Brand promotion via video is a tricky task that can propel you quickly into popularity or set you back. This shouldn’t stop you from trying new promotion ideas but everything has rules to follow. Here are some things to avoid doing on YouTube.
- Blend in with everyone else. If I’m doing what everyone else is doing, I must be on the right track. That’s wrong thinking. The things that make a video viral don’t necessarily fit into a cookie-cutter promotion format. In fact, one of the best things you can do is present your idea (which doesn’t necessarily have to be new) in a uniquely engaging way (this does have to be new). Do you realize how many people are trying to do the same thing you’re trying to do? Set yourself above the rest. Be “you-nique”.
- Trick them into thinking that you’re not really advertising. The concept of promoting without really promoting is tough to accomplish. Besides that, aren’t you trying to brand yourself? Get your name out there and don’t be shy. If you’ve got something great, people will be interested. They just have a nasty habit called “curiosity”.
- Speak at your audience instead of interacting with them. This should take you back to your childhood memories of your parents correcting you. Remember how they were yelling at you but you mentally checked out? Not really engaged were you? Same thing here. Get them involved with what you’re saying. Get them interested enough to react to your message and them give them a way to respond to your video.
- Blow your budget. Some of the best viral videos were done with “home” equipment and that just goes to show that you don’t really need professional equipment to be viral. Viral videos expand your reach because they engage your audience; not because they look like they cost a quarter million dollars to produce.
- Forget about measuring conversion rates. It’s too hard to accurately measure. Even though that may be true, you will still need to find a way to measure your conversion rates. Incorporate the unknown risk factor into your metrics and be real about the numbers!
- Focus on awareness rather than engagement of your web audience. Forget about your audience, after all, you’ve got the money and you’ve got a message to preach. WRONG! Most people don’t care what you have to say. You have to appeal to their emotions and find a way to connect to get the best results from your video promotion.
YouTube is the most popular site to release your videos. Amongst the online crowd, more users go to YouTube so get in the game and use these tips to avoid a meltdown on this site!
Photo credit: Ivva
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(October 2007) (
