Given that the web video market is still in its toddler stage, some would even say its infancy, a common question we receive from clients for whom we produce a business video is - I made and love my new video (thanks Web Video Crew!!!), NOW WHAT, how do I get people to watch it?  

Just as the theoretical tree that falls in the theoretical forest with no one around to theoretically hear it begs the theoretical question "did it ever really fall?", so too does an online video that gets filmed and edited but not advertised nor marketed beg the question - was the video really ever made? If no one ever watches it, if no one even knows it exists, does it really “exist”?  

You would assume that if someone were to decide to spend money to get a web video produced, he/she would have an idea of how they want to use said video. You would assume... But the interesting thing about online video is that it’s kinda like social media (the two are really first cousins in Internet marketing and search engine optimization) - just as business owners hear the buzz about Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc., so too do they see and hear everyone mentioning online video as the next big marketing wave. They know they SHOULD be doing these things, but they don’t necessarily know the HOW or the WHY behind them.

This makes sense to some degree - both social media and online video are really new toys in the web marketing store. And both are dynamic, fluid, constantly-evolving mediums that are hard to keep up with. Given how fast the online video market is developing and changing, I can’t say the answers I provide them will always be the right ones. I’m 100% certain that I’ll constantly be adding and subtracting to this list of “How To Distribute Your Online Video” tips. But for the time being, the laundry list of tips and suggestions I provide our small business owner clients goes something like this.