Include video in your PR strategy
Is your business utilising video as part of its communications strategy? Catriona Pollard explains how to make the most out of this engaging medium.
Using video for communication is becoming increasingly popular with more businesses realising the power of video to reach their target audience.
YouTube is currently the second largest search engine, after Google, with 800 million unique users per month. This means there is a large number of people watching and engaging with videos every day, which your business should be taking advantage of.
It’s then a great idea to include video in your PR strategy to communicate a message in a different way and increase engagement with your audience.
Here are some tips on how you can make the most of video for PR.
Get more people to see your website
You can put videos on your website to increase your search engine optimisation.
Research has shown that a web page with a video on it is 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google results. This means if you want more people to see your messages you should include a video on your website. This will help to attract more potential customers to your website and enhance the effectiveness of your communication.
Engagement
Videos are a great way to increase your engagement with your target audience. Often people would rather watch a video then read through a block of text as it allows them to receive information faster. Studies have also shown people will spend more time on a website with a video on it then one with text.
You can include videos on your website, social media sites or blog to encourage people to spend more time on your site and look at your content. This is a great way to communicate in a different way and encourage your target audience to respond.
When communicating with your target audience, rather than describing something with words you can show them with a video. This can increase your target audience’s interest in your communication and make it easier for them to receive your message. This is especially beneficial if you have a complicated message to communicate.
Speaking pitches
When pitching for a speaking opportunity it’s a good idea to include a video of the speaker. This could be a link to a video on YouTube or by providing event organisers with a USB full of videos of the speaker.
Videos are a great way to showcase the presentation style of the speaker, their presence on stage and their ability to engage an audience. This can often be more effective than trying to describe their presentation style in writing.
Event organisers can also see real evidence of the speaker’s skills and may be more likely to choose them for the event.
Media pitches
Many media publications and online news sites now use video to communicate. It’s then a great idea to include video in your pitches to journalists to take advantage of this medium. For example, you could include a video with a media release or with an email pitch to a journalist.
Video is great when launching a new product as you can use it to show a journalist how the product works. You can also use video to document a press conference or a major event for the business and then send this video to a journalist to use.
Social media
Using video on social media is an effective way to communicate a message in a different and engaging way. As videos are easy to share online your social media followers may share your video with their networks. This can help to spread your message to a wider audience and increase your brand awareness.
Create a YouTube channel
You can create a YouTube Channel to publish your videos. As YouTube is the second largest search engine, publishing your videos on this channel is a great way to get more people to see them. This can increase your brand awareness or improve your communication.
Once you’ve posted videos on YouTube it’s then easier to share them on other sites such as your website or social media channels.
Creating videos for your business is a great way to communicate a message, increase engagement with your target audience and improve your website’s SEO.
Catriona Pollard is the author of From Unknown To Expert, a step by step framework designed to help entrepreneurs develop effective PR and social media strategies to become recognised as influencers in their field. Catriona is also the director of CP Communications, which merges traditional PR tactics with cutting-edge social media strategies that engage consumers as well as business.
