You’ve heard us say before that content creation is the key to a great social media strategy. But content creation is so much more than just blogging– it includes infographics, podcasts, videos and more. One of the great things about all of these technologies is that the barriers to entry are very low–these types of content don’t require a bunch of fancy equipment or professional expertise. All you need are some basic tools, a little research and a willingness to learn.
If you follow Vital’s social media activities, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve dusted off our Youtube channel. We’ve been posting lots of how-tos, informational videos, and a few that are just us goofing around in Vital Alley. But we’re not making videos because we’re so great on camera (obviously). It’s because creating videos is another way to create quality content–and that just makes good marketing sense. Here’s five reasons why video is one of the best things you can do for your brand.
1. It’s popular
People on the Internet have a short attention span. If you’re not entertaining them, they’re moving on. People are much more apt to engage with photos and videos than with static text, so creating more interactive and visual content is essential. Especially if you keep your videos between one and three minutes in length, people will love being able to click on it, watch it and move on. The investment is small: you’re not asking people to spend ten minutes reading a blog post—you’re just asking them to sit back and watch a two-minute video.
2. It’s blogging for people who hate writing
We’re still huge fans of blogging, and it works well for us because we have an in-house copywriter (that’s me) who writes and/or edits all of the content we publish. (Personally, I’m a lot more comfortable behind the keyboard than in front of the camera.) But lots of people just don’t have the comfort level or patience for writing blog posts on a consistent basis—and a video blog is a great solution to that. If you can talk, you can make a video. (Okay, we’re oversimplifying, but not by much).
3. It’s easy to get started
If you have a smartphone, you have a video camera. If you have a Mac, you already have relatively sophisticated video editing software. We recommend upgrading to something a little more sophisticated than an iPhone (observe the difference between this video and this one) but the equipment you need to start creating video is minimal and affordable. A small camcorder, a tripod and a small clip-on mic are just about all you need to start shooting quality amateur video.
4. It’s a no-brainer for search
Youtube is owned by Google, and not surprisingly Google returns a lot of Youtube videos on many searches. Not convinced? Try this: Go to Google and search a question or “how-to” phrase. We used “How to make pizza.” When we searched, search results four through eight were all Youtube videos. If you write a blog post about how to make pizza, it will probably get lost in the zillions of other blog posts on the topic But, take an hour and create a video, and Google might just put your branded Youtube channel on the very first page of search results. (Be sure that you’re using your keywords in your video title, tags and descriptions.) This idea can work for a huge range of businesses—if you have something to show off, a process to explain, a question to answer, or even just someone who’s an engaging talker, you can create videos. And considering the potential for search, the question is not why make videos, but why not make videos?
5. It’s instant blog and social content
When you post videos on your site or blog, that’s fresh content—something Google crawlers consider when they look at your site when deciding where to place you in search results. If you want to really max out the SEO potential of your videos, post them on your blog along with a transcript of what you said in the video. Even if you’re not blogging, creating videos is creating content. When you have original content that you created, your social media presence is maximized because you’re driving people to your content and your site, rather than away from your site and social networks.
Want to get in on the video action? We can help–get in touch with us today!
