Video marketing is rapidly becoming the most effective method of introducing your product or service to the general public. However, it is not enough just to produce a video and download it onto your website. Like any other form of advertising, if your video marketing is going to be successful you need to have a good marketing strategy in place.

Create an interest:

Before you post your video, talk about it on different social networking sites, on your own website, and by email. Create anticipation and get people talking about it, so when the video is released you have a ready made audience waiting to view it.

Use an interesting approach:

Obviously you want to get your marketing message across to your viewers, but try to embed it in a video which is funny, inspiring, motivating or informative. If you can include a demonstration of your product in a fascinating or exciting way this can be very effective. Remember that you have to capture the attention of your potential viewers in the first few seconds or you’ll lose them completely.

Think of a relevant title:

The title of your video is almost as important as the content. Firstly, it has to be relevant to the content and to your business. So it should contain at least one keyword which relates directly to your product or service. Secondly, it has to be attention-grabbing, drawing viewers to watch it, and, thirdly, it should preferably contain the word ‘video’ to help search engines identify it as such.

Request feedback:

After posting the video, ask viewers for feedback. People like giving advice and will almost certainly return to see if you take it. Use the suggestions you get to improve your video. If you ask viewers to submit their e-mail addresses when commenting on your video you can build a mailing list which you can use for future product marketing.

Update your site:

No matter how successful a video may be, don’t let it go past its sell by date. Keep updating your site. If a visitor found your video interesting or informative he will return to the site to see what else you have to offer.

Turn on the charm:

Video marketing offers a unique opportunity to connect with your customers wherever they may be in the world. Let them see what you look like, talk to them directly through the medium of video and you can foster a trust relationship which would be impossible using only text and images. Remember to add an encouragement to visit your website at the end of the video if you are posting it on another site.

Measure your results:

Use the available online measuring tools to gather valuable data on the impact your videos have on your viewers, such as the number of people who viewed your video, what percent of the video was viewed, whether the viewers visited your site after watching the video on another website and what the conversion rate was for these visits. Use the information to improve the format and content of your videos.