This article is a little long but I URGE YOU to read it in one sitting and take action! After reading this you will be the “Omniscient” video content creator. You’re viewers will think you are a secret magician, witch doctor or have a futuristic crystal ball.
Not too long ago I polled subscribers and asked them what were the biggest challenges they encountered with Video Marketing and Video Lead Generation. Hands down… the most frequently asked question asked was “How do I find content for my videos?”
There were 3 categories of people that asked this question. They were:
• Newbies, those just getting started and wet behind the ears
• Veterans and Intermediate video marketers and video lead generation consultants that were having video writers block
• A combination of Newbies, Veterans and Intermediate video marketers and video lead generation consultants that were entering a new industry or had clients in an unfamiliar industry.
This strategy is perfect for ALL of the above types. So if you have ever fallen, or fall into any of the categories above, keep reading because this article was written especially for you.
To top it off this strategy will not only provide you with an unlimited list of topics for your videos, but you’ll be able to leverage this strategy to get instant targeted traffic to your videos too.
One last thing, this process can also be semi-automated (I’ll show you this at the end of the article) to make it easy to have ideas dumped in your lap without having to search for them.
OK so let’s dive in!
You have heard the age old cliché’, “content is king”. When it comes to video marketing and video lead generation it’s best to create and produce multiple videos with “quality content” to gain channel authority (for YouTube) which will help you get ranked higher in YouTube and Google. Multiple videos mean you’ll need a steady stream of content ideas for your videos.
The key to successful lead generation videos is providing quality content to your audience. There are plenty of “SPAAMMY” video creation software’s out there that allow you to pump out dozens of low quality videos instantly, but quality (in this case) always trumps quantity.
Crappy videos don’t convert and after all, what is the point if your videos don’t convert?
Quality videos and quality video content provides value to your prospect, makes them feel all warm and fuzzy towards you (or your client) and keeps them engaged and taking action, signing up to your list and waiting on the edge of their seat for more video content from you.
OK… here’s how to be the omniscient (all knowing) video content creator and read your viewer’s minds.
I actually forgot about this strategy until recently when I had reminisced on one of my first website successes.
I used this strategy to start a coupon website (before Groupon), grow it to 20k + unique visitors per month and sell it for over $5000 back in 2009. I used this strategy to test the initial concept and build it out.
This is what I did (and still do to this day to find video content).
Find out what your audience needs to know (FAQ’s) and answer their questions. Simple right? Well it really is that simple.
The best place to find those burning customer questions are question and answer sites and Niche Forums. Search the sites for questions asked and simply provide the most valuable answer to the unanswered questions.
But… to one up your competition you provide the answer in a video! This is how you gain instant traffic for your videos and generate leads and sales all while providing value.
Typically it’s frowned upon to leave your own website for all your answers on Q/A sites because it seems overly promotional and borderline “SPAMMY”. But, when you leave a valuable video (that just happens to be your video) that’s specifically targeted to the question being asked, the audience doesn’t even pay attention to the fact that it’s yours, after all it’s on YouTube (a trusted source).
Here are 3 websites you can use to get started:
• Yahoo Answers
• Quora
• Answers.com
If you Google (Wishpond how to use Q A Sites) you can get a full list of niche specific Q/A sites.
Discussion forums are also a great place to find questions. These sites require a little more digging around but you can use a site like boardreader.com to make life much easier.
Here’s the overall strategy to find an endless stream of questions to answer and provide valuable video content for your audience:
- Go to a Q/A site
- Search for your topic via keyword phrase or browse the general categories
There are two ways to look for content.
a. Search for your topic and make a list of the top 5 questions or responses. (you can usually sort or filter by the questions with the most answers/comments)
b. Search for open questions with a few responses but that can still be answered (this is where you will provide your answer via video). - Create a video answering the question in detail (Hint: Do your research to provide the best answer but you can use content from the best existing answers to add to your video and write-up to make it easier on yourself and still provide value to the end user).
- Instant Traffic Secret: Once you have the content for your video answer. Just create a short video answering the question. Upload it to YouTube, be sure to add annotations/cards and calls to action in your video and description (these help generate leads). Go back to the original source of the question, write a short answer on the site and paste in your YouTube video link. You will get video views and if you are picked up as the best/top answer, your video will become front and center and you get an authority back link to your video which will help it rank higher in the search engines. WIN WIN WIN
That’s it, it really is that simple. This is a simple yet effective way to find content AND get traffic and back links to your videos.
For the people that appreciate being more productive, you can semi-automate this process using Google Alerts, custom search queries and your email for automated delivery.
You can also use Google alerts and an RSS feed for automated delivery to your favorite RSS news aggregator.
Just put in a custom query into Google Alerts and choose your output (Rss or email).
Here’s an example of a query: site:answers.yahoo.com “video production”
The above query will bring up any question around video production on yahoo answers. Then select the types of information, frequency and delivery method (RSS or email) and that’s it.
All you will need to do from there is simply open up your email or RSS aggregator and you automatically stay on top of the most asked questions based on your chosen topic/keywords.
If you are really savvy you can use IFTTT to drop the information in a spreadsheet (my preferred method) and then use that for your editorial calendar.
You just discovered a little known secret to generating video content, getting instant targeted traffic, and leads. Take what you just learned and dominate.