Videos are excellent tools to help businesses tell their story.
Facebook gets most of the attention when it comes to social media, but you should seriously also consider using YouTube for your marketing efforts. More than 30 million people visit YouTube each day, meaning many of your current and potential customers are on YouTube every day. It can be used for learning how to cook something, how to repair a car, listen to music, or watch full-length movies. It can also be used to spread your message to new prospects.
The most recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults finds Facebook and YouTube dominate our social media landscape. Strong majorities of U.S. adults use both sites. You may not think of YouTube as social media, but the most popular video-sharing site has many social elements. It's currently used by almost three-quarters of U.S adults and 94% of those 18 to 24 years and 83% of 25-29 year-olds (source).
There are many benefits to using YouTube for marketing.
- It's free! You can create your own YouTube channel without paying a dime to the website. Adding content doesn't cost anything either.
- The world (or the channel) is your oyster. You can have a podcast, give a PowerPoint presentation, simply talk into the camera, record an interview with a key employee or happy customer, create a video on the need your company fills, demo your product, or talk about all the great things you do and the fantastic employees at your company to help with recruiting efforts.
- Go ahead, show off your products and services. If you sell a product, you can demonstrate how to use or assemble it. If you provide a service, you can explain what you do. You can upload videos of the types of plumbing problems you fix, demonstrate how well you mow lawns or do a short "day in the life" video of your legal practice showing the type of cases and issues you handle. Product videos can increase purchases of the product by 144%. Need I say more?!
- It’s okay to brag. Show clients your expertise. Demonstrate why you're so good at what you do. Show before and after videos of house repairs. Discuss important tax issues impacting the clients of your accounting firm. You might not only obtain customers directly, but those impressed with your practice or business may refer others to you.
Once you create videos, you should post them on other channels as well, like Facebook, LinkedIn, and your company website.
Creating and uploading videos to YouTube can be easy; however, it is important not to underestimate the benefit of quality content. Visually appealing & engaging content can make or break your chances of attracting new leads in a heartbeat. Before getting your business up and running on the platform, take a second to outline your goals, resources, and budget! This does not mean that you need Hollywood level production. Consider local production companies or contractors that specialize in high-quality video & audio production.
Well...are you convinced? Is YouTube the next social media platform for you and your business?
