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Why Freelance Developers Should Try Video Marketing

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Emma Taylor
Why Freelance Developers Should Try Video Marketing

It used to be that advertising, building a recognizable brand in your industry, referrals and networking was what worked best. 

With the internet, consumers have the ability to do their own research on any subject and to then seek out the contractors they need, or firms they feel are best for their circumstances.

The main platform most customers use to find a web developer is in the search engine rankings. They tend to assume that the highest ranking freelancers are usually the best. That is why SEO is so important. Yes, you need to rank to get clients online, however that is not the entire story.

Videos can educate and showcase your development knowledge

Once a potential client finds your website, they need to be convinced to contact you. They need to want to hire you. When someone finds one of my websites online, it is my hope that they are hoping that I am available to work for them. 

I want them so completely convinced that I am the "go to" guy for their problem that they will be ecstatic to even get me on the phone. In short, I want them desperately to hire me. Simply words on the page rarely engender that kind of desire.

Videos can do the sale without your time and effort

Properly done, video marketing for freelance developers can convince the client that you totally understand their project or programming issues and that you can get them the desired outcome that they yearn for. 

Let’s face it, as developers, we are seeking people that have a technical need or are looking for some sort of project help. Video can build trust with your prospective clients and convince them that you are the person they need to hire.

Video helps set expectations with clients

When I started marketing online, I was selling products. I used video to help sell, and I took that skill and made a few videos for my development work. About one week after I uploaded some videos to YouTube, I had a client call me about a web app they needed some work on. 

When I met with them, I started to discuss how I work, what the languages I will use are, and they stopped me and told me that they had already seen all of my videos and they just wanted to know my day rates. 

They wrote me a deposit right then and there! It was probably one of the shortest initial client meetings I had ever had and taught me a huge lesson. Now, when someone calls me for any reason, I ask them if they have viewed some of my videos. 

I honestly believe that video marketing for freelance developers saves time and gets rid of the "tire kickers".

Videos aren’t commercials

There are tons of marketing companies that are always hitting me up to do fancy product videos for me. They produce cheesy, ineffective videos that are more like commercials however without the production value that the typical superbowl fan expects.

You don’t need fancy equipment to make a video

Effective video marketing gives the potential client an opportunity to meet the freelance developers virtually. It gives you the ability to educate the prospective client and set the expectations for your work and knowledge set. 

Using short, keyword based videos to showcase your ability and experience is the best way to attract clients and get your calendar booked for months.

You do not need expensive equipment and a production company to create effective marketing videos for your firm. The video capabilities of the average smart phone are amazing.

Most digital cameras will also create videos sufficient for sites like YouTube. When I do videos for a client, I do use a higher end DSLR, however there is no need for the kind of cameras that you see television or movie producers use. 

Lighting, audio and the message are probably much more important than the quality of the camera you use for your videos.

Videos need to be optimised to be found

I have literally looked at thousands of videos, many of which were produced by "Video Marketing Companies" and I have honestly not found one yet that is truly and properly optimized. 

Many companies will tell you that they have "optimized" your videos, however they have only done the basics. 

They have probably titled the video properly, put in a good description and done tagging. There is much more to optimizing a video than just what you do when you submit it.

Basic Factors For Optimizing Videos:

  • Keyword in title
  • Description (URL, Phone/contact info, Keywords, Citation info, video description)
  • Tags (Keywords)
  • Keywords in captions (script for close captions)
  • Thumbnails
  • HD (high resolution helps)
  • Call to action
  • Category chosen correctly
  • Playlists (group related keyword videos together)
  • Video embedded on website
  • Annotations
  • Number of views
  • Number of likes
  • Subscribes
  • Backlinks
  • Page Rank of Backlinks
  • Type of Backlinks
  • Keywords in Backlinks
  • Velocity of views, likes, subscribes and backlinks

For most marketing companies, the amount of work and effort it takes to properly optimize a video is cost prohibitive. Creating optimization factors like backlinks to a video is not something that video marketing companies often even think about. 

It really is a job of an SEO firm, however few SEO firms even delve into backlinks for videos much and hardly any marketing specialists even think about it. 

YouTube is the second largest search engine and a properly optimized video is likely to show up in a Google search. It is actually sometimes easier to get a YouTube video to show up in a Google search than it is for a traditional website page.

If you can get a YouTube thumbnail to show up in a Google search for your keywords, your prospective clients are much more likely to click on the thumbnail and watch your video than they are to go to a website. 

The power of video marketing is not something that most freelance developers have tapped into, so it is a massive opportunity for you to create a brand and get an unfair advantage. Good luck!

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Emma Taylor
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