We all know who the #1 search engine is – Google. But you may not know #2. It’s YouTube. Yes, the video platform is the second largest search engine in the world.
• A handyman friend looks up repair instructions before he tackles a new project.
• My nephew searched for a video on removing a fish hook from his foot.
• A client watched videos about Facebook to become more familiar with Facebook marketing.

And they are all FREE!

How can you leverage this for your business? Make short videos about your services or products. Create a Channel on YouTube to gather all of your videos together.

A Channel is nothing more than a page on YouTube where you store all of your videos. Here is the channel for Barbara’s Picks. The channel allows you to include your logo, corporate branding, company profile AND all of your videos. If you get Subscribers, they are automatically notified when you upload a new video.

When you upload a video, you have the ability to add keywords, a title and a description of the video.

When someone does a YouTube search, they can find your video. Hopefully, they find value and subscribe to your channel for future videos.

Include a link to your YouTube channel everywhere. On your website. In your email signature. In your email marketing. Use your videos, of course, in your social media and link to your channel.

Video is a required part of your marketing plan. In some form or fashion.
• Videos on your website
• Videos in your social media
• Videos in your email marketing

Professionally shot videos are a bit pricey for small business people. There are times when they are appropriate and necessary. If you’re introducing a new product, a new product line or introducing a major upgrade. With a big announcement, a professional video can be worth the time and expense because you can use it multiple times in multiple ways.

Example: New product
You have a big, new product. A professional video can be used at your industry trade shows. It can be used on all of your social media platforms multiple times. It can be added to your website. It can be used in email marketing.

We don’t have that BIG type of announcement to make often. So most of our videos can be self-produced. With a little practice, you can shoot a 1 minute video on your own cell phone. It’s a good way to educate clients, demonstrate your expertise, spotlight a product.

Plan!! Don’t just turn on the video camera and start talking off the top of your head!
• What is the purpose of the video?
• What do you want to focus on or spotlight?
• What do you need to say to describe and explain what is being viewed.
Now turn on the camera! It may take a few trials to get the results you want. Practice will make it easier. You want to look professional, not necessarily spontaneous.

You don’t have to be in the video. You can film a client testimonial. An employee using one of your products. An event related to your business. Remember, however, that people do business with people. If you can be in the video, it is advantageous.

Concept videos
I use a service called Promo to create 5-30 second videos. They are a great way to get a concept across or to promote a service.

Example: I can use a short clip about a walk on the beach to promote the time saving value of outsourcing some marketing work. I can use a video of a woman relaxing on her patio with a book to promote book sales for an author.

The advantage of Promo is that they have the video clips, the background music and the software to add text all in one package. I don’t need to learn 3 pieces of software to make the pieces and put them together. All of it is copyright free. All of it is professionally recorded. It saves you time by putting all of the pieces together for your selection.

Their videos can be sized to fit Facebook cover spaces perfectly! This is a great way to refresh your Facebook page. Add some movement and color!

Upcoming! Why have a YouTube Channel?