Starting a YouTube channel can be challenging. This blog consists of tips and guidance on how to efficiently incorporate a YouTube channel as a digital platform for your company. “Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn are getting more crowded by the day” (Shane, 2017), meaning that this platform allows a chance of an increase in customer loyalty. In 2017, YouTube revealed they had up to 30 million visitors on a daily basis (White, 2017). Companies searching to maximise their digital presence should be utilising YouTube as a tool to market products and trigger a more personal connection with their consumers.
“The explosion of creativity and self-expression unleashed by YouTube promises to transform consumer engagement with popular culture” (Susarla, Oh and Tan, 2012, p.23), leading certain industries to adapt to the new and transformed digital world to create forms of entertainment. Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is known as “social media marketing, viral marketing, buzz and guerrilla marketing” (Kozinets, De Valck, Wojnicki and Wilner, 2010, p. 71), proving the efficiency of WOMM as marketers have invested over 1.54 billion dollars on it. In 2018, YouTube released some statistical data that demonstrated just how high their position is within the digital world, with over “50,000 hours of content [are] watched on YouTube every minute”, (Popomaronis, 2018), making it the ideal tools for marketers.
Tips on using YouTube to market your brand:
Hendle (2015) has listed six tips on how to utilise YouTube as a branding weapon to increase the amount of success within the digital world.
- Each brand has a specific statement they may want to portray. Finding the right influencer is crucial, as they will become ambassadors. Most YouTube influencers are simply themselves in their videos, therefore, by contacting an individual that is not suited for the brand can be a risk. Allowing a vlogger to choose how they market the product, will result in authenticity and value to the product. Viewers will be more willing to purchase a product if their YouTube influencer seems content with it.
- As a business, it is understandable to want to find the vlogger with the most views and followers, however, the ideal partner must be ‘fitting’. Working alongside an influencer with an average amount of followers has shown to be more successful. The target market is already set as these individuals tend to maintain a ‘tight-knit community’, and will impact the brand to a greater extent than a famous YouTuber’s followers with a wide range of personalities.
- Creating a customised link can help a brand track the amount of visitors, derived from the influencer. By incorporating this link in the bio of each video, it provides viewers a direct portal to the website and helps the brand determine the success rates of this strategy. It provides statistical data and guide future campaigns or collaborations with said vlogger.
- Sponsored influencers tend to provide discount codes, otherwise known as coupon codes when partnering. It entices the vlogger as it provides a sense of ‘giving back’ to their community. This method allows the brand to increase their influence in the decision making process of the potential consumer. If a viewer is unsure as to whether or not to purchase the advertised product, providing a discount will entice them to purchase.
- As an ambassador to the brand, the influencer can have a direct impact on the product. Therefore, it is important for a brand to provide guidance or, to the very least, a helping hand when deciding on video titles. By ensuring the title is inviting/exciting, both the brand and vlogger will result in a positive outcome.
- As previously stated, the search engine optimisation (SEO) is a crucial tool for any brand. If the influencer uses the brand’s name or other keywords associated with the brand in their video description, the company can rate higher in the SEO.
Be aware:
The video timing must be considered; longer videos tend to be ranked higher and seen as YouTube is used as a search engine, the higher the ranking-the higher amount of views. In terms of marketing strategy, it is important to consider which recognised influencer to choose. In order to maximise the marketing of a product, marketers tend to use influencers to raise brand awareness, therefore, partnering with other recognised YouTubers can be beneficial to the company and add value to the brand.
(Nicholson, 2017)
Rules and regulations:
In order to begin down this ‘digital road’, there are certain rules and regulations to be respected. YouTube Creators (2019) have introduced a guideline to the policies and regulations, which include copyright, age restricted content, community guidelines and monetizing policies (please find link below for the terms of services). By violating these terms, the channel can be taken down and the account terminated. Therefore, it is essential to understand and agree to all terms stated above, and to remain updated as these policies may change or adapt over time.
Useful links:
Terms of services ⇒ https://www.youtube.com/static?template=terms
What you need to know ⇒ https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9854-youtube-for-business.html#signup
References:
Hendle, A., (2015) ‘How to Partner With YouTube Influencers: 6 Tips for Success’, Social Media Examiner [Online] Available at: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/partner-with-youtube-influencers/ (Accessed 25.03.19)
Ip, E., (2016), ‘6 Engagement Marketing Lessons from Successful Video Bloggers’, Marketo.com [Online] Available at: https://blog.marketo.com/2016/03/ebook-scoring-big-with-fan-engagement.html (Accessed 24.03.19)
Kozinets, R.,V., De Valck, K., Wojnicki, A.C., and Wilner, J., (2010) Networked Narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Online Communities, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 74, Issue 2, pp. 71-89. [Pdf][Online] Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20619091 (Accessed 24.03.19)
Nicholson, C., (2017), ‘How to Use YouTube to Reach More People and Make More Money in 2018), Inc.com [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/christina-nicholson/how-to-use-youtube-to-reach-more-people-make-more-money-in-2018.html?cid=search (Accessed 27.03.19)
Popomaronis, T., (2018) ‘YouTube Analyzed Trillions of Data Points in 2018, Revealing 5 Eye-Opening Behavioral Statistics’, Inc.com [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/tom-popomaronis/youtube-analyzed-trillions-of-data-points-in-2018-revealing-5-eye-opening-behavioral-statistics.html?cid=search (Accessed 27.03.19)
Shane, D., (2017), ‘ It’s Not Too Late to Build a Following on Facebook and YouTube’, Inc.com [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/dakota-shane/its-not-too-late-to-build-a-following-on-facebook-youtube-heres-how.html?cid=search (Accessed 24.03.19)
Susarla, A., Oh, J.H., and Tan, Y., (2012), Social Networks and the Diffusion of User-Generated Content: Evidence from YouTube, Information Systems Research, Vol. 23, Issue 1, pp. 23-41 [Pdf] [Online] Available at: http://tinyurl.com/y39q3owg (Accessed 24.03.19)
White, J., (2017), ‘YouTube Released Their Top 10 Videos of 2017. Here’s What Marketers Can Learn From Them’, Inc.com [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/john-white/heres-what-marketers-can-learn-from-youtubes-top-10-videos-of-2017.html?cid=search (Accessed 24.03.19)
YouTube Creators, (2019), ‘An introduction to YouTube policies and guidelines’, YouTube Academy, [Online] Available at: https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/copyright-guidelines?hl=en-GB#strategies-zippy-link-2 (Accessed 28.03.19)
