YouTube is more than a platform for personal entertainment after work. YouTube has become a search engine for specific B2B content. Often times Google displays tagged videos above Wikipedia pages in the search results.
More and more companies have understood this. They use videos to communicate to their customers and have a great number of views. If we consider that 72% of Swiss watched YouTube clips in 2015 regularly and 22% have subscribed to a business channel, YouTube should definitely have a place in the cross channel media strategy. A quick glance at the digital landscape shows that other video platforms are only the supporting cast while YouTube is clearly the star of video streaming. This means that YouTube definitely has the potential to draw a lot of traffic and generate views for B2B clips.
What Content Is Suitable for a YouTube Channel?
YouTube can be used for various kinds of content. Many companies have realized that it does not necessarily take a costly film production to reach clients. Why? Authenticity does the trick! The content itself is more important than Oscar-worthy editing, camera angles and sound effects. Customers want either to be entertained or informed, for example with helpful video manuals for products. Studies indicate that customers are more inclined to buy something after they have watched a product video. That is why videos about products have a top priority for businesses interested in video marketing. Tutorials are popular as well. As a positive side effect, businesses relieve their support of some of the workload with insightful tutorials. Videos on YouTube are accessible 24/7 and once they are online, they do not require any further labor.
Videos that document trade fares, company events or expeditions are popular as well. They also present a cost-effective alternative to costly image films. Employee interviews can provide a glimpse behind the scenes and may be used to introduce products or have a positive effect on the employer brand.
A quick summary of what video content businesses may consider presenting on their YouTube channel:
- entertaining, funny clips to emotionalize viewers
- product and service information
- application-specific tutorials
- company events
- exhibitions
- employee and manager interviews
- recruiting videos
YouTube Best Practice
To find our what works well with audiences, research the channels of other businesses. This is true for large cooperations and small and medium sized businesses.
Building a YouTube Channel
Develop concept
No relevancy without demand. Think of the questions customers might have with regard to your products and services. People are not looking for pure self-display, but for added value. Start with your customer service: which are the issues customers often have and develop content on the basis of these insights.
Create YouTube content
Do an inventory of the videos you already have (exhibitions, image film, products etc.). Do these videos suffice as a basis or do you have to create more content to get your channel started? Your YouTube channel should also be in line with your image and your overall output in terms of communications strategy and guidelines. An editorial plan can be very helpful for planning future shoots. Determine who of your marketing team takes the responsibility for your YouTube marketing.
Create YouTube channel
It is rather easy to create a branded YouTube channel with a Google+ account. The channel symbol should be your logo, the channel picture an image that customers are familiar with regarding your past communication. This is about being recognizable.
Measure and optimize
YouTube offers its users YouTube Analytics, a tool that provides insights on the success of your activities. The tool tells you for example which of your clips gets people to subscribe to your channel. There are also other social media analysis tools that will provide valuable insights (some of them are freeware).
Integrate YouTube channel
An important aspect is the integration with your other marketing channels. YouTube clips can be easily integrated into your website or social media channels. But also use links in your YouTube videos to draw viewers to your other communication channels such as product landing pages.
SEO
Pay attention to the title tags for your clips. Google uses these tags to evaluate content and deliver search results to users. If your videos already show up in the search results, create rich snippets using the Video Rich Snipped Generator. People are more likely to watch videos that have a preview.
Learn more about YouTube here:
YouTube: When Ads Become Content
Video Publishing: Generate New Leads and Make Existing Customers Happy
Read more about Social Media Marketing.
