This may seem like shameless self-promotion, but if you read all the way to the bottom of this post, you’ll benefit in ways that you wouldn’t imagine. Besides, I figure that you’d want to know how to pimp your YouTube channel and get other miscellaneous advice. I could always blog about this topic, but the details have just been dished out in three videos and a podcast.
Let’s start with the interview that Mike McDonald of WebProNews did with me at SES San Jose 2009. (Actually, the video starts by itself, but don’t let that throw you.) The video is entitled, Finding Marketing Value in YouTube.
With people being increasingly drawn to video content, everyone is trying to capitalize on video sharing sites such as YouTube. I told McDonald, however, there is one problem: it isn’t always easy.
YouTube is known for funny videos of cats or children. While these videos may go viral, they will likely only produce a one-time audience. In other words, these kids and cats may not to do the same thing again, which means there would be no reason for viewers to return to that channel for more content.
To be successful on YouTube, users cannot simply upload a single video. Statistics show that in an average minute, 24 hours of video has been uploaded to YouTube. As a result of this large amount of competition, I tell McDonald that users should create a series of “compelling content” in order to bring viewers back continually.
Users have to have a reason for wanting to come back to a particular YouTube channel and it is up to the content providers to produce that desire. Is your YouTube channel creating that appeal?
Now, I should provide equal time for other views.
Over at ReelSEO, Mark R Robertson interviewed me at SES San Jose 2009 about Leveraging the Power of YouTube for Search Marketing. I told him, “One of the most important trends in search is YouTube. It is the second most popular search engine on the planet.”
But I suggested a two-pronged approach:
1. Optimize your video so that it can be found in searches
2. Involve yourself in the community, which helps breed the sharing aspects of YouTube.
I then told a story about Monty Python. I interviewed Monty Python’s producer about their YouTube efforts. The producer originally just went looking for a way to help keep pirated copies of Monty Python’s work from being uploaded all over the place. So they created their own channel and began posting their work themselves — in a higher quality.
As an afterthought, they put a click-to-buy link at the bottom of the video so that users could click and be taken straight to Amazon to purchase DVDs. A funny thing happened when they did that: sales went up a staggering 23,000%.
The point of the story, obviously, is that although YouTube is not thought of as a direct-response marketing platform, as it continues to evolve, it’s turning into a direct-response marketing solution faster than people may realize.
But wait! There’s more! Check out the YouTube video below. Mike Grehan, Senior Vice President of content for Search Engine Watch, ClickZ, and Search Engine Strategies, says my new book “won’t help you find the answer to life, the universe and everthing in it, but I guarantee it will help you get your videos found on YouTube, Google and other sites. So, read this book. It will change your life. You’ll become more wealthy, more attractive to the opposite sex.”
Mike Grehan, SVP for SEW, ClickZ and SES on YouTube Marketing: An Hour A Day
If you find this hard to believe, then check out the podcast on DishyMix.
Bratton says, it “is another one of those Wiley tomes that plunges all the way to detail hell on every aspect of using web video for marketing. This book is a must-read that will get you up to date on the constant changes YouTube is putting into place so marketers and Google can milk this phenomenon for everything it’s worth.”
The random encounter at SFO got me invited on DishyMix, where Bratton has just posted her interview of me. It’s entitled, Episode 117: Greg Jarboe: Pimp My YouTube Channel, 6-Steps to SEO PR and Roosevelt’s Arena.
According to Bratton, “Start making video and let Greg tell you how to produce it, research the keywords and optimize your video so you can get found, watched and loved.”
She adds, “And in case you still want to get those press releases out there, Greg gives us his updated, freshly reformulated 6-Step Process for Optimizing Press Releases for the News Services.”
If you like those DishyMix episodes where the guest delivers how-to advice in painstaking detail, then this is the show is for you. According to DishyMix, it is “packed with great tips, insider short cuts and a level set on the world of online video marketing, banana-milkshake fueled Jarboe works his buns off for you.”
I know, I know, even I would take these comments with a grain of salt.
So, if McDonald’s video, Robertson’s video, Grehan’s video and Bratton’s podcast still don’t provide you with enough details about video optimization, then you have options.
You can attend today’s Online Publicity Workshop at Market Motive. It starts at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific and is entitled, YouTube & Video Marketing.
No, this isn’t duplicate content. I will explore the world of online video, including what it takes to be successful and how to use some of the lesser known tools to prepare and track an online video marketing campaign.
Or, can also attend SES Chicago 2009. On Day 1, Monday, Dec. 7, I’ll be speaking at a session entitled, “YouTube & Video Optimization.”
Online video marketing is crucial in today’s marketplace. More than 158 million Americans watched an average of 8.3 hours of online video during July 2009. That’s more viewers than the 151.6 million Americans who watched Super Bowl XLIII, which reached the largest television audience in U.S. history.
My solo presentation will provide you “with proven, practical guidelines for developing and implementing video marketing for your organization.” At least, that’s what the SES Chicago website says.
And if you register by this Friday, Sept. 25, you can save up to $600 with the Early Bird Rate. See, it does pay to read all the way to the bottom of these posts.