You and YouTube Should Be Friends

In 2006 YouTube showed nearly 100 million videos and users uploaded 65,000 videos every day. Google then bought YouTube for $1.65 billion and currently YouTube claims an astounding 200 million unique visitors a month with each user spending an average of an hour a month on the site. According to Alexa.com YouTube is the 3rd most visited site on the web and according to one estimate YouTube hosts almost 80 million unique videos. Given the popularity of YouTube, using it to advertise is essential.

Fortunately for you, advertising on YouTube is closer to conventional advertising than any other form of social media. YouTube is a video sharing website so to have a successful YouTube campaign you only need two things: a great video and a means to get people to watch the video. It really is that simple; however, like most things in life, both of these steps are easier said than done.

When it comes to producing a good YouTube video it does not differ substantially from producing a good television ad, or other videos for marketing. Obviously I can’t give you a full guide for video production, but if you want a successful YouTube video it would be wise to spend as much time, effort, and resources on your YouTube video as you would a television commercial. 

A great video should be either original, or funny, or cleaver, or thought provoking, and also don’t forget to advertise. Sometimes companies can get so caught up in making their video a big YouTube hit that they forget that the purpose of making the video was to sell their product, not to become famous on the internet. Don’t get me wrong getting millions of views and becoming a YouTube star can be great, but it should be means to an end, not the primary goal.

If you already have a video and are ready to release it, there are several different ways to try and get traction with your video. The first, and probably the simplest, is to take advantage of the people who are already interested in your company. Post your video on your Facebook page, send out links to it on your Twitter, and blog about it, and post it on the home page of your webpage. Hopefully, if your video is good, people who see it will forward it to their friends, and post it on their Facebook page. Your goal is for your video to go viral.

Another way to advertise your video is to use conventional avenues, like television, to promote it. Creating a TV ad that provides a link at the end to a YouTube video or series can be an effective way to get the word out.