YouTube has long been popular for watching cat videos and clips of people falling over. And it is still good for these things. However, since being bought by Google and introducing specific YouTube channels, it is now also an optimum forum upon which enterprises of any size can incorporate into their marketing campaigns. The work it takes to create a top-notch marketing video is naturally more substantial than writing a text or taking and editing a photograph, however the returns have the potential to be that much greater too.
YouTube stats should be enough to convince any ambitious marketer or small business owner that it is a platform that they need to be on. YouTube is now the largest search engine after Google; it receives over 1 billion unique visits each month, over 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute, and the site reaches more US adults between the ages of 18 and 34 than any cable network.
So how should you use YouTube for marketing purposes?
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Create a Channel
Firstly you will want to create your own channel. This will allow consumers to follow you and be notified when you upload new content. Besides promotion, you should be able to make some cash through ads.
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Produce Shareable Content
Producing videos will take time and effort, and the creative ideas and deployment will have to come from within your own marketing departments, as the dos and don’ts are specific to each company. However, you might want to consider producing ‘how to’ videos if relevant to your company, and don’t be afraid of going beyond your specific product or service. Followers don’t always want to hear about you. Expand into other areas in your industry. You can then incorporate this broader content into your other marketing channels, whether that is on other social platforms, email marketing through a professional email account
such as this from 1&1, or upon the blog on your site. -
Upload
YouTube accepts almost any video format so once you have created the clip, uploading it is simple. However, ensure that the title and description is optimized for search, so that it can be easily found by those who are not already following you. It is worth adding a transcript as well.
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Commenting
It is up to you whether you want to disable comments. YouTube is known for attracting trolls, and so for this reason many brand channels do not allow comments. If you do allow comments, ensure that you delete the spam and reply to the genuine stuff. When commenting yourself, be sure to watch out for spelling and grammar, and of course never engage in spam or spats yourself.
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Analytics
Social media marketing appears to becoming more of a science every year. To help you keep track of your own personal stats, you can consider using
YouTube Analytics.