Boost Engagement with Promo Videos: A How-To Guide

Given the deluge of content constantly being churned out, catching those precious scraps of your audience's interest has become harder and more important than ever before. With so many platforms now focusing on video, we here look at how you can improve your promo video content across the board.

_______________________

Guest post by Rotor Videos of the ReverbNation Blog

Guest post by Rotor Videos, a ReverbNation Marketplace participant who makes it easy and affordable to create your own video content.

With so much content out there, it’s getting harder and harder to keep your audience’s interest. Text and images just don’t cut it, particularly when it comes to music. You need to give your fans a reason to engage and a reason to stay.

With YouTube being one of the largest music streaming services, and now Facebook and Instagram focusing heavily on videos, it’s no surprise that video content is required regularly and in a variety of formats in order to capture attention. Here’s some staggering stats about video:

People spend on average 2.6x more time on pages with video than without.
55% of people watch videos online every day.
By 2019, video will account for 80% of global internet traffic.

So how you can you improve your engagement using promo videos?

Music videos and lyric videos keep the audience watching and give them a reason to share. Short-form promotional videos are vital to building expectations and launching a successful music campaign. Plus, Facebook prefers video and will show it more often than static images.

If you’re announcing a new release or promoting an upcoming gig, a short vid lasting between 15 – 60 seconds is a great way to go. Why not share a demo or hook to your new song to build anticipation? Then follow up with a lyric video or full music video. Using different types of video content, in different formats and posting at different times keeps your audience fed and keeps them engaged.

These types of videos are exciting to fans and are easy to make. If you want to give your listeners something to connect to, share or discover, you can’t go wrong with a promo video.

You want that initial engagement and offering a 15 or 30 second video to start with isn’t a big ask. Coming out of nowhere with 5 minutes of video could be asking too much. Grab their attention with something smaller and more digestible. Then, build up to the main event. Once your audience has a taste for you, they will be happy to watch more of your content.

Here’s an example of a short promo/teaser from Troye Sivan, that’s just 17 seconds long. Note that the description has been updated to include a link to the full video:

You can see how the promo is short enough to be consumed quickly and gives you the essence of the song, with enough to make you want more. Promos can be sent out to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, mailouts etc. Make full use of them and make sure to direct your audience to wherever it is you want them to go like your ReverbNation profile, your website, or landing page.

Lyric videos gained popularity because of their promotional value and their ability to engage audiences. They began as videos created by the fans, then artists started to use them as a way to get some compelling content out there while waiting for an official music video release. It turns out they’re highly effective.

Take a quick look at this lyrics video from Major Lazer that has now gathered almost a billion views:

So how can you create all these videos without it becoming a full time job? This is the problem most musicians are faced with. It takes time, money, and effort to keep up with the demand and without video you might just get lost in the noise.

Luckily, our Marketplace participant, Rotor, makes it easy and affordable to create your own video content. They allow you to make videos in as little as three steps and can take less than 10 minutes. All you need is a song.

So when you’re making a video, try to think how it can become two or three pieces of content and make sure you put it in enough places that it can be discovered. Get started today and start building up your audience with videos they can easily find and consume.