YouTube, and how to use it to grow your business

The growth of YouTube

Since its acquisition by Google in 2006, YouTube is now the second biggest search engine after its owner, and has captured and engaged the web.

Thanks to its diverse, easy watching content and direct connection to its audiences, YouTube has become one of the most powerful forms of media communication.

There’s consistently new content, with over 500 hours of video uploaded to the site every minute, and because of that, users spend more time on YouTube than any other social media platform.

A whopping 40 percent of views come from mobile devices, and the 25-44 age group, a huge target market for many businesses, accounts for most of these views. Its active users account for a whopping third on the internet with male users making up 62 percent of activity.

Why use YouTube for business?

With all that in mind, it’s easy to see why YouTube is the top choice for digital marketing and business growth in 2018. But how do you make it relevant to your business?

An active presence on YouTube creates an image of authority. Uploading tips, tutorials and even testimonials establishes expertise in your specific area, while simultaneously providing value to customers.

Not only are videos interactive and engaging, they can also build trust and mutual respect with your audience. Giving away a little bit of help shows that your business genuinely values its audience, while also putting you ahead of the competition.

Beyond these benefits, advertising on YouTube allows for brand exposure and digital marketing at a low cost, as well as giving you content to use on your own website and social media channels.

Types of ads

There are numerous ad options, but the two main ones are skippable versus non-skippable video ads.

Non-skippable ads are 15-30 second videos that viewers are required to watch all the way through before getting to their featured video. While these sometimes have a bad reputation for being forceful, their benefit is that they can be targeted and relevant to the content the user is searching for.

Skippable ads, also known as TrueView ads, are optional to watch after the first five seconds. These can be any length, and if they are engaging enough in the beginning, users will choose to keep watching.

In addition to these, Google began offering advertisers six second videos called bumper ads. When done in an engaging and entertaining manner, six seconds can be all a viewer needs to be hooked in.

There are also options for overlay ads which appear in the lower 20 percent of the video screen, and display ads which appear to the right of the featured video and above the suggestions list. Another option is sponsored cards, which simply show clickable content related to the video, such as featured or relevant products.

How to get the best ROI

In-stream ads are ads that play before someone watches the video they’ve selected on YouTube. Viewers sometimes have the option to skip the video after 5s. In-stream ads are the most popular by 51 percent, can be used to boost your business channel’s subscribers and keep your audience coming back for more content. In 2016, Google claimed that the ROI for YouTube is higher than TV in 77 percent of studies and because Google owns YouTube, videos will also rank high on search pages and drive traffic back to your website.

How OneAgency can help with your YouTube content strategy

YouTube is a huge platform, and as a business, regular videos and content should be well thought out and planned. There’s great opportunity and with a considered strategy in place you can become the next leader in your specific industry.

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Why not have a chat with our digital marketing and content team to see how we can help you to define an effective strategy? Call us on 01603 252555 or fill in a contact form.