We are compelled by what we see over what actually exists. In digital marketing, what people see actually sells. This is the reason why ‘online video marketing’ is on the rise. Video Marketing is the process of using a video in marketing to promote a business or a service.

History of Video Marketing

Video Marketing has been a key advertising module since 1940s. The first video ad was launched in 1941 by Boluva. It was a commercial on a New York TV station during Yankee game. Since then, the popularity of video advertising is continuously rising.

●      In 1979, video disrupted traditional media when MTV released the video of “video killed the radio star.” It was produced on a budget of $50,000 in South London.

●      In 1984, Apple launched an iconic TV commercial for Apple Macintosh PC. Its production cost was around $900,000.

●      The year 1995 marked the beginning of Viral Videos. An Executive at Fox Commissions made a video Christmas card (Jesus v/s Santa) for his friends and family and it became viral.

●      In 1996, “The dancing baby” entertained millions by the humorous dance of an animated baby.

●      “Charlie bit my finger again” took the world by storm in 2007.

●      In 2012, the video Gangnam Style became a huge hit and broke all records in YouTube.

●      In 2014, YouTube begins to create superstars out of video contributors. In the same year, charity begins when ALS made a million people to take ‘Ice bucket challenge’ and raised $100 millions.

Gangnam Style made $10 million only from one video on YouTube. Here is a list of some other examples of such viral videos −

●      Will it blend?

●      Red Bull

●      Our Blades are f***ing great

●      Old spice

The production cost of these video ads were pretty low compared to the result they achieved by reaching millions of hearts directly. The key concept behind their success was a creative and unique idea.

YouTube

YouTube is a video sharing website that lets you upload, view, and share videos. You can also like and comment on videos. It is used by millions of users. It is a great tool for business branding.

Create an Account on YouTube

Branding through YouTube makes sense, as YouTube users are constantly increasing. Short clips or a brief video description of your company can double your presence.

To create a business account on YouTube, tie it with your Google+ account. There are two discrete ways of doing it −

●      Use your Google+ account to create a YouTube account. To do so, click the dropdown on the top-right corner of your Google+ page. Select ‘create a channel’ and follow the instructions.

●      Create a YouTube account and it will automatically create a Google+ page for you. To do so, navigate through YouTube. Click the thumbnails on top-right corner of the page. Click ‘Creator Studio’. Choose to create ‘new channel’ Follow-up next.

Upload Video on YouTube

●      Signin to Youtube.

●      Navigate to ‘my guide’ on the upper left corner of the screen. Search for ‘my channel’.

●      Click ‘upload’.

●      Select the video you want to upload and click ‘confirm’.

Vimeo

Vimeo is also designed to share videos just like YouTube, but the difference is that it is a community of professionals. It is not meant for corporate advertisements.

Create an Account on Vimeo

●      Go to Vimeo.com and sign-up. Fill in the required details. Now you are a registered member of Vimeo.

●      To create a channel, log in to Vimeo and click ‘Create a channel’ on the right.

Upload Video on Vimeo

●      Log in to your Vimeo account.

●      Click the ‘Upload Video’ button. Ensure that you are permitted to upload videos. Make sure you are uploading original videos and not copyrighted ones.

●      Click ‘choose a file to upload’ button. Select a file and confirm.

●      Let the video convert. It gets converted once uploaded. Go through your E-mail to confirm.

Dailymotion

Dailymotion is similar to Vimeo and YouTube. It allows users to upload, share, and view videos.

Create an Account on Dailymotion

●      Join Dailymotion by registering on dailymotion.com. Fill in the required details.

●      Enter your e-mail, password, and date of birth.

●      Create your public name, link URL, and enter your passcode. Congrats! You are done with it.

Upload Video on Dailymotion

●      Log in to your Dailymotion account.

●      Click ‘upload a video’ button on the top-left of the page.

●      Select the desired video from the dashboard.

●      Choose the file and click ‘Open’.

●      Enter the required details on the form. Wait for the upload to finish. Confirm by saving it.

Ranking Factors of a Video

●      Relevance − A video should be relevant to the user’s search query. Since the content is video, its‘title’forms the basic relevancy measuring factor.

●      User Engagement − The video should be able to keep the users engaged.

●      Authority − Trust and authority affects the video ranking. Platforms check for authority as a trust factor in order to avoid spams.

Increase Subscribers and Views

Seeking more visibility for your videos? Here is a list of tips and tricks that you can apply to increase subscribers and views −

●      Post consistently. Make sure you provide valuable content.

●      Write titles of your videos strategically. Keep it basic and relevant.

●      Make use of annotations. It may attract more subscriptions.

●      Ask for likes and subscribes at the end of the video.

●      Create a video channel. Make a posting schedule and stick to it.

●      Develop transitions. It cultivates your brands to a wider reach. Thus it has large impact on your branding.

●      Subscribe to other channels to attract more subscribers.

Increase Video Views

You can increase your video views quite significantly by taking the following measures −

●      Add video links to your blog.

●      Share it wisely on social media platforms.

●      Add it to your IM and status (say skype status).

●      Create catchy titles.

●      Make is compelling and worth seeing.

●      Ask a third party to approve your descriptions.

●      Add a custom/appealing thumbnail.

●      Add annotations.

●      Ask for shares.

●      Create a jukebox type playlist of your videos. Idea is accumulate them in a capsule.

●      Actively reply to comments.

●      Purchase views.

Advantages of Video Ads

●      Video ads are more eye-catching then text ads. Hence, they are more likely to convert.

●      Video ads generate tremendous viewers’ interest.

●      Video ads rank well on SERP due to descriptive tags.

●      A video ad can create quicker publicity as compared to text or image ads.

Promote Your Video Ads

To draw maximum benefit from a video ad, you must promote it and here is how you can promote a video −

●      Promote it on your blog or website.

●      Include your video in your e-mail, IMs, status, etc.

●      Make it viral on all video channels.

●      Have a noticeable presence on social media.