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If you want to get the best results for your video marketing, you should seriously consider being on YouTube if you aren’t using them. YouTube is also one of the most popular search engines in the world. And, to get the best results from that site, you want to invest some time in YouTube optimization. As it is a search engine, much of the logic of search engine optimization (SEO) applies just as much as it does for Google. So, how can you profit from video marketing via YouTube? You pay attention to the three key elements of video marketing – keywords, quality of content, and ease of consuming content. Not only is YouTube popular it is designed to encourage sharing.

Make Good Use of Keywords

Take the market research you’ve done and mine it for ideas. You want to leverage keywords that your target customer uses. Incorporate a targeted keyword in the video title, in video tags, and descriptions. Don’t ignore secondary keywords. If you are marketing your fundraising services, you might focus on “virtual fundraisers for schools” and use some related terms like “school fundraising tips” and “virtual fundraising ideas” as well. Consider using your primary keyword in the video’s filename. Turn your keywords into video hashtags, too.

Create Great Content

Whatever your specific marketing goal, putting out boring content will hurt you. Take time to make sure those videos have crisp images and clear audio. Select a thumbnail image that’s interesting and relevant to the topic. Do not use a corporate logo or a free image as a thumbnail.

The video content is good if it does two things. First, and most important of all, your video has to be engaging. Second, your content must address the needs of people at a specific point in the buyer’s journey. If people are looking for information, make sure your video covers likely questions. If they are looking to buy, they should be seeing a video that promotes your business and overcomes likely objections.

These are marketing videos, so include a call to action (CTA) multiple times. Consider repeating your CTA near the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the video. YouTube allows you to embed buttons in videos. Not only can you encourage viewers to register or subscribe, but you can also direct them to your web form from inside the video. The video description should have a CTA as well.

Pay Attention to Appearances

How you present your information is important, possibly more important than the information. After all, if the video is hard to follow or uses too many crazy graphics you can hurt your cause more than help. Put your key points on the slides to both reinforce those points and help people who may have muted the sound. Consider adding closed captioning in English. Many inexpensive tools are available to automate this work. The text in those captions will be indexed, so keyword usage here may help your search rankings.

Use Cards to Increase Engagement

These little buttons with the “i” are an underappreciated YouTube feature. These notification buttons can deliver useful marketing-related notifications to viewers. While there are six card options, three seem particularly valuable to marketers:

·        Channel cards allow you to direct the viewer to another YouTube channel.

·        Link cards can send your viewers to an online store

·        Video (or playlist) cards direct viewers to similar videos.

Don’t neglect the video page and video description. You have several opportunities here. YouTube also supports “end cards” which can include similar information to the other cards.

Make the Most of That Description Space

Use it to encourage sharing, commenting, et cetera. Link to a webpage and give your audience a reason to click and then sign up or download a white paper or other relevant material. This space is another opportunity to use those keywords, sparingly. Your goal in this space is to reinforce the video’s message and encourage viewers to sign up for your newsletter, register on the site, visit your online store, or complete a contact form. Always include a call to action. Always ask viewers to share and subscribe too.

YouTube’s vast reach and popularity make it a great marketing channel for anyone who uses video. Like web copy, you will need to invest some time and money into YouTube optimization to get a good return on your investment. If you need expert help making your blog, websites, and videos easy to find, our SEO department can help. Please contact us to schedule a consultation.