Adding Videos To Your Blog Or Personal Space
#Want more traffic? Improve your blog posts by adding videos to them.
There is nothing like video for grabbing your visitors' attention. Whether you are hosting a business event or a personal gathering, video will let you offer detail and interactivity that text can't provide on its own. It also allows anyone to follow along easily and watch at their own pace, which gives viewers a chance to review the information again in their own time (and hopefully decide they want it). Additionally, our brains understand visuals better than words, so learning via image is easier and more effective.
#1 – YouTube
YouTube is one of the most popular (and largest) video sharing services in the world. They offer an easy to use interface, an enormous library of videos (of every category and from every source you can think of), community features, and a built-in search engine. If you have something to explain, demonstrate, or teach, chances are YouTube has the perfect video for you.
#2 – Vimeo
Vimeo is a great place to post more high end videos. It offers a more professional aesthetic and user interface than YouTube and its users tend to enjoy longer form content with less editing. Also, while Vimeo embedding isn't as common as YouTube embedding, it's certainly not impossible either.
#3 – Slideshare
Slideshare is a great place to post presentations and reports from conferences, businesses, or even your own personal experience. The short, engaging videos (usually no more than 5-7 minutes in length) can help you tell a story about what you're doing, who you are, or what you offer.
#4 – Self Hosting Your Own Site
You can also create videos of your own on your website with either embedded video or through an uploaded file. If that's the case, it's best to have a separate video section on your site where visitors will be directed. Also remember that video content is different from other types of web content. It needs to be well presented, focus on the message you're trying to get across, and include some kind of call to action.
#5 – Vimeo Staff Pick
Vimeo offers a staff pick feature that monitors new content and recommends the best videos from their library. This feature is powered by their algorithms, which recommend videos based on how your site is found organically as well as how well it is optimized for video sharing. This means you can gain an edge by being found via search engines for your niche and also for being successful with video uploads so your videos will show up here.
#6 – Vimeo Find
Vimeo Find is another way to find interesting videos that are similar to your industry or specific topic. For example, you can use this tool to find videos on "conference call videoconferencing" or even "dating advice."
#7 – Digital Video Festival
The Digital Video Festival has a rules page where they define what type of content is allowed on the site (things like nudity and sexually explicit content are banned). Luckily, this site offers a Certified Content program where you upload your own quality videos and assign them a badge to show quality. This is another way to connect with video enthusiasts and encourage the sharing of your video content.
#8 – Metacafe
Metacafe is a highly curated site for viral video content. This means that if someone does find your content and uploads it, it will get a ton of views. Also, Metacafe has lots of great tools to help you manage the process of making and distributing your videos. You can choose from automatic uploading, an embeddable player, or monetization tools such as AdSense or Vimeo's own monetization tools.
#9 – Angie's List
Angie's List is a long running company that offers user reviews on things like local businesses, contractors, hospitals, health services and so much more. They are also a big proponent of video reviews, although they do not have a specific area of the site where you can post and promote them. They do, however, have an embeddable player that lets people post your video on their own site if they choose to do so.
#10 – Amazon
Last but not least, Amazon is another huge online provider that offers reviews and recommendations. They also have a ton of data on what works and what doesn't when it comes to digital content (i.e., their users' preferences). This is another major player in the video review realm. You can also get visibility for your content by getting sponsored or endorsed by other people's videos on Amazon.
#11 – YouTube Creator Hub
YouTube Creator Hub is the hub for YouTube creators to help them find ways to grow their channels by sharing ideas and resources. They have a ton of community features, like live chats, Q&As, and even how-to guides. This is a good place to get global exposure as well as tips and tricks on improving your videos.
#12 – iWhat are You?
iWhat are You? is an app that lets you use your phone or tablet to create short videos that show the world what you do or what you're trying to accomplish. You can do it in just a few minutes and then upload right away. If you're looking for more of a business version of this, then we recommend Axonify , which is a more polished and complete service.
#11 – Social Media / Email Marketing
You can distribute videos through any number of channels, including social media (Facebook, Twitter), email marketing (Gmail, Mailchimp), or even on your personal blog post. Just make sure to include a strong call to action in your video that encourages people to share it with other people. You can also use video for promotional messaging for your business or as an SEO tool to help get your site ranked higher based on the content you produce.
#12 – Email Marketing
You can also use email marketing services like Mailchimp and SendUp . These tools offer a huge range of features for sending out targeted emails to subscribers, including the ability to embed videos in your email content.
#13 – Viddler
Viddler offers an easy way for you to upload and share videos across your website. Just choose a video from your library or upload a new one and add it anywhere on your site that you want. The service is also mobile optimized, so if someone likes your video they can send it out through email or social channels with just a few clicks.
#14 – Tout
Tout allows you to create short 4-second videos that can be easily embedded on your Facebook page or website.
Conclusion
I hope these video marketing ideas have been helpful. Please remember that video is a very powerful and effective way to market your business and get in front of prospective customers. However, it's not a magic bullet. You need to take the time to find out what actually works for your business and what doesn't, so testing and optimizing is the most important thing you can do.
#15 – Animoto
Animoto is an easy tool to create video slideshows that are hosted on their site and shared through social media channels or embedded on other websites. They have a ton of design templates to choose from, so it's super easy to create compelling content with just a few clicks of the mouse.