VidCon Europe has recently taken place and though it is a fabulous event to meet all your favourite YouTubers and be a real fan, the industry talks and speeches offer some helpful tips on how to best deal with your videos online. These come from industry experts and should definitely be considered when you are thinking about your content sharing strategy.
Hacking Algorithm talks were a focus of the event, but it is questionable how relevant this still is. With an increasingly AI-based algorithm, YouTube and Facebook are streamlining their processes which will make it harder to understand and hack these. Over time, each user will receive a personalized experience and there won’t be a ‘fix-all’ strategy to go to anymore. It is much more important to focus on distributing your content wisely across platforms and consider what content your viewers and people, in general, engage with.
When posting a new video, keep in mind the different algorithms across different social media platforms. For example, on YouTube the first 24–48 hours are crucial. This is when you want it to get views and shared or it might become buried under all the other videos that have been uploaded. To get suggested and rank in the search results you want it to be seen. So start sharing and mentioning it!
Did you know that Facebook has a feature called Facebook Notes? This basically allows for longer form posts and the exciting news is, the content gets searched by Google. So to keep ranking in search results, start using the feature and update your Facebook followers here and link it to your website.
Facebook has also been working on optimizing the video search on their site and filling in the metadata of your video will help you be found. Always make sure to fill in the title, keywords and locations etc.
Do not underestimate a good thumbnail! This is the first thing viewers see of your content and this will make them decide whether to watch your video or not. Always check they are mobile-friendly and keep it simple. Any writing should be big and concise, do not get carried away and put a whole paragraph on it. Especially with YouTube releasing the analytics data, you will be able to see how many impressions and clicks your thumbnails actually created. So now is a good time to spruce things up and make them stand out.
It turns out, simply posting your video everywhere could potentially dilute your reach. The best practice here is to tailor your content to each platform if possible and share it from its main locations, ideally through sharing partners. If you have several pages or channels, embedding the video from one specific source will help with your reach. On Facebook, you can use the internal cross-posting tool, which allows you to upload and then post to multiple pages. The views will all count towards that one video, rather than splitting your views into multiples.
For BrandsAlways listen to your followers and analyse your data. This is an obvious tip but it’s very easy to forget to truly listen and understand what the audience is looking for. This is particularly important for companies who want their video content to be seen. According to a talk by Vice, 80% of their traffic is generated through social. So don’t under estimate the reach social media can create through your videos. YouTube and Facebook both offer a great way to reach audiences. Create a page that has a clear direction and message, is accessible and a great place to find fantastic content.
Many brands are tempted to include their logo within the first few seconds of their videos. Of course, this will increase brand recognition and let viewers instantly know who you are, but this is actually going to decrease your reach. If you are posting these on Facebook, the AI algorithm will scan your content for branded features on videos and photos and if they detect branding, your reach will drop. Testing showed that reach increased once brands had removed any branding from the first few seconds. Just keep in mind that the Facebook algorithm prefers companies that offer engaging content like a normal user, rather than a brand.
Should you struggle to engage viewers with your content, do get in touch so we can discuss a possible strategy.