How to Get Traffic from Video Marketing [puzzle seo]

How to Get Traffic from Video Marketing [puzzle seo] ! The final piece of the puzzle and the last source of traffic is going to be video marketing. This is another very powerful option when it comes to driving traffic and as with the other methods we’ve gone over it has some specific advantages that make it uniquely useful.

Perhaps the biggest advantage that video has is how engaging it is. If you have ever sat up all night watching a countdown of ‘90s ballads’ then you’ll know just how hard it is to turn away from video, even when it’s not exactly inspired content. If you can put your message into a video form, then you will have a way to really suck people in and to get a lot of visits to head to your site.

Another big advantage of video, is that it is so persuasive and potentially emotional. This time the best example we can think of is how you can be moved by tears to a film or even an advert. Sure, novels can get you to sob – but have you ever been made to cry by an advert in print? Video allows you to use music and to speak directly to your audience which has potential to have a far bigger emotional impact.

So how do you go about using the engaging and emotive nature of visitor to increase your traffic and visitors? Let’s take a look at what you need to know.

Where Can You Use Video?

There are many places you can use video marketing but a few will stand out as most likely. One way to use video marketing is to set up a YouTube account and to create a vlog – or even just to upload a few adverts. From here, it will be easy to get direct viewers from YouTube’s search functions, as well as to embed your video on your website or through social media.

Embedding a video on your website of course won’t increase your traffic but it can definitely help with engagement. This is hugely beneficial for a business that provides a service or has a complex product – a video can quickly and elegantly describe what it is you’re selling so that your traffic doesn’t leave before anyone has fully engaged with your site.

Uploading videos on YouTube meanwhile can be a very effective way to gain visitors as well as fans. If someone subscribes to your content on YouTube, they’ll then be notified every time you upload something new and this will make them increasingly likely to visit your site or follow you on social media. This type of video marketing works best if you provide a series of videos on a specific topic that people search for: be that fitness, diet, web design, programming, sports, music or anything else. This way, people will look up related topics, discover your brand and hopefully end up subscribing.

To make this work, you need to approach YouTube a little as you would SEO. That means coming up with a title that people are likely to search for and that isn’t too similar to a million others. Videos come up in the‘suggested’ column too if they’re related to the subject being watched, so do make sure the titles are also ‘clickable’.

On top of this, try to add as much description as possible for your video which will create more keywords and long-tail keywords. And of course you should also enter as many keywords as possible into the section especially for them. Adding a thumbnail for your video can also help a great deal and you should make sure to set up your YouTube channel page.

Sharing your content to social media is another way to engage your audience and to provide something of value that will strengthen your brand. What’s more, you can use videos alongside Facebook Ads by creating a video ad that will get a lot more attention than a simple banner.

How to Create Great Videos on a Budget

Apart from anything else, video makes you stand out as a serious and resourceful business. Anyone can create a website these days and anyone can certainly set up a Facebook Ad. Creating a video with impressive production values on the other hand puts you a cut above and makes you look much more professional.

Thankfully, it’s possible to create videos on a budget even if your name isn’t Stephen Spielberg…

There are multiple approaches you can take to making a video. The first and most common is simply to film yourself talking and to include some cutaways or still images to mix things up. These days you can record high quality on a lot of phones, so you may not even need any specialist equipment. Do think carefully about the way you arrange the backdrop though and the lighting you’re going to have set up. Being lit from the side is the most flattering and creates a professional looking contrast (this is called ‘Rembrandt’ lighting). Likewise, you can try adding your brand to the shot, or creating a background that looks very productive or that incorporates your niche/industry somehow.

Write a script, speak slowly and film as many takes as you can. Now you should look at using software like Adobe Premier for the editing. This is a little expensive (about $60 a month) but worth it – of course you only need to pay for as many months as you’re likely to use it and you can get impressive discounts if you use a student account. You also get the first month free if you only need to make a couple of videos.

Now try to edit your video so it flows nicely and so you aren’t lingering on one shot for too long. When transitioning between takes, always switch angle at the same time and try to pick off from the same timestamp. If you’re not doing that then it can look a little jarring (it’s called a ‘jump cut’) but you can lessen this by adding an animated transition of some sort. (Don’t use transitions unless you need them or it can look like you’re over excited to be using editing software for the first time…)

Add a logo to one corner of the screen, pay someone on Fiverr to make you a video opener and find some royalty free music you can use over your video quietly. Don’t be too ambitious to start with: it’s better to make a very short simple video and to labour over getting it perfect than it is to make something long and awkward. And anyway, people are statistically more likely to watch short videos through to the end.

Making Videos Without a Camera
Not everyone will feel confident to go through this process however, especially if they don’t like their speaking voice or how they look on film. That’s completely fine – just don’t make the mistake of ignoring video as a result.

You can actually make videos in a number of other ways you see that don’t have to involve you being in front of the camera. One simple example is to make a slideshow which you can do even in Excel by just saving as an *.mpg. It’s then no big deal to record your voice over the top using a voice recorder and Windows Movie Maker.

Another option is to capture your screen and to talk over that footage. This is especially useful for tutorials on web design or programming. Alternatively, you can create a whiteboard animation (there’s a lot of software out there to do this for you) or even a stop motion animation. Any of these things will work as a great advert for your website that will attract lots of visitors when used with Facebook Ads or other types of social media. And if you post regularly to YouTube and find ways to ensure your video is entertaining, inspiring or informative, you’ll find this is also a great way to build a following and drive traffic – even if you’re not in front of the camera!

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