Videos are extremely effective when it comes to getting more local business. Creating simple videos about your products, services, and your company in general can work wonders for sending traffic to your website. Not only that, but they also work to send more foot traffic right through your doors.
YouTube makes video marketing simple because it is free to use and very easy to work with. With millions of online video viewers logging in everyday, YouTube has become the hottest video sharing site online – it’s also the 2nd most popular site on the web – right behind Google.
So if you are looking to get in front of your local prospects, YouTube can help you do so with a little research and action. However, there are several things you need to do in order to ensure that your YouTube videos truly work to help you bring in more local customers.
Here are some important tips to keep in mind when using YouTube to market your business:
- 1. Create and Customize Your Channel – First, you should create your account and take time to customize it. Many business owners create a basic account, but don’t do anything more than that. However, if you really want to reap the rewards that YouTube can bring to your business, you should include your business’ branding, add relevant content, and customize the color to match the look and feel of your business. Also be sure to setup a channel since this will allow YouTube viewers to subscribe to your videos with a simple click.
- 2. Optimize Your Videos for Local Search – Once you upload your videos to YouTube, don’t stop there. Be sure to add keywords to the description box that local consumers would type in to find your business. Also make sure the title of your video contains a keyword as this is powerful in the optimization process as well. It’s also a good idea to place your local phone number in the title of your video. This way, when your video shows up in the search engine results, people will see your phone number right away without even clicking on the video.
- 3. Avoid Annotations Overuse – There is a feature that allows you to add comments over your video footage. While this comes in handy in some cases, do not be tempted to use it all the time because it will make your videos appear unprofessional. If you over do it, it will interfere with the audience’s concentration and be annoying to some people. Your aim is to capture the attention of your audience and your video content should be more than enough to achieve this.
- 4. Get Rid of Offensive Comments – While you do not have the control to prevent people from adding offensive comments below your videos, you can delete any comments that you feel are inappropriate. For instance, any vulgar language or racial comments should be removed. If not, some of your other viewers could be offended even though you had nothing to do with the comments. There is also a feature to block users from leaving comments on your videos.
- 5. Engage With Others – No one is an island in the world of social media, so as a business that wants more leads, customers, and sales, you have no choice but to join the party. Similar to other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, YouTube presents an opportunity for you to connect with local consumers. Respond to comments made on your videos and also seek out other videos related to your field; comment on those as well.
- 6. Organize Your Content – People like to view organized content online and this includes videos. Organize your videos in a user-friendly manner instead of just uploading linear streams of videos; especially if you have a lot of videos. Create a playlist that will group relevant videos together and place older content in one lump. Give all the folders creative and catchy names to grab the attention of viewers.
- 7. Pay Attention to Tags – As with other sites, content on YouTube will be categorized based on tag words. Therefore, it is wise to take time to add proper tags to all your videos. It is difficult to identify the exact keywords people will use, but with the proper research, you should be able to determine some great keywords that can bring in local viewers. Be sure to monitor the performance of your videos to determine the effectiveness of the tags.
- 8. Promote Your Videos – Although millions of people go to YouTube to watch videos, there is no guarantee that they will find YOUR particular videos without some additional action on your part. Therefore, you need to promote your videos elsewhere to send as many viewers as possible. Use other social media networks and blogs to let people know that you have posted a new video on YouTube. Embed your videos on your business website as well as other video-sharing sites across the web; the more views you get, the better your results will be.
- 9. Use Analytics Tools – YouTube offers free analytic tools that business owners can use to monitor the progress of their videos. The information you get from these tools will go a long way in helping you improve your approach and get more viewers.
- 10. Do Not Neglect Your Channel – YouTube has a lot of neglected channels and you don’t want yours to end up amongst them. This does not mean that you should create and upload new videos every single day. But you should not let the channel be dormant for an extended amount of time. Instead, create new videos at a pace that makes sense for your business. Keep your account active by logging in often and interacting with others.
YouTube is one of the most effective ways to generate new traffic to your business. It’s cutting-edge, it’s popular, it’s engaging, and it’s affordable.
However, creating videos and uploading them to different online properties proves to be a huge task for most business owners. Not only do you have to figure out what type of videos you should be creating, but then there’s the task of actually creating and uploading them to various online sites.
Let us know if you need help with your video or you just want to learn more. Drop me a line at: jeff@i3marketingagency.com
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