As one of the largest marketing and entertainment platforms available today, YouTube offers users millions of hours of content, all at no charge. Boasting over 30 million daily visitors, this free platform is the second most trafficked website behind Google. So, what exactly makes this site so successful?
The Success of YouTube
YouTube started off as a platform for creative individuals to share their craft or stories with others. It has now grown to a content hub with a wide range of subjects ranging from product reviews and video game walkthroughs, to major podcasts and full productions. With YouTube being purchased by Google in 2006 for $1.65 Billion USD, its presence has never been more relevant. Although the main revenue source comes from video ads, YouTube has recently began offering user subscriptions to access additional content.
Business Benefits
By now it's easy to see that YouTube is the place to be for your business. With close to 2 Billion users worldwide, YouTube can be beneficial for all types of business models. There are many different tactics to promoting your business on the platform. Some of these could be:
- Informative Videos: Becoming an industry expert and posting informative videos is a great way to gain authority for your channel. Proving your value through teaching will bring users back to learn more.
- Promotional Videos: The most obvious video type for any business is a promotional video. These can raise awareness to offers or events your business is currently running. As your subscriber base grows, your promotion revenue will follow.
- How-To Videos: Very similar to the informative videos, how-to videos can portray your business's value and knowledge. These videos can cover more specific tasks or projects.
- Product Reviews: Video reviews are currently a very popular video type online. These could be reviewing a product your company sells or programs your company runs. Users are always looking for firsthand recommendations.
- Advertisements: If you feel that your name is not getting out there and you have the available budget, give paid advertisements a try. Although "free" always feels better, making your business visible on relevant channels can boost your web traffic.
General Best Practices
Although there are endless ways to promote your business, there are a few best practices everyone should follow.
- Stand Out: As stated above, there are currently millions of videos and users on YouTube. The best way to gain traction is to bring something new or better to the site that no other channels are currently doing.
- High Quality: Hold your videos to a high standard. Do not start releasing content just to release content. Make sure that anything that gets published to your channel is something you're proud of. Always think quality over quantity. Your users will notice the difference.
- Fill-in the Blanks: Make sure all your videos are titled and tagged properly. Filling in these simple identifiers is crucial to your video's visibility.
- Stay Consistent: Putting out content on a regular or scheduled basis will help to keep your user retention. No matter the type of content you're producing, giving your subscribers a set time to check back to your channel will increase user frequency.
Is your business being properly represented on YouTube? Are you taking full advantage of potential business growth? If you answered no to these questions and would like to try out this beneficial platform, contact the experts on the Informatics Digital Marketing Team.
