YouTube is no longer just a place to go to for entertainment. In the last few years, it has grown into an invaluable business resource. According to a survey by Wyzowl, 84 percent of consumers say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video. Even with a low budget, videos can attract and educate both customers and prospects. Those are just some of the advantages of YouTube for business.
Today, video is proving to be more effective than text or even static image marketing content. Almost three-fourths of marketers say video returns better ROI than static imagery, and 68 percent get better ROI with video than text ads, such as Google ads.
Whether you’re explaining product benefits, broadcasting customer testimonials, or offering FAQs on how to do maintenance or small repairs, YouTube is an effective way to get the world’s attention. Here are six advantages of YouTube for business that you should know about.
1. Take advantage of YouTube’s huge, global audience
With more than two billion users logging on monthly, YouTube is the world’s second most-visited website. The average person stays on the site for nearly 20 minutes per viewing session. Pew reported that 73 percent of Americans watch videos on YouTube—making it the most widely used online platform among adults. In fact, no other platform has a comparable scope and reach.
And YouTube is not just the second most popular website. After Google, it’s the second most popular search engine. With the right search engine optimization (SEO) keywords and hashtags, you can attract your target audience from the millions of consumers who are online at any moment.
2. Jumpstart a conversation with your customers
With YouTube videos, you can start a conversation that sets you up as an expert in your industry. Videos also offer the opportunity for your audience to engage with you. YouTube allows consumers to like, share, and comment on your content like other social media platforms. Users who enjoy what they view can also “subscribe” to your channel. This will alert them when you upload a new video or recommend another.
And keep in mind that engagement is a two-way street. You should also be active in your industry’s YouTube community and make recommendations to consumers as to what else they should watch (not direct competitors, of course). Building connections with your audience is a critical aspect in social selling or the act of growing your small business through relationships. Be generous with your likes and comments and make your channel the go-to place for understanding what’s going on in your particular market niche.
3. Continuously measure and improve your content
Every YouTube video you upload can be tracked via the free Insight feature. It shows you the number of views, demographics, community, and subscribers that a video gets over time. Even more critically, YouTube provides you with “discovery” data that identifies how people are finding your videos, including the links they followed to get there.
You can use these stats to run A/B experiments with your videos. Try different titles and descriptions. Play with keywords—they help audiences find content relevant to them. Fine-tune until you hit gold. Calculating these metrics and doing these experiences help you in ways that transcend the YouTube platform. They can help you understand what your target audience is looking for or spark ideas for positioning your products or services in new ways.
4. Make customer support more efficient
You can also post videos showing how to address common issues or challenges with your products and services. Almost half (43 percent) of small businesses say that videos have reduced the number of support calls they’ve received. This allows your team to focus on the more complex support cases and other activities of more value to the business.
If you regularly get the same questions, from existing customers or prospects, an FAQ video can both explain and demonstrate the answer.
Instructions on product assembly or operations can more easily be communicated via video as well. Customers can watch and pause as necessary until they understand how to perform a particular action.
5. Deliver customer stories more powerfully
Tired of posting the same-old customer story told in a formulaic way? Consider posting videos that dramatize the real-life advantages of using your products or services. Getting customers to give brief but enthusiastic testimonials is the easiest way to get into this. But you can also develop deep and rich customer success videos. Although they take more time and effort, they will pay off if you present a compelling—and human—story.
6. Create demos and “explainers” for your product or service
Many consumers want to see products or services in action before they buy. Videos on YouTube are the best way to do that. According to the same survey by Wyzowl, 96 percent of consumers have watched an “explainer” video to learn more about a product or service.
You can create video tours of your products or services that speak to the specific need they fill for consumers and demonstrate how they work. By featuring these videos on YouTube, you showcase your products or services and help build your reputation as an industry expert. You can also use these videos on e-commerce product pages to drive conversions.
Get on the YouTube bandwagon
Leveraging these advantages of YouTube for business marketing will stretch your budget much farther than if you merely buy keywords or run Google ads. Being proactive in using video for your small business can help you grow your business online. For more on small business, check out the Work section of the Quantum Fiber Explore blog.
