YouTube Channels

When we think of social media, we tend to immediately go to the Facebook and Twitter's of the world but ignoring YouTube channels can be a mistake for the SMB owner. 

YouTube

How?

One of the most popular questions we get asked at Carlyn Services is, how do I get a YouTube channel?  The good news is, it is a very easy process, simply go here and follow the steps.

Why?

According to Alexa.com, YouTube is the third most trafficked site in the world.  That means when your customers are not doing a search, or on Facebook, they are most likely on YouTube.  By creating a YouTube channel you give your customers the chance to 'subscribe' to your channel.  Once they have subscribed, every time you add new content to your YouTube channel, your clientele will be made aware that you have done so.  This provides the SMB owner with a great opportunity to advertise at no or very little cost. 

Invodo.com is a great resource for statistics.  Here are a couple relating to video and it's importance in converting internet users into customers: 

"Mediapost reports that product videos play a key role in consumer purchase decisions, citing a 9x increase in retail video views at the start of the 2011 holiday season. (MediaPost, January 2012)." (http://www.invodo.com/html/resources/video-statistics/) 

"Visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not. (Internet Retailer, April 2010)" (http://www.invodo.com/html/resources/video-statistics/)

There are other advantages to creating a channel on YouTube:  You can subscribe to your competitors channels and get updates every time they produce new content, ensuring you are aware of anything new or exciting they are doing and you can use your channel to interact with your customer base through the comments to gain valuable feedback.

Here are a few examples of good YouTube channels:

Harley Davidson

Pepsi

Cisco

I've made a channel, now what?

Once you are up and running it is time to begin filling your channel with exciting and fresh content.  Every product and service you offer is worthy of a video explaining why everyone needs to buy it from you.  Have any experts on staff?  Expert advice videos, are amongst the most popularly viewed videos on YouTube.  Did your industry recently undergo any new changes?  Let your subscribers know by producing a video detailing those changes. 

Years ago the SMB owner would have loved to have been able to make commercial's, nowadays all you need is your own camera and you can make and broadcast all the commercials you want.  Take advantage of YouTube's channel program and build your brand online.