We’ve all seen videos on YouTube that have made us laugh, cry, cringe and state in amazement, and then we have all noticed that, at the end, these videos contain some kind of message – a call to action maybe, a logo for a website or a product that could be of use. The thing is, most of the time these videos are advertising a large company – someone like Amazon, Ford or Apple – and not a small family run company stuck in the back woods of Idaho or Montana.
The fact that it is the larger businesses that always seem to get the top content begs the question of whether YouTube marketing is actually a viable strategy for smaller businesses. Is it the case that they can actually compete with the big boys of the world, or should they stick to more traditional methods of advertising, both online and offline? Well, this article aims to show that video marketing is without doubt something that every small business should consider, irrespective of the type of product or service that they offer…
You see, video advertising, more than any other, is built around content. They say that a picture paints a thousand words, so surely a video must be the same as writing a whole novel? If you can come up with a great idea to promote your product or service – an idea that inspires people to laugh or cry, think or act – then you will already be 90% of the way to success. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t have the finances to produce a professional looking video, as there have been plenty of runaway YouTube successes that have simply been filmed on a handheld video camera.
The first step is the hardest, and this is creating the video. It does take time and many people don’t think that this time merits the amount of effect that the video will have – to be honest, sometimes this is the case. If you don’t get the video made though, you will never know! And once you have made the video, you will be very proud and spurred on to promote it further, which is the other 10% needed in order to make a video successful.
Now, most people who have some idea of internet marketing will understand the concept of keyword research, and this is something that can be done through YouTube’s own dedicated service, called YouTube Keyword Suggestion Tool. As you will undoubtedly be aware, there is no point going for the really popular keywords, as the big players in the game will already have these wrapped up. Instead, focus on a long tail keyword or two that has a reasonable amount of search traffic but not much competition. Then unashamedly brand your video with these, as well as ensuring that you include a direct link back to your site on the video description. This means that people can find you using the keyword, then go straight to your site for even more content similar to the content that they just enjoyed watching so much!
I’m not going to stand here and say that video marketing is going to turn your local grocery store into a Wal-Mart competitor overnight, as this would obviously be completely untrue. What it will do though is give you the opportunity to engage more people on a large scale and just drive that little bit more traffic to your site – something that that, even if only worth an extra $5 a day, will be more than worth the effort of creating that video!