With many web users spending a lot of time watching online videos, it’s only logical for any brand or aspiring content creator to tap into this medium as an effective means of building web presence. Using video hosting sites to reach a targeted audience is one of the most effective means of getting your brand out there and engaging potential clients and followers.

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Nowadays, creating your own music video website or videographer website to house your online portfolio isn’t as complicated as it once was. Website builders like Strikingly have lowered the barrier to entry for website creation and ownership by providing powerful tools such as video website templates and features such as seamless video hosting service integration that enable users to set up their own sites without the need to learn how to code. With that in mind, here is a helpful guide to building an awesome video site and integrating video hosting services into it.

1. Identify your niche and choose a video hosting service

The first step is to identify a niche topic that you want to build content on. Even in the realm of music, for instance, there are so many topics and genres that you can specialize in. A good understanding of your target audience is key to the success of any video website. From there, the next step is to choose a video hosting site for your upcoming channel. Some content creators go directly to Youtube while others traverse between it and Facebook, another social media site that hosts longer videos and is known to have a big audience.

2. Expand your audience reach with a website

Once you have your channel up and attracting viewers, the next step is to start designing your own website. Music video download sites and other types of video websites do not necessarily have to host their own videos natively. To display your videos on your website, all you need to do is get the embed code from your video hosting service and add it to your website content.

3. Explore different ways of using video to engage your audience

One of the best things about having your own website is you get full creative freedom to display your videos in a manner you see fit. You can choose, for instance, to use a video as your homepage background to get users to stick around and engage with your site. Gallery sections allow you to highlight your best work and show videos that you are particularly proud of. You can also use a blog to add descriptive text content to your works to give visitors more insight into your videos and also for SEO purposes.

4. Choose an appropriate template and customize accordingly

Aside from being able to control how your videos are displayed, having a dedicated website also allows you to push your brand through your choice of website template and design elements. On a free account, Strikingly gives you access to its entire collection of videos website templates so you can find one that suits your needs and your preferences. Each template is good to go on its own but we do suggest that you incorporate your own color scheme, font combinations, website buttons and other details that will make your site stand out and make it easy for users to identify your unique brand.

5. Don’t forget about content marketing

Work on your website doesn’t stop after you have published the page. You need to plan for digital marketing to ensure that your page gets the attention it deserves. Integrating your social media pages and sharing your links on your social networks and other platforms will allow you to direct traffic to your website. Take advantage of analytics data to identify areas where you need to improve your content and design as well as the areas that you need to build on.