Long story short — if you are not using YouTube to market your business and enhance your findability online — you are missing out big time.
Perhaps you’ve already noticed how YouTube videos stand out on a Google results page? When I’m searching for something, if videos show up on the results page, I’ll frequently click on them first.
Like me, there are scads of people who prefer to receive information in this form, as opposed to just reading text. It’s time to take advantage of this preference. However, one point to remember is that fans usually watch videos for entertainment; they don’t necessarily wish to be sold.
But you can easily provide a compelling mix of the two. Video is fantastic for making “how to” and tutorial videos, showing off what your company does and giving fans useful information in an entertaining fashion.
Things to consider when using YouTube:
- When you set up your company YouTube channel, (yes, you can have your own channel – isn’t that cool?) remember to use your important keyword phrases in the channel’s name, setup and profile.
- You don’t need to hire an expensive videographer. Videos can be spur of the moment, impromptu, and without high production values, and be even more credible than over-rehearsed and over-edited ones that are obvious sales attempts.
- Of course, each video should also have one of your high value keywords in the title and the video description. However, the title needs to be appropriate to the actual content of that video.
- Always have a link back to your website or blog in each video’s information, in case viewers want to learn more.
- Produce videos of: company events, annual meetings, corporate retreats, product launches, interviews, upcoming press, conventions, testimonials, how tos and tutorials, etc.
- Remember, in this day and age, a dull video will lose viewers’ attention within the exciting and engaging culture that is YouTube. Videos provide a great way to exhibit the personality of your brand – and have some fun at the same time.
- If your company has existing videos – why not repurpose them, or portions of them?
Need some more video know-how and inspiration?
- Check out how I use the keywords I want to rank under in my YouTube profile: http://www.youtube.com/user/hlutze .
- Check out how current Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper uses YouTube as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yv_g7ZyADM
Of course, you always want to make sure the effort you put into your YouTube Channel pays off in terms of views, calls to action and real life business. Need a bit more information? I hope you’ll come hear me speak at OMI's Digital Marketing Strategy Summit, Monday September 24th.
About the Author—Heather Lutze
Heather is the acclaimed speaker, trainer, and consultant who literally wrote the book on search engine marketing. Two books, in fact—The Findability Formula: The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing and the brand new Thumbonomics: The Essential Business Roadmap for Social Media & Mobile Marketing. Her writing and in-demand keynotes are delivered with the same witty, “no-geek-speak” style that has managed to demystify internet marketing for countless business owners. Breaking free of corporate “cubicle” jobs over ten years ago with nothing more than a dream of entrepreneurship and a computer in the basement, Heather built her business, The Findability Group, into a multimillion dollar company. This year, she stepped down as CEO to step up her real passion – speaking, teaching and promoting her unique brand of search marketing known as the “findability formula”.