YouTube marketing is one of the best small business marketing tools, but it is still very underutilized. Social media strategy usually revolves around Facebook, Twitter, and in some cases LinkedIn (with the highly driven going for Instagram and Pinterest, too, if it fits their business model). However, there is an audience ready and waiting on YouTube.
Recent research revealed that 83 percent of moms visit YouTube over the course of a month, typically watching videos every other day and watching five videos during the visit. If you do the math, that’s about 70 videos – or 70 opportunities for companies to create the video that she is watching or be the advertiser. The same popularity can be tracked across most markets and demographics.
7 Tips for Small Businesses to Maximize YouTube’s Marketing Potential
Some videos even have the potential to go viral and can launch a small business into the limelight. To optimize your efforts on YouTube, remember a few cardinal rules:
Link to your site
It’s great to have people watch your video and share it, but the goal is to drive sales so be sure to include a link back to your site. Put the link in the video description box and you can have it in the video itself.
Track your traffic
Just like all other online traffic, you need to monitor YouTube traffic to optimize your strategy. Most marketing plans need a tweak once they are applied. Some small businesses find that YouTube is a leading avenue of online traffic and sales.
Pay attention to descriptions
Descriptions should be interesting and informative – and written with SEO in mind. YouTube is owned and operated by Google so SEO rules apply. The title, tag, and category fields will also help drive traffic.
Creativity is key
Effective marketing is memorable and often funny. Take time to think through the video’s content and infuse wit to get people interested. Watch your competitors’ videos and aim to make a video that stands out from them.
Use your network
Word-of-mouth is the most effect marketing method and that remains true online. Ask customers to post videos of them enjoying your products or services, and giving reviews. Naturally, this also increases your brand’s online footprint.
Incorporate the videos
Videos don’t only live on YouTube. YouTube videos can also be used to create landing pages that drive traffic directly to your site. As a bonus, the video ranks, as well.
Post consistently and often
Posting as little as one video per week can give traffic a major boost. The simple rule is the more videos you create and put up, the more visitors you get.
