Online Video Marketing: More Than YouTube

“Build it and they will come” just won’t cut it with online video. Perched on your YouTube channel or your Web site, waiting for people to find your video through organic search is a surefire way to test your patience if you're expecting a bump in views or inquiries.

As we’ve encouraged before: no matter what vehicle you choose to communicate with:

• Be informative

• Be relevant

• Be insightful

• Tell an interesting story

• Resist jumping to the pitch

Think of your message as the cargo that needs to be delivered. Then, think of your video (or blog post, Web page, ebook, slide deck, podcast, white paper, etc.) as the vehicle that carries the cargo. Then, map out the best route to get it to its destination. This likely includes motoring down several roadways along the way (social media, YouTube, Vimeo, Kindle, iTunes, SlideShare, email deployment). Seldom is one single roadway enough to get your message to its destination. Your distribution strategy is your roadmap.

But, back to online video. Here’s a four-for-the-price-of-one resource: ReelSEO.com. It’s a useful online video strategy mentor. One post there covers the power of Reddit, as a roadway to get your video out. How does Reddit work? CBP Grey is an engaging fellow who explains complex things simply, through online video. His entertaining, snappy, and hugely informative videos have views in the millions. Catch his YouTube channel here. In one video, he explains Reddit, which is a “must see,” if you’ve heard of it, but don’t really know it. You’ll go from “huh?” to “wow!” in about 5 minutes. Then, you’ll be among 2.4 million other viewers who have benefitted from Grey’s storytelling skills. Finally, there could be worse ways of communicating than mimicking Grey’s technique. He’s quite remarkable.