When you think about YouTube channels, your mind might only conjure up an image of YouTubers and social media influencers producing click-bait content created to produce lifestyle envy or videos that are more than just a little vacuous, but there is a lot more to what the platform can offer you and your business.
Frankly, if your business doesn’t already make good use of social media channels of all types, then you are someway behind the curve, but the good news is that it’s not too late, and getting started is neither difficult nor costly. What it does require, however, is commitment and management.
A YouTube channel can act as a springboard into the new age, and there are many tangible examples of types of content and approaches that can not only help to build your company’s online footprint but can, and indeed should, result in a substantial revenue stream.
Let’s take a closer look.
Promotional Drives
You can use a YouTube channel to push your latest promotional push for a new product or service, and the cost of putting together a professional-looking advertisement is nowhere near as much as you might think.
While it would be helpful to do this in-house, and there are long-term benefits to setting up a social media team, this may not be practical, to begin with, if you are a relatively small business.
Therefore you can outsource the production of the video and help to keep the costs down by, for instance, using YouTube royalty-free music rather than paying massive fees associated with licensing existing mainstream music.
Behind the Scenes
One good way to build a strong rapport between your business and customers is to offer them a peek behind the curtain. Behind-the-scenes videos, which can, of course, be entirely staged if necessary, can encourage and foster a stronger connection between your company and customers.
These can be serious in nature, showing people just how competent your team is, or can be more light-hearted; the critical point remains the same. Here you are showing the human face of your business, and posting these types of videos on your YouTube channel among your more promotional material offers you a more rounded appeal.
Interaction With Customers
Ever wondered what your customers think of your company and the service it delivers? Well, via your YouTube channel, you can find out very quickly indeed.
Having a YouTube channel can provide you with crucial information and data that can be of real significance. Perhaps you’ve released a new product, and the traction hasn’t been great; you’ll soon find out why via your social media channels, such as your YouTube page.
You can look to address the matter directly by releasing a YouTube post that directly asks the key questions, or you can be more subtle about it. The key is that the information you need is there, and it is at your fingertips.
Additionally, the data you can accrue will tell you a lot about your audience, from its location, demographic, and intent to all manner of other data points that could be very helpful for future campaigns.
Instructional Content
Perhaps your business deals in a field that is very nuanced or technical, and you want to address any potential problems that may arise. Well, all you need is a ‘how-to’ video that better explains how things work.
These are great as they can be inexpensive to produce and will offer you a better return on your initial investment in the product you are looking to make a success. From these, you’ll also get an understanding of how your customers think, and that may have the knock-on effect that will streamline your business approach.
Help To Give Your Business a Personality
While we mentioned before that behind-the-scenes videos are good for showing customers there is a human face to your company, building a personality as a whole is a little bit broader and can have very material benefits.
Videos of this sort are geared toward showing a company’s ethos and spirit but not in a stuffy or conservative fashion. Here the idea is to delve deeper, to go below the skin. As an example, they might start in a very old-school style by outlining where it all began but could then turn into a more entertaining, and perhaps even amusing, style that plays around with the niche or market you are positioned within.
Consider an idea that is along the theme of ‘telling your story’ but ideally in a way that is not stereotypical or stuffy.
Exposure
Having a YouTube channel gives you the possibility of amplifying your company’s voice. It’s a platform that, if used right, can increase the exposure of your brand immensely.
At last count, YouTube has 2.1 billion active users. Think about that for a moment. That’s billion with a b. That’s a lot of potential customers, to say the least, and your business is just waiting to be seen and heard by at least a significant chunk of the visitors to the site.
The benefits of doing so are enormous, whether your company is a multinational that just hasn’t gotten its act together or if you are a small regionally based business that could do with widening its customer base.
In the ways listed above, a YouTube channel could prove very valuable if used correctly, and now is very much the time to get started.
