How to set up a YouTube channel for your business and start creating effective marketing videos.
How to set up a YouTube channel for your business and start creating effective marketing videos.
Video platforms have become a powerful way to market your business online. The YouTube community specifically has developed into one of the most dominant in the social media industry: YouTube searches are second only to Google, and the platform sees over a billion unique visitors every month.
This guide will explore what your small business can do to effectively market on these platforms. We’ll take a detailed look at how to create a YouTube business account and optimize your profile. And if you’re not sure what or when to post, we’ve got you covered.
When you look at the numbers behind YouTube, the potential benefits are immediately apparent. However, YouTube isn’t the right channel for every business because the platform is massively competitive. Not only is it the second most popular website in the world (even beating out Facebook), there are hundreds of hours of video content uploaded every minute.
With all of this competition, it’s easy for your video marketing efforts to go unnoticed, especially if the quality of your content is low. Video is one of the most engaging content types out there, but it can be expensive and time consuming to produce the level of quality that YouTube audiences are accustomed to.
But don’t let that deter you from producing video content; while it’s sometimes tough to attract audiences on YouTube, it can still be a great platform to host your videos. Those videos can then be easily shared across your other social media channels, like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Creating a YouTube marketing strategy has proved to be a powerful way for companies and advertisers to reach audiences. The platform allows brands to reach diverse audiences and build a loyal following. Many noteworthy YouTube creators have developed massive audiences by earning millions of subscribers. These channels are extremely influential today and have become a leading source of news, entertainment, current events, informative content, and much more.
With that being said, YouTube video marketing can provide some great benefits for your small business when properly executed. Some of the benefits of YouTube video marketing include:
Getting your small business account up and running is a relatively easy process. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to create it:
Once created, you’ll be given the option to add touches like a channel image (also known as a channel icon), banner art, and a small bio. Just look for “Customize Channel.”
Here are a few more tips:
In order to produce effective marketing videos for your YouTube channel, you’ll need to create engaging content.
Here are some ideas to consider as you’re making videos:
Listicles: In any format, lists are a popular content type that can be both entertaining and informational. They set a clear expectation of how much time and effort will be required from your audience to consume the content, as well as how much potential value there is to be gained. Longer lists provide more value but require more time, while shorter lists exhibit the opposite. Experiment with both to see what your audience prefers.
How-tos: Instructional, step-by-step video guides detailing how to use a product or solve a common problem can be very effective. Not only can they help existing customers find answers to their questions without having to seek customer service, they’ll help prospective customers learn more about your products or services, too.
Behind the scenes: Offering a behind-the-scenes look at your operations or staff can help humanize your brand and give customers insight into your business. They’ll get a feel for your work culture, learn how products get made, meet the people behind your services, and more. This type of insight can help make people feel like they’re a part of your business’s story instead of just being another customer.
Product videos: Video allows customers to get up close and personal with your products without having to enter the store or make a purchase. This affords them the opportunity to learn what exactly your products have to offer and decide whether they’re right for their needs.
Testimonials: As effective as you may be at marketing and talking about your products, consumers will often place more trust in the opinions and sentiments of other customers. Testimonial videos allow you to use past success stories to promote your brand and sell your stuff. You could even offer a discount in exchange for your customers’ participation to entice them to record testimonials.
Creating great content is important, but it’s only part of the equation. Small businesses also need to be strategic in how they’re posting those assets. The following tips will give insight into some of the ways you can ensure that your content reaches more members of your target audience.
If you’re already producing content for other platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you’re probably familiar with creating content goals.
Businesses produce content for different reasons. You may be focused solely on growing your audience and improving engagement. Or maybe your social media efforts are dedicated to converting existing followers into new subscribers or customers. No matter your reasons, you should have clear goals in mind because they’ll help you measure how successful your YouTube marketing efforts are.
Success on any social media platform—YouTube included—is heavily influenced by the amount of content you produce. The more you share valuable content that your followers can engage with, the more reputable your business becomes on the platform.
For this reason, creating a content schedule that dictates when and how frequently you post is very important. Over time, your YouTube audience will become accustomed to when they can expect you to release new videos.
Tip: Unlike other social media platforms which many people check multiple times throughout the day, YouTube users are more active at night and during the weekends.
YouTube is part of the Google family of platforms and services, so it’s well equipped to allow businesses to enhance content with keywords, video tags, and other search-related elements. Using these to your advantage can help make your videos more visible in YouTube’s search results.
It’s good practice to encourage viewers to comment after they’ve watched your videos. This will help produce valuable interactions between your business and its target audiences. It will also fuel conversations amongst your followers.
When your videos receive audience interactions and comments, be sure to respond in a timely manner so customers know their voice is being heard. A simple response can help solidify the brand-customer relationship for months to come.
When you create an effective YouTube marketing strategy, you can grow your audience and increase sales. So how do you succeed when marketing on YouTube? Here are a few tips to help you get off to a strong start marketing on YouTube.
The titles of your videos might be the most effective way to create popular content on the platform. Using evocative titles brings in more views, growing your audience faster than any other tactic. So make sure that you create video titles that stand out and make people want to click on your content.
Equally or more important than your titles are the thumbnails you use. These should be as eye-catching as possible, as long as they are in line with your brand style guide. Remember that your video thumbnail will act as the first impression one gets of your content, so make it something compelling.
YouTube SEO is leveraged through the title, the description, and the transcript the platform automatically generates. But the meta tags you choose during the uploading process are also very important. Use that entry field to insert key SEO keywords and phrases.
If viewers enjoy your content, they will want to binge your material at length. The easiest way for them to do that is by watching playlists. Create playlists on your YouTube channel in order to organize content and encourage viewers to spend more time engaged with your videos.
By creating compelling video content and posting it on YouTube, you can bolster your marketing strategy and reach a wider audience. As the top video sharing platform in the world, YouTube serves as the premier destination for all types of video content. Now you’re ready to set up your YouTube business channel and begin publishing exceptional, effective videos that attract views and followers!