Every single minute, a day’s worth of video is added to YouTube !

Incredible eh! Believe it or not, in 2007 there was just 6 hours of video added to YouTube every minute, the figure obviously tripling to today’s numbers. Even in January 2009 there was 15 hours added every minute… so what’s going on, why the increase?

Partly because many firms are waking up to the power of social media, especially when it comes to using video as a promotional aid. But I have to add that there is still a lot of dross on there… pointless rubbish that is probably going to achieve nothing more than a negative reaction to that brand – that’s if it’s found at all!

There are some golden rules marketers should appreciate when it comes to uploading new video content to YouTube (and other web channels of course), here’s a brief checklist:

Video Content Strategy
Is this a one hit wonder or something you are going to build upon? Always start with creating a video content strategy so as to give yourself some direction and motivation to see through.

Video Content
Is it engaging? Truthfully now… is it really worth watching? Yes, this may be your business that you are incredibly proud of and think about every waking minute, but put that aside for a minute and think about the values it brings to the viewers.

Length of video is also crucial, web users are increasingly fickle and will have no qualms in switching off the video if it doesn’t capture their imagination immediately. Aim for a MAX of 2 minutes 30 (MAX remember!).

If it’s an advert – you’ve missed the point! Don’t just upload your latest advert and hope for the best, why would people watch that? We are sold to every living minute of the day and so a break from that is welcome. Make the content add a little more value – ‘edgy’ is what we’re all looking for!

Search Optimisation
Have you researched your keywords effectively (including misspellings) and tagged them to the video content? This is extremely important if you want to be found and you want people to watch. You will require a little technical knowledge, but get this bit right and you’ll reap the rewards tenfold!

Branded Page
Have you created your branded page on YouTube? This is your chance to build your brand awareness and uniform your video content. This is basically where all your videos will sit.

Online PR
So… you’ve produced your very edgy piece of content that is being found on YouTube and Google thanks to your search optimisation efforts… now the real work starts! Why not approach relevant blogs with your content and encourage them to feature? Think about it… you’ll be drawing their loyal traffic as well as gaining a valuable inbound link to your site from theirs.

If you’d like to discuss your video content strategy or any other relevant elements of this article with us please get in contact with us.