How to Increase Traffic and Sales with Video Marketing

Yesterday was the first day at Affiliate Summit. The first session we attended was about how to increase traffic and sales with video marketing being presented by Heather Romiti. With the growth of List25’s youtube channel (500+ new subscribers per day), we have learnt the value of building a loyal fan base using video. Which was the main reason why we decided to attend this session to see what others are doing. It was comforting to know that everything we are doing are exactly what we need to do. In this article, we will summarize the session on how to increase traffic and sales with video marketing.

People often ask why should I choose video? The answer is simple. Our brain is a much better image processor than a word processor. Videos allow you to drive traffic and build a loyal following. Look at List25’s Youtube Channel, we just passed over 10M video views on it. Heather mentioned a very interesting stat that often people seem to miss. Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine, and the 3rd most visited website in the world. More importantly, online video is expected to grow over 55% this year. After that statistic, the question of why should I use video should have a clear answer in everyone’s mind.

People often wonder what type of videos can I create for my site? The basic types are How-To’s, Promotional (could be about discount deals), Educational, Reviews, and Teaser videos. Heather does a lot of blender reviews, so her tip was that in a review video, you should always talk about positives first. In the middle of the video, you want to mention some of the downsides, and then stack it back with the positives towards the end. Because most people are skeptics, this order of the review allows you to make more sales. Last, but definitely not the least, be very honest in your review. If the product sucks, then say it how it is.

There are always those camera shy people. They don’t want to be on video. Well, you are in luck because there are tons of alternatives for you. David, editor in chief of List25, does not like to be in front of the camera. Since he is responsible for creating all the videos, all of our videos are slideshow based with narration. In the beginning, he was a bit shy about that as well, but he has overcome that. So the thing to remember is be consistent and do not give up. You can also hire someone else to create videos for you (these can be animations, whiteboard videos, etc).

You want to strive towards the best audio quality. Often folks say if the audio is good, and the video is sub par, then they will watch it. If the video is good, but the audio is sub par, they will not watch it. When uploading to facebook, you want to be aware of music rights, and only use things that you have license for. There are tons of open source music resources for videos.

If you are curious about learning more about a video sequence, then yes there are things that work. We normally follow the following sequence:

1. Intro / Branding – You don’t want to go overboard on this. Keep it short, but unique.
2. Give Value – Offer something that the users want to hear. We ask our users to tell us in the comments.
3. Advise / Inform – Always have to do this for a good video.
4. Conclusion and Call to Action – Give them an action whether it is to subscribe to your channel, check out another video of yours, go to your website, etc.

To see a good video sequence, check out this video example:

People often ask us how do you drive traffic to your videos? Our response is we share it everywhere. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, and everywhere else you can think of. If you are a resource channel, one of Heather’s tip was that you should answer questions on Quora and Yahoo Answers with links to your videos. Another tip that we have given you guys before is to use Video SEO by Yoast plugin to increase your search traffic. If you have videos on your site, then this is a MUST HAVE plugin for you.

Aside from SEO Optimization, there is also Youtube optimization that you can do. If the average view time of your video is relatively higheer, then you will rank better. The more engaged your audience is in your videos, the better you will rank. This means, comments, likes, embeds, shares, etc. One of the best ways to increase comments is to engage with the users. Participate in the conversation. Often people think, maybe I should make the longest video or make a lot of videos, then I will rank more. If you have a lot of videos that are not engaging, then you will lose the ranking. It is about quality over quantity.

Youtube offers three features that will allow you to keep your audience engaged and make them take action. Annotations, In-Video Graphics, and End-Cards. Annotations are a great way to increase call-to-action (CTA). You can update your messages and add new CTAs on your older videos. Keep it minimal and simple. You can add in video graphics to promote a specific call-to-action. This could be encouraging users to comment, subscribe, or share. It could also be having them go to your website and take a survey, opting in, etc.

The right length for your video is key. But what is the right length? It varies from person to person and channel to channel. As a video producer, the “right” length for your video is exactly as long as the content remains compelling. Heather put it well, “Google and Youtube are like women. They don’t take crap. They will slap you if there is something wrong.”

Tips for success – You need a consistent schedule. At List25, we put out a new video every Monday. You want to be genuine and authentic. Show your users that there is a real person behind that channel by engaging with your users in the comments. You want to think in the terms of your users. Ask the users what they want, and then give it to them. We get ideas from our users in the comments. You will only get this if you engage with your audience.

Lastly, Dont give up. There are tons of trolls that will criticize you. Entertainers and athletes get criticized all the time. But the reason why they do well is because they don’t get offended. Believe in yourself, and you will improve. Learn from the honest feedback and improve your work.

Are you on Youtube? Consider following our List25 channel on Youtube which is the hottest thing. We are growing by over 500+ subscribers a day, and there has to be a reason for it right. Check it out, and click on the subscribe button. Let us know your experiences with video marketing in the comments below.