Video is a crucial part to any content marketing strategy. But let’s face it: making a quality video takes a lot of time, effort and resources. You want to get the most bang for your buck, right?

Before you hit “record” on the camera, it’s important to have a distribution strategy for your video. Think beyond simply posting the video to YouTube. It probably won’t get you the return on investment (ROI) you’re looking for.

Here are five tips for getting the most out of your video content:

  1. Create shorter videos from the larger piece. Take a cue from GE Healthcare, who recently rolled out a 30-minute documentary on Instagram. The Heroines of Health documentary has been split up into one-minute clips, distributed on its own Instagram account. While you may not have a 30-minute documentary to promote, you can apply the principle to any of your video content. Pull out important clips and post them on your social channels, encouraging your followers to head to your website or YouTube page for the full story.
  2. Embed the video on your blog or website. Get more eyes on your video by linking it to a blog post or a popular page on your website. Many blog and website platforms allow you to embed your video straight from YouTube or Vimeo. You don’t necessarily have to create new blog or website content for the video; find a related, existing piece of content and add the video to that page.
  3. Upload the video directly to Facebook. With 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook should not be ignored as a video platform. In fact, uploading a video directly to Facebook will drive more engagement, versus embedding a link or YouTube video. Keep in mind Facebook may not bring in the same number of quality viewers as YouTube, but it will put the video in front of more eyeballs.
  4. Use the audio for a podcast. Does your video include a compelling interview or story? If you have a podcast platform, consider repurposing part or all of your video’s audio track for an episode. If you don’t already have a separate audio track, try dumping the video into free audio editing software like Audacity and pulling the audio file.
  5. Post a transcript. Posting a video transcript to your blog or website can help boost your video’s SEO. This also gives you an opportunity to link to other, related content within the transcript, which also improves SEO. This transcript can be uploaded to YouTube as well, improving search on that platform and correcting the (usually) mistake-filled transcript YouTube automatically creates.

Do you have a video success story? Share your tips with us in the comments section below!