When you think about using social media to grow your business, you most likely do not immediately think of YouTube as the ideal platform of choice.
But please take this into consideration. Each month, YouTube now hosts over 1 billion unique visitors from all around the world. What’s even more impressive is that during each month, over 6 billion hours of video is watched on the site. And it’s very easy to share YouTube videos on other social media sites including top dogs Twitter and Facebook. Also see our article on video marketing tips.
Companies are finally starting to recognize the power of YouTube. It’s a fantastic way to reach your potential customer base. And that’s precisely why we feel that YouTube is the perfect business platform.
By arming yourself with a video camera (we love the compact Kodak ZI8 but the iPhone is probably the best and easiest solution you have) and some creativity, you have a means of building a long-term relationship with clients and potential customers.
How do you reach future customers on YouTube? How do you stand out among the millions of cat videos that everyone seems to love? Follow the five principles below.
Principle #1: Make a Good First Impression
In order to build up a fan base and create a loyal audience, creating a brand channel on YouTube is a smart move. SEO Gold Coast can help you do this. You can customize the site in many ways. Add business specific banners to the site in order to brand it with your company logo. Use background images that will promote your business. Add links to social media channels so that your videos are easy to share. Ultimately, by creating a home base for your business on YouTube, you are taking advantage of an additional branding opportunity, you can tell your business story, and creating a fantastic space to share valuable video content with current and future customers.
Principle #2: Keep to Your Brand Message with Consistent Content
It takes time to build viewers on a YouTube channel. Do not expect this to happen overnight. But one way to guarantee that your subscribers and viewers on YouTube grow is to consistently update your channel with new videos.
You’ll need to produce a great deal of content in order to tap into the power of web videos as a promotional tool. Create a schedule and upload videos consistently according to your budget. You will build an audience this way and turn them into paying customers.
Principle #3: Interesting Content Is the Name of the Game
Some of you might be afraid that you cannot harness the power of YouTube because you do not have interesting content to share. We aren’t saying that you have to be a great actor like Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt, and nobody is saying that you have to be an amazing director like Martin Scorsese or Nora Ephron. Just get creative with your content.
Share webcasts, Google Hangouts, webinars, product demonstration videos and more. Create a video about your company history and make it compelling. Better yet, start interviewing employees and customers. Ask them interesting questions and before you know it you’ll have a profitable YouTube channel with a plethora of valuable and entertaining content.
Always add a call to action on all of your YouTube videos. That’s how prospects become paying customers.
Principle #4: AdWords Account Linking
Are you using the Google AdWords advertising platform to market your business online? If not, you need to begin using this excellent service. And then connect it to your YouTube account so that your videos reach more users than you’ve ever imagined. Remember to use Google Analytics to track your advertising campaign efforts.
Principle #5: YouTube Provides Tools for a Reason: So Use Them!
Track the performance of your channel. Use the YouTube analytic resources available to find out how well you are doing. Monitor the traffic visiting your channel. Get a breakdown of your average demographics and even create customized reports that will teach you more about your audience than you’ve ever thought possible.
Final Thoughts: There are billions of people visiting YouTube every year, and they have 1 billion unique viewers every month. Get out in front of this audience! Use this powerful social media platform to grow your company. A video camera and a little bit of creativity can go a long way. Take advantage now.