As social media platforms go, YouTube may be the internet’s best kept secret, especially among business owners. How often do you think about it as a viable platform for your business? My guess is not often, and that needs to change.
Looking at the Numbers
According to the people at Compete, as of June 2014 YouTube surpassed Facebook for most unique visitors. What does that mean? For the month of June, more people made their first ever visit to YouTube than those who made their first ever visit to Facebook. Okay, great. But what does that mean for marketers? It means that YouTube is growing as a social media platform at a now faster rate than Facebook. It means that YouTube is relevant for your marketing dollars and presence.
Getting Involved
So how do you get into YouTube? Fortunately, it’s easy and requires little in the way of initial investment. All you need to get started is a smartphone with a camera, and you’re on your way. The key to a successful video, be it an advert or just a community post, is the same as any other marketing content: keep it concise, sincere and interesting. And that’s really the key. Not every video you post has to be an advertisement, and they shouldn’t be. Just like with your website and other social media, you should give more than you ask.
Social media marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk calls it the give, give, give ask rule. You should always give three times more than you ask to keep your audience engaged.
YouTube is emerging from Facebook’s shadow. It’s time for business owners to take notice.
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