If you asked music legends like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix or The Rolling Stones how they captivated their audiences, they would likely tell you the same thing: Perfecting the art of intrigue can be the determining factor of your success. Likewise, succeeding with online video is no different.

Captivating Creativity

Now that you’ve created a timeless tune, written a speech for the ages or perfected your team’s athletic skills, your next step is to find the right audience to appreciate your creativity.

To ensure your masterpiece doesn’t go unnoticed, attracting your target viewers with content that both engages and delights can make the difference between going viral and indifference. Therefore, laying the groundwork to present your content in an intriguing light will prompt browsers to spend their time watching your video rather than the countless others available online.

The foundation for this strategic planning is strengthened by utilizing these few tips to accentuate your creative value:

1. Write A World-Class Title

2. Embrace What Makes You Different

3. Showcase Your Content To The Right Audience

4. Create A Relationship With Your Viewers

5. Give Your Fans What They Want

1. Write A World-Class Title

If Paul McCartney had let the melody dictate his song title, the world’s most covered song might have been disregarded as an oddly named “Scrambled Eggs”. Even Sir Paul knew the importance of a good song title when he wisely changed it to “Yesterday”.

While some artists and innovative thinkers choose to word the title of their anticipated masterpiece only after completing the project, many allow their title to spark the creative process. As it should, a title should tell the audience what you want them to experience before even clicking on your video.

Misleading, bland or offensive titles will likely encourage viewers to scroll past your video until they find a title that pops out at them. Once a viewer is drawn in by a catchy or interesting title, you then have the opportunity to keep them watching by presenting your creativity or passion project.

2. Embrace What Makes You Different

In this context, the cliché idiom “There are plenty of fish in the sea” doesn’t inspire optimism. Your unique style, tone or messaging is key to differentiating your persona from the millions of other online video creators.

As consumers, we are looking for the added value in life—regardless of the product, service, or in this case, video.

To differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack, you should be confident enough to emphasize your distinguishing skills and talents.

For instance, when Jimi Hendrix made the risky decision to showcase his revolutionary electric guitar-playing skills at Woodstock in 1969, he chose to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” as a way to get people to listen. We’re still talking about it over fifty years later, so it’s safe to say that playing on your strengths is a recipe for success.

3. Showcase Your Content To The Right Audience

With a number of social media platforms and streaming services, it’s sometimes difficult—or downright overwhelming—to choose one, or more, methods of maximizing your reach. This is the most technical of our five tips, which revolves around using the appropriate channel and marketing initiatives to target your audience.

If you are eager to begin live streaming a talk on medical innovation, Instagram might not be the appropriate place to share your scientific research; just as posting a comedy sketch on LinkedIn would be equally mismatched.

As much as an online platform can provide your video with an attentive, like-minded audience, it also has the ability to make your content stick out like a sore thumb. So, it’s advisable to cater your messaging to a suitable channel by keeping:

• Professional content on LinkedIn
• Aesthetically captivating visuals on Instagram
• Community and personal posts on Facebook
• Entertaining pieces on Twitter

When it comes to video, the same rule applies when finding a proper hosting platform to fit your video content.

Also, never underestimate the power of tagging and keyword optimization. There are countless viewers out there who are a single search away from becoming your fan—it’s simply a matter of labelling your video with wording that is familiar and commonly used by the public.

Even though you might have the technical expertise to use jargon as your keywords, viewers are likely searching for layman’s terms like “song” rather than “arrangement”. Keeping this in mind as you perfect your SEO will help you gain traction with our next tip.

4. Create A Relationship With Your Viewers

Speaking to your viewers in a manner than encourages conversation is the best way to keep an audience captivated and loyal. Using terminology they understand and concepts with which they feel comfortable are important in finding common ground with your prospective fans.

Surprisingly enough, communicating via video is a reciprocal method of messaging as it provides viewers with the opportunity to comment and share when deemed appropriate. As you have probably noticed, video platforms give users the freedom to exchange opinions with one another—even if some are unsolicited or harsh. Giving your audience a voice is valuable in gaining insight into what they expect from you as an artist or reliable source of information. Once you establish a relationship of mutual respect and understanding, you will be better able to identify with your fans and vice versa.

5. Give Your Fans What They Want

Once you’ve invested the time and energy into nurturing a relationship with your viewers, it will be easier to appeal to their unique interests and tastes.

Imagine going to see The Rolling Stones in concert, only to have them leave the stage without having played “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Coincidentally, this scenario would likely never happen because the band knows exactly what their fans want.

Since you’ve spent copious amounts of time filming and editing your videos, it’s worthwhile to take a bit more time to deliver content that’s welcomed and appreciated. This will give you the opportunity to fine tune future videos, as well as repurpose older, yet popular content to engage with audiences.

Shine the Spotlight on Your Video

Following these 5 tips for video success requires the perfect balance of imagination, attentiveness and marketing. As you begin crafting your art in a way that fosters fandom, you will quickly notice an increase in followers, improved visibility and recognition as the artist or expert you are.

Visit our website to learn more about enhancing your content with a video platform that best suits your needs.