General, Industry News, Internet Marketing Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Strategy, Social Media Tools, Social Networks, Video
How YouTube Can Benefit Your Company
Jun 09 2011
It seems so hard to believe that YouTube is the world’s second biggest search engine. YouTube, the search engine? Really? Think about it, how many times have you:
YouTube is much more than pure viral entertainment. It definitely can be used as a place for merging business and humor, but it’s also about education, YouTube enables us to answer the “how to”, “why” and “could I” questions in creative and personal ways. Posting useful videos about a company’s products or services or showing reviews from real customers can open HUGE opportunities for many different businesses. Here I’d like to share 3 main ideas on how YouTube can be used as a very effective tool for your business.
With today’s social media popularity it became a fact very quickly that people like to buy from people. It’s naturally interesting for us to know some real, personal details about the company that we work with. Creating a video with actual employees will add authenticity to your brand and make it more appealing for the job seekers. Zappos found out that by using regular employees in product description videos they improve the level of trust to Zappos brand.
Another way to present your company on YouTube is to create video tips on how to use products or services that your company offers. Give your prospects and present customers valuable information without over selling yourself and they will respect your company. Eventually this will be a buying factor for them. You can answer any existing question related to your industry or business by making an informative video or sharing a demonstrative presentation. The key to success here is to do it short and to the point! Not only will your company receive appreciation for helping out, but it will also gain recognition as an expert. Home Depot is one of the most famous examples of posting helpful videos about how to use their products on YouTube.
Posting video testimonials on your website is a very smart marketing idea. However, uploading video testimonials on YouTube and other social media outlets will increase the chances of finding your video online. Recording happy customer’s experiences and their feedback about your products is one of the best ways to convince potential customers to do business with you. Video testimonials are usually more believable and trusted than written ones. It’s a powerful selling technique that helps to raise immediate credibility for your company. Check out how Square did it posting video testimonials on their website and uploading them also on YouTube. Krista Neher is keeping up with the new social media trends as well adding her video testimonial on kristaneher.com , Vimeo and YouTube!
Mariya Newman
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Great content ideas. We love the fact that YouTube videos are so easy to share via links in Facebook, Twitter, blogs… Another great example of a YouTube video is the one that the city of Grand Rapids, Mich., did in response to a national magazine calling it a dying city. The video got over 2 million views within days!
Mike, thanks for your comment and for sharing this example with us! It’s amazing how some videos become viral in such a short period of time 🙂