Use Social Media to Drive Video Views

So your business has a Facebook and Twitter account. But are you using social networking to its best advantage? Referrals are an effective way to drive video views.

The average American Internet user spends four-and-a-half hour per month on social networking sites. Take advantage of that to improve viewer engagement with your videos.

The online video platform Brightcove recently created a how-to guide called Like, Link, Share, Tweet, all about combining video and social media. In this New Media Minute video, Daisy Whitney shares some of those findings (video used courtesy of Beet.tv).

The first thing you need to know is that shared videos perform better. Even autoshared YouTube videos pull in roughly six new viewing sessions. (Autoshare is a YouTube setting that automatically sends out Facebook or Twitter messages to your followers whenever you upload a new video.) Videos that are personally recommended are more likely to be watched, so be sure you have social media links on all your videos.

Business homepages with video on them typically come up higher in Google search rankings. Including a call to action in your videos can also boost viewer engagement. Whichever methods you choose, be sure to monitor the results to see what's being shared and where your referrers are coming from.

Visit Brightcove to download the entire report. Free registration required.

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net