YouTube is without doubt one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, with 2billion+ userslogging in from over 100 countries and in 80 different languages.

The platform is owned by Google, which gives you an indication of the huge reach that YouTube has as a digital marketing channel. Having started out as a video upload site in 2005, YouTube has gradually evolved to become the standard hub for hosting your company’s video content. It’s most people’s first port of call for consumer advice, education, entertainment, music and movie clips and content from the ever-growing army of YouTube influencers.

YouTube is certainly a platform where your business should have a presence. But what else can you do other than uploading the occasional video?

Key reasons to get proactive with YouTube

We’ve come a long way since YouTube was full of cats ‘playing’ the piano and people accidentally falling off skateboards. What you have at your disposal is a video platform with billions of potential viewers, and a two-way communication channel with your target audience – and that has massive potential for your marketing.

Video marketing is a key part of the marketing mix, and has become a useful way to bring your brand to life. Whereas still images and plain text content can seem more distant and impersonal, video content that features you and your team can be a great way to bring your customers and prospects ‘inside the world of your brand’.

These are the key ways to get up and running with YouTube:

• Create your YouTube account – to begin with, you’ll need to create an account for your company. Once you have registered and shared all your company details, you can then customise the look of your channel, upload your logo and channel images and make the channel fit your brand as closely as possible. This will be the core hub for your video content, so it needs to create the right impression with your followers.
• Upload fresh content on a regular basis – as with all social platforms, you’ll get more from YouTube if you post new, engaging content on a frequent basis. Uploading one video and then doing nothing for six months is not going to get you a following. Create a content plan for your videos and aim to highlight as many sides of the business as possible. Upload videos of your last event, introduce members of staff, give product demos or show recordings of your most recent webinar. Keep it fresh and keep it regular.
• Interact with your follower’s comments – one of YouTube’s key features is obviously the comments section – the place where your followers get to leave their feedback, comments and questions. This can be an excellent two-way communication channel, so be sure to review the comments and reply to people. Thank people for positive comments, and try to find out what people with negative comments would like to see instead – this is a golden opportunity to ask your audience what they’re looking for.
• Try a YouTube Live session – YouTube isn’t just for pre-recorded video. You can also ‘go live’ and stream from your account via YouTube Live. This can be an excellent way to broadcast from your latest event, hold a demo of your latest product or have a Q&A with your followers. You’ll need the confidence to present and respond to questions and feedback, but it gives you a very immediate and direct link to your audience.
• Get your account verified – as your following grows, you may want to think about getting your business account verified, and getting that all-important verification tick. You’ll need to have over 100,000 subscribers to your YouTube channel to do this, but it can be a good way to heighten your professional standing as a company and bring some assurance to your followers that this is a genuine company account for the brand.
• Try out YouTube Advertising – as with many of the more established social media platforms, YouTube now offers paid advertising as an additional option for business users. YouTube Advertising gets your video-based adverts in front of a gigantic audience and helps you to raise the profile of the brand in your territory and worldwide. You only pay for the ads when they’re watched, and YouTube provides analytics to help you review your engagement and conversation and improve the ROI on your ad campaigns.

Start exploring the benefits of YouTube for Business

YouTube has become such a key part of the online world that it’s a no-brainer to think about creating a presence for your brand on this core social media platform.

By creating bespoke video content, communicating closely with your audience and making use of the best streaming and advertising features, you can make YouTube an integral part of your digital marketing strategy.