If you’re a business owner, you need to go where your audience is. Today, your audience is very likely to be on YouTube, whether it’s night or day. Mobile and desktop usage show similar patterns, and an entire generation of Internet users is focused on the creation and duration of unique content. Tapping into this community by aligning your video production standards to what they’re looking for can increase your business exposure tremendously.
You only have to look at viral videos to see how powerful a single video can be. Releasing the right video can shape your brand image and get people interested in what you have to say practically overnight. Here are some strategies to increase your business exposure through YouTube.
Interconnect YouTube with Other Platforms:
Don’t treat your YouTube account as a separate identity or entity altogether. Make sure you have linked back and forth from your main company website to your YouTube page, that you’re providing similar branding and content, and that you are presenting the kind of content your business followers want to see. You can find your audience with YouTube, then motivate them to take the action you need.
Make Sure Your Videos aren’t Ad-focused:
People don’t like watching ads unless they are clever. If you’re running a commercial or product demo, make sure it’s clever, funny, or catchy somehow. The content has to be engaging or people won’t bother finishing watching your video. For example, the Dollar Shave Club video or Old Spice video campaigns became viral because they were ad campaigns with engaging content.
Be Patient and Invest Some Time:
It’s easier to release a hit video when you have a huge audience. Everyone starts with zero views and zero subscribers. It’s all about what you do after very first video, which often feels like shouting into the void. Keep producing content, commenting on others’ videos, linking customers to your videos, and so on. Respond to every comment you get and interact with your followers. It will take time and patience before you build an audience.
Make Sure Your Channel Looks Great:
The new channel design is constantly changing, but right now, you need a great header to make the most of your channel. Leverage the design by finding a YouTube header template and personalizing it, and create a trailer to get non-subscribers to subscribe to your channel. Call your viewers to action and ask them to subscribe at the end of the video, and make it as easy as possible.
Use Your Videos to Get the SEO Boost:
Ensure you include keywords in your video’s title and description so that people will see your video when searching for them. Make sure you include a transcript or subtitles for extra SEO benefit, and include a riveting thumbnail that gets people wanting to click the video and watch it from a search engine.
These strategies will help you brand your business on YouTube. You can get more exposure, attract an audience, and call people to action so they will buy, subscribe, listen, or otherwise welcome you when they see your videos on their desktop or mobile devices.
Elizabeth,
Thanks for this short but effective blog post on YouTube videos. You are absolutely correct — it takes time to build up the audience. And a lot of people forget about how important the keywords are for getting their videos found. Use the keywords in Title, description and Tags! But don’t over do it! And getting the transcript posted is another great idea! Thanks.
~ Jupiter Jim