If you know content is king, you probably know distribution is queen. Creating amazing, engaging video content is difficult, but distributing it can be harder. And without the proper distribution strategy, your video is doomed to fail.
Don’t worry — all it takes is a little planning. Distribution, after all, is what gets your video content seen. The right strategy can put your video in front of the right audience, introducing your brand for the first time or helping convince those on the fence to purchase from you.
There are three types of distribution you can use to get your video content in front of more eyes: owned, paid, and earned distribution. Let’s delve a little deeper into owned distribution, the most crucial of all your distribution methods.
What is owned distribution?
Owned distribution is when you distribute your content on any channel you own. Essentially, you have total control over this distribution method, meaning you control when something publishes, who sees it, and how you promote it.
Owned distribution includes publishing your video content on all of the following channels.
Website — Your website should be your first avenue of publication. You can publish your branded video content on your homepage, your ecommerce pages, your FAQ page, your About Us page, and more.
Depending on the video itself, certain website pages might be better suited for certain videos. For instance, a team video might not work on your store pages, but it might work great on your About Us or Careers page. Think about the user’s intent as they browse each page of your website, then use a corresponding video to help answer the user’s questions.
Blog — Your company blog is the perfect home for any informational or educational videos you’ve created. Industry videos, how-to videos, tips and tricks videos, and more give users additional information about the problem they face. They also provide a wonderful opportunity to build your SEO, so do a little keyword research to find out what your target audience is searching for and create videos to answer these questions.
In addition to your homepage and product pages, your blog can also host information about any special product promotions you might be planning. Create a blog post that gives full details about any holiday specials, contests, or giveaways you have coming up and embed your video there!
Email — Your email sequences, workflows, and newsletters are all great owned distribution methods you can optimize with video content.
Newsletters: Add video to your company’s newsletters. You can include informational videos, like the ones hosted on your blog, or product-specific videos, like the ones you might host on your store pages.
Sequences: Include videos in any email triggered by a specific user action, like a purchase confirmation email or a request for more information email.
Email provides the best opportunity for distributing personalized video content. With email, you can send content that includes the user’s name, location, previous purchase history, or even a birthday message.
Social Media — Social media can fall under all three of the major distribution methods (owned, paid, and earned), but owned channels refer exclusively to organic posting on your social pages. You own these company pages because you control what gets posted there and when, without having to pay for publication. And, with more social platforms prioritizing native video, companies now need video content to engage their social audience.
On Facebook alone, 500 million people watch videos every day. Twitter boasts 82 percent of their users use the platform to watch video. Snapchat says they generate 10 billion video views every single day. So if you’re not using video on social media, you need to start.
Digital Content — Technically, all of the above is digital content. But there are other types of content companies can use to communicate with their customers, including eBooks, whitepapers, webinars, case studies, PDFs, and more. This content can be dense, in depth, and, well, pretty dry. In order to maintain the user’s attention, you need to include interactive elements like video, so the reader stays engaged and excited about your brand.
Want to learn more about video distribution? Download our FREE eBook: 8 Ways to Effectively Distribute Your Video Content.
Isn’t publishing on my website enough?
Your website is one of the most important places to publish your video, but your website alone isn’t enough! Chances are, most of your customers don’t regularly visit your page and hang around waiting to watch your new video content. To get the highest return on your investment, you should seek your customers out everywhere they’re active, including social media and via email. That’s why you need a full video marketing strategy you can rely on!
If you want to learn more about video advertising and distribution, be sure to check out that link. It’s our latest guide on the topic and can help you get started quickly and easily.