Let’s pretend we all share a common definition of social media. Video’s role toward that should be obvious. It’s another way to be social, and arguably more media. While online-video isn’t all social, it’s hard to imagine having a robust social-media presence without video. At the least, video is more social than the written word, don’t you think?
So here’s ReelSEO guest expert Blake Sanders writing about 8 Tips for a Social Media Campaign, meaning how brands, companies and causes can harness online-video in their social-media experts… “ordinary people can make videos that create an extraordinary amount of interest and conversation.”
Check out his article, and here are my amplifications of his 8 points. They’re solid…
Publish Regularly
He’s so right. When my self-deprecating slogan du jour was “Nalts Makes a Video Everytime You Poop,” I maintained a larger and more loyal fan base. When I got busy consulting, I slumped. Take some fiber, and get regular.
Bring High Energy
Energy is contagious, and most fail not for being too energetic but from being flat. Of course being yourself is also important, and if you’re forcing energy it might be awkward.
Teach Creatively
How-to is as hot as ever, and there are many subjects that lack Howcast-quality instructional design. This is a great way to add value and earn the right to engage your audience in other ways.
Involve Others
Watch your Facebook to see that interactive content tends to rise (asking provocative questions not begging for comments and likes). Similarly on YouTube the popular content is heavily influenced by the willingness of the viewer to comment and “favorite.” While it never hurts to ask for that interaction, it’s always better to make engagement irresistible.
Engage with Viewers
The community on my own blog ebbs and flows based on how interactive I am in comments. When I’m in “publishing mode” it’s a desert island. When I ask questions and respond, a lot of you come out of your holes.
Wow Viewers
I like wow. I also like viral. Ultimately we all want a little wow, and it’s rare. When was the last time you were “wowed”? Did you tell others?
Call to Action
CTAs are mandatory in effective direct-response marketing. They’re a bit more tricky in social media, and the “response rate” is generally going to be low. Maybe one in 100 passive receivers of content are likely to do anything… and of those, even a smaller will engage significantly. Keep in mind it takes time to earn action.
Make Content Sharable
This is where you gotta lose some of the proprietary instincts and push your content everywhere. Blake ate his own dogfood by sharing his social-media video ideas broadly on ReelSEO, and had he not done that I wouldn’t have known he existed… or his broadband comparison site.
Source: 8 Tips For Creating A Successful Social Video Campaign http://www.reelseo.com/8-tip-social-video/#ixzz1WYbajcjQ
©2008-2011 ReelSEO Video Marketing
I think those are all very important points. I usually like to reword “Bring high energy” into “create content that you love” but ultimately it’s the same meaning.
One of my most favorite webcomics is penny-Arcade, they’re arguably one of, if not, THE most successful webcomic to exist. A few years back they listed what they felt it takes to become succesful in the web comic world and it echoed a lot of these sentiments but most of all the “Publish Regularly”. I’ll dig around and see if I can find the post and if i do I’ll tweet it to you.
A lot of people deride maintaining a schedule, saying that it removes the spontineity and makes everything into a business. I feel that if you have an audience there is an unspoken commitment to produce content for them on a regular basis. People like reliability not “whenever I feel like it”
So… are you ever going to go back to making videos even semi-regularly?
Thanks for the tips Blake Sanders…..oh,and Nalts too! 😉