Is YouTube a Social Media Giant? – Why You Need It in Your Marketing Mix!

Is YouTube a social media platform with untapped potential?  Well, YouTube has expanded the bounds of traditional entertainment and what that means for the economy. Since its inception in 2005, its main purpose of creating, sharing, and watching videos made by any and everybody has evolved into something different. Whole careers have been launched from YouTube, catapulting people into overnight fame. Those who have been fortunate enough to find this success typically receive more viewers than the average TV network or program.

This presents a different set of potentials that can be stemmed from YouTube popularity. What was simply making videos for your friends and family can become a flourishing career full of new opportunities and stardom based on the trajectory of the platform. An example of this can be seen with YouTuber and influencer Emma Chamberlain. What began as a teenager making relatable videos in her home has now expanded into her becoming one of the most popular celebrities in the world. With a heaping 11.1 million subscribers, Chamberlain now travels the world for work, endorsed by the biggest and most prestigious brands. 

How does this happen? Is YouTube a social media platform where you can receive brand deals, sponsorships, and more? What does this mean for businesses trying to market their product or service? These questions still plague the minds of those who refuse to acknowledge the growing definition of social media success. If you own a brand or business and are looking to expand your reach, getting on the YouTube train may be your best bet. 

YouTube Advertising Services – What YouTube Has Become

YouTube has managed to surpass TV in popularity. This has essentially been unheard of since the beginnings of television and its reach across the world. For a platform like YouTube to outperform the power of TV, there must be an unreasonable number of visitors each day, which, to no surprise of frequent YouTube users, is exactly the case.  

Streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu have naturally replaced people’s inclinations to update their cable subscriptions. But YouTube is also changing the way people enjoy their content. Even TV channels have adapted to the rise of YouTube by creating their own accounts and uploading portions of their shows on it. Unsurprisingly, they accrue more views on YouTube than they do on actual television. 

YouTube can serve as a video marketing tool social media platform for three reasons: YouTube reaches more people than cable TV networks can, 75% of people from newer generations aspire to launch their careers from YouTube, and online video advertisements receive 18.3 times more attention than TV commercials. Based on these three reasons, YouTube can be the perfect method to improve the marketing plan for your business.     

YouTube Affects Purchasing Decisions

YouTube advertising services have done a great job at sneaking in sales and clicks by exploiting human curiosity. If you have ever had a question about anything in the world, YouTube and Google have been proven to be the go-to search engines for trustworthy explanations. As a business or brand owner, you can learn to exploit human curiosity as well!

YouTube is not only meant to entertain, but it has billions of informational videos on topics ranging from quantum physics to home construction. 68% of shoppers have used YouTube to make a purchase decision. With this information, you can assume that by putting out informational videos about your product or service, you will generate a good number of clicks. 

Data has shown that since 2015, “how-to” videos grew 70% with each passing year. This is exponential growth, which is why you should hop on the train before it leaves the station. To stay ahead of your competitors, you can create how-to videos to drive people towards your business niche. This will make it easier for customers to find information about your business before purchasing elsewhere. 

YouTube Affects Local Search Ranking

YouTube users collectively search and watch a billion hours of video every day. This number should mystify you. This means that at every second of every day, you can guarantee a few hundred, thousands, or millions of people to be using the platform. Therefore, using YouTube channels and videos to help boost your website’s SEO rank on search engines can be a great marketing strategy.

Making a YouTube intro and purposefully mentioning your business name, keywords, and other terms related to your business can play a role in generating a larger audience. Just like with reviews, if you have a consistent stream of clear and concise videos that are easily watchable, you can improve your business’s prominence. This can lead to you standing out on both YouTube and Google search results, the two most popular search engines in the world. 

To boost your business’s search ranking, you must mention your business name in the title of your video. It is better to be less obvious, so a clever title would be the most attractive method. Secondly, search businesses that are similar to yours to determine what relevant keywords appear in the search results. Add those words to the video description and tags. Lastly, insert the occasional link to your business’s social media profiles in your video’s description as well.     

YouTube in Digital Marketing

There are approximately one billion unique visitors each month on YouTube, and, although that may seem daunting for a small business owner, joining the crowd can improve the reach of your business more than you know. 

Showcase Your Stuff

So, let’s go back to the question: is YouTube a social media site? Social media is defined as websites and applications where users create and share content, participating in a social network. YouTube is exactly this! Just like on any social media site, showcasing your product and abilities on YouTube can garner trust and confidence amongst your customers.

Many successful businesses have used the strategy of video marketing as their primary tool in order to introduce customers to their business identity. This can range from how-to videos, explanatory videos, webinars, video presentations, etc. 

A company like GoPro is an excellent example of showcasing products and services using video marketing social media. The company became one of the world’s most popular camera choices by using their channel on YouTube to upload informational videos about their products. This included videos explaining new products as well as videos dedicated to entertaining viewers with compilations of footage from their cameras. This strategy not only gave viewers a good idea of what their product was, but it also showed them firsthand proof of what buying one of their cameras would be like.        

Make Your Expertise Known

YouTube is considered the second largest search engine on the entire internet, so gaining an audience on the platform can be incredibly helpful. It is a social media platform that people frequent in order to learn answers to their probing questions. This is where businesses thrive on YouTube. By presenting your knowledge on a certain topic or product, you build authority for your business all while reaching a target audience. 

