You may have a few YouTube videos posted for your business, most companies do. Or, maybe you are thinking about creating and posting YouTube videos this year.
No matter where you are in the process, you need to ask yourself: What’s my strategy?
Strategy is the first step in our Four-Step Process and applies to YouTube marketing as it does to all aspects of digital marketing.
In a previous post, we discussed recent search engine developments and strategies that work best with YouTube–now the largest search engine behind Google.
So, if you want people to find your business on the web, YouTube videos optimized for search are a key component of your success.
Remember, by the end of 2020, nearly 80 percent of all online traffic will be watching videos, with the majority of these views coming on YouTube. And because YouTube is so popular (and it’s owned by Google), people in many demographics are users are finding YouTube highly useful as a powerful search engine to meet their needs.
Your business needs to be ready with a digital marketing strategy that incorporates video.
Because of this, Intuitive Websites is placing an equal focus on YouTube search and Google search for our clients in 2020.
Creating Videos is Not as Hard as You Think
Finding a topic for your YouTube videos is not all that different from finding a good blog post topic. Simply put, you want to create content that people will find helpful and useful. You can even duplicate blog posts into short videos as a summary of your written content. People prefer different channels to take in digital content. Without a strong video presence, you are missing a huge group of prospective customers.
You may have been told people won’t watch videos longer than a minute or two. Forget that advice! The sweet spot seems to be at least five minutes. And, the Pew Charitable Trust found YouTube’s search engine actually pushes people to longer videos, so it’s in your best interest to be there providing fantastic content.
Your videos can be as simple as tips on the best renovations to make before selling a home or how to choose a security system. Or, consider a case study on a success story you’ve achieved in your own business to show others how they can have success with your company as well. The sales conversions you have with prospective customers make for excellent video content.
Most users don’t expect famous people or exotic scenery in a good YouTube video. What they DO expect is some useful information or an honest review that helps them make a decision on a purchase they are considering.
Keep your concept and your background simple so you don’t distract from your story. Make sure you solve a problem a user might have. By doing this, you and your business will become a trusted source.
Intuitive Websites has some advice here on how to create the best short videos.
Keys to YouTube Video Search Success
How do you get started? And how do you ensure you are found by the YouTube search engine?
- First, create a YouTube channel. Make sure you have a great description for your business and that your videos all support your mission. That will show users that you are an expert in your area.
- Find the best video keywords for each of your video projects. Video keywords, by the way, are not always the same as written content keywords.
- Be consistent. Make sure you are posting regular content on YouTube, whether it is once a week or once a month.
- Get people to watch, comment and subscribe to your channel immediately after it is posted. This helps the video get found and shows YouTube the video is popular and worth displaying in search results on YouTube and Google.
- Make sure your thumbnail is a good image to attract viewers. YouTube will choose one automatically, but you can change it. Some users may decide to click on your video solely because of the thumbnail–so make it count!
- Optimize for YouTube search engines. In addition to a good video keyword, you’ll want to optimize your video title and the description that’s below your thumbnail. Don’t forget about optimizing the tags in YouTube as well.
- Get 100 people to subscribe to your YouTube channel so you can get a customized URL for the channel from YouTube. Learn more about this by clicking here.
- And remember, allowing closed captions is a great tool, as the search engines can read the captions and pick up on content that way.
Intuitive Websites will be offering guidance and education to you throughout the coming months. We will work with you to grow your video base, develop video content ideas, increase search results in Google and grow your YouTube subscribers. Our goal is to increase your visibility and–of course–bring in more customers and clients.
A final note on how to find a video production partner
This can be very challenging, and options vary greatly in both pricing and quality. The first place to start is with a basic education of what makes a video look bad and what makes it look good. Think about the lighting, how the frame is set up, and how easy it is to watch. These are all factors that go into a quality video. You will need to find resources that understand these concepts.
The second thing to consider is quality versus price. Videos can now be shot easily on an iPhone with a crew of one person! There may be some editing needed before you get your final video. Look for professionals with an hourly rate between $50 to $75 an hour.
Picking a video production partner is no different from any hiring process you go through. The better you understand the specific project objectives and outcomes, the better you are prepared to interview and find a video production resource to shoot and edit your videos.
Contact us today to talk about how we can help you increase the visibility of your YouTube videos and create a sound SEO strategy for your digital marketing.
