By Gloria Chow
Source: www.business2community.com, January 2021
YouTube, which was started in 2005, has now grown to be the second-largest search engine in the world, just behind Google. There are over 2 billion users, and hundreds of hours of video content are uploaded every minute.
It’s been around for 16 years, and there are already tons of popular channels to occupy every niche and content idea. So, if you’re yet to start a YouTube channel for your business, is it too late to enter this competitive space now?
No, it’s never too late. Google was founded in 1998, and millions of websites are still competing for being on the first-page result. YouTube is not as crowded, and the popularity of video content continues rising in the future.
I recently published an article on how to start a profitable YouTube channel for beginners. It includes all the basics (best practices for YouTube channel art, optimizing YouTube video upload for best exposure, and driving traffic to your website and social media accounts), so I don’t have to repeat them here.
In this article, we’ll solely focus on YouTube marketing for your business. And here are the top three tips.
Target Transactional Keywords
As a small business without the budget and resources to produce dozens of videos every month, you have to focus on creating a few targeted, high-quality videos that people actually want to view.
This means creating videos for topics that there’s a demand for.
Out of three primary traffic sources for most YouTube videos: search, suggested, and home, you should target at gaining search views as suggested views and home views are usually crowded with content from popular channels.
To gain search views, you’ll need to target high-volume, low-competition keywords. Additionally, target transactional keywords that indicate the searcher’s intent to purchase or take action soon. This can give the highest conversion rate.
Add Strong Call-To-Action(s)
While many suggest adding a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of the video, most people simply don’t watch the entire video.
The first 15 seconds of a video is usually what people pay attention to, and this is where you should include a CTA. An ideal flow would be: start off with something that grabs attention > give an overview of what your video is about > and add a CTA.
It’s best to offer something of value for the CTA at the opening, such as a free demo of your product or a download for free resources. Selling your viewer too early could be counter-productive. By offering something of value to get your viewer’s email address, you can then design email campaigns to convert them into customers.
And at the end of your video, you can add a strong CTA that asks viewers to check out your products or services.
Create Valuable Content
Instead of making every video on your brand YouTube channel a TV commercial, create valuable content that attracts and builds a community.
Besides product videos, testimonials, and how-tos that are created around your products, consider making behind-the-scene and team videos that show the human side of your brand. Let viewers know your team and business story can build a strong rapport. As the saying goes, people buy stories before they buy stuff.
Additionally, make knowledge videos that share expert tips and educational content relating to your industry. This can effectively establish your authority in the field and be beneficial to your business overall.
Final Thoughts
It’s not too late to start a YouTube channel for your business, but you’re not early either. This is why you have to spend extra effort crafting your YouTube marketing strategy to reach the right audience and convert. It’s always competitive and crowded, but with the right approach, it’ll be worth it.
