Just because your business is in finance or plumbing doesn’t mean you can’t be a YouTube star. You just need to know how to use the video platform properly…
YouTube is the second biggest search engine on the planet – and it’s not just people looking for cat videos. People search YouTube for everything from advice on their finances to how to install their new dishwasher.
And small business can use this as essentially a free advertising space.
Here are 4 good reasons why you should be on YouTube…
1. Sharing your knowledge
One of the most popular video formats on the platform are ‘How to…’ tutorials. Google’s figures show that ‘how to’ searches on YouTube grew by 70% between 2014 and 2015. These can be anything from how to train your dog to how to get take out a loan.
As a small business, hopefully you’ll have some useful specialist knowledge that’s worth sharing. Find your niche and go with it.
Try not to offer the full package, as then people won’t pay for your service. But provide enough information that they can see you’re expects.
2. Unboxing your products
If you have a consumer product – or even industrial products – it’s worth trying to get an unboxing video made.
These involve someone receiving the product for the first time and literally unboxing it. They’ll go on to review it based on these first experiences.
There are many people you do these videos across YouTube, so search for similar videos and see if the person who created them would be interested in creating one for your product. It might mean offering a free sample to them.
3. Adding some personality
Sometimes it’s hard to get across your message as a small business. You can be so focussed on selling your services or products that you forget to add a little personality.
YouTube can be used for this – use a camera phone to shoot behind the scenes footage, whether that’s just day-to-day life in the office, or at the launch of a new product.
These videos will provide a human face to your company, making people connect with you.
4. Engage with your fans
It’s not just the video that’s important on YouTube, but what happens after it – especially in the comments section.
If you’re lucky and the video gets plenty of views, you’ll probably end up getting some comments. Make sure you respond to them if you can.
Even if it’s to just nudge them towards your website, provide them with contact details or to say thanks for watching. Again, this all adds a human element to a previously faceless business.