More and more people are watching online video every year. YouTube has become the second largest search engine next to Google, and every minute there is a days worth of videos uploaded to YouTube. Not creating and experimenting with video is the worst thing you could do for your brand, because online video isn’t just some fad — online video is now a part of our culture.

You created a video to upload and place on your site. Awesome! What is the next video you plan on making ? You can’t get by with just one video. Does your blog have only one post? Does your Facebook profile have only one update? Does this tip have only one example?

Creating a portfolio of video content gives you and your brand more ranking potential and eventually more exposure to an interested audience. Also, creating videos consistently will keep viewers coming back for more !

The best online videos aren’t necessarily made with the best equipment, so don’t let choosing the perfect camera or buying the most expensive light and sound kit prevent you from creating video content. There are dozens of small, portable cameras like the Flip (or my favorite the Kodak Zi8 with microphone input) that allow you to begin shooting video for around $200. That ain’t bad !

By creating video now rather than later you’ll be able to experiment and gather data on the types of videos that do well with your audience. You can always add more/better equipment later as you progress, and don’t forget that using less expensive equipment can add a level of authenticity to your video since it isn’t overly produced and sanitized.

People don’t share boring videos (unless they are so boring it’s comical). Find a way to add some life into your message and you will find that you connect with more people, get shared more often, and learn more about your audience.

As of 2010, the average YouTube viewer watches around 3.5 minutes of video. I’m not saying that all videos should be 3 minutes, but I do think you should monitor your viewer’s attention using YouTube insights and make sure you are keeping people interested.

As far as I can tell, viewer engagement is factored into the YouTube algorithm. If you can’t hold your audiences’ attention, you won’t rank as well so consider splitting longer videos into smaller parts and connect them together with annotations and/or links. We get that you’re brilliant. No need to take 11 minutes to show us that. I just missed the first half of Two and a Half Men !

You wouldn’t serve your friends raw chicken at a barbecue would you ? Well, raw, unedited video can be just as hazardous. Unless you’re specifically trying to be a “sushi style” video producer, prepare and edit your footage for mass consumption.

Video can have a dramatic effect on your website’s conversion rate, but that doesn’t mean you need to be Billy Mays reincarnate in order to make a sale.

Focus first on making good, helpful videos (with a call to action), but don’t beat viewers over the head with sales propaganda. Use video to be genuine and not a sleazy salesman.

Too many brands are afraid of embracing YouTube over fear of losing control. “If we post our videos on YouTube people won’t visit our website.” Stop that shiz ! I can’t count how many businesses tried to create their own failed version of Facebook before finally creating their own Facebook page.

Go where the people are! YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google, so ignore it at your own peril. You don’t have to put all your videos on YouTube if you don’t want to, but you should have a specific YouTube strategy. Maybe you only post well optimized teaser videos on YouTube, and maybe you put everything you ever created there; However, ignoring YouTube would be like ignoring Google circa 1998 or MTV circa 1988, or the nylon bristle tooth brush circa 1938. You get the point.

If your brand has old videos (commercials, training videos, product demos, etc.) use them, but don’t make that your entire strategy. You will need to create new videos if you want to keep your viewing audience engaged and coming back for more.

Next to the term “link juice” nothing makes me sicker than hearing people talk about creating a “viral video”. Planing on going viral is like planning on being a high school prom king as a kindergartner. Focus on coloring in-between the lines first !

Instead, plan on learning (and failing) and trying again. Sure, many people have “gone viral” on their first video. It’s possible, but so is winning the lottery. Do you plan on winning the lottery when creating your personal budget ? I’d hope not, but if you do win big, please remember your good friend Matt at vidiSEO. Make me viral with your riches !

Do you have a profile picture on Facebook ? Do you update your status and respond to friend’s statuses ? Congrats, that’s what Facebook is for. You would do poorly on Facebook if you never filled out your profile and participated.

