10 Actionable Ways to Use Video for Content Marketing

As brands look toward new and innovative ways to promote their content, the use of videos can be an effective tool to increase brand awareness, reward loyal consumer, get the best out of your most passionate customers, create smart content, and maintain an active fan following. As part of your overall content marketing strategy, consider the following video-related possibilities.

(1) Curate Videos Based on Theme

If you already have many videos, create a blog post where you bring together several videos with a similar theme. Always consider what a viewer would want to see as you make your choices of which videos to add to the page. To help improve your SEO, make sure you write content describing each video and what viewers should expect to see. If there are key points that are mentioned, highlight them in the text.

(2) Choose Your Own Adventure with YouTube

A powerful feature that YouTube offers is the ability to add links within a video. When you’re logged in, go to the “Annotations” tab, write a note such as “Click here to see more videos like this” and then add your link. Your link cannot take you to external websites yet but you do have some viable options. For example, you can link to another YouTube video. If you’re creative, you can create multiple videos and then have people choose their own adventure as they go from video to video. Whether you’re an affiliate marketer or social media strategist, you may use this new feature to funnel people towards one main video. Additionally, YouTube lets you link to your channel so you can send users in that direction. You can also write a message, perhaps a question or a note, asking for feedback and have users reply to you by clicking directly on the video. As a marketer, you can use calls to action such as asking people to click the link to subscribe to your channel or upload a video response.

(3) Get More Opt-ins with YouTube

Using YouTube External Annotation feature, you can send users to your website or custom landing page where you can encourage them to opt-in to an offer. The offer can be access to an ebook, podcast, or other hot topic that your target audience would want to find out more about.

(4) Promote Spontaneity and Good Times

Vine is a mobile app that allows users to shoot 6-second videos. Many people refer to it as Instagram for videos. The ease of use and ability to quickly upload videos to Twitter makes it practical for your fans to use. Ask your fans who use Vine to come to your retail outlet, restaurant, factory, nightclub, vineyard, or other establishment. Invite them to take a tour and ask them to post videos. Put on a small event to make them feel special and have a central activity that they can show off to their friends. For example, if you own a bar, film a toast and ask your fans to upload the videos using Vine.

(5) Make a Problematic Video

Ok, it’s not what you think. Too many companies are creating videos that push the sale directly by trying to focus on a product. To counter this, make a video of a problem that your product solves rather than focusing on the product itself. Instead of hitting the nail right on the head with a direct ad for your product or service, you’ll be providing viewers with a solution to an existing need, which is much more palatable. That way, you have the opportunity to anticipate and solve a problem without being directly in their face with the dreaded ““Buy our product! Buy our product! Buy our product!” attitude.

(6) Weekly Question and Answer Video

Look at the latest batch of questions that your brand has received regarding specific products and literally film simple videos where you answer the questions. Post the videos on YouTube and embed them on your company’s blog. You can also create a custom channel promote it.

(7) Host a Video Series on Google+

Even though Google+ is now the world’s second largest social media platform, many people think it’s a barren wasteland filled with desperate marketers. While that may have been true earlier on, the tumbleweeds have blown away and actual progress is being made. It’s time to get ahead of the game and run your own video series with Google+ Hangouts.

Announce a guest speaker and promote that individual (e.g., on Twitter and your Facebook business page). Have everyone sign-in on a specific day and time, and encourage them to get involved. Google+ Hangouts currently allows up to 10 people to share their screens while the rest of the attendees in the session can watch (but no one will see them).

One of the added advantages of Google+ Hangouts is that you can record your session and have it automatically get published on your own YouTube channel. The only real drawback of Google+ Hangouts right now is that the quality of video is only moderate. That said, if you keep in mind that content quality trumps camera quality, you’ll likely discover that users will happily participate despite the lower resolution and frame rates. You just need to start and improve as you go forward and get the hang of it.

(8) Host a Video Contest

Rather than having your company create and spread content with a video that’s created in-house, let your followers show their loyalty and how much they like your brand, with a video contest. This turns into a promotional opportunity where you manage the videos as opposed to creating them. You’d be surprised how creative passionate fans can be.

First, decide on the length of time, judging rules and prize. Next, set parameters of the contest (e.g.,” you must be using our product, “ “it must show a creative or humorous use of our product,” and so on). Next, promote the contest and post on it on your blog, Facebook or other social media business page. Show users how easy it is to get into the contest. Post contest updates, let people vote, and announce the winner. Your fans should have fun with it and so should you!

(9) Video Repurposing

Take your photos, slides, infographics and convert them into a video. Services like Animoto can help you with that. You can also do the reverse. That is, take your video and repurpose it into a blog post or create custom infographics.

(10) Transcription

Find a video on YouTube, TED, or other video website with a relevant topic. Listen to what a subject matter expert has to say and literally write it down word for word. Then re-write it as a blog post where you talk about the person’s perspective and ideas, discussing if you agree or disagree, and so on. Alternately, you can watch an interview with a celebrity and take note of some of their quotes which you can use in an article. If a fan has made a video testimonial, write it out and post it as content on your website. That unique text could be helpful for SEO purposes. The transcription approach actually lends itself to a multitude of possibilities.

Overall, keep your objectives in mind while creating high quality content for the best results.