Are You on YouTube?

Recently I wrote an article about how Facebook has become a force and why it’s important for a company to get their Facebook Fanpage set up. Well, YouTube can be just as valuable to business as Facebook if a well designed marketing plan is created.

If you thought the Facebook Facts were interesting, look at these tidbits about YouTube.

• Over 2,000,000,000 (yep that’s billion!) video views per day
• 24 hours of video are uploaded every minute
• YouTube is the second largest search engine, after Google
• Video results are showing up more often in Google search results

What exactly does this mean to business? Opportunity! Some of the most popular videos on YouTube are informative how to style videos and this is mostly why YouTube has moved up to second place as a choice for a search engine.

Do you have a business with a product or service that could benefit from being explained via video? Often people want to be shown how something works or how to do a certain task with a product. One area I have found this to be beneficial is when I undertake a home renovation project.

There is no shortage of videos helping homeowners learn the process of repairing toilets, installing electrical devices or even fixing garage doors. More often than not, these videos are provided by people in that particular industry as a “public service”. Really though they are planting their product or service in the mind of consumers as a go to person or company for information, advise and potentially new sales.

Why You Want A Youtube Channel

Could your business benefit from a little extra exposure, a few more calls and some additional sales? I’m pretty sure we both know your answer to this question, otherwise you wouldn’t still be reading, would you?

This is where having your own YouTube channel can help give you an edge over the competition. Much like having a Facebook Fanpage, having a YouTube channel can set you and your business apart and provide you with one additional place to be found by potential customers.

A YouTube channel doesn’t have to be something elaborate and doesn’t have to contain an extensive collection of videos. It can be as simple as one video in your channel like this one,

Plaka Greek Restaurant YouTube Channel

The important aspect is that it is complete with plenty of information about your company, how to contact you and your services. In my example, note how the video contains information about what they offer, where they can be found and how to contact them. This is further reinforced on the channel itself as under their profile explains what they offer “Fine Greek Food”, their web address, their physical address and even a phone number for reservations and take-out orders. It’s simply another billboard out on the internet, which directs people back to your business. Which is really what marketing is really all about.

Now, much like almost everything on the internet, these channels can be highly customized to best position your business. This customization should be taken advantage of to help promote your product or service and to make it easier for potential clients to find out more. Here’s an example of an even more decked out channel with a very clear message.

Organizing Clutter Video Channel

From the channel name to the extensive number of videos it serves to promote the product and cater to people specifically looking for information on organizing and decluttering their home. This has helped to contribute to the success and growth of the channel and as this was written, to having over 500 subscribers and over 5,000 friends of the channel. Hopefully that number is even higher now as it’s my wife’s channel!

So How Can You Leverage YouTube?

Hopefully you understand the benefits of having a YouTube channel, but now it comes down to how you can use it to leverage your business on the internet. Let’s look at some quick ideas that worked for other businesses.

FAQ’s

Does your business have a list of Frequently Asked Questions by your clients? Why not create a series of videos that answer these questions and place them on your channel? This works two fold, the questions may turn up in search results when other people are inquiring about similar products and attract new clients and it may result in new business

What’s In the Box?

Do customers often wonder what all is included with a product you sell or a service you provide? If it’s a product in a box, video tape someone opening the box and explaining each item in the box. This would work incredibly well if you have a product like a video camera that includes additional cables for plugging into TV’s etc. The person explaining the items could explain what the “mystery cables” are used with.

If you are a furnace cleaning service, why not make a video detailing the areas of the furnace you inspect and explain how it benefits the client? What do you believe your clients want to know about your product or service? Tell them the answers in a video!

Compare Products

Do you have multiple products that are similar but have slightly different uses? For a drycleaner, perhaps you explain the difference between your cleaning process and the industry standard cleaning process (if yours is different of course, no fibbing!). If your company provides free onsite service, how does this benefit the client versus what the competition does?

Helping You Market Online

Really, there is no limit to the ideas available to help increase your marketing, for your particular business, the only limit is your creativity. If you are absolutely stymied, send me a quick email with info about your product and I will send you some ideas back.

Now I’m not sure what type of feedback I will get from people. I may have a thousand people read this and only one emails me, or I could have 50 people read this and all 50 can see the value and request some ideas. It’s kind of a shot in the dark, so I’ll start this off by putting an imaginary cap of a maximum of five emails of these a month, but perhaps I can feature them in a post every month or two that will also help provide your product or service with extra exposure. It’s free to you, so what do you have to lose?

So don’t wait, send me an email with your questions! Or just as good, send me an email to tell us how you market your business or service online!