Social Media Marketing Strategies for Video Distribution

By Jayson Duncan

Social media strategies for getting your video seen!

Your company  spent money to produce a new video. Make that a lot of money. In fact, they spared no expense—working with a reputable video production company, a professional talent, and a scriptwriter—to make sure the video represents the company in the best possible light.

And YOU have just been handed the task of getting people to watch it.

Social Media Marketing Strategies: 1st Stop – YouTube

YouTube is the first place most marketers go to post their companies’ videos—well, after posting it on the corporate website, of course. Bear in mind, however, that just because you post your video on YouTube, doesn’t necessarily make it “social media.” Social media is all about building relationships, and just like any other relationship, it takes time and effort to develop rapport.

Think of it this way: Posting a video on YouTube is kind of like the first day of school—you need to make friends if you’re going to have any kind of social life. Likewise, you (and your video) have to work at making friends on YouTube in order for your video to have a social life.

The thing is, making friends on YouTube is FUN. For one thing, you get to watch videos on company time. For another, you get to interact with others on company time. You make friends by making comments—POSITIVE comments—on others’ videos .  REMEMBER: Avoid the instinct to post a comment to the tune of, “Come watch my new video!” UNLESS it really, really applies to the conversation. This can be really, really tricky.  Frankly, I recommend that you err on the side of caution and just have a conversation and stay away from anything promotional.

Social Media Marketing Strategies: Next Stop – Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Beyond

YouTube helps you kick-start the conversation on other social media sites by allowing you to post your content to Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Twitter, as you know, is a popular social networking site that allows you to post short messages in 140 character sentences using your computer, mobile phone or gaming console. Posting a video on Twitter is not hard; you basically “tweet” a link to your video. For more information, check out How to Post Video to Twitter.

Facebook is popular for sharing information and connecting with others, and is highly compatible with YouTube.   You can also upload your video directly to Facebook.

Google Plus (aka Google+), is a lot like Facebook but owned by Google, which owns YouTube, so the integration is seamless. You can either upload your own video or link to a YouTube video and it will be embedded right alongside your text.

Viddy is like Twitter for video—it’s all about short content. The Viddy app only allows you to record 15-second clips. I really like Viddy because it forces people to keep things short. Viddy also allows you to share your content via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube because it has video distribution built in. As of right now Viddy is only available on iOS but you can upload videos via their website.

Social Media Marketing Strategies: Last Stop – Offline

Don’t forget to promote your video offline via print materials, product packaging, direct mail and more. One way to do this is to print a Quick Response Code or QR code on anything printed to bring people online and make them part of the conversation.

Jayson Duncan (14 Posts)

This monthly Social Media and Video column is contributed by Jayson Duncan. Jayson is an Orange County, California filmmaker and owner of the video production company Miller Farm Media. In 2003, Jayson began using video to help others tell their stories through his video production company, Miller Farm Media. He has created videos for Fortune 50 companies. In his spare time Jayson enjoys playing his guitar, song writing, and spending time with his wife, Gretchin.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net