Last year, I discussed how Google+ can be useful for video marketing. I pointed out that even though the number of active Google+ users is not as high as on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, the platform provides some special SEO advantages that marketers can use.
While that remains true, there are other ways that Google+ can help drive more people to your online videos, specifically when it comes to YouTube content. Google’s ownership of YouTube has enabled the search giant to integrate YouTube videos more closely with Google+ to help encourage more views from your audience no matter which site they are on.
So with that in mind, here are a couple things you might not have noticed about Google+ that could offer some value to your YouTube video marketing strategy.
Google+ on YouTube
There are many ways for marketers to increase their company’s presence on YouTube. For example, YouTube brand channels allow you to host and organize all of your YouTube content in one place, and recent design changes have provided even more options for promoting videos to your target audiences.
But let’s face it; more often than not, when someone visits YouTube, it will be via the main homepage – not your company channel. That doesn’t mean you can’t do things to put your content in front of them, though.
When you visit www.youtube.com, the main page now prominently displays video content recently shared by those in your Google+ circles. This is great incentive for marketers to share their YouTube content on Google+, as those videos will then be featured whenever one of your connections visits the YouTube homepage.
It’s easy for you and your audience to share YouTube videos on Google+, either straight from the Google+ site or via the button under the YouTube player’s “Share” tab. As your Google+ network continues to grow, more people will be exposed to your videos whenever they visit YouTube (and seeing how YouTube is among the top 5 most popular websites on the planet, you can assume that will be pretty often).
Of course, this only applies to Google+ users that are logged in, but based on the popularity of Gmail alone, that’s not an issue for most folks.
YouTube on Google+
YouTube video content has also been integrated to have a stronger presence on your Google+ profile, whether it’s a personal or brand account. Near the top of your Google+ profile page, you’ll notice YouTube is one of the tab options listed.
This tab will automatically pull in videos that have been shared publically via your YouTube channel – you don’t even have to do anything. The only trick here is that your Google+ profile has to have the same primary email address that’s associated with your YouTube account.
As you can see, these are relatively minor features, but if Google+ is part of your brand’s social media marketing strategy, they are certainly worth a look. Of course, the value you see from this YouTube integration is very much dependent on the number and quality of connections you have on Google+ — but that’s true for any social channel, right?