It was the top of the 5th in the 2012 NLDS.
Pitcher Matt Latos of the Cincinnati Reds is furious, his team leads the five-game series 2-0, but they are currently down two runs to the San Francisco Giants and the bases are loaded.
Buster Posey, the heavy favorite to win the National League’s MVP award, (He won BTW) walks up to the plate. Buster works the count 2-and-2, the crowd is cheering loud and anticipating the strike out.
Latos throws a fastball that is sent back 435 feet. Posey had just silenced the crowd with a grand slam, a rare feat. Not only was it the first grand slam that Latos had given up, but it was also only the third by a catcher in the postseason. Adding to the rarity, the Giants had only hit 103 home runs all season, the lowest in the MLB that year.
Home runs, however, are not the only ingredient for success, as the Giants went on to win the World Series in a four-game sweep.
Video Marketing 101—Viral Videos Are Like Home Runs
Some marketing companies says that viral videos are a fluke and cannot be created on purpose. They are wrong, sort of. Certain players hit more home runs than others, and there are things you can do as a player to increase the power of your swing and increase the chances of a home run. You can also do things with the content (kittens and babies, jk) of your videos to increase the chances they go viral. If you know the “formula”, you can create viral videos more often, just not every time. Home runs are certainly helpful, but they are difficult to reproduce and are not the game plan for every at-bat. If every player went for a home run with every swing, they would strike out more often than not (think Adam Dunn). Viral videos are very much like a home run. They can be great for your video marketing campaign, but they can’t be your only strategy. You need to play “small ball” too.
Increasing Your On Base Percentage
The first step to getting on base is to make sure your videos are properly optimized for search. To do that, check out our YouTube FAQ page. The strategies given are geared towards YouTube, but they are applicable for Vimeo as well. Next, you’ll want to make sure you have taken some steps towards maximizing your exposure. In this post, we went over ways to increase targeted views. Targeted views are high conversion views and are just like getting on base in baseball. A player on the base may not convert into a run, but they certainly have a higher chance than someone who is not even in the stadium! An un-targeted video can be seen by tens of thousands of individuals, but if they are not in the market for your product or are not the right demographic for your service it’s just a number under the video, it means nothing. But if you get your video in front of the right people, they are more likely to buy your product or follow through on your call to action. With improved targeting, you are increasing your on base percentage and have a higher chance of scoring runs.
Increasing Your Chances For A Home Run, Without PED
By getting on base, you turn home runs into grand slams. So, how do you increase the chances of your video being shared once it’s discovered? In simple terms, create something worth sharing. People share for a variety of reasons and if you can include those reasons in your content you have increased your chances. One reason people share things is to look good, to appear knowledgeable or cool. Another is because the video caused them to feel some emotion and heightened their arousal. People are much more likely to share when in an aroused state. People also share content when it offers some value, when it teaches you something unique or something that will save time or money. Be sure to include elements in your video that provide these reasons, and you will have increased your chance of a home run.
There are tools out there that will inflate your view count on YouTube. DO NOT use them! First off, they are hollow views. If you are trying to raise awareness or sell a product, a view from a fake account controlled by a bot will do you no good. The default search results are based on relevancy, so a view large number won’t help you there either. Worst still, if Google/YouTube catch, you can lose your account. So do it the right way and just say NO, to PED.
Swing Batter Batter, Swing..
One thing is certain in both baseball and video marketing, you are guaranteed not to succeed if you don’t try. Start creating content and try not to worry about view counts. Study your analytics and evaluate each video. You will improve with each try as you start to hone your skills and develop your voice. By creating content regularly, you also increase the chances of subscriptions, that in turn increase the chances of sharing. So, step up to the plate, point your finger to the stands and SWING!
Has your video marketing campaigns been successful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you’re using video marketing strategies, or would like to start, don’t miss our Free YouTube Resources.
