YouTube is an effective online tool for building a community with people who interested in the type of business or service you have to offer. As one of the two top searched platforms for information, there are compelling reasons to include YouTube in your digital marketing plan. A key strategy for the best way in which to use YouTube is to think about the production of “How To” videos and tutorials that people can use to both learn to do something, but also learn about your business.
YouTube builds on Google My Business
YouTube builds on the strength of your Google My Business platform. It is important to build that platform before launching your YouTube Channel. You can then launch a YouTube Business channel on the platform. Like all other social media sites, YouTube will require uploading your logo, a series of photos and a business profile. Your Channel will remain nameless (eg., a series of random letters and numbers) until you have 100 followers of your channel to ask YouTube for a name change to reflect the name of your business.
It is a good idea to look at the videos or competing businesses or organizations similar to your business for ideas about what you might want to create. Equally important is to know your own clientele so that you speak to their level of expertise and create videos that they will find useful. For example, you would not want to create basic wiring instructions if your business sells only to licensed contractors.
Tag YouTube videos with key words and rich descriptions
Once you have uploaded your video, you will need to give it a title that is easily searched, describe the video and create key words that would help people find the post on a search of YouTube. It is also important to button the video down for security. You can determine whether people can comment, ask questions or what users can do with your intellectual property. The other feature that is critical is that you will need to transcribe any video that includes sound. While YouTube provides an automated transcription program, it is never accurate. You will need to don headsets and actually correct or provide an original transcription. All videos must have ADA-compliant transcriptions.
Keep videos short
The rule in television news is that 1 minute and 15 seconds is a feature “Gone with the Wind” news story. Unless you are providing very detailed information or instructions, you are well advised to keep your videos short and very to the point.