This week, DMG is proud to feature a guest blog post from Michelle Downs, Director of Content & Community at 12 Stars Media. 12 Stars is an Indianapolis-based video production company focusing on producing video that allows companies to build closer connections with their target audience.
Looking to get your videos shared more? Of course you are. But in order to get your videos shared, you’ll need to have a purpose for them as well as know what your audience wants from your videos. How many times have you just shared your video once and then expected it to go viral? Or created a video without your audience in mind? In order to get your videos shared you need to first have a purpose for them.
Have a purpose for sharing
Before you even tweet out your video, make sure you have a purpose for it. What do you want your video to accomplish? Do you want someone to sign up for your next event? Plan your purpose out and make it clear when you share your video. By having a purpose for your video before you share it, you’ll know exactly what you want and how you want to present it, which is much better than just throwing it out there.
Know your audience
If you know what your audience wants, then it will be much easier to get them to share your videos. For example: on Facebook we share a lot of behind the scenes videos, because our audience on Facebook already knows us and loves to see things with our team members in it, unlike Twitter where most of our audience loves to hear the latest tips for shooting and editing their videos. It’s important to monitor your channels and find out what your audience wants on each of them because odds are, your audience won’t be the same on each social site.
Share it often
Don’t be afraid to share your video a lot. If you want your video to get out there then you can’t just post it on YouTube and expect it to take off. Share it on your social sites where the video is relevant to that particular audience. And don’t be afraid to share it multiple times in one day on Twitter or a couple of times a month on Facebook. This is especially helpful if you happen to have clients who live in different time zones because you’re more likely to reach them by sharing your video at different times throughout the day.
Change up the way you share
It’s also a good idea to change up the way you present your video when you share it. Don’t just share it with the title of the video. Add some more info to it or your take on the video or how this video will help your audience with something. Ask a question. Present a challenge. You’re more likely to reach a wider audience by mixing up the way you share the video and by sharing it multiple times, and when you reach a wider audience, you’re more likely to get more shares.
