By Victor Blasco
There are billions of new hours of video content being uploaded to the internet daily. This can be either very intimidating or very exciting, depending on how you see it.
It’s exciting because our culture lives in such a great era of information. Just imagine, 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every single day! So, how can your video stand out among all that content?
Don’t be scared, it’s not impossible to do. With these simple tricks, you’ll be able to make your videos stand out by helping them rank higher on search engines like Google. Let’s start!
1. An emotional video is a successful one!
Videos that bring out emotions in their viewers are the ones that take home every single prize. In the end, emotions underline every purchase decision, and if you’re able to use that in your video content strategy, then you’ll be winning already.
How do you do it? It’s easy. First ask yourself how do you want your viewers to feel when they’re enjoying your product? Maybe you want them to feel powerful, or hopeful, or happy. And then make them feel that way with your video.
2. Never forget your brand’s identity
It is super important that every piece of content that you create is always aligned with your brand’s identity. This applies to your website, your social media accounts, and, of course, your video content. Your brand’s identity is what makes you recognizable to customers and has a drastic impact on how prospects perceive you.
To communicate this identity in your videos, you need to fully customize them—from the colors you use, to every single element that appears in the video, including any characters (even animated characters) who represent your business. And always remember to include your logo.
See the following example:
Walmart – Motion Graphics Explainer Video
3. Define your target audience
When you communicate a certain message, there’s always an audience that you’re communicating it to. Right? Sometimes, people take that for granted, but you shouldn’t. If you want your message to be heard and understood, you need to know who you’re speaking to, and you learn this by defining your target audience.
Try to be as specific as possible: gender, age, location, interests . . . these are just “the tip of the audience” when it comes to characteristics. Imagine your ideal buyer and aim your videos at them.
4. Keep your audience hooked
Did you know that YouTube’s algorithm rewards audience retention? This means if you manage to retain your audience’s attention throughout your whole video (or at least most of it), the platform will know your video provides useful and relevant content. Better distribution of your content and an increase in audience reach will eventually turn into sales!
How can you get your audience hooked? It all starts at the beginning of the video: Make it clear and engaging (through the use of powerful visuals and storytelling), but don’t show all of your cards at once. Ask questions your audience has, and instead of answering them immediately, do it gradually throughout the video.
5. Stir up the engagement
Another smart way to improve your ranking (in Google, YouTube, or similar platforms) is for your content to encourage customer engagement. Getting your audience to like and comment on your videos, for example, is essential in the YouTube world.
You can boost your content’s engagement by using correct CTA’s and asking your viewers questions. You can also encourage your audience to take action by including YouTube cards. And remember to always share relevant and useful content.
6. Be a hero: Provide solutions to your audience’s problems
This goes hand in hand with the last point: Engage your audience by sharing relevant and useful content, content that focuses on giving actual solutions to your audience’s problems.
In order to do this, you need to know your audience like the back of your hand. What are the problems they’re facing? What are their pain points? If you understand their problems, then you’ll be able to provide them with the right answers. Consider your brand to be the hero that will save your viewers from their problems.
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7. Upload your videos on YouTube
We’ve talked a lot about YouTube, but why is it so important to upload your videos on this platform? Well, for starters, it’s the second-largest search engine in the world, following (of course) Google. Three hundred hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. So basically, if your video is not on YouTube, it doesn’t exist. Uploading your video to YouTube and optimizing it correctly will help you rank higher on Google searches.
Of course, if you’re planning to share this video on other platforms (like your social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter), you should also upload it natively on these sites.
8. Find some low competition keywords
The first thing you should do when planning a video SEO strategy is to find the words your audience uses when they search on YouTube. Once you know these words, you can include them in your video titles, descriptions, and on your channel. Even though general keywords are useful (and it’s important to include them), you should also look for low-competition keywords. These are the golden ticket to being ranked No. 1 on YouTube searches.
Do some research and brainstorming, use the keyword planner tool on Google AdWords, and compare which words on your list have more search queries on average. For example, if you were to use “explainer video” as your main keyword, you will have a lot of competition. Instead, you could use a more specific keyword that’s carefully targeted to your audience, like “best explainer video style” (a longtail keyword). This will fit your most searched term into a longer, more specific phrase.
9. Optimize your video for YouTube
Never forget YouTube optimization. This is the most important point if you want your video to be ranked No. 1 in searches, and it really isn’t very difficult to get it right—you just need to know where to begin.
YouTube actually offers many features to help your video rank higher in the search engine results. Use your keywords (main, longtail, and low-competition), and include your longtail keyword in the title of your video. Add a description that explains what your video is about; add your website link (above the fold); and include any additional information that can help sort out your content and be useful for your viewers (below the fold).
Also, don’t forget to customize your video’s thumbnail. This is essential for attracting your viewers’ attention in the results page, and it will help boost your CTR.
10. Remember the power of educational videos
Another great tip to attract your viewers’ attention is to create educational videos. The power of educational videos relies on the fact that humans are visual learners.
Just think about it for a minute. When you want to know how to do a certain thing, where do you usually look for answers? Yes, YouTube! YouTube has a tutorial for everything: from hanging a lamp to building a robot. Google understands this, which is why YouTube videos often end up being the highest-ranked answers to certain questions. People like to watch entertaining and useful videos, instead of reading long articles about boring topics.
Take a look at this example:
What is Inbound Marketing?
11. Don’t forget to have fun!
Above all, your video content must be useful and entertaining—nobody wants to watch a boring video. Dull content will get lost in the sea of video content. So, ditch the boring, “formal” tone, and communicate with your audience as if they’re your friends; try to be funny and relaxed. This will get you so much further!
Also, any type of video, no matter how serious, can be turned into something that’s worth watching. Witty storytelling and animation can help make your videos as fun as they can be—even if you’re talking about something like signing a document:
DocuSign – Animated Explainer Video
In conclusion . . .
So remember: Use keywords in a smart way. Always include your brand’s identity and know exactly to whom you’re targeting your videos. Create useful, engaging, and interesting video content, and don’t forget to make it fun and entertaining.
These tips and tricks will help you boost your video content all the way to success—or, at least, all the way to the top of the search rankings!
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