You can’t avoid video marketing going forward because of the increased use of mobile phones over the last 3 years. You have to remember, video content is a great way to get your point across to visitors on and off PC. Around 40% of the content I read online will be done on my mobile and it’s important that the flow, content, and video is formatted to fit my screen. If I have trouble engaging with the content, I’ll skim over to another website. It’s that simple!
In this post, I want to discuss video content and marketing because it’s important your content is optimized for different platforms like iPad, mobile, and PC. If you haven’t made the jump into video content, then your missing a great way to engage readers. Either way, this content will help you plan and optimize video for the future when you’re ready to try video marketing.
Let’s jump right in…
Responsive Video Players
There is no point in using a video player that won’t allow you to adjust for different sizes. Even though many players are giving you the option to adjust into multiple sizes, there are some that haven’t made the shift. If you’re recording your videos on a creation video software like Screen 0-Matic, etc., you should look over the features to ensure they allow you to change what you need to. Here are a few things to keep in mind…
If you have a website, then you’re probably using WordPress to publish content. Other content management platforms provide you with simple plugins you can install to make videos responsive. Because I’m using WordPress, and will be embedding a video in my content, I can use FitVids to take care of the entire coding. It’s a jQuery plugin that allows you to upload videos into content, making them responsive. If you want to use it on your WordPress site, then all you need to do is install and activate. This is the easiest way and I don’t recommend doing it manually as you’ll need to have coding experience to alter the coding.
Here’s a great video tutorial walking you through the entire process: Responsive Video’s in WordPress
Change Video Cover
One problem with videos being displayed on mobile phones is that the default images that are generated will sometimes have problems displaying correctly. The actual splash image used will be blurred and no longer as enticing as those displayed on a larger screen. Because video players allow you to upload your own image, then create something special and that doesn’t cause an error, no matter where it’s displayed. When I was creating a product review for the Seopressor LSI tool, I created my own images so they are displayed correctly. It’s nothing fancy, but when displayed on mobile phones, it’s smooth and professional.
If you want to optimize your videos for mobile, then change the generic cover photo, making it so that no matter what device will open your link, you’ll have a cover image that stands out.
Don’t Forget Purpose
You’ve uploaded video content with a purpose in mind so you have to keep this in mind when displaying your video to viewers on different platforms. Even if it’s a tutorial showing people how to build links, you’re going to have a call to action leading people to a comment or feedback page. Don’t forget the purpose so add a clear call to action. The “call to action†must be optimized to be displayed on mobile phones so you achieve the highest ROI going forward. Here’s something to think about…
If you’re selling a product through video marketing and blast out an email to 10,000 email subscribers, with 50% opening the link on their mobile phones, then you should make sure they can see the “call to action†clearly. Why? That’s 5,000 subscribers who might convert into paying customers and them NOT being able to take the necessary action because of an error displaying the “call to action†will be a complete waste of time and marketing.
Always keep your objective in mind going forward and don’t forget to test different call-to-action buttons to achieve the highest display ratio.
Video marketing cannot be underestimated and you want to ensure that no matter where people open your emails, they’ll be able to watch the video right away. Remember, mobile phones have already made the shift introducing video players so make use of this trend and optimize every video you embed in your content to display clearly on smart phones.