Finding Videos For Your Hubs
Where Do I Find Videos For My Hubs?
Well, my fine critter (that's an affectionate term I use for my fellow hubbers), I have an answer for you - youtube!
Youtube, you ask. Why Youtube? Well ... for one thing, you can find a video on nearly every topic on youtube. For another, people place videos on Youtube to have them watched, so you're providing them with free traffic while they are providing you with a free video - a win-win!
Another, less-known aspect ... videos can help you achieve authority on a topic! Authority? That's another word for believability, and when hubbers believe what you have to say they offer you more of their attention - and that's a good thing!
How Do I Use Videos To Achieve Authority?
Actually, it's a lot easier than you might think. First, enter the topic of your hub as a search in Youtube. If you're lucky you will find many videos to chose from. You'll want to look at some of these to see if any of them back up what you are trying to say. Of course, if you can't find any you might want to reconsider your position - you could be wrong - doh!
Provided you do find a few videos that agree with what you have said in your hub, `watch each one to determine which might be the most convincing - these are the ones you will want to use in your hub. After all, of they convince you they might convince others - and if they convince others they will add credibility to your hub!
I Found Some - Now Where Should I Place Them?
It depends on what school of thought you subscribe to ...
Most article writers will tell you that a video should appear just before a section of text if your text adds to what the video says, or just after a section of text if it acts to buttress what was said. However, I disagree with that, and I'll tell you why ...
As a rule, people hate a page full of uninterrupted text. Pictures and videos offer the mind something more restful to view over, and offer variety to the reader. As such, I like to place them in key positions to help the reader to relax.
Just below the first text block I place my first video. This one is the most importat video, and I try to make this one a few minutes long and a strong overview of the material about to be covered. By doing this, the reader continues on and says to themselves, 'Yep, that's what I saw in the video!'
I also place a video block just before the last text block. This is either a 'reward' or a 'review'. A 'review' is a video that reminds the reader of important information you just covered - re-establishing your authority on the topic and a 'reward' video is a comical video to offer as a reward for the reader reading your article - just be certain the when you use a 'reward' video that it is somehow vaguely related to the subject matter the reader just read and that it's not in poor taste.
Beyond that, if I find other large blocks of text I place some pictures in-between - again, on topic, and only to break up the text.
What About Instructional Videos?
Instructional videos are always the exception to my rule. If the video is showing how to do something, then it either needs to proceed or follow the block of text that describes it, depending on whether the text describes the video (video leads the text) or the video describes the text (video follows the text).
Also, try to keep instructional video under 10 minutes. People will grow bored if they spend too much time learning how to do something or they might determine they can't do it themselves and then turn to another page.
How Do I Pick Good Videos?
Well, my fine critter, ya kinda need to have a good eye for it. Luckily, you have two peepers in your forehead, which should allow you to sift the gems from the common rocks. But what if you just aren't sure what to go with?
One thing to recognize is that every video on Youtube shows how many times it has been viewed. Videos with a lot of views attracted a lot of watchers, so they should be seen as having the most authority. Also, videos should relate very closely to your topic and should never go against what you have written.
