January 2

Online Marketing Videos – How To Get Viewers, What Works and What Doesn’t

For effective online video marketing, your first hurdle is to get your video made. The second is to get it seen.

Honestly, the second can be trickier than the first.

A survey I read recently from Marketing Sherpa rated the methods people used to get viewers and how successful they were.

The winner? Paid search. “Great” results were reported by nearly twice as many people who used paid search than the closest alternative, which was promotion in paid media.  Even with those reported successes, many people were still dissatisfied.

  • 18% reported great or good success with paid search
  • 63% said results were “mixed”
  • 16% claimed “not so great results”
  • 3% said results were down right terrible.

The method that got the lowest satisfaction rate was promoting your video on your own blog.

  • Only 14% had great or good results
  • A whopping 37% said not so good or terrible

This might run counter to what you have come to believe.  I think these stats are correct.  Too many people promote online video as a miracle cure.  It’s an awesome thing, but not a sure-shot like so many gurus claim.  Remember, they are selling a product.

A lot of things that involve promotion, unfortunately, often involve pay because it does indeed get the desired results. If you can afford it, paying seems a much better way to succeed.  In a way, I hate to say that, but it appears to essentially be true in most circumstances.

So although paid search definitely got better results, promoting video by posting it on your own blog is free, so you would have to decide whether the extra expense is worth the extra results. Don’t forget to factor in your time!  Your time is not free.

If you are trying to run a business online, you need to make sure you do video in a way that promotes a good ROI.

In context, 14% success is not that far down from 18%. The biggest difference is definitely in the not-so-good and terrible category. Only 19% of people who paid for viewers were disappointed, whereas 37% of those who promoted video for free on their personal blog were disappointed. That’s nearly twice as many sad sacks.  Again, I say that is a reflection of results being hyped.  

bag of money

All-in-all, the survey results showed that whatever method you used for getting viewers, chances are highest that you will get “mixed” results. As with most things, online videos are not always successful, and the majority of them rate a so-so.

Are you surprised to hear me say that? Well, I am just reporting the facts, ma’am. Most online video promoters make it sound like if you get any old video uploaded, that it will instantly become a sensation. I am honest enough to tell you that is not true. That’s not to say online video is not worth the trouble, it most certainly is. You just have to do it right and have realistic expectations, that’s all.

Even with all of that, I still say online video marketing is the best opportunity available for promoting your business. Just don’t expect it to work 100% of the time in miraculous fashion.

And don’t break the bank on a fancy production.  Simple videos often do well.

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips

Lorraine Grula

lorraine grula drawing


Tags

how to get viewers for your video, online video, online video marketing


You may also like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}