How to Leverage Your Video Viewership

Adjust lighting. Check! Comb hair. Check! Test microphone. Check! Shoot video. Check! Build relationship ... A work in progress!

Are you crazy-excited about all the new options to grow relationships and gain clients with your latest video? Or are you a bit hazy on what steps to take to make the most of your time and effort? Getting the most bang for your video buck involves leveraging the new fans. Here's a roadmap to help you navigate the world of custom audiences and e-mail marketing.

Value = Viewers + Relationship

Wouldn't you love to reach those fans who viewed your video and develop a stronger relationship with them? Imagine targeting them in future ads and earning their e-mail addresses. That's golden!

Research predicts that video will account for 80 percent of all web traffic by 2019. If that isn't reason enough, let's shine the light on ways you can make the most of each video you shoot to gain more fans and followers.

It's easy when you create a custom audience of your video viewers on Facebook. With this audience, you can target ads to them that focus on a specific topic. For example, perhaps they watched your video on a specific destination, now you can create an ad linking to your blog post about that destination. If your blog has a lead magnet email collector tied to it, you have the opportunity to also collect their contact info.

Speaking of lead magnets, how about creating a lead generating social ad—using the above new custom audience—that drives people to your own downloadable lead magnet? What a great way to build your list and your relationships!

Embrace E-Mail

Adding the word "video" into an e-mail subject line will:

• Boost open rates by 19 percent.
• Boost click-through rates by 65 percent.
• Reduce unsubscribes by 26 percent.

Pro Tip: While most e-mail providers don't support videos in e-mail, here's a secret workaround that really works. Capture a video thumbnail (I use a screen shot of a good looking frame from the video) then add it as a graphic within your e-mail. Hyperlink the graphic so when readers click on the thumbnail, they're driven to your video. Take this up a notch and make it even more obvious that it's a video by superimposing a play button onto the video thumbnail graphic.

Now, you've created a stunning e-mail that your readers love. They showed you their love by opening and clicking through to your video. Don't ignore these "warm contacts" by not following up with them; leverage them and build new relationships.

Here's how to easily upgrade your advertising audiences with these "warm contacts." Simply download the "click & open" report from your e-blast dashboard and then add this list to your Facebook ad account as a custom audience.

Although building relationships with your audience is an ongoing process, building custom audiences and leveraging e-mail will have you on the right path. On your video marketing checklist, you can now put a big checkmark next to "building relationship!"

Written by Catherine Heeg, an international speaker and trainer who focuses on social media marketing strategies for the tourism and hospitality industry. Join the conversation and connect with her at www.cmsspeaking.com and socially.