#PR: Ramping Up Your YouTube Effectiveness

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By: Gerard E. Mayers

A few weeks ago, PR News’ own Matthew Schwartz blogged a column about some tips on how flacks can use YouTube to visually tell their stories more effectively. Citing Joie Healy, senior manager of social media communications at Cisco, he noted:

Brands and organizations of all stripes are starting to ramp up their online video efforts, what with countless studies showing that consumers are infinitely more responsive to a message that’s delivered on video (rather than text).

YouTube, which is owned by Google, is Lord of the manor when it comes to getting the biggest bang for your video distribution buck. So how do PR pros hitch rich video to YouTube?

It appears Ms Healy will make a presentation on how one can harness the power of visual storytelling on YouTube at the PR News’ Google conference in San Francisco this February 11^th.
As a teaser to what Healy will talk about, Schwartz noted the following items:

1. Keep it short. With attention spans narrowing, it’s important to keep your videos short, preferably under two minutes. According to AdWeek, the average length of the Top 50 most popular YouTube videos was 2 minutes, 54 seconds. In other words, the shorter the better.

2. Pull at the heartstrings. Across social networks, people consume, engage with and share content that feels authentic and resonates with them emotionally. Make sure your videos have a human element and clearly convey to the viewer why your message is relevant for them personally. Ask yourself “why do I care.”

3. Leverage rich keywords. YouTube is the second largest search engine, after Google. To ensure ample views, tag your videos with plenty of relevant, rich keywords. In other words, SEO isn’t just for websites; it’s for video too.

As we all know, the more senses you can use in your PR efforts, the better. So why can’t we use embedded video via YouTube in our online press releases?

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About the Author

Gerard E. "Gerry" Mayers writes about PR and other relevant topics for PR professionals. A former PR manager for Sensor Products, Inc. (currently based in Madison, NJ), he lives in Milford, NJ.

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