Have youbuilt a loyal following around your products？你一直gaining followers steadily社交媒体?已经持续推出great content on your blog?
Then maybe it's time tomove on to video marketing.
Video adds a whole new dimension to yourmarketing mix. Done properly, you can use video to add depth to your product’s features and stories, tell the history of how your company has come to be, or explain how your product might be used in ways that can’t be captured in web copy or in print. And that translates to more sales.
When your product is just too cool, or you want to make sure that people really get the best use out of it, it’s time to grab a camera because consumers are73% more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video.
Before we get too deep into the specifics of video and YouTube marketing, it’s important to understand that you don’t need a viral hit to see results. You’re telling a story about yourself or your products, not producing a viral hit for personal fame. Focus on engagement, not on simply getting a huge number of views.
Here are a few tips to help you create engaging videos:
1. Shoot Short Videos
YouTube videos between 7-15 minutes in length get almost50%of all views on average. That should be no surprise. No one wants a long slog through the entire history of how your store was founded or every detail of where your product was sourced. Don’t rush what you have to say, but it’s better to err on the side of brevity when possible.
There’s another great reason that you should tell your story succinctly. YouTube has recently made a change in its rankings algorithm to favor videos that engage viewers. So videos that are often watched until the very end will be given greater visibility than videos that are abandoned early. Take this as another reminder that the quality of engagement is more important than the number of views.
All the more reason to keep your videos short and to make every detail relevant.
2.Create a Branded Channel
Unless your video is truly a one-off, you should set up a dedicated store channel.
Not only does it look more professional for a video to be coming from an account with your store name (rather than, say, frednelson86), you’ll have a more active web presence. Having your own YouTube channel will give you yet another way for people to find your products. Upload a banner, and your logo, to make it even more professional.
For best results, segment your videos so that viewers can better find what they’re looking for. You can organize your videos into different playlists and into different series. Consider segmenting them along the lines of product features, the history of your store, tutorials for your products, or something else you’d care to share.
Beardbrand, an online store that offers “grooming kits for the urban beardsman,” isa great exampleof a channel that has checked all the boxes of an amazing channel. Eric Brandholz, the owner of Beardbrand, has used YouTube to introduce not only his products but also to dispense personal advice. With over 1.91 million subscribers, it’s a clear success story.
3.Be Consistent With Content Production
A well-designed channel isn’t much use if there’s no content.
If you choose to doYouTube marketing, it’s best to be committed to the long term. Think carefully about whether you can commit to posting regular content, and then come up with a multi-pronged strategy to engage viewers.
Once you decide that it’s worth it, be consistent about posting. Remember, YouTube is a social media channel, and just like other forms of social media, long periods of silence are no fun.
You can decide on the frequency of posting. We recommend posting a video three or more times per week, or once every two weeks. And once you figure out something that works, commit to it.
4.Use Analytics to Understand What Works
YouTube provides a wealth of data on your video performance. Take full advantage of it.
The data is nearly comprehensive enough for you to know exactly what works and what doesn’t work.
WithYouTube analytics, you can monitor your views over time, discover a breakdown of your sources of traffic, and analyze the demographics of your viewers.
这种分析可以进一步帮助您知道exactly how many people finish your video. Not only can you find the retention rate, but you can also often pinpoint the particular points in which people drop off. Use it to figure out whether any piece of your video isn’t really working so you can then proceed to fix it.
(一个nalytics on Audience Retention.)
5.Use Annotations to Keep And Engage Your Audience
Those little boxes that pop up as commentary or ‘Subscribe’ links? They’re called Annotations.
Annotations are a YouTube feature that lets you put text and links over your videos. These can be humorous interjections, after-the-fact comments, appeals to subscribe, or links outside of YouTube. Used properly, annotations can give you a boost in subscriptions and views.
It’s easy to add them to your videos. Simply go to YouTube Studio, Click the “Content Button”, select the video of your choice and click on the “details” icon, this will take you to the editing side of that video, click the “cards” button and you will be presented with a menu. You can then go on and choose an annotation of your choice.
There are three general types of annotations available:
- Video: This option lets you link the card text to a particular video.
- Teaser text: Teaser text allows you to actually customize the message instead of it just saying, “Suggested.” This is a good way of further increasing the uniqueness of your channel.
- Custom message: A custom message is what your viewers see after they click on the teaser text and the card expands. After you’ve linked a video, you can add a custom message to the card. So when someone clicks the“Suggested: >video name here<,”they will see your custom text above the video link.
Caution:小心包括太多的链接和text boxes in your video. They start losing their effectiveness if they start to clutter. Remember, your viewers are here to watch a video, not to read a book. We recommend a light touch: a few note boxes here and there, a subscribe button, and perhaps a link to your store at the very end.
6.Advertise with AdWords
You can also promote your videos through paid advertising. YouTube is owned by Google, and so it’s simply a matter of usingAdWords for Video.
You’re able to advertise on three domains: as a pre-roll ad before the videos that people watch; as a banner ad when you’re browsing the web; or as a promoted video when people search for similar videos on YouTube.
Just like Google AdWords, you’re able to select your daily budget and choose the demographics for your audience.
Most importantly, you need to have a fine sense of the relevant keywords. If you’re already using Google AdWords to advertise, you may want to just tweak your campaigns for video advertising.
7. Make it easier for customers to buy on YouTube
Since your primary objective is to drive sales through your YouTube marketing, it is important to ensure that you make it as easy as possible for customers to shop from you on YouTube. For all Shopify merchants, we've madeShopping on YouTubeeasier with our integration. Using theShopify Google App, we've made it easier for you to sync your products, create live shopping experiences and manage your sales with ease.
8. Regular Tricks Still Apply
Treat your videos as you would a blog post, and propagate them through all your channels. So: tweet it, Facebook it, and blog about it. Don’t expect it to go viral, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t actively promote it. Share the video on social media, reach out to bloggers to link to you, and just try to find the audience it deserves.
Keep in mind that YouTube is a search engine, and just as you’dsearch engine optimize a blog post, you should search engine optimize a video. You’re familiar with the rules by now: a compelling title, a thorough description, the right keywords, and all the rest.
Just as you’d encourage people to follow you on Facebook and Twitter, you can encourage your viewers to check out your other videos or subscribe to your channel.
And don’t forget: the most thorough SEO work won’t save a terrible piece of content. The best way to rank well is to focus on creating compelling content that people want to link to.