Expand Your Brand With Online Video

If you are not producing online videos, you’re missing out on a growing market that has been left untapped by your other marketing outlets.  According to comScore’s metrics, about 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month of May of 2010, watching nearly 34 billion videos. According to Myrna Greenhut of Points of Persuasion Syndicate “By 2013, 90 percent of Internet traffic is expected to be video… Currently, more video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than 3 major U.S. networks produced in 60 years.”

YouTube is the current leader of online video viewership and distribution. In fact, YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google. Of course, Google owns YouTube, and much like Google, YouTube has the functionality for search optimization. It’s a matter of producing the video and inserting the right content to that video. Not only will this build your online video branding but also your website and social network, whether it’s for business or personal purposes. The good thing is that it’s at no cost and can be accomplished in real time, making it very productive.

How successful is online video? I’m sure you all know Justin Beiber. He was actually found on YouTube. His mom made home videos of him playing his instruments and singing and then posted them on YouTube. His videos were watched and shared so often that he eventually got noticed by a music manager. “It had a hundred views, then a thousand views, then ten thousand views, so I just kept posting more videos and more videos,” said Justin in a Good Morning America story. “Eventually, I got found by my manager who flew me to Atlanta to meet Usher.” So instead of spending thousands of dollars on public relations, advertising, sample CDs and music bookings, his claim to fame was YouTube.

Below are some basic guidelines on how to get started using YouTube.

1. Design a YouTube channel. Brand your online identity in YouTube by developing a unique design for your YouTube Channel.
2. Shoot a video between 1-4 minutes. You don’t really need to spend money on the latest high tech camera; just one that has quality audio and video will do just fine. When, making videos, keep it short. If you do decide to make a longer video, cut it up to different segments.
3. Add content for search optimization. Content is very important in getting your video out there. With Google owning YouTube, your videos will be viewed based on you choosing the right targeted keywords and relevant content in the title, description and tags. Use Google Keyword Tool to help you find the right words.
4. Social bookmark the video. Don’t forget to take advantage of social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ to help spread your video across the Internet.

Just using these basic guidelines will help get your videos seen. There are also other online video sites that you can use other than YouTube such as Blip.tv, Vimeo, Viddler, UStream, Veoh and Daily Motion.

Each of these sites has different functionalities so make sure they work best for your intended target audience. For example, Vimeo is great for creatives while Blip.tv is better for webisodes. I like YouTube because of its relationship with Google and its SEO capabilities, but whichever site you prefer, online videos will make a great addition to your website, branding, campaigns and social networks.