How To Make A YouTube Channel Work For Your Brand
28 Aug 2020
Whatever your brand, it’s highly likely that you already recognize the importance of social media. Channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are excellent platforms for engaging with customers old and new, promoting your products and services, and building brand awareness.
The audience you target will help dictate which channels you should use. Facebook and Twitter target a similar crowd, although the average Twitter user is slightly older than on Facebook, while channels like LinkedIn and Instagram help you convey different messages.
By its nature, Instagram is very visual and it pays to think about your photography if you have a presence on this channel. While LinkedIn is much more corporate, with an emphasis on networking between businesses.
But there’s one social media channel that’s often left out of the conversation, and sometimes not considered a social platform at all. In this article, we will dispel some of the myths about YouTube and provide you with the insight you need to make it work for you.
More Than Just Videos
Purchased by search giant Google in 2005, YouTube is the largest video hosting service on the internet, with an estimated two billion active users in any given month, and more than five billion videos shared to date.
But YouTube is much more than videos, and it is increasingly becoming Google’s answer to social media staples like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The recent introduction of a news feed similar to what you’d find on other platforms has helped drive this evolution, while user profiles are also customizable, even if they don’t have much video content to share.
Furthermore, where brands once used YouTube purely as a means to share videos with fans, it is increasingly being utilized as a platform to generate leads, promote sales, and grow audiences. Besides, recent research shows that more and more brands are turning to video to promote themselves anyway.
How To Make It Work
Taking the leap into establishing a YouTube channel for your brand, where you’ve previously only ever shared text and photos, can seem daunting. But it’s far easier than you might fear, with no expensive equipment or in-depth knowledge required.
When paired with a tripod, most modern phones are excellent for capturing video, while a Bluetooth lapel microphone can boost the quality of audio you capture. You can even upload the footage direct from your phone without worrying about transferring it to your main device.
Branding and graphics may also be a worry for some, but there are plenty of inexpensive tools out there to help you overcome this challenge. Like in any tech sector, you can go cheap or you can go expensive, and there are plenty of helpful lists out there to help you pick.
And remember, inspiration is out there. Check out what other brands in your sector are doing and also look further afield. For example, the videos produced by online gaming brand Casino Hacks provide a perfect example of what you can achieve with a simple green screen and editing package.
In this example, picture-in-picture is utilized perfectly to showcase the product while the host provides insight to the viewer. Additional graphics provide further information along the way and the video is extremely digestible for a potential customer at two and a half minutes.
Hopefully, this guide has encouraged you to think twice about YouTube and its potential as a social brand for your business. And remember, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars and hours of your time perfecting the art. Start small, learn, improve!
Cheers,
Big Daddy
If you would like me to review your product, service, restaurant, or travel destination, please send me an email at craig@bigdaddykreativ.ca or tweet me at @BigDaddyKreativ
Craig Silva
Craig is a husband, father, team leader, travel and food writer, senior youth group coordinator, designer, brander, community builder, volunteer, and social media strategist. He likes to travel, go camping, go on road trips, watch movies, build stuff, operate the grill, and sing with his band. Craig is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Association and Travel Media Association of Canada. If you are a PR agency or brand and would like Craig to review a travel destination, vehicle, restaurant, product or service, please send him an email.
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