How to Promote Your Videos for Free
“I can promote my videos for free?” you might be saying. Well, though nothing in business or life is really free, there are still ways you can get more reach for less cost.
Your results depend as much on the content of your video as on how well you promote it. If your video is dull and boring, then no amount of promotion will help you. However, if you’ve created great content that’s actually worth promoting, then let’s see some ways to promote it for not-quite-but-pretty-close-to-free.
Embed your videos in your website
Start by embedding your videos in your website. If you have YouTube videos, then you can either embed an individual video or a playlist of videos. Either option is fairly quick and easy to do.
To embed a YouTube video, go to the one that you want to embed on a computer. Under the video, click Share. Then, click Embed. From the box that appears, copy the HTML code. Then, paste the code into your blog or website HTML.
To embed a YouTube playlist, sign in to your YouTube account on a computer. On the left side of the page, select the playlist you want to embed. Then, copy the playlist ID from the URL. Finally, paste the code into your blog or website HTML.
Here’s an example of an embedded video, which is entitled, “Embed videos and playlists.”
If you have Facebook videos, you can embed either a public post or video. When you embed a Facebook post that contains a video, the message that was posted with the video will be included. When you embed the video only, only the video player will be included.
To embed a Facebook video, go to the video you want to embed. Click in the top right of the post and select Embed. Then, copy and paste the code that appears and add it to your own website or web page.
Share your videos in social media
Next, share your YouTube or Facebook videos on other social media platforms. YouTube has a panel with different sharing options. Click on a social network icon (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, etc.) to share the video there.
With Facebook videos, sharing on other social media isn’t straightforward and is limited to Twitter. You will need to link your Facebook profile or Page to your Twitter account so that you can share your Facebook posts on Twitter. After you’ve linked your profile or Page, you can choose the types of posts (example: status, video) you want to share on Twitter.
To link your profile or Page to your Twitter account, go to www.facebook.com/twitter. Then, click Link My Profile to Twitter or Link a Page to Twitter. And follow the on-screen instructions. To choose the types of posts that you want to share, go to www.facebook.com/twitter. Below Edit Settings, click to check the box next to the things you want to share on Twitter. Then, click Save Changes. It’s worth noting that only posts that have been shared with Public on Facebook will be shared on Twitter.
Frankly, it may be simpler to compose a tweet from scratch and use a URL shortener like Bitly to link to your Facebook video.
Send email to journalists, bloggers, and influencers
Certain individuals have more influence and reach than others. Journalists can write about your video, link to it, and even embed it in a story. Bloggers can also write about your video, link to it, and embed it in a post. Influencers can like your video, comment on it, and share it with their friends, fans, and followers.
Schmoozing with influential individuals is normally a great use of your time and generally doesn’t cost a dime. It sets you apart from the vast majority of the other video creators who are only known by their names or recognized by their avatars.
Now, if you aren’t sure exactly whom you should be schmoozing, then you should check out BuzzSumo. It’s a great tool that can help you find journalists, bloggers, and influencers for any topic. Mark Traphagen and Eric Enge of Stone Temple Consulting recently reviewed BuzzSumo as part of their award-winning “Here’s Why” video series.
After you’ve identified the right influencers, you’ve got to find the right engagement tactics. Sending an email to a blogger doesn’t appear to take much time or money. But it won’t work without a relationship.
Or without good content. No influencer will share content they don’t think is valuable. So, once you’ve established the relationship and created great content, then you can start pinging the folks with all the followers.
And, of course, you can always buy advertising on YouTube and Facebook to promote your video. In fact, you probably should, as those targeted campaigns can reach people you might not reach organically. But if there are free-ish options, why wouldn’t you try them?
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