It’s clear that video is a large part of the future of the internet. If you’re considering making an online video or already have one completed, you may wonder “What is the best way to reach the most people?” Here are some tips and suggestions that can greatly improve the amount of views your video will receive online.
 

Don’t listen to the old saying, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity!” Just putting any old video out there is not the best way to establish trust and credibility with consumers. A video can be a company’s first impression. If you don’t impress the viewer from the beginning, why would they trust you in the end? At Point7West, we fine tune every message we deliver, making sure you put your best foot forward. Always.
 

There’s no need to make a five minute video anymore. No one has that much time. The best way to get views and convert customers is to make a short, informative and well-produced video. If someone watches a video all the way to the end, they’ll be more likely to forward it to someone else. That will spread your message virally!

 

Keywording is the lifeblood of the web. All day, every day people are searching for your business. Loading your video’s description with valuable, specific keywords will ensure your video receives high level search results. Be accurate! Think of every word or phrase someone could use looking for your services. Some people search in completely different ways. Use as many unique and descriptive terms as possible, but be honest! Search engines penalize results with what they consider “Keyword Spam.”
 

This is a fairly new addition to the "Video SEO" equation, but it could be a helpful way to expand your keywording capabilities. If you take the time to transcribe your video, there is a whole new field of data for search engines to mine and categorize your video. Adding a transcription, to either the video description or within the metadata of your website greatly improves the ranking of your video in search results.
 

You just made a great new video. Why not put it on display? YouTube is great, but it’s just the beginning. There are tons of video and social networking sites where your videos can get unique views. Upload it to your website, Vimeo, Facebook, Myspace, Pinterest, Flickr, Yahoo Video and anywhere else you can. The more places your video can be, the more potential views you can get. Make sure to include all your keywords to make sure it shows up high in search results too.
 

Be social! Tell everyone you know about your new video. It takes time to build an audience online, but you can jumpstart the process by letting people know where it is. This where social media really comes into play. Use Facebook, Twitter or any other online community to get your video out there.

Followers, subscribers, friends. Sometimes you can never have too many. Today, you don’t want people to just take a look at your video and move along. You want them to stick around and see what happens next. Are there customer testimonials? Tutorials? FAQ videos? Keep them informed of all the latest media your company has to offer by asking them to “subscribe” or “become a fan.”

It’s sometimes the last thing you think about. What should I call this? Include your most important keywords, but still make the title easy to read. Put yourself in your viewer’s shoes. What is a title that might peak their interest?

We are visual creatures. When clicking though video websites, we’ll make a quick first impression based on the little image next to the video. If it’s not something pleasing to the eye, you might have just lost a viewer. Video upload sites will sometimes choose a random image from your video to represent it in their search results. Don’t let them control your destiny! Select the best photo you can and make sure people are intrigued enough to click.
 

Comment, comment, comment. If not you yourself, enlist friends or anyone else to say something. Videos that have comments, likes, ratings, etc. will always show up higher in search results. Sometimes people will turn off interaction options, like commenting or ratings, but this is a mistake. Don’t be afraid of the “unknown commenter.” You can always delete things later if you don’t approve.