In today’s digital landscape, video content is one of the most powerful tools for engaging audiences and driving conversions. Whether you’re an entrepreneur trying to introduce a new product, a marketer promoting your brand message, or a business aiming to provide valuable educational content, explainer videos are an excellent way to break down complex topics and captivate your audience. However, even the best video content won’t perform if it’s not seen by the right people.
Promoting your video is just as crucial as creating it. Without effective promotion, your well-crafted product videos or brand videos may never get the attention they deserve. Fortunately, there are several proven strategies that can significantly boost your video’s reach and engagement. In this post, we’ll go over 6 actionable tips for promoting your video and ensuring it attracts the right audience.
Let’s dive into these strategies:
1. Write a Blog Post to Complement Your Video Content
While videos are engaging, written content still holds significant power, especially when it’s combined with video. One of the most effective ways to promote your explainer videos is by writing a blog post that complements the video content. This is a highly effective method for driving organic traffic to both your website and video.
Why Does Blogging Help?
Blog posts allow you to further explain the topic covered in your video. A well-written article can improve your search engine rankings, increase the visibility of your brand videos, and help drive more people to your video. When you integrate keywords like “explainer videos” or “product videos” into your blog content, you increase the chances of your post showing up in relevant searches.
Furthermore, embedding the video directly into the blog post makes it easy for readers to watch the video without leaving the page, encouraging more engagement and time spent on your website.
Blog Optimization Tips:
- SEO-friendly Content: When writing the blog post, optimize it for SEO by using relevant keywords. Use phrases like “ways to promote YouTube videos,” “promoting videos on YouTube,” and other related keywords. Also, focus on creating compelling, well-researched content that offers real value.
- Calls to Action (CTAs): Always include clear CTAs within the blog post. This could be a prompt to watch the video, subscribe to your YouTube channel, or download additional resources related to the video’s content.
- Cross-Linking: Add internal links to other related content on your site. This helps with SEO and encourages visitors to explore more of your content.
Example:
If you’ve created a product video explaining how your product solves a problem, a blog post could dive deeper into the issue it addresses, offer customer testimonials, or explore the benefits in more detail.
2. Leverage Social Media for Video Sharing
Social media is one of the most effective tools for video promotion. It’s a platform where users spend hours every day and where video content is constantly shared and engaged. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or even TikTok, sharing your video on social media channels can quickly amplify its reach.
Why Social Media Works:
Social media networks have millions (or even billions) of active users, and their algorithms are increasingly favouring video content. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram, for instance, give priority to video posts over static ones. Posting your brand videos on these platforms gives you the chance to reach users who are already engaging with content similar to yours.
Best Practices for Social Media Video Promotion:
- Platform-Specific Adjustments: Each platform has different specifications for video, such as length, format, and aspect ratio. For example, Instagram Stories and TikTok favour shorter videos, while Facebook and LinkedIn are better suited for longer, more informative content. Tailor your explainer videos and product videos accordingly.
- Hashtags and Mentions: Use relevant hashtags and tag influencers or partners to increase the chances of your video being discovered. For example, hashtags like #ExplainerVideo, #ProductLaunch, or #BrandAwareness can help categorize your video and make it searchable.
- Engagement-Driven Content: Engage your audience directly with polls, questions, and comments. For instance, you could post a teaser of your video and ask followers what they think the content might be about. This builds excitement and encourages them to watch.
- Video Teasers: Create short video snippets or trailers that highlight key points of your explainer videos or brand videos. These teasers can be posted as part of your social media strategy to grab attention and spark curiosity, prompting viewers to click through to watch the full video.
Example:
If you’re promoting a product video, consider using Instagram’s shopping feature to link directly to the product page, allowing viewers to easily buy after watching your video.
3. Email Marketing for Direct Outreach
While social media is effective for broader promotion, email marketing remains one of the most direct and impactful ways to reach an audience who is already interested in your content. If you’ve already built an email list of subscribers, this can be an ideal way to promote your explainer videos and product videos.
Why Email Marketing Works:
Email gives you the chance to communicate directly with a targeted audience. People on your email list have already opted into receiving information from you, which means they’re more likely to engage with your content. Videos in email marketing campaigns have been shown to increase click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement.
How to Use Email Effectively:
- Subject Lines Matter: The subject line is the first thing your recipients see. Make it engaging and attention-grabbing. Use words like “exclusive,” “new,” or “must-watch” to entice readers to open the email. For example: “Discover the New Product Video That Will Change Your Workflow!”
