If you use YouTube as a way to boost your business, you may find the this article helpful. TV vs. YouTube: that’s an issue of today’s marketers and small business people. Where should they invest the money to promote their products effectively? You can create the best ad ever but unless you deliver it direct to your audience, it’s just waste of money.
The stardom of traditional print or TV advertising belongs in the past, or at least doesn’t work so well when compared to the costs we put into creating these ads. Ask friends your age when was the last time they discovered a new product by reading papers or watching TV. They will probably tell you the only ads they have lately seen were placed on YouTube, unless they use an ad blocker.
Ads have always played a role in our lives and evoked different emotions in us: amusement, the desire to relax or travel, hunger, and thus consideration of product purchase. In this busy time we are losing a choice to pay attention to the ads, thus marketers should find another way how to communicate.
Honestly, watching a movie on TV is a relic, because it takes twice its time due to ads. Also watching news on TV is being replaced by reading it on the internet. When people were asked when they prefer to watch, read, or hear news, 33% report following the news all throughout the day.
People who own and use more devices are no more or less likely to use print publications, television, or radio to access the news.
On the other hand, watching YouTube is more natural and intuitive as you look for information there. It is a place where you can learn how to knit socks with Nordic patterns, how to make the best crème brulée for your girlfriend or how to fix a dishwasher. Every day people watch YouTube for hours and generate billions of views. It, of course, depends on who your customer is.
Many SMBs target just millennials (or Generation Y) – young people between 18 – 34 years old, tech-savvy and socially conscious consumers. That is no wonder, because as the largest demographic group in the United States, and likely to follow trends, they are spending approximate more than $1.3 trillion annually.
So it really is worth targeting them and be responsive to their needs and lifestyle. How better to capture the attention of people who spend most of the time staring at their phones than digital marketing? The best working methods include social media influencers as YouTubers, Instagrammers, Bloggers, Snapchatters, et al. who are so popular today.
Make your brand visible on YouTube
Video is the most engaging medium available online today. It allows you to build an emotional bond between your brand and customers. It is highly effective, and by following few tips you can easily create video yourself at minimum costs. Get more views, more subscribers, and make your content reaching wider audience. Follow the next few tips on using YouTube to boost your channel and promote your brand.
Cooperate with other YouTube creators
Find some other YouTube creators making content related to your own and try to make a collab video together. The other option is guest appearance in your videos. Make an interview with a specialist or popular person from the field of your interest. Both ways mean exposing your brand to your partner’s entire audience and therefore, a bigger audience! How do you find appropriate YouTubers to collaborate with? Look for channels similar to yours, get involved in the conversations on their channels, and then suggest a mutually beneficial collaboration.
Build your own community
This part lasts a bit longer, but if you successfully build your brand personality, you will win. This is not much about counting page views and likes, but creating a specific audience loyal to and loving your brand. It´s up to you to target and form your community with the channels and content you use. What you want is to bring them naturally back to your channel, so they must find something interesting there.
Here you come to the point, when you should know what your customers are looking for on the internet and put your product in front of their eyes. What are their hobbies or problems to solve at work? Google Analytics simply shows you the way they found you. Then you just put your ad on the viewed or related page. This is why it is worth watching analytics and learn from them.
Once you build the community, keep the participants interested. Educate your viewers, and bring useful news and topics. The way to build relationship with your customers requires more effort but is very effective in the long term view.
Endorsement deals with YouTubers
A very popular way to support your community growth is to engage the third party recommendations who don’t appear to benefit from the promotion. Invest in other YouTubers, which will certainly pay off. Even SMBs can do video marketing using YouTube and make partnerships with YouTubers. They can present your product inconspicuously to their fans and make them think about your existence.
Just be sure to find appropriate YouTubers with relevant audiences for you. These techniques are usually paid but relatively low cost with huge impact to millennials. Thanks to engaging and authentic content, it helps you to connect with your customers more effectively and make your brand visible.
Should I pay more to YouTubers to get better promotion?
No. First and foremost, it depends on your product category and thus audience. Undoubtedly, YouTubers with thousands of followers are a great influencers and also opinion-makers for some people, but when it comes to a brand or a product promotion, bigger does not automatically mean better. If you want to address your target group, a quality of subscribers is over quantity. The best way would be to find a YouTuber that is strongly related to your product or service for three simple reasons:
1) YouTubers are loyal to their audience and attempt to provide trustworthy and best experiences. Viewers will not believe promoting brands or products, that could endanger YouTuber’s popularity.
2) It is easier for a YouTuber to make seamless connection with your product in their video, while they can understand its benefits or philosophy.
3) They can reach wider audience than you expect. You never know who else can find your product interesting or useful. More people you reach more you can sell.
Investing in the right YouTubers might be cheaper and more effective than making a great marketing campaign with famous actors (who have actually nothing to do with your product category).
Listen to your fans
Social media represents a fantastic feedback and analytics tool as everyone can react in comment sections. Millennials, especially, do not hesitate to express themselves in stronger ways. Though it is not nice to come across negative comments, if they are factual, they can help a business to reveal its weaknesses. Speaking up about problems and solving them is a good way to build relationships with your customers. More than half (51%) of those who complained in the past will react positively if you message them directly. It is also important to reach out to those with positive things to say! Just comment with thanks so that you let them know your brand is listening. How could you do all this with classic TV ad?
Change
It may turn out that engaging YouTubers don´t bring expected results. You can even find out YouTube is not the best communication channel for your brand. But unless you try you may never know. Don’t be afraid to change your strategy if the current approach seems ineffective, and keep the channel growing in popularity. Try also other marketing sources, reach your audience in different ways and see what works the best. It is time of social media now and young people are willing to respond to your activities. Use it as your advantage, be social!
The answer is in your data
Being active on most of the social sites, writing beautiful emails and most importantly, offering a great product or service is useless until you deliver it the right way. Don’t spend your energy creating incorrect content, using wrong channels or targeting people you wish to be your customers but they are not. You have all these facts and much more in your hands. You just need to find a way of how to translate data to relevant information for your business. Learn a bit about analytics and take your data as an advantage and deliver the right content to the right audience via the right channels.
Back to you
What do you think about my first article for GetResponse? I’d love to know what you think. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.