The same can be said about YouTube. You have a profile (your channel), friends, followers (subscribers), comments, video comments, ratings, favorites, playlists, and more. Use them ! Then look for new ways to use them !

Brands on YouTube tend to act like Americans entering another country. They expect everyone to speak their language and automatically think they are #1. Well, no one thinks you’re #1 and if you don’t learn the language you may as well stay at home. Instead, be a part of the community and don’t be afraid to learn.

I know I already talked about being overly salesy, but this is the opposite side of the spectrum. Call to actions don’t have to be salesy. They can be as simple as asking for a comment, or telling people where to go for more information. There’s a reason Nike didn’t go with, “Just Do Whatever”.

Sharing is caring, and if you don’t allow others to share your video you must not care about it. Or you must not care about it doing well !

If you have a horrible video, you will not be able to make it popular with a ton of tags on YouTube. That would be like cooking a horrible meal and trying to mask it with all the spices you can find in the spice rack. You will be fooling no one.

Keywords are a lot like the seasoning on a finely prepared meal. They don’t make a meal on their own, but they can add a lot to well prepared dish.

Do you have a Twitter and Facebook account ? Then you have a group of people that consider themselves your fans/followers. Why wouldn’t you want these same people to be the first to see your latest video ?

Beyond social networks, how else could you get your video in front of an interested audience ? May I suggest YouTube’s Promoted Video program ? That allows you to bid on keywords on YouTube in much the same way you would bid on keywords on Google. Did I mention that YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google ?

Don’t just upload your video and hope for the best. If you honestly believe your video is great, then you should have a plan in place to make sure it reaches the largest interested audience.

Search engine optimization (SEO) takes time much like gardening. When you first plant a seedling, you don’t spend all day watering it and expecting it to grow before your eyes. Relax. Water your video with promotion and let it be. Move on to your next video and come back to trim the weeds (ie. comments).

If you force your video to grow you will kill it. Instead, if you plant many videos into the virtual soils of the internet you may be surprised at which ones bear fruit when you let them be. Don’t smother your videos. You have plenty of time to plant more seeds.

I’ve seen this too many times. You take the time to create an awesome video, you promote it, you use all the right keywords. It’s great, but where does this video live on your website ?

Is your video about a particular product ? Put it on that product’s page ! Do you have an article related to your video on your blog ? Embed your video there !

People who watch an embedded version of your video are still added to your precious view count, plus it adds much needed context for search engines when they decided which videos should rank for particular keywords. Don’t make your video move into it’s mom’s basement. Give it a home on your website !

I wish that YouTube would get rid of their damn view counter. I predicted that they would, but I now doubt it will happen any time soon. It’s a shame, because views mean nothing. If a video is good, it doesn’t matter if I’m the first or millionth viewer. What do views mean if they don’t move viewers towards an action or create an emotion ?

In the online video world, views are like empty calories. They are a comfort food, and that is all. They taste so good – but give you Type II diabetes.

Would you rather send a fax when an email would suffice ? I know I wouldn’t, but then again I wrote this list.

Online video is different from video in general…because it’s online. That means you have the ability to add links, annotations, comments, ratings, you name it ! Take advantage of all these new tools and learn how to use them best for your business.

I think video contests are a cop out. “I can’t create videos, so I’ll just rely on everyone else to create them for us”.

Video contests are the the SEO equivalent of paid links.

I’ve made (and continue to make) all of the mistakes I’ve referenced in this post. It would be a shame if you had to make the same mistakes yourself and potentially loose money or face (or a money face).

Save yourself the shame, and learn from my mistakes here at vidiSEO. Consider me the oldest bro where you can learn from my mistakes while I still reap the glory of being the untouchable, ever-viable, most charming 1st born. Is that too salesy ?
Whoops.

About the drawings

All the images in this post were hand drawn by yours truly. They are all licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which means you can use them as long as you give me credit with a link back to vidiSEO. Click here to view the entire set on Flickr !