The downside of the popularity of videos, though, is that when everyone makes them, any particular video -- yours, perhaps -- becomes harder for people to find. Your company’s videos, then, have to be more than just a passive experience for viewers. Soon, Facebook will allow users to create challenges and quizzes with their videos. Learning from the greats Utilizing proper video distribution means more than uploading a video to YouTube and hoping people find it. Too often, producers channel all their efforts into making the perfect video without trying to distribute it properly. Tasty, for instance, became Buzzfeed’s signature food channel not just by creating quality videos, but by understanding how users consume content. Of course, users will realize how much they need your product only if they actually need your product. Yes, everyone knows the first rule of marketing is to know your audience, but too many marketers take a one-size-fits-all approach to attracting viewers. Cutting among various angles is also more engaging to viewers and prevents them from scrolling for more exhilarating content. With videos' increasing ubiquity, proper distribution is essential for any entrepreneur.
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Digital marketers have been creating videos since the dawn of their job category. But because most people would rather watch a video than read paragraphs of information, the novelty hasn’t worn off. The downside of the popularity of videos, though, is that when everyone makes them, any particular video — yours, perhaps — becomes harder for people to find.
Your company’s videos, then, have to be more than just a passive experience for viewers.
The major players are already taking action. Soon, Facebook will allow users to create challenges and quizzes with their videos. Instead of using the site merely as a hub for friends to watch cat videos, Facebook is gamifying its video experience to make it as interactive as possible. Instagram also is adapting: The company is considering a change to allow users the ability to post hour-long videos, a 60-fold increase from its current one-minute threshold.
Introducing innovative strategies like Facebook’s or Instagram’s is essential for any startup hoping to weather the competition. According to the CMO Mobile Marketing Guide, 85 percent of digital marketers it polled said they intended to use video to expand their mobile marketing efforts this year.
So, the clear message is that, given the plethora of content flooding the internet and social media, the need to understand proper video distribution is becoming more important than ever. Otherwise, you could have the Citizen Kane of videos on your hands with no one to show it to.
Learning from the greats
Utilizing proper video distribution means more than uploading a video to YouTube and hoping people find it. Doing so wastes more than just time and money — it squanders the video’s marketing potential. Too often, producers channel all their efforts into making the perfect video without trying to distribute it properly.
Successful producers, on the other hand, recognize the need to adapt to their audience. Tasty, for instance, became Buzzfeed’s signature food channel not just by creating quality videos, but by understanding how users consume content. Tasty capitalized on Facebook users’ scrolling habits to create its distinctive overhead, time-lapse style. Plus, instead of keeping the camera on the chef, it focused on enticing close-ups of the food itself, knowing this was the footage that would catch viewers’ attention.
Tasty could have tried to be the “Food Network of the internet” and emulated popular cooking shows on its social media channels. The company realized, however,…
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