So you’ve created online video content, now what’s your video marketing strategy? The good news is you’ve completed the first step in a multi-stage process. Online video marketing is an essential advertising tool and can be very effective when paid, owned, earned and social (shared) media are maximized. Room 214 released a report in 2012 on Social Media & Digital Marketing Trends outlining these different types of media and how to use them:
Paid Media
The concept here is simple: marketers buy media, usually in the form of impressions, to affect sales.
Types of Paid Media include:
- Digital Advertising
- Banners
- Pay-Per-View
- Rich Media
- In-stream or social paid promotion
A benefit of paid media is that it produces immediate results; it could take several months to drive traffic to your content organically. Use this form of advertising to send an informative message introducing your goods and services. For example, it would be advantageous to utilize paid media with an explainer video. You’ll cast a wide net, spreading your brand’s message while maximizing exposure.
Make the most of your paid media by focusing on specific target markets and make sure to track interactions and customer conversions so you understand your cost per new lead. Paid media is also scalable. You determine your message’s reach through the size of your target audience. To increase traffic and awareness quickly, paid media in your video marketing strategy is the way to go.
Here are some services that will help you expand your reach:
AdWords for Video, OneLoad, YuMe, spotXchange, TubeMogul, ViralGains, StumbleUpon Paid Discovery
There are obviously other options available, but be careful. Some services may use bots and other shady means to deliver views. Even though views may cost more with trustworthy companies, they’ll generate greater awareness and engagement with your content.
Owned Media
With owned media, you are in control. This form of marketing includes the following:
- Website, blog, e-mail, microsites
- Social networks
- Press releases
- Mobile web and games
- In-store displays
- Employees
Distribute your video across every channel you have. Take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, YouTube and your blog to guarantee maximum exposure. Encouraging conversations and sharing through social media outlets is an excellent way to generate awareness and consumer-brand relationships. Additionally, owned media is easy and cost effective—plus, you can use it to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Room 214 gives these tips to optimize your owned media for better results: use a keyword-optimized title above your video with related content nearby, use keywords in the video file name, use schema.org video markup, create video sitemaps, and add annotations to encourage people to comment, like and subscribe.
Earned Media
Earned media is the promotion of your material through efforts other than advertising—if your content is good enough, it will encourage viewers to share it with family, friends and co-workers.
Gain earned media through:
- Trusted connections
- Influencers
- Brand communities
- User-generated content
- Word-of-mouth
If you leverage paid and owned media successfully, earned media will follow. Try giving your blog audience an exclusive “first look” at your video and make sure to prompt discussions with your content. Pitch your video to influential bloggers and social site users. Tapping into their fan bases will improve your brand’s overall reach. These tips will also help you foster authentic conversations and drive consumer engagement.
An advantage of earned media is that it’s distributed through endless channels of information; it will also maximize organic SEO. If you generate significant earned media, you’ll have outside validation that you’re delivering value through your products or services.
Social (Shared) Media
This is the last step of content promotion in your video marketing strategy. At this point, it’s out of your hands. You’ve distributed your content across multiple-platforms and engaged customers through social sites—now your viewers have become fans and have started sharing the video with others. All this is accomplished through the techniques outlined in the “owned media” section
Social (Shared) Media
This is the last step of content promotion in your video marketing strategy. At this point, it’s out of your hands. You’ve distributed your content across multiple-platforms and engaged customers through social sites—now your viewers have become fans and have started sharing the video with others. All this is accomplished through the techniques outlined in the “owned media” section.
Though similar, owned media and shared media are not the same. Owned media is promotion by a company through social and digital channels. In contrast, the company has little to no control over shared media; viewers take control in this stage. If the content is distributed to the appropriate target markets through the other types of media, then it has potential to generate shared media post-promotion.
With shared media, you can get exposure through “incidental contact.” For example, when people engage and comment on Facebook, your post will appear on their timeline thus introducing your content to their entire network. Any consumer-brand interactions over social networks will increase your overall reach. Obviously, this is the desired effect.
Conclusion
Having video content is extremely important in this day and age—but just creating it isn’t enough. You need to generate exposure and awareness with your content; otherwise, you’re not taking full advantage of each penny spent in the creation process. By creating a video marketing strategy that correlates paid, owned, earned and social media efficiently, you’ll exponentially increase your content’s reach and effectiveness.
Hannah Brenzel is the Content Marketer for ViralGains, a viral video marketing company based out of Boston. She recently moved three thousand miles away from her home in California to join the advertising mecca that is the East Coast. For more info, connect with Hannah on LinkedIn or follow her on Google .