen claims at the top of their page to be “The new way to discover videos that are making headlines and the stories behind them” I personally preferred VodPod. With VodPod users can instantly type in a topic that they may be interested in, or as a company you can type in a topic to see what already exists. You can then link with these creators or join a group, and then create even better videos. Remember Derek Mehraban’s New Media advice “Imitate before you Innovate”.
As discussed in a recent great post on Mashable by Dan Greenberg, the most vital part of online video is probably getting people to share your video! If it’s not shared, what is the value? So what are great practices to improve your videos shareability ranking? First make sure your video has great content that does the following, so people will want to view the video. Online video postings can really help power desired consumer behaviors and grow their network.
Inform/Educate: Of course, a main component of video and possibly one of the main reasons for an organization using video is to share information about their product or service. Online video sites allow us to share information with our audience in a more engaging format. Brochures, news releases, and more traditional forms of sharing information are still important, but by mixing in video you can share information in a whole different way and it’s more likely to be shared with others!
Make Sure your Video Connects with the Audience Emotionally: Whether it instills humor, sparks a memory, or instills a strong feeling of empowerment, generating some tie to the audience’s emotions it important.
Connect with an Audiences Identity or Self Image: You want your video to connect with the watcher in terms of how they view themselves. Why else would someone feel compelled to share it? After all, isn’t the content that we share with others via Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, viewed as an expression of ourselves? If we share a video from an artist, doesn’t that show what type of music we enjoy? So if we share video content like this commuter video, doesn’t that too say something about who we are, our choices, or the experiences we identify with?
Video found at: http://www.youtube.com/cleancommute#p/a/u/2/2X-aDYWHx4g
Still not sure if online video will be beneficial to your organization? Research done by the Vizu Company showed the effectiveness of videos in driving purchasing intent. While conducting this research, it is also made clear that the use of valuable video content can increase brand recognition, engage audiences, form positive relations, all while generating measurable results! Use their research to help drive your argument that online video should be an important component of your marketing strategy.
So, once you have chosen which online video sharing tool you would like to use, start creating, sharing, and communicating with your audience! If done correctly you should see some great results
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