If you are considering setting up a YouTube channel for your business, you will have plenty of opportunity to get your brand in front of the largest online video audience. Each month, there are more than 800 million users visiting YouTube around the world. Many of them are researching new products before they decide to make a purchase.
Reaching out to just a portion of that number can mean a big increase in engagement and sales while spreading brand awareness. That makes the time and effort spent on developing your business’ own channel well worth it.
Before you get ready to set up your own company YouTube channel, you need to explore the answers to these ten questions. That way you are completely prepared.
What do we want to accomplish with our YouTube channel?
As with any business-related venture, it is important to have a clearly defined goal. Knowing exactly what results you want to see from launching a business channel helps you shape the type of content you create. Do you want to increase web traffic? Boost sales? Showcase and demonstrate new products? Or maybe just have a video that gives people a behind-the-scenes look into your operation.
Do we need more than one channel?
If you sell a wide variety of products, it might make sense to have a different channel set up for each set. For example, if you sell clothes, shoes and accessories it can be a good idea to set up channels for each of those areas of your business.
How can we customize the channel’s background?
It is always a good idea to keep your branding consistent throughout all of your marketing and content material. If you have a certain color scheme and logo in use on your website and blog, carry them over to your YouTube channel background as well. This makes your brand easily recognizable by viewers and fans.
Should we add product commercials?
YouTube is not the place to upload your company commercials. It is a place people go to be entertained and get informed. You only want to add content that is informative and helpful. This keeps your company from appearing overly promotional while enhancing your reputation as a business. Offer viewers tutorials on using your products, post interviews with industry professionals, or even videos of happy customers using your products.
How do I tag and describe videos?
You want to keep the video descriptions short and to the point. Including your company URL or a link to your online store is also a good idea since it encourages viewers to visit. Include keywords in video descriptions and tags. This makes it easy for users to find related videos.
How do we organize our videos?
Make it easy for viewers to look for the videos they will find the most helpful by grouping them together in related categories, like a play list. If you are posting cooking videos, for example, you would want to break it down into categories like desserts, chicken dinners, appetizers, etc.
Can I make my own content and how often should I post?
If you have a limited budget, it is perfectly okay to create videos on your own. You can use any available video camera, even if it’s just the one on your smartphone. As your business grows, you may want to invest some money in having a professional take over your video creation.
You will want to add new content as often as possible. When you post valuable content every week, viewers will be ready to watch your newest uploads every week, so be prepared to keep on track with your videos.
Do I need to allow comments on videos?
Allowing comments shows people that you are open to receiving feedback and encourage more interaction from your viewers. You have the option of requiring approval before a comment is posted to your video or letting the comments show automatically. Requiring approval helps eliminate spam comments on your channel too.
How do I promote the channel?
You can easily broadcast to your fans and followers every time you upload a new video. Simply post an update on your social media networks with a link to the video included. Also, add a listing to your website or blog. If you have the funds, you can also promote through Google Adwords.
How do we measure the success of the channel?
You have access to the free analytics tools offered by YouTube. You can see how many people have watched your videos, how they discovered them and how often it is being watched. You can also see the number of subscribers to your channel, the number of likes and dislikes as well as content shares and comments.
Have you set up a YouTube channel for your business? What are your goals for your channel?