Viral Video? Online Video Requires 2 Strategies to Accomplish Frequent Viewing

When you thought about creating video to boost the online sales for your business you probably smiled as the image of that video “going viral” flashed through your mind.  You’re not alone.  Video does go viral.  The occasions in which it does, however, will wipe the smile off your face.
There is a global presumption that producing a video and uploading it to the Internet can swell your business with willing customers as the video is viewed again and shared, again and again.  True Viral video phenomenons are few and far between.  They happen, though they happen infrequently.
My customers often ask early in the video planning stages how to make their video go viral.  All I can do is share with them that viral videos occur very seldom and provide further information to help them receive more viewing time for the content we just created and uploaded.  Let’s go through some of this information now so you can receive increased views for your own content.
Internet search features are used by millions of people every day.  They are used many times and while looking for many different products and services, in addition to educational or research information.  After using a search engine to obtain their desired information, users take action.  Today we’ll search for shoes.  You just put your specifics into Google, Bing, Yahoo or Ask; you received text and photos, shopping information, news, video links and ads describing results to your request.  You’ve probably noticed during your own search opportunities that video links are a result that’s been added to typical searches.
When you receive a video search result you also receive a text description and a small thumbnail image of that video content.  When search results are blended, you’ll receive both text and video content.  This means that the words and the pictures both appear together.  As search capabilities are growing, blended searches are increasing.  For you, this means both the words and pictures are delivered to Internet visitors looking for information about the product you sell or the service you provide.
For every video you create you will need to implement 2 strategies so that your video can be recognized and received by your prospective customers.  Creating strategies will assist you in optimizing your video content to provide the best return on your investment (ROI) after it’s uploaded.
Every facet of your business needs a strategy.  Planning the manner in which you’ll achieve your goals in each area of your business will contribute to your success.  You probably already have a marketing strategy, a social media marketing strategy and a lead and sales generation strategy.  Add “online video strategy” to your priority list because you’ll need to launch your plan of attack when you incorporate video to increase your online sales conversions.
Strategy 1 – Sitemap Submission
Your first strategy is submitting sitemaps for your video to search engines and including specific keywords for searches. 
You can do this through an online video plaform, like Oculu, that will submit the sitemaps on your behalf to all of the major search engines. Submitting a video sitemap ensures that the search engines pick up your video content and list it on search results.
Keep in mind that searching isn’t only about search engines and locating major topics.  Searching now encompasses all of the available social media.  Now when you need information you can get it from your own social network as well as major resources.  The result?  Your area in which information is available has increased dramatically. Which bring us to startegy 2.
Strategy 2 – Social Media
Social media is the other element in your online video strategy.  You have many friends, business associates, neighbors, coworkers, colleagues, community members and club participants that you interact with via social media.  It may be Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or a mix of any of the many others available online.  Over time you’ve probably grown your “friend” base and created “likes” and “shares” online.  The relationships you’ve created via online social sites probably enjoy you, your articles, blog posts, website visits, etc.
Your second strategy, once your video is produced and available online, is to include your social network to view and share  your video content with their network.  Including the use of social media as part of your online video strategy can support your company in receiving attention from viewers.  Social media, when incorporated into your overall online video strategy, can be an entire delivery platform for your company’s video.  Your message, content, and brand can be broadcast to an entire community quickly and easily.  Remember, YouTube’s tagline is Broadcast Yourself!  Treat your video as a method of broadcasting your own product or service.  Your video can be shared via social media and viewed by others, and new sales conversions can be created.
Using the sitemap submission strategy and the social media strategy your can increase your overall online influence, reach more prospective customers and achieve more sales conversions for your company.  It will take a plan, prioritizing and diligence, and it can provide delightful results.
Search engine optimization and social networking video content are important components in a balanced online video strategy.  Online Video Revolution: How to Reinvent and Market Your Business Using Video by John Cecil, available on Amazon, walks online marketers through steps necessary to optimize performance, profit and presence with online video content.