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Guest columnist M. E. Kennedy, founder of eReleases, the online leader in affordable PR distribution since 1998. Grab your free copy of The Big Press Release Book, a must-read for the PR professional.. In this piece, Kennedy gives us a treatment on YouTube and how PR Pros should be using the platform.
By M. E. Kennedy, President of eReleases PR Distribution
Here are a few good tips for any PR pros venturing into the world of Youtube videos. While it may seem easy to throw up a little fun video now and then, if you take it seriously, you could have very real viewers and revenue coming in every week!
Create a Series
Instead of just creating a one-off video that takes all your creative energy and focus, turn your thoughts, research and expertise into a respected video series. Keeping a running series out on YouTube will keep people coming back and, more importantly, keep your business on their minds.
Think about separating whatever videos you’ve already shot or scripted out into multiple episodes. If you have an episode that deals with ecommerce and social media, cut them into two parts. Make sure to include a teaser at the end of each video so your audience knows to return for the next installment!
Don’t be Boring
If anything, this should be what you remember on this list. No matter what you’re talking about, you positively can’t be boring. Even if the topic is “how to be boring,” you can’t be boring. People will leave. Have you ever stuck through a god-awful ten minute video to see if the last thirty seconds were any good? No, and neither will your viewers.
Think of some engaging way to convey the information. Use graphics. Write some jokes (unless you’re not funny, then don’t). Make use of music and sound effects. Tell a story. Do anything you can to keep your audience’s interest and leave them wanting more.
Embed Video
Don’t just rely on traffic cycling through YouTube, either; your main audience is going to look for you on your website or blog. Find the little embed HTML code below the video and make sure the video series is accessible on your website or blog.
And don’t forget Facebook! Since you (hopefully) have a Facebook page for your business, add a “Videos” tab and post your web series there for your FB friends to see. Don’t be shy; ask them to repost it and share with their friends!
Provide Easy Links to Past Videos
Since you’re making a series now and not just a single video, you’ll want to make sure new viewers can see the rest of the series so they can keep up. Have a dedicated page on your website just for past videos or links to them on YouTube. Have a brief synopsis (2-3 sentences) of what the episode is about and tag some keywords on it so viewers don’t get frustrated watching the wrong thing.
Discuss Others’ Videos
Now’s the time to go over to some of your fellow filmmakers and comment on their works of art! In return, they might check out your work and some cross-promotion will start to happen. Eventually, you might even start to put little shout-outs in your video of your friends’ videos and vice versa. All from a few little comments!
Have you ever created a video series for a client?
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