Video Marketing Houston - Archive - SEO Houston Experts & Search Engine Optimization Consultants

Houston SEO: Why Subtitles Are Essential In Video Marketing

Video SEO is optimizing your videos so that they will be indexed in the search engines and rank well for relevant keyword searches in the search engine results pages. There are numerous optimization strategies that provide your videos with a better chance of ranking well. In 2018, video marketing is extremely hot, and it isn’t difficult to understand why. According to research, moving images increase sales, conversions, and traffic better than anything else does – and that finding is back up by actual commercial experience. However, if your tried video marketing and were disappointed with your results, then you might be wondering what all of the hype is about. It is possible you may have overlooked a basic, yet critical piece of the video marketing puzzle. Adding captions or subtitles to your videos can significantly increase the success of your Houston SEO and video efforts. The following are the reasons why.

Increased Accessibility

One straightforward reason why it is important for your videos to have a subtitle is approximately 20% of individuals have some form of hearing impairment. When subtitles are added, not only is it good manners for those users, but it makes commercial sense as well. There is no reason to alienate one-fifth of your prospective customers.

Silent Viewing

Numerous individuals make the choice to be in silence when spending time online. They might be browsing secretly while they are at work, or perhaps they don’t want to disturb family members. Most likely, auto-playing audio has ambushed them once time too many. Whatever their reason is, with as many as 80% of individuals avoiding a sound party of the time at least while they are browsing, having subtitles helps your videos reach a much larger audience.

Your Message Is Strengthened

Even when sound is on when subtitles are added it provides your message with additional clarity and strength. Causal viewers might only half-watch and half-listen to start, but when the two are added together, it will result in the content having a stronger impact. Many people all over the world have various issues that prevent them from being able to get the message that is portrayed in your video. There are some individuals whose speaker aren’t loud enough while other people might be hard of hearing. No matter what the reason is for being unable to hear it completely, adding subtitles or giving the option to turn subtitles on makes it a lot easier for your audience.

Holds Attention Better

It has been shown by research that videos that have subtitles are able to hold the attention of viewers for a longer period of time, and are 50% more likely, on average, to be watched all the way to the end.

Share Rates Are Increased

The combination of increased attention and stronger messages significantly increases social media engagement. When a video is captioned it typically provides an average 15% increase in sharing rates, to provide wider exposure for basically no extra expense or effort.

Multilingual Audiences

Not all of the people who view your videos will be native speakers of the language your video is in. Even when you are not targeting an international audience, these days audiences are increasingly multilingual. When subtitles are added it can make it easier for individuals who aren’t fluent 100% to be able to follow the content in your video.

Video SEO Metadata

Finally, captions and subtitles act as a form of metadata for videos, which enables the search engines to understand the content better. That can result in web pages with videos achieving higher rankings, along with greater prominence for your videos on YouTube as well as other video sites. A video marketing campaign that is well-implemented can provide you with amazing results. However, if your video experience has been underwhelming so far, subtitles could save you.

For more insight on our Houston SEO services please inquire by calling us today. If you would like to take a look at more related articles about our Houston SEO please check out our blog.

November 27, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Everything You Need To Know About Live Streaming For Small Business

Live streams are the future of digital media. It’s no coincidence that all of the major user-generated video services, such as Facebook and YouTube, are developing the live streaming aspects of their platforms. Viewers enjoy the idea of watching a broadcast right as it happens. The history of broadcast media is repeating itself through these live broadcast mediums. Back in the old days, the radio was the home for live content. Live video streaming on the internet is the modern version of that. You can use live streaming to build your small business’s online presence. Here is everything you need to know to do it:

Choosing Where to LiveStream

Live streaming is naturally an exclusive kind of content. When you are streaming and engaging with Facebook Live, you can’t do YouTube at the same time. You have to pick your platform and stick with it. The four major live streaming platforms right now are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch. Each one has its quirks.

YouTube and Facebook are both similar to each other, offering a simple live stream interface alongside their other video content.

Twitch is the original streaming site, focused on video game culture. While this won’t make sense for a lot of businesses, you can technically broadcast anything you want in the “Creative” or “IRL” categories.

Instagram is designed for casual live streams. You stream directly from your phone when you use this platform and viewers won’t be able to revisit the stream after the fact. That is mostly good if you already have an Instagram presence. A lot of musicians and artists use this platform.

Most businesses will want to live stream on either Facebook or YouTube. These are the two most general platforms available for the task.

Understand Your Streaming Goals

You should have two goals for your live streaming project. Start by aiming to provide valuable content for your fans. They need to feel good about watching your live stream if they are going to become regular viewers. People tune into live streams to avoid boredom. Teenagers, in particular, become obsessed with streams, often watching the content while doing other activities at the same time. It’s a way to counteract the feeling of loneliness that might emerge from sitting alone in a room. Other live streams are focused on sharing information. An educational program could be away for an entire classroom to go through a lesson together. Your business could do a stream to announce a new product or provide updates on your service.

After you figure out your value proposition, decide what your business will try to accomplish for itself. That is your second, more selfish goal. You may want to gain a certain number of followers or reach a consistent enough audience that you can run ads on your streams. The exact target doesn’t matter so long as it will be worth it. When you have a good reason for people to tune in and a good internal metric to build upon, your live stream will thrive. Your needs and the desires of your audience will be in sync. You should have at least a hypothesis about this stuff before you start streaming.

How to Act on Stream

Streaming is a lot like being a DJ at a radio station. Your host will need to be comfortable talking and able to think on their feet. Your most significant goal is never to have any dead air or silence. There are two different standard visual layouts for a live stream. It can be a camera that is full-screen on your host’s face while they talk and respond to questions. Or you can do a screen share where the viewers can see the host’s computer screen, with the live camera view shrunk down to the corner of the screen. The latter is the most popular style for streaming.

As a rule of thumb, avoid silences that last more than five seconds. Keep the stream active. The host should keep an eye on the chat and try to engage with viewer comments as often as possible.

Great streaming takes practice. The best way for anybody to get better at hosting a live stream is to watch the video afterward. Notice what behaviors seem useful and which ones are annoying or distracting. Take notes and review your thoughts before the next broadcast.

Promoting Your Stream

There are a few tricks you can use to get more viewers on your stream. If the stream is on Facebook, ask everybody involved with the production to share it on their personal page. The good news is that Facebook prioritizes live content in the feed so that a few shares can go along way. You should cut the best moments of past streams into short video clips of 30-60 seconds. Re-upload these as individual videos with catchy titles like “The Five Funniest Moments From Our Last Live Stream Event.” That will help to raise awareness.

If you are serious about your streams, do publicity for them. Try to get industry blogs to cover your new broadcast by playing up the significance of the project. Your live streams will gain significant clout if they get media coverage.

Live Streaming for Small Business

Live streaming is still uncharted territory in a lot of ways. You will have to get creative and find a way to entertain fans of your business in the live format, which requires some trial and effort. With that said, most of the world’s digital attention goes to the brands with the most courage. Take advantage of live streaming and video marketing in Houston and your business can gain a lot of extra momentum online.

For more information call or contact SEO Houston Pros today!