What was the last video you have shared with your friends? How did you come by it? Did it just show up in your feed on a social media platform, or did somebody else make you aware of it?
My last share of such content was this, and I watched it in the first place because one of my online friends who is going through a healthy eating (and preaching) phase got upset that such a wonderful story is supporting such a sugary treat. I happen to like the treat as well, if I am honest. When I decided to send this to my friends, it was because of the heartwarming message. YouTube says that by now, that clip has almost 800k views in less than two months.
The point I am making is one you already know: video is going strong right now, where online marketing is concerned. And with most marketing having been forced to move online, entrepreneurs need to tap into this as well if they seek to successfully promote their business.
Read more: 5 Benefits of choosing the video format for your online course
4 Great tips on how to get your video content shared
You may not have the resources to make a big statement clip to promote your online course, but here are a few tips on how to get your own promotional videos shared.
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Have meaningful content
Because there is a lot of talk about how important quality is and how the modern internet user will immediately notice any irregularities, entrepreneurs sometimes give up on video making before even giving it a try. The truth of the matter is that the general public cares a lot more about authenticity, so something that is less than perfect might actually get more attention.
The essential thing, however, is for the content to be interesting and meaningful. People value their time, and they will change screens immediately if they feel it is wasted. If, on the other hand, they find that what you have uploaded is interesting, they will want others to know as well, and they will share, thus doing a lot of the promoting for you.
Of course, the relevance of content is subjected to trends and what is of interest at a certain time. To deliver, you’ll have to stay on top of what topics are being discussed and what does your audience show an increasing curiosity about.
Read more: Online courses that are in high demand right now [Part 1]
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Worry more about quality than duration
One of the main issues with video is that almost everybody says that they should be kept short, as the average user has little time and a small attention span. Statistics show that the average watch time for YouTube videos is somewhere at 50%-60% of the video, regardless of how long it is.
Of course, if you make it a twenty seconds one you have a chance of people going through all of it before they have the opportunity to think about switching screens but then it will also probably miss its point.
Since you are promoting an online learning business, your videos will most probably fall into the ‘how to’ category, which means they can’t be that short. People appreciate getting all the information they need rather than watch less but not learn what they wanted. They would rather watch a video that is highly informative, even though not overly produced.
I’m not saying you should make it longer for the sake of adding minutes but don’t cut essential items to fit into a timeframe.
Read more: How to create a practical online course experience in 6 easy steps
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Add the right CTAs and make social media buttons accessible
Obviously, your aim when making a video to promote our business is to reach as many people as possible. And while your audience may well be aware of that, you can’t expect them to like and share proactively – though some might.
Calls to action are very important, and you should make sure to phrase them in a way that will truly get the viewers to answer to them. An efficient CTA guides the audience to a specific task – the more specific it is, the more inclined they will be actually perform it. It’s imperative that your CTA is concise and consists of only one step; more than that, and the likelihood of people following through decreases dramatically.
Read more: Why it’s important to master call to actions when promoting your online course
You need to avoid the slightest friction when it comes to sharing the video on people’s social media pages. If anything gets between the user and the action you want them to perform (usually to like and share), there’s the possibility of their giving up. That’s why you need to optimize the location of the buttons, their visibility, and the easiness of the process to make sure that your video makes it on as many social media pages as possible.
Read more: 5 Tips on using TikTok to promote your online course
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Optimize your tags and descriptions
So far, we’ve talked about how to engage the audience that watches your videos but apart from their sharing and spreading the word, you want people to find your content via good old-fashioned searches. In order for that to happen you have to employ a little bit of SEO techniques and make sure you have your material categorized correctly.
Read more: Don’t forget about SEO when creating your online course
It’s not all right to add keywords that are trending if they don’t really fit what you have uploaded. When you write a description, make it a very accurate one – you can employ vocabulary and syntax to make it sound exciting but don’t put down stuff that is untrue for the sake of outsmarting Google – even if you do that, the users will catch on and it will not bode well for your reputation.
Tags are also very important, and while it is advisable to add more than one, they ought to be relevant as well. Somewhere between 8 and 12 tags ought to be enough, fewer if it’s a relatively short video.
Closing thoughts
In the age of ‘all things video’, it’s important for online course businesses to put themselves out there in filmed form. Your success, however, will be dictated by how well you adapt to customer demands and provide content that is relevant, easy to find, and even easier to share.
