I’ve realized there are two very different and distinct strategies to use when creating a presence online with video marketing.
Put simply, you can aim to either “get attention” or “gain attention.”
Both sound rather similar right? They are very similar, but their effects are noticeably different.
We’re going to talk about the subject of getting and gaining attention in two ways:
- Overall marketing (what it looks like)
- Facebook Videos vs. YouTube Videos
Getting Attention in Your Marketing
Any company or person looking to get more attention, online or offline, will likely take on the “me me me” or “check this out” attitude. In other words, you have to leverage your credibility to speak for the product. When you’re trying to get more attention its about telling as many people as possible what is going on. On Facebook or Twitter getting attention might look like this, “New Blog Post – Getting Attention vs. Gaining Attention” + Link. Often times any promotional activities a company or person engages in would fall into this category. In order to get more attention you almost have to be “everywhere at once.”
Gaining Attention in Your Marketing
Essentially, gaining attention is what your long-term marketing strategy should be considering. When you gain the right attention, your products will speak for themselves. Meaning, other people will constantly be sharing or promoting what you have for you. Additionally, gaining attention comes from the persistent actions and value added to the environment. Your company might champion a social cause, gaining attention from newspapers and solidifying an ethical brand perception. Gaining the right attention can be achieved through your own authenticity.
Facebook versus YouTube on Getting Attention versus Gaining Attention
It might already be implied that Facebook and YouTube are one of these two things: getting attention or gaining attention. So which is which?
Posting videos on Facebook is the best way to get attention. You can upload your videos, tag a bunch of people, everyone sees it, comments – and then within a couple of days its almost like it vanished! The video settles at the bottom of the feed and anyone that missed it would have to go back and find the video on your page. They’re not searchable and hard to locate. Additionally, a couple thousand people might see it on their feeds and watch it before it is “gone.”
Posting videos on YouTube is the best way to gain attention. Putting your videos on your blog is also another good way to gain attention. With YouTube, you have a number of subscribers to your channel (a place where ALL your videos can be found in one spot) and they will consistently check in on your content – after all, that’s why they subscribed to you in the first place. Your videos are searchable, and they are persistent. So, even if your 200 subscribers are the only people to see it initially – the video will continue to get views from searches… basically forever!
I see this major distinction between formats quite clearly. Hopefully I was able to explain it with clarity and without confusing too many things 
Do you think there is a difference between getting attention and gaining attention? Would you define it differently? Post your thoughts, and examples / metaphors to help describe your vision of this subject.
