Why A YouTube Channel Is Essential For Your Company’s Success
Do you know what the second most popular search engine in the world is? Could it be Bing, Yahoo? Wrong and wrong. Believe it or not, it’s YouTube. You probably didn’t even think of YouTube as a search engine until just now. But billions of people use YouTube’s professional and not so professional videos as a source of facts, research, entertainment and income every day.
The next question should have a simple answer: do you want your brand to be on YouTube? If your answer is anything other than yes, you need to reassess your priorities right away. Unless you’re a brand that produces something that literally everyone needs and has no competitors, you can benefit from putting your professional and corporate videos on YouTube.
But making your company stand out on YouTube isn’t just as simple as making a few professional videos and expecting a large audience to come to you. No, like all social media platforms, there are nuances, tricks, tips and a whole host of ways that you can get yourself ahead.
These are the reasons why YouTube is vital, and how to make it pay off for your brand:
1. YouTube Is Google
Not only is YouTube the number 2 search engine on the globe, but it’s owned by the biggest, Google. Putting your video productions on YouTube has the double whammy effect of promoting you on the video platform and improving your SEO rankings. In an age where Google is constantly updating its algorithms and criteria for what makes a company rank in searches, you can bet that YouTube will remain important. It’s in Google’s best interests after all! Just make sure you keyword your videos and fill out the descriptions to get that extra boost!
2. It’s Incredible Networking (No, Really)
Use YouTube as a social media platform, and it will pay off. Wait: It’s a search engine. It’s Google. It’s a social media site. Is there anything that YouTube isn’t? Unless you’re crazy, your brand probably has a Facebook page, LinkedIn page, Twitter handle, Instagram profile and so on. You’re using all these platforms to promote your brand and maybe even your corporate videos to an audience. But here’s where YouTube has an added advantage: it’s the prime space for co-branding. We’re sure you’ve used your personal social media profiles for networking purposes. On LinkedIn, you can apply for jobs. On Facebook, you can message people on an informal level. Well, some companies are doing something similar on YouTube, but with other companies. And you can see it in their video productions. Here’s an example: You probably remember when that guy did the largest skydive of all time. You probably also remember that the energy drink company Red Bull was behind it. But did you know that they teamed up with GoPro to maximize its audience? The cameras used were GoPro Hero 2s. And GoPro raved about this collaboration on YouTube like crazy. Both brands realized that they make similar YouTube content, saw an alignment and turned it into something that paid off for both! A more simple (and cheaper) way of social networking with YouTube is to simply subscribe to lots of your audience members. They’ll probably follow back!
3. It’s The Best Place To Establish Your Brand As A Thought Leader
YouTube’s share of web traffic is huge. In the last 12 months, it comprised more than 16% of all webviews in the US, making it the third most popular website in the world, behind only Google and Facebook. As you know, Google isn’t exactly built to host your brand’s content. Facebook can do this, but it isn’t a place where people are always focused. Instead, they’re skimming through their posts. YouTube on the other hand is where people go to stop and focus on one thing for a few minutes. That’s why so many brands are putting out “how to” video productions on YouTube. Just look at Home Depot’s YouTube channel. It’s filled with “how to” videos. Its most viewed video is, “How to replace or install a toilet.” This video isn’t flashy, but it shows people how to do something essential, which has helped Home Depot to the tune of 2.6 million views just for that video. You can do this. It’ll take a bit of time, but these video productions can establish you as a thought leader!
On top of this, there are a million other ways to benefit from YouTube. However, every brand, non-profit, freelancer and individual is different. The most important thing to remember is that you need YouTube to work for you and your audience. Spend some time working out what they need, and it’ll be a vital resource for your brand’s success!
