Last month”™s column looked at the role of inbound links, clickable text on another site pointing to your own, as an essential element in the Google ranking algorithm. And inbound links can be simply created through the most fundamental public relations skill, the development of informative content regarding your client”™s company or area of expertise.
One critical way to pursue inbound links involves the production and posting of video files. The use of online video has exploded in the past five years. The 18-34 demographic now watches more online video than traditional TV and people view online video more than they use social media or read email. Most importantly for your clients, the average time spent on a website with video is six minutes compared to 57 seconds for sites without it.*
Getting started
You can dip your toe into video production by simply visiting the site, www.animoto.com. The program lets you create a free 30-second video by choosing a presentation style, images and a musical selection. It then renders these ingredients like a skilled chef and sends the final video to your email address.
Eventually, you may want to invest in some equipment.
Electronics stores offer a wide selection including, in order of cost, webcams, camcorders and SLRs. Compare the resolution, zoom and memory before settling on a purchase.
Embedding videos
Once a video is uploaded to your computer, you must decide whether to embed it on your website or submit it to destination sites such as YouTube.
Embedding provides the most impressive look. Google “embedded media player” to find a variety of free tools to generate the html code needed to place a video player on any page of your site. The Center for Instructional Technology provides one of the best (http://cit.ucsf.edu/embedmedia/step1.php) because it lets you choose the type of player: Flash, QuickTime, Real Media or Windows Media.
Destination sites
Posting your video on other sites provides the second alternative. YouTube has become the second-largest “search engine” besides Google and represents a must-site to create strong inbound links.
The SEO trick for YouTubers comes when you actually submit your video. Make sure to insert your full website address (with http) in the beginning of the description section for each entry. By doing so, you will create the most inbound links because many sites pick up only the beginning of this section.
You should also explore a list of other destination sites at www.tubemogul.com. TubeMogul is called a video aggregator because it lets you post videos on multiple sites simultaneously, a tremendous time saver.
The main barrier in jump-starting your video public relations program is inertia. Dive in head first, make some mistakes and push forward. In doing so, you will learn exciting new technology, improve your inbound links campaigns and galvanize your clients.
* Statistics provided by Travis Wright, chief marketing officer, Advangel Interactive, 600 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.
Willy Gissen is the founder of Cut-It-Out Communications Inc. (www.cioediting.com), a public relations agency in Hartsdale, N.Y. Reach him at wgissen@cutitoutcommunications.com.
Video really does help. You can also submit a video-sitemap to Google through their webmaster tools area that is also good for SEO.