Three Easy Ways to Increase Video Marketing Exposure

By the end of next year, it’s estimated that 69% of all internet traffic will be attributed to online videos.

That’s insane.

Just about every marketing professional is either using video marketing or planning to in the near future. Unfortunately, most do it poorly. There are so many businesses who start a YouTube channel, add a video or two expecting to reach a whole new market and…

Nothing happens. Sure, they get a few views from people around the office, maybe some friends and family. But that’s it.

Now, the lack of traction may discourage many would-be video marketing hopefuls. However, the numbers show that staying out of the motion-picture gambit may not be an option. Which inevitably leads you to ask yourself: if my current methods of video distribution aren’t getting eyes on the screen…

How can we boost exposure for our videos?

At Explainify, we know a thing or two about getting the right people to watch our content. So, over the next few hundred words we’re going to share some tried and true ways we’ve increased our exposure and our clients.

1. Engagement Tracking

You may have heard the quote, “What gets measured, gets done shared”. Ok, maybe we messed with it a little.

The first step to increasing your video marketing exposure is to understand what your goals are – and what metrics you’ll be tracking over the course of your campaign. Figuring out what you want your viewers to do is important, because it can help you determine the level of success and create better videos on your next go ‘round.

Bonus: Need an intro to video analytics? We’ve created more detailed content about that. Take a look!

The action you wish viewers to take should be easy to both see and accomplish. There are multiple items that you can track. Depending on your goal, some will be more valuable to increase exposure than others.

For exposure, you’ll want to make a video that is shareable and promotes a conversation. Greater reach (in your target market) equals greater exposure. Include an offer or free resource to get your video shared amongst colleagues. Talk about a controversial industry topic to get people talking on social media. Or, just plain deliver value in your content.

Extra Exposure: Make sure to be a part of the conversation you hope to create. Transparency is a rare but powerful tool to increasing your audience.

2. Optimizing for Search

The world of search engine optimization (SEO) has a stigma of just being about blog posts. But with over half of all internet traffic being video, it’s just not true. In fact, it can be easier to rank for a search term with a good video than just plain text.

Increasing your exposure could be achieved organically by increasing the rank of your videos.

Here’s an example:

A company who provides financial services to software companies uses the Google Keyword Planner Tool to find keyword ideas for content. A quick search reveals that hundreds of software professionals search to explore different business models and pricing models for their business.

The company creates a detailed video explaining different business models software and SaaS companies can employ. If they rank in the top 10 of Google and YouTube for “SaaS Business Models” it could mean dozens – or hundreds! – of new leads each and every month.

That’s some exposure we could all use.

There are a few other steps to ranking for video marketing content (here’s a fantastic guide by Neil Patel). The first step should be to figure out what your potential customers want to know through keyword research and asking your current audience.

Not only does improving the search rank of videos provide more exposure, it also drives targeted traffic.

Bonus Fact: The number one search engine is (obviously) Google, but the second largest is YouTube.

3. Creating Quality Content (Stuff that Gets Watched)

One of the most telling ways to see if you’re increasing your exposure or hurting your brand image is how long people actually tune in to your video.

Audience retention is something that everyone wants, but few actually work to achieve. Sadly, videos only get watched to the end around 50% of the time on average. There are a few factors that can improve retention (things like length, subject matter, and target audience).

Improving your retention rate starts with creating quality content that is watchable – in other words, that it’s easy and enjoyable to watch. If someone can watch your stuff all the way through, chances are they’ll come back for your next video.

Here are a few more things you can do to achieve “watchability”:

Don’t be longer than you need. Get your point across in an endearing and entertaining way an – then encourage your audience to take the desired action (like, share, CTA).
Avoid words that give viewers a cue to leave (e.g. “Well, I think that just about…).
Don’t tease your audience, but don’t give away the goods too soon. They’ll leave as soon as they get what they want.

The Best Tip for Exposure?

We’ve found that there is one overriding way to get your video marketing content watched, enjoyed and shared with others.

Storytelling.

If there is a single word that describes what Explainify loves to do, it’s definitely storytelling. Blandly conveying information is a great way to get people to tune out. A good story draws people in from the start, and takes them on a journey into a world created just for them.

If you want some proven pros to work on telling your story and increasing your exposure, we may be your solution. Let’s start the conversation!