SEO (search engine optimization) is a mysterious beast – there are tips and tricks we can follow to make sure the Google gods favor our websites with high search results, but no one, save the Google search wizards, knows exactly how it works. One thing is for sure, though: video is an SEO magic wand.
Per an exclusive case study from our friends at MarketingSherpa, Common Desk, a co-working space company based out of Dallas, put the magic of video to the test. Challenged with both increasing night membership to the co-working space and improving SEO for the company website, Merrick Pickens, the Common Desk Community Manager, worked with a videographer and a team of 50-60 unpaid (save for pizza and beer) extras to create something special. Pickens, Common Desk owner Nick Clark, and the videographer devised a series of episodes with a wacky storyline around Common Desk members cloning themselves. With the help of actual night office members, recruited via Facebook and Twitter as a means of increasing engagement even before the videos were launched, they filmed these clips.
With great material on their hands, the question became how to distribute it? Social media was an obvious free tool to get these entertaining shorts out; the team immediately posted the episodes, one at a time, a week apart each (key in creating anticipation and ongoing engagement) to Facebook, Twitter, and a YouTube channel created just for the episodes. The final key element of the campaign was to tag every video with a range of keywords related to “co-working” and “Dallas” and all of the people involved with the making. This was especially important for the YouTube channel, as the Common Desk team wanted to make sure the videos showed up every time someone searched those terms in Google.
The results of this experiment in viral marketing speak for themselves: Common Desk’s Facebook views increased 400%, they became number four in search results for “Dallas coworking” and, most importantly of all, their nighttime memberships increased 30%. The lesson is clear: video is the way to go if you want to improve your SEO, provided that:
A) Your video content is relevant to your business. Common Desk featured its members and its offices in the videos, even if the storyline was outlandish.
B) Your video is entertaining – Common Desk’s video transcended self-promotion and became entertainment, which made all the difference.
C) Your video is social – Common Desk got its members in on the act and gave them ownership by tagging them in the posts, so the members became additional brand advocates and leveraged their social networks to rocket the videos to stardom.
For the original case study, visit MarketingSherpa.