The video platform that can keep your pipeline moving

In this — the penultimate of our social media newsletters, we focus on YouTube. The site was launched in 2005 and bought by Google in 2006.

At first glance, YouTube may look just like any ordinary social media site. You could be forgiven for thinking that it is a site designed just for fun. And it certainly does provide plenty of entertainment.

It is a place where users can share videos with friends, family and the world! And it is a place where music can be found.

However, this is only part of its appeal.

The video sharing phenomenon that is YouTube sees no less than 1.9 billion logged-in users visit every month. This figure equates to half the internet. And what’s more, they watch 1 billion hours of video every single day.

Why do so many businesses consider it the one to watch?

Where to start?

How about the fact that in the past two years alone, when you take into account all the product review videos that have been watched by users, it works out at a staggering 50,000 years’ worth? And that’s on mobile devices alone. Proving that consumers are using video to help them decide what they want to buy.

Then there’s reach. Operating in 80 different languages, YouTube has local versions in 91 countries. It currently reaches 95% of the internet around the globe.

Perhaps the platform being 2018’s leading iOS app is what makes some businesses want to use YouTube.

Or the fact that YouTube is the 2nd most visited website around.

We could go on.

The YouTube culture

Since its inception, YouTube has been known for its appeal to a younger audience. Sure enough, last year saw the younger generation increase their usage time considerably. And with the extensive range of music and gaming videos, make-up tutorials and funny ‘fail’ videos, this is perfectly understandable.

However, if there’s one thing we’ve all learnt from social media, it’s that it never stays still for long. Things change.

YouTube is increasingly appealing to the more mature demographic, too. Between 2015 and 2016, time spent on the platform almost tripled among adults 55+.

In fact, according to comScore, each month YouTube reaches 95% of online adults 55+.

There is money to be made from YouTube if it’s done right, along with the chance to really make a name for you and your brand, whatever your target market.

Want a piece of the action?

Getting started may seem a little more difficult than with other social media sites. The following pointers should help you on your way.

Before creating your YouTube brand account, you will need to create a Google account.

On joining YouTube as a member, you will automatically be entitled to create a channel. This channel is effectively your home page. You will be able to customise the background and colour scheme as well as some of the information it contains.

When adding your brand identity, remember to make sure it is strong — that it says all you need it to say. We recommend you use your logo for your icon.

And we suggest you make use of the channel art that is displayed as a banner at the top of your YouTube page. It’s a great tool for branding your channel’s identity. Remember to add links to your banner. And bear in mind that the channel art will look different on desktops, mobile devices and TV displays.

You are then ready to post your first video. Again, it’s vital that it’s in keeping with your brand.

Once you’ve uploaded a few videos, carefully create your channel structure so that your videos are orderly and make more sense to viewers. You’ll then need to create a trailer for your channel to welcome newcomers and entice your audience to stay tuned.

Next you will need to make your channel easy for people to find. And, depending on the size of your business, you may want to add team members.

It’s important that you verify your account so that you can access other features. To access even more, join the YouTube Partner Program.

If you would like any help with all, or any, of these steps, you know where we are.

Fast forward

As you begin your video posting journey, you will want to test the water and measure your results (more on that in a moment) so you can make informed decisions on what is most likely to work for you.

To start, we recommend you post three times a week and that you tweak this accordingly. If you need to choose between quality and quantity, go for quality every time.

In terms of what to post, the newsletter we sent out in February may help you with this. Using video is a great way to humanise your brand, so think about an About Us video to show off your business and your Team. Video is also a great way to talk about the products and services you offer.

As you continue to develop your channel and drive it forward, it might help to keep in mind that the latest consumer fad is simplifying, decluttering, and relaxing. If there are ways that you feel you can lock in on this, it could be very beneficial.

If you are considering advertising on YouTube, you’ll want to know that twice as many SMEs are advertising than in 2016, which is very telling, we think. And that, perhaps, unsurprisingly, the platform’s mobile ads attract viewer attention 83% of the time compared to TV ads which command around just 45%.

One other point on YouTube ads: make sure they’re audible. This will help with brand awareness (just for starters).

Like to know more about YouTube's performance?

With any marketing campaign, you will want to be sure that your efforts are paying off; that any time or money invested is time or money being well spent.

YouTube will be no different. You will need to monitor how it is working for you and your brand through YouTube Analytics and fine tune your efforts accordingly.

When checking how well you are faring, pay attention to any major changes in your subscriber numbers. And check for variations in your viewer demographics.

Look at your video playback locations and your traffic sources.

We always advise you read all comments you receive. The information you can glean from these is tantamount to analysis gold dust. They can really help to guide you when it comes to tweaking your channel.

YouTube’s place as the second most visited website in the world probably tells you all you need to know.

If done right, you can integrate your brand through this well-established platform and create brand awareness and additional profit at the same time.

If it’s something you’re considering channelling your energies into yet feel you’d like to chat it over, give us a call anytime.