By Evan Vitale
When most people think of YouTube, thoughts of funny squirrels; movie clips and music quickly come to mind.
However, business owners and marketers should be capitalizing on YouTube (and other video websites) to educate their customers and clients and promote their business. YouTube should be one of your top free tools in your marketing arsenal.
How does it work?
Once you have created your free Google account and have the simple, yet necessary, elements set up in YouTube, you are ready to record and publish videos. Don’t worry; you don’t need fancy cameras; lighting; sound tracks, etc. Any high-quality video can be recorded on your cell phone and published instantly.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Inform and educate your audience. Share information and tips that will help them solve a problem.
- Don’t over-promote your business. Introduce yourself and your company at the beginning and end of your video. Remember, your videos shouldn’t be a commericial.
- Keep them short and sweet. In some cases, a five-minute video is too long. Aim for 2-3 minutes tops. Get right to the point and drill down on the main item(s) you want to discuss and share. If you have an in-depth topic, consider breaking your video into two or three parts.
- Record 4 or more videos at a time, but plan on publishing at least one video a week. Spread them out a little, if you’d like.
- If you’re camera “shy,” you can make a video by recording a PowerPoint presentation on your computer with a voiceover (preferably your voice).
Once your video has been published, share it on your blog and in your company’s other social media channels (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). This will drive traffic to your video and help you gain more subscribers to your YouTube Channel.
A business colleague of mine would record several videos each week. However, to avoid interruptions and background noise, he would go to the office an hour earlier; set up his camera and record. Once you get the hang of it, you can record and publish your videos quickly and effectively.
Also, be sure to check out other video-sharing websites (such as Vimeo) for publishing your videos.