- Personalization: Personalize the email with the recipient’s name or tailor the message to their interests based on their previous interactions with your brand. A personalized email feels more direct and relevant.
- Incorporate Videos Directly in the Email: Research shows that emails with video content have higher engagement rates. While you can’t always embed video directly in the email (due to technical restrictions), you can include a thumbnail image of the video that links to the video landing page or YouTube.
- Track Performance: Use A/B testing for email subject lines and calls-to-action (CTAs) to figure out what works best for your audience. Tracking metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates helps you fine-tune your strategy.
Example:
If you’ve just released a new brand video explaining your company’s mission and values, send an email with a link to the video, along with a brief explanation of why it’s valuable to watch.
4. Collaborate with Influencers and Industry Leaders
Influencer marketing has become a dominant force in video promotion. Influencers can help amplify your product videos or explainer videos to a broader and more targeted audience.
Why Influencer Marketing Works:
Influencers have built-in trust with their audiences. When an influencer shares your video, it’s like a personal recommendation coming from someone their followers trust. This not only increases the visibility of your video but also boosts its credibility.
How to Partner with Influencers:
- Identify the Right Influencers: Look for influencers who align with your brand and have an engaged audience interested in your niche. For example, if you’re promoting a tech product, collaborate with influencers who focus on tech reviews or tutorials.
- Types of Collaborations: Influencers can share your video, create reaction videos, or even develop their content around your video. In some cases, influencers may even be willing to co-create a video with you.
- Set Clear Expectations: Before reaching out to influencers, set clear expectations regarding what you want them to promote, how the video will be used, and what goals you want to achieve. Are you looking for more views, increased brand awareness, or potential sales?
Example:
If you’ve created a product video showcasing how your software can help businesses automate processes, an influencer who specializes in business productivity tools can demonstrate how your software works and share their experience with their audience.
5. Write Guest Posts to Drive Traffic
Guest blogging is a great way to build your brand’s authority, enhance your SEO, and promote your explainer videos. Writing guest posts on relevant websites or blogs in your industry can help drive more traffic to your website and videos.
Why Guest Posting Helps:
When you write a guest post on an authoritative site, you expose your content to a new audience, which can drive high-quality traffic back to your website. By embedding your video within your guest post, you encourage visitors to watch and share it.
Best Practices for Guest Posting:
- Choose Relevant Sites: Look for reputable websites in your industry that have a similar target audience. The more aligned the site’s audience is with your own, the better the results.
- Add Value: The key to successful guest posting is providing valuable content. Write articles that are useful, informative, and engaging. When your guest post adds value, readers will be more inclined to watch your video.
- Embed Your Video: When possible, include the video directly in the guest post. Alternatively, use text links and embed video thumbnails to encourage people to watch.
Example:
If you are in the educational field, writing a guest post for a popular educational blog and embedding your explainer video about a new learning tool can help generate traffic and views.
6. Invest in Paid Video Advertising
Paid video advertising is a powerful way to boost the visibility of your videos. Platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram offer targeted video ads that allow you to reach the right audience.
Why Paid Advertising Works:
Paid ads allow you to reach a specific audience based on demographics, interests, or behaviours. This level of targeting ensures that your explainer videos or product videos are seen by the people most likely to engage with them.
How to Run Paid Video Campaigns:
- Choose the Right Platform: Depending on your audience, decide where to run your ads. YouTube is ideal for longer videos, while Instagram and Facebook work better for shorter, more engaging content.
- Set Clear Goals: Are you aiming for views, clicks, or conversions? Setting clear goals will help you track and optimize your campaigns.
- Test and Optimize: Running A/B tests on your video ads (e.g., testing different video versions or targeting different demographics) helps determine the best approach for your goals.
Example:
If you’re running a product video that showcases a new gadget, you can run ads on YouTube targeting people interested in technology or innovation, making sure that your ad reaches a highly relevant audience.
Conclusion
Promoting your video content effectively is just as important as creating high-quality videos. By leveraging multiple channels—blogging, social media, email marketing, influencer collaborations, guest posts, and paid advertising—you can increase the reach and engagement of your explainer videos, product videos, and brand videos.
Remember, the key to successful video promotion is not just about posting your content everywhere; it’s about targeting the right audience, delivering value, and engaging with your viewers to foster a connection. By implementing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to seeing better results from your video marketing efforts.