With over millions of YouTube subscribers, companies are creating content to garner potential customer attention. Here are eight tips for crating and optimizing branded video content to reach out to customers and improve local SEO practices.
Use Keywords and Search Terms: Branded videos should be treated like any other digital content and it must be optimized with relevant keywords and search terms. In the video’s title, description and tags add the location if you want to increase ranking in local search results. YouTube also inserts keywords to select similar videos to show up on the sidebar, which lets businesses target potential customers who are engaging with the platform and looking for similar content.
Include Geo tagging: Along with using local keywords in the title, local businesses can benefit from geo tagging and adding location information to their branded videos. Additionally, YouTube lets users geo tag videos and include location details, which helps search engines find the locality of the video when users search the location with those geo tags.
Think Mobile-Friendly: Over 50% of all YouTube videos are viewed on mobile devices such as tablets and smart phone, so it’s essential to curate video content that is compatible with every screen size. Keep the content in the video very simple and avoid placing too much details in the frame that won’t display properly on mobile devices. A lot of mobile users watch videos on mute, especially on social media like Facebook where videos are set on auto-play. Always add subtitles to branded videos.
Insert NAP: Just like websites and social media channels, local businesses should display their NAP information at the end of the video. Additionally, local businesses should add a link to the company website for visitors who arrived at the video from an external website.
Stick to the K-I-S-S Rule: Customers don’t like complicated content that is long and drawn out. Remember, people don’t have a lot of time to watch long explainer videos, as they are more likely to watch short, fun clips that get straight to the point. So, K-I-S-S (keep it short and simple)! However, if the purpose is to explain several ideas or demonstrate a product or service, stick to 3-5-minute videos, rather than 5–10-minute videos.
Get on Social Media: Once a company has branded videos, utilize social media to leverage the content and share the videos on every social media channel to reach as many people as you can. Motivate followers and friends to react, leave comments, and share the videos on their feed.
Embed Online: Local businesses should embed branded videos directly on the company website. This gives potential customers the chance to learn about the company and the more views you get, the better chance it’ll show up on local search engine results. To embed videos on the company website from YouTube, click on the share button below the video, click Embed and copy the link, then paste the code into the website’s HTML.
The Digital Age of Live Streaming
Since Facebook introduced Facebook Live, many social media channels have implemented live streaming in real-time. Businesses who utilize live streaming can give customers an opportunity to see them in action at local live events and a view of daily operations. Live streaming is another tool from social media that can help customers and brands interact.