Online video is a potentially huge market and revenue stream for emerging video production companies. Media companies, broadcast organizations, and digital publishers are constantly searching for ways to capture valuable market share, and for this they need a steady stream of content. In their quest to capture larger audiences and potential revenue they see online videos as an attractive option, and this can be your potential entry point for creating content that will benefit your business and your bottom line.
Analyze the Market
To make money with online video you’ve got to know the players who are paying. Some of these are obvious – even your grandmother has heard of YouTube. And in truth that’s not a bad place to start. Uploading videos and creating your own channel on YouTube is easy to do, and it’s easy to tap into the revenue stream created by allowing advertising on your videos. One caveat though – you’ll need lots of views to create significant earnings. And there’s a lot of competition out there already.
Another mass-market approach is to work with Vimeo. Vimeo offers not only the opportunity to make money with ad revenue, but their VOD (Video On Demand) platform allows for direct sales of your content. Vimeo boasts a high-quality viewing experience, and is a great platform if you’re interested in putting together your own web series.
Look beyond the Big Two
Let’s face it – YouTube and Vimeo are the 800-pound gorillas of the online video world. But don’t limit yourself. New online video publishing sites open regularly and offer opportunities for monetization of your content. Publishers like gumroad.com, pivotshare.com, and many others are players in this rapidly-evolving landscape.
Make Your Videos Easy To Find
Assuming you’ve got content posted, how are your potential viewers going to find your work? Your mission is straightforward – you need to engage your viewers and attract additional eyeballs to your videos.
The key element in attracting viewers is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Play this game correctly and your content will come to the front of search engine results. Here are some of the keys to making SEO work for you:
- Create engaging titles that incorporate the key elements of what your video is about.
- Include tags that represent what your viewers are looking for.
- Write relevant descriptions of your video, including the keywords and tags you’ve already identified.
- Add a transcript for closed captioning. This doesn’t have to be visible to the viewer, but it will reinforce the tags and keywords you’re using.
Leverage Your Content through Social Media
If you’ve been on social media you know that videos are some of the most shared items. You can use social media to not only build your viewership but to stay relevant with those you already have. Use these practices to maximize your social media footprint:
- Don’t limit yourself to one network. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest – they’re all good, and can appeal to different audiences and demographics to.
- Maintain a regular posting schedule, and distribute your posts throughout the day to catch different audiences
- Tailor your posts to each network. The interests of those frequenting different networks will vary.
- Make sure that you’ve enabled sharing for your videos.
- Always link back to your site when you post.
- Take time to use the analytic tools provided to get a feel for which posts work the best for you.
Create Content That Sells Itself to Potential Customers
Knowing your customers is the key to creating content that they’ll want to view. Examine web sites related to the topics your videos will be covering and analyze what the hot topics and interests are. This will really help you hone in your video content to appeal to the market you’re trying to appeal to.
Experiment with different approaches to the content you create. Say that you’re creating videos that review electronic accessories. Will you get more views by posting reviews of single products, or does side-by-side comparison approach yield better results? Avoid making the same video over and over and shake up your approach occasionally.
Quantity Matters
You should never sacrifice quality for quantity, but in truth you need content to create cash flow. The math is simple – clicks mean revenue, and you’re more likely to create clicks if you have more videos. Related to content creation is the simple dynamic of selecting a subject area or topic where you have an opportunity to create enough content to make your work really pay off. A large library of videos is also likely to help you move up in search engine results, and will help create relevance for your channel or site.
Story Is At the Heart of Good Video Content
Some dismiss video consumption as evidence of a public with an ever-decreasing attention span. But good video making requires a keen sense of story and narrative, even if the length of your content is short. Without the backbone of a good story, viewers will quickly tune out and move onto the next piece of content. To be truly successful in growing and keeping an audience (and their revenue) you need to make videos that capture and hold the attention of your viewers.
Always approach the content you create with a keen eye towards making it appeal to your target audience, whether they’re a regular viewer who’s familiar with your content, or a new viewer who’s just discovered you. Make sure you give both of them a reason to come back!
Video Matters, And It’s Only Going to Matter More
Growth rates in online video viewing are increasing, and they’re not showing any signs of slowing down. Video will continue to swallow an increasing share of internet traffic for the foreseeable future. This creates a great opportunity for video production businesses, as more and more consumers seek out video for entertainment, education, and enlightenment. And if you play your cards right, there’s no reason you can’t grab your slice of the pie.
– Video Caddy
