Business Learning Center

When people think of YouTube, images of music videos, stupid pet tricks, parodies and personal rants come to mind.

Some businesses, though, have figured out that there’s much more to YouTube than first meets the eye. They understand that YouTube- more than anything else- is a broadcast channel. With approximately 100 million videos viewed each day, the site has a massive audience.

As you will see (below) businesses like Ford Motor Company and Old Spice are reaping the benefits of having a significant YouTube presence. Other companies have just begun to dip their toes in the YouTube waters.

Still others (perhaps your business?) haven’t taken the YouTube plunge yet.

What can YouTube do for your business?

Businesses are finding a wide variety of ways of taking advantage of the YouTube platform:

• Advertising products and services
• Establishing their business and their employees as leaders in their field
• Assisting human relations departments in hiring and training employees
• “Breaking” company news with video press releases
• Providing customer service through video FAQs and demos

1. Advertising Products and Services

YouTube’s company channels allow businesses to post all of their television advertising, product demonstrations vlogs (video blogs) and other key company information. Creative, humorous videos can get enormous attention for a company and result in major sales spikes.

How much attention?

Look at the results Old Spice has achieved. The Man Your Man Could Smell like Old Spice advertisement has been viewed over 19 million times on YouTube. More importantly that ad campaign helped sales of the Old Spice body wash jump 107% in a month.

2. Establishing Your Executives as Leaders in their Fields

If a business has a particular expertise, let’s say it is web marketing, then the business can create videos of its executives discussing key issues in online marketing. For example, topics might include, search engine optimization basics, how to start a blog, or how to use Google Analytics.

Similarly, a surgeon could make a video explaining the benefits (and dangers) of certain procedures or an accountant can discuss the top 10 deductions that most people fail to take advantage of.

Most every business has some expertise to share and a video can often get the message across more clearly than an article or blog post.

Suggestions:

• Video a formal “interview” will your key executives and employees
• Use video comments on other videos related to your industry
• Post videos of your key executives giving speeches
• Create video profiles for your key executives

3. Using YouTube as a Human Resources Hiring and Training Tool

Most every company has a written company description and standardized job descriptions for potential hires.

Videos, on the other hand, can give potential hires a much better feel for the realities of working at your company. A well thought out series of videos can:

Once an employee is hired, videos can perform valuable employee orientation services:

• Providing an orientation on company expectations (work hours, dress code, responsibilities)
• Providing a synopsis of company benefits
• Providing an introduction to company communication forums
  • Intranet
  • Billing
  • Accountability

4. Disseminating Company News

In the past, when companies had major news (a new executive hire, a product launch, a merger) they would send out press releases and hope for media attention. YouTube gives companies the opportunity to reach a far greater audience with the use of video.

It’s one thing to announce a new CEO. It’s quite another to see the video of the new CEO’s first press conference. It’s great to announce a new product line, but it’s even better to have a video showing the product in action.

Take a look at this screenshot of Ford’s YouTube video introducing the 2012 Mustang Boss 302.

This video tracks the new Mustang going full speed around the track. As you can see, there are already 42,367 views. Think some of those viewers might turn into buyers? Ford thinks so too.

5. Providing Customer Service

Once you’ve succeeded in getting people to buy your product or use your services, YouTube videos can be created demonstrating how to properly use the product or how to troubleshoot problems purchasers may be having with your product.

It is much easier (and friendlier) to refer a customer to a video than it is to send them a link to a dense instruction manual.

In Conclusion

YouTube is here to stay and YouTube means business. For a relatively small investment, businesses can create and upload videos to YouTube that will reach a far greater audience than virtually any other kind of online or offline marketing platform.

With strong messaging, vivid imaging and maybe even a little humor, you can deliver your business messages in a way that bring you a tremendous return on your online marketing investment.

If you are looking to create a video strategy for your company or are ready to begin executing your video marketing strategy, please give Blue Fountain Media a call at 212.260.1978.