August 17th, 2020 | Updated on September 20th, 2021
With over a billion users across more than 90 countries, YouTube offers businesses a platform to reach out to their potential customers. In fact, with such a wide reach, YouTube allows businesses to expand their reach beyond the local market.
The fact that videos are memorable and emotionally stimulating is one of the main reasons why they are able to grab the attention of people efficiently. As a brand, you can leverage the power of video to not just boost brand awareness but also engage in meaningful engagement with your target group. With YouTube being the leading video website, content on YouTube has the power to dominate Google search results as well.
Top businesses have leveraged the power of YouTube to chart their story of growth. In this article, we shall discuss some YouTube marketing strategies adopted by top businesses that you can incorporate in your business as well.
Set Up A YouTube Business Account
Even if you are the only one in your organization who knows how to edit videos for YouTube, as your business grows, you will not have the time to manage the YouTube account singlehandedly. Top businesses have foreseen their growth and established YouTube business channels early in their journey.
To do that, you need to have a brand account with Google. The brand account does not need a different set of credentials. You as well authorized members of your team can use the brand account to manage Google My Business, YouTube, and other business services.
Start by logging in to YouTube with your regular Google account and click on the profile icon that you will find in the top right corner on your screen. This will open up a drop-down menu, and you need to select the ‘Settings’ option.
Select the ‘See all my channels or create a new channel’ under the ‘Your Account’ option. If you have a brand account, it should show up here, and you just need to select that. Else, click on ‘Create a new channel,’ enter the brand name, and select the ‘Create’ option.
As you have created the YouTube brand channel, you are the manager here, and only you can add or remove user roles, add managers, or even delete the channel. To add a member, you again need to go to ‘Settings’ under the profile icon. Here, you will find the option to add or remove the manager’s right next to the ‘Managers’ option.
These managers will be able to upload videos on YouTube on the brand’s official handle. Although you might not feel the need for a YouTube business account right away (especially if you are a small business), but the earlier you start, the better it is for your business growth.
Optimize Your YouTube Channel
A look at the YouTube journey of most top businesses would reveal that they did not start uploading videos immediately after creating a brand account. For a potential customer, the first look at the brand’s YouTube page gives an idea of what is and whether it is worth subscribing.
That is why top brands invest their efforts at perfecting their YouTube channel, and here are some tips that you can pick up from them.
Customize Your Channel Design
The idea behind customizing your cannel design is to make the page easily recognizable among your target group. Maintaining brand consistency across multiple channels like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter will give a boost to your marketing plans.
You can use a YouTube intro maker to come up with cover photos and profile image that you can upload here to represent your business to viewers.
1. Update The About Section
Compose content for this section, keeping in mind that it is only the first 100 to 150 characters that you write here will show in the search result. While your description can go for well more than 150 characters, make a conscious effort to use this section to tell people what your brand is all about. Keep it as short as possible while using keywords as this will determine your YouTube’s SEO rankings.
In this section, you can add your location, email address, and other details as well. Any links that you add here will show up over the cover image. This provides a golden opportunity for you to initiate CTAs such as ‘Book Now” or “Click to Know More!” and then direct interested viewers to your brand website. Other links that you can incorporate here include links to your social media pages, LinkedIn, or company website.
2. Focus On Video
Once you have your brand channel ready, the next step is to gear up to make videos. As a business, you should be having a target group around which you operate. Try to find out the type of video content they engage with to understand what you should be doing. Chalk out the type of videos that you will be doing, and based on the resources at hand, decide on how frequently you will be posting videos.
Maintaining a regularity of content is primal to catching the attention of your viewers. Also, ensure that your videos have some takeaway and are not simply promoting your brand. This will help people stay hooked to your channel and keep coming back for more content.
Another essential part of your YouTube marketing strategy is ensuring that there is no compromise on the quality of your videos. Plan every video well in advance to ensure that it has a proper structure and storytelling. The YouTube outro is often the deciding factor in the success of a marketing video. Any compromise on this will cost you dearly.
Considering the fact that creating a channel is free on YouTube, this platform is an ideal choice for small businesses on a limited budget. The high reach gives them a fairground to compete with larger firms and establish their stand. A look into the success stories of most of the top businesses of recent years will reveal that YouTube has been an instrumental part of their marketing plans.