Before you know it, your channel will grow in subscribers who are interested in your business and loyal enough to keep up with your progress. The best kinds of videos to make for this strategy are typically characterized as short, fast paced, and easily followed. This formula has been successful for a variety of different channels and businesses.      

Get Personal

Many business and brand owners find that including behind the scenes looks at their operations and everyday routines can bring their audience closer to them to ensure trust. It allows viewers to get a better understanding of a business, but videos like these can also serve as a method of building a trustworthy clientele. If your audience feels like they know you, they are less likely to leave negative reviews or venture to other businesses instead of yours.

Make Use of Customer Testimonials and Video Tutorials

You can build trust and authority with your clientele in many ways but including customer testimonials in your videos can really serve as a boost of confidence. People tend to gravitate towards products and services that have been spoken highly of even if it’s by strangers. By including videos of positive reviews and recommendations, your audience is more likely to have confidence when purchasing your product or service.

YouTube is a great platform for this. Most channels gain a trusted audience that consistently comments, likes, and supports each video they put out. If you can acquire this, word of your channel and business is more likely to spread to those that are hesitant or skeptical. There is even the possibility of you having your very own fanbase after a few years!    

Integrate YouTube into Your Marketing Plan

It depends on the nature and details of your business, but there are a variety of options that you can explore to improve your marketing plan using YouTube. As mentioned before, making a YouTube intro where you gush about your business for at least 30 seconds can go a long way. But there are alternative ways to get the word out.

You can engage with your subscribers and viewers more often, creating stronger relationships between you and your clientele. You could host live streams, provide event recaps, create Q&A videos, include expert interviews, and make company announcements all on your YouTube channel. Consistent, quality content encourages customers to remain loyal to you and your business.     

How to Use YouTube to Your Advantage

YouTube advertising can help launch your business onto one of this generation’s primary platforms. The debate of “is YouTube a social media platform” should be settled now; YouTube provides all the aspects of social media and more. Using the website as a social media marketing tool extends your reach to audiences you may have not even known you could have. YouTube advertising services flood the web, so the addition of your own business will not do much harm!    

To take advantage, though, you must be meticulous and precise in your advertising. The name you select should have everything to do with what you plan to provide as a good or service to your customers. This is the beginning of your promotion. It is helpful to have the same YouTube channel name as your website or blog so that your brand exists cohesively. 

After that, it is helpful to associate the appearance of your channel with that of your business. The aesthetic draws people in, and professionalism and creativity are necessary to keep your audience interested. If your channel looks good, customers can assume that they can expect the same trust in your products and services. 

Next, your videos should be similar to one another to match your brand and business. You do not have to have only one type of video on your channel, but the videos must fall under the same category of video. It won’t make sense to viewers if in one video they are entertained by a child-like cartoon and then the next video consists of professional and informational content. 

Finally, just like with written content, video content must be relevant to your target audience. Once you identify whom you want this to be, try and cater all the aspects of a YouTube channel to that group. For example, if you are marketing children’s toys, then a colorful aesthetic, fun and entertaining videos, and an enthusiastic narrator may be the best route to go.       

Features That Make YouTube a Great Tool

There are certain tools that YouTube provides that attract viewers, lead them to subscribe to your channel, increase their watching time, and encourage them to further interact with your website. YouTube does not simply leave you hanging out to dry when trying to figure out how to produce the best content possible. 

Using the audio library, you can create a soundtrack that falls in line with your brand or business. Music can act as added entertainment as well as evoke certain emotions in viewers. If you want your audience to feel invigorated and motivated whilst watching your videos, an appropriate soundtrack using the YouTube audio library can provide this easily. 

Fan Finder is also helpful especially when advertising your videos to your target audience. It allows you to submit free channel ads to target people who are most likely to show interest in what you are offering. It’s like creating an ad for yourself and your channel.

You can also keep your viewers engaged by using InVideo programming. This tool allows you to embed a clickable thumbnail to videos within your channel. If you worry that this strategy may distract your viewers from the main video, you can use watermarks that are transparent instead. 

The “Related videos” feature serves as a way to optimize tags and titles that you include on your videos. This will lead to a better, higher rank when people search for similar topics in the YouTube search bar. When the viewer finishes watching the video that was initially clicked on, yours will be queued up and ready to watch next. This is a great feature if you are afraid that you won’t be able to generate an audience just by using your business name alone.

If you are more into the idea of directly communicating and advertising to your audience, you can use the YouTube feature that allows for live events. YouTube Live Events is a service for making professional broadcasts, which can be incredibly helpful in generating a reliable customer base. All you have to do is schedule a time for the hangout and enjoy talking face to face with viewers, allowing for more exposure and the answering of possible inquiries related to your business.         

Video marketing through social media is a growing trend amongst businesses and brands. YouTube can act as a great marketing tool if you try hard enough. Dedicating time and effort into understanding all its benefits can propel your business to the next level. While your competitors are still resorting to traditional, conservative forms of marketing, you have the potential to be bigger and better than they ever will be by using YouTube as a marketing tool.