By this point, most businesses have boarded the social media train. If your business doesn’t have a presence on the most prevalent social networks, you have already been left behind. However, even some of the most savvy small and medium businesses are missing some low-hanging social fruit: a YouTube channel.
The Possibilities of Video
“Isn’t YouTube for makeup bloggers and people with GoPro’s?” you may ask. After a little more research, you might be surprised. While entertainment content is common, entrepreneurs on YouTube also get millions of views.
Take a minute and search YouTube for a topic in your industry. Chances are that someone in your industry is already making videos about their work. The more content they produce, the more they establish themselves as the industry experts.
How Does The Public Find Your Business?
You already know that customers are searching the internet for businesses to fit their needs. This is why you started focusing on SEO in the first place. What many small businesses don’t realize is that YouTube is one of the biggest search engines out there. Everyday, people with business-related needs are searching YouTube for quick, digestible content. When you produce content, there are a variety of folks who will come across your videos:
- Job seekers
- Journalists
- Contractors
- Potential collaborators
- Leads and potential customers
Many professionals who’ve created video content have experienced a reach they never expected. And unlike other social networks, YouTube content can be shared across networks. One video can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, through emails, and beyond.
How Do I Start Creating Content?
The beauty of creating video content is that most of us already have the tool we need in our pockets: our phones. Most smartphones come with a decent microphone and camera, so all you need to do is find an appropriate space to film. Many companies start by just filming a quick talk in their offices. Make sure that there background noise is minimal and that you look friendly and professional. For slightly more formal branding, try propping the phone on a stack of books or another riser instead of just holding it in front of your face.
You can often create a short video in a single take. If you want to take on a more complicated video, there are some very useful editing apps that you can download cheaply or for free. Videoshop, Splice, and iMovie are just a few apps that new YouTubers have used for easy editing.
What Kind Of Content Should I Produce?
Like any inbound marketing campaign, one of your best tools will be trial and error. You can begin by searching for industry-specific topics and seeing what kinds of videos have gotten the most views. Then, you can produce your own content and see what gets the most hits. The types of videos you can produce are endless:
- How-to videos about using industry-specific tools
- The story of your personal journey into the industry
- Anecdotes about best practices, your greatest failures, or tips for new entrepreneurs
- A tour of your company space
- Interviews with industry experts
- “Top 10” lists
- A YouTube video about why you started creating YouTube videos
An important point when creating any kind of content is to make sure that your tone is appropriate. You don’t want to come across as too casual or too formal. Though DIY video content has wiggle room in terms of how rough it is, you do want all the pieces on your YouTube channel to fall within your brand.
Working With The Experts
As you establish a video presence across networks, working with an inbound marketing company like ThinkFlame can help you maintain a consistent and successful web presence, yielding an increasing number of contacts and leads.
Contact us today to start the conversation.
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Jonathan Perea is a Business Development Manager at ThinkFlame. He started his career as a professional baseball player and continues to enjoy teaching kids through his elite coaching program. This experience has given him the ability to really listen to our customer’s needs, understand their business challenges and help coach them through a plan to achieve their goals.