Using YouTube to Promote Your Videos

Small businesses everywhere are starting to experiment with video.

And thanks to all of the video platforms out there, it’s easy and affordable to promote your videos.

But which platform is the best one to use?

The answer is YouTube. With over 1 billion users every month and over 100 hours of video being uploaded every minute, YouTube is the perfect place to promote your videos.

Posting your videos on YouTube gives you the ability to educate customers about your products/services and connect with existing and new prospects in a visually-intriguing way. Using Youtube also increases your search rankings because Google ranks videos higher in search results than text results.

I recently sat down with our resident Video Producer, Shaun Cronin, to ask him some questions about the benefits of video and promoting them on YouTube:

Here’s what he had to say:

Why do you think videos are important for small businesses?

It’s important to be able to have a more intimate relationship with customers and donors, and video is a great way for small businesses to let people see who they are. Video also presents an awesome opportunity to show off products or services online without spending lots of money.

What are some ways small businesses can use videos for their business?

Small businesses can use videos to advertise products, promote events and special offers, show off their company culture, let people see their personality, and educate customers about their industry.

Why should small businesses use YouTube opposed to other platforms for video?

YouTube is great because it’s Google. It’s also very easy to use and allows annotations. An annotation or a pop-up that appears during the video lets a small business link to their company website, if the site is verified with YouTube, straight from the video itself. The ability to share YouTube videos also creates versatile linking opportunities that other video providers do not offer. A YouTube channel can serve as a video content hub for a company, complete with playlists of relevant topics.

What advice would you give someone just starting out with a YouTube Page?

For someone just starting a YouTube Page, I would suggest that they make a few videos — between 5 and 10 — and upload them before the channel goes live. By populating a channel before it goes live, it gives visitors a better experience and allows them to learn more about a company and their products.

As a video producer, what are some common mistakes you see small businesses make when using videos?

Studies have shown that people stop watching a video between 60 and 90 seconds. I’ve been asked so many times to make a three to five-minute video, and that is simply too long. Rather than make one three-minute video, consider making six 30-second videos. Be sure to write a quick script, use a descriptive title, and share them across all social channels.

Another opportunity to connect with customers

Posting your videos on YouTube is a great way to get the word out about the engaging content you’ve created. YouTube is also another channel where you can connect with your customers and offer valuable content that they’ll want to share.

As you start to build your YouTube presence, look for opportunities to promote your videos outside of the YouTube platform. You can share videos on Facebook, promote them on Twitter, or even pin them on your Pinterest Page.

If you have an email list, you can easily add a video to your next email newsletter to help drive traffic back to your YouTube Page!

Have more questions about using YouTube for your small business? Post them in the comments below.

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