There are a number of ways that a content marketing campaign can be amplified, and I thought I’d run through a variety of the key techniques that are delivering results in a crowded market place. This article looks at some of the buzz words around video content marketing such as seeding, earned views, paid views and owned media.
Bought Media
Some of the biggest online media properties in the world will accept video placements that are deemed suitable for their audience, for a small ‘pay per view’ fee. This essentially works as a media buy in any traditional sense, so the advertiser has total control over the message, and is essentially renting space from the media owner to promote their message to a specific audience. The media owner will typically be able to provide accurate estimations of how many views they can expect to generate for a particular piece of content, and offers a valuable revenue stream for media owners. We created a film for the Dance Star Mickey Mouse Vs Flawless campaign that secured a number of these notable placements:
Earned Media (PR)
Earned media is more important than it’s ever been in today’s communications landscape and is the most effective influencer of consumer trust. Put simply, earned media is what other people are saying about you, and the techniques used to gain this sort of coverage don’t vary hugely from the PR techniques of old.
This approach essentially relies on identifying blogs and platforms that have an affinity with a particular brand, approaching these media owners and asking them if they’d like to feature a particular video. This works particularly well where campaigns are tailored towards a niche audience. By building relationships with the online community you earn the trust, and they are likely to show your film on their site. Our short film, ‘Who’s Lenny’ for international street art festival “See No Evil” was featured on nearly all of the world’s largest street art websites and blogs driving thousands of additional views, we achieved all of these placements by simply asking website owners if they’d like to feature our video.
A viral success always starts with a great video, but they rarely ‘go viral’ by themselves: they normally need a little help. Using a combination of bought (advertising) and earned views (PR), we can ensure that the right people are watching your video, talking about it and sharing it with others. You should always consider keeping some of your budget aside for seeding, whether it’s a YouTube ad campaign or a fully-blown blogger outreach programme. We’ve worked on a wide range of seeding campaigns and are more than happy to talk you through the process. If you want further background reading, you may find this article about video seeding helpful.
Owned Media
Owned media is made up of the channels that a brand has direct control over. Websites, microsites, blogs and branded Twitter and Facebook accounts all fall into this category. It’s often viewed as the most cost effective and versatile route, but owned media alone is unlikely to generate huge successes in itself unless a brand has built up a large audience of fans who can be relied upon to share content.
Rebecca Lieb and Jeremiah Owyang argue in their report; The Converged Media Imperative: How brands must combine Paid, Owned & Earned Media – that the boundaries between the different categories are gradually merging over time. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are increasingly offering the option of sponsored listings and paid reach in order to guarantee reaching to all of a brands fans or prospective fans..
Whatever your understanding of video marketing we can help your campaign get in front of the right audience.
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