YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world with 1 billion unique monthly visitors, viewing 6 billion hours of video every month. Every minute of the day, there are 100 additional hours of fresh content being uploaded. And the biggest takeaway from this little peek into YouTube? It attracts nearly half of all internet users.
Like me. I’m a DIYer – it’s in my DNA. After spending countless hours in libraries, bookstores and hardware stores, today YouTube is my university of DIY. Washing machine won’t drain or spin? There’s a video for that. And not just on how to repair a failed lid switch, but how TO DIAGNOSE other not-so-obvious problems! Who knew I also needed to replace my agitator dogs? Thanks to the Kung Fu Maintenance video, “Five Most Common Problems with Washing Machines,” I’ve corrected two.
By utilizing YouTube, we all have an incredible way to reach nearly 50% of all Internet users. But say your company posted an awesome and expensively produced product video, which only got a grand total of 18 views. How do you tap into this low-cost resource if kittens or a twerking contest isn’t right for your brand?
It boils down to some fundamentals: well-produced, relevant video content and paying attention to some basic YouTube optimization techniques:
• Develop keywords that describe your video
• Create a title that includes important keywords
• Write a description of your video that uses keywords (but doesn’t overuse them) and include the script from your video
• Have a call to action to “like” your video
• Upload your video to a YouTube channel with similar content
Yes, there are still countless cute kitten and laughing baby videos being uploaded every day – but they have their own channels. If you have content that is genuinely valuable and you use the strategies above to maximize exposure, the clicks will come.
Beth Kitchings, Account Supervisor at The Ramey Agency
