Should you use YouTube for business advertising?

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world – coming in right behind Google. That means that by ignoring YouTube, even if you’re optimising for search in your other marketing ventures, you’re missing out on a huge advertising opportunity.
But how do you get started creating content? And how do you make sure your videos are seen by the right people? In this guide, we’ll go over the need-to-know YouTube tips, including how to:

Plus some FAQs for your YouTube business strategy.

Reach a larger audience

Creating content on YouTube can help you reach a larger audience. If you’re selling a product or digital service, you’re not limited to advertising to only local customers. By posting on YouTube, you can give your business more visibility and reach customers further away.

Artists, crafters, and even life coaches have found success using YouTube for business advertising.

But it’s not only about discovery – it’s about engagement too. YouTube is a way to advertise yourself as a business owner, not just your business. Engaging with your audience by replying to comments and networking with similar YouTube channels are other ways to expand your potential customer base.

Build trust and credibility

Unlike other forms of marketing, creating YouTube content can help you to build trust and credibility with your audience. YouTube naturally lends itself to longform content, which can help your customers get to know you better.

There are plenty of content styles to try out. Which you choose will depend on your business, but some ideas include:

• behind the scenes vlogs: documenting what goes into running your business, such as packing orders or creating products
• expert content: talk about what’s happening in your industry and give your professional insight
• customer testimonials: share feedback from real customers – data reveals that 72 per cent of customers won’t take action until they read reviews about a business (Fera)

We’ll go over some more content ideas and YouTube tips for small businesses later in the guide.

Cost-effective marketing strategy

Using YouTube for business can also be a cost-effective marketing tool if used completely organically. Modern smartphones record great-quality videos, meaning you’re unlikely to need to spend money on additional equipment.

While it’s possible to run a YouTube channel completely organically, you can choose to pay to promote your videos in YouTube search results to get a boost.

There’s also an opportunity to make money on YouTube by joining the YouTube Partner Program. This will give you an extra income stream outside that of your small business.

You can apply for the YouTube Partner Program once you’ve reached 500 subscribers and achieved 3,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months. However, you unlock the ability to earn money from ad revenue at 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time.

3 YouTube tips for business success

Now that you know why you should be using YouTube for business, it’s time to build your YouTube business strategy. Below are three tips you can follow to help catch people’s attention and keep your audience engaged in order to grow your business.

Never made a video before? You can learn how to make a YouTube video in our full guide.

1. Optimise your channel for maximum exposure

You can make sure that your YouTube content reaches a wider audience by using Search Engine Optimisation, otherwise known as SEO. Think about SEO when writing your video titles, descriptions, and tags.

• video title: make this compelling to viewers while accurately reflecting your video content – what are your target keywords?
• description box: here’s where you can provide more information – summarising your video, including additional keywords, and including your call to action (CTA)
• video tags: a space for more keywords that helps YouTube categorise your video and users find it

And don’t forget about your video thumbnail, as these will be the first impression a potential viewer has of your content. Use high-quality images and clear text with contrasting colours to stand out in search results. Using your business colours can be a good way to connect your channel to your brand.

When creating your thumbnails, the recommended Youtube thumbnail size is:

• 280 x 720 pixels
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• JPG, GIF, or PNG format

You should also make sure to organise your videos into playlists. This means that if a user likes your video and clicks onto your channel to see what other content you have, they’re more likely to find other relevant content.

2. Creating engaging and valuable content

While there are many tips and tricks when it comes to optimising your YouTube content, creating quality content will be what truly sets you apart. When it comes to content creation, you want it to be at least one of the following: engaging, inspiring, helpful, or authentic.

Engaging content should be well-produced and of interest to viewers. Take inspiration from other YouTubers to see what’s currently popular.

Inspiring content should be aspirational for your audience. Maybe you’ve started a small coffee shop and are sharing your day-to-day life with your followers – this could be of interest to people looking to start their own business.

Helpful content is there to answer questions viewers may have. Remember, YouTube is a search engine and YouTube videos also show up in Google search results. If someone searches for ‘when is the best time to plant flowers’ and you’re a professional gardener who knows the answer, make a video answering the question.

When creating your YouTube business strategy, think about the search terms you could focus on. You can look up popular search terms with our guide to SEO tools when looking for video ideas.

And finally, authentic content should be about playing to your strengths and presenting an accurate image of what it’s like to run your business. People watch TV for overly-polished content, and turn to YouTube for authenticity.

Looking for some inspiration to get started? Here’s a video by artist and small business owner Prints by Milly showing a day in her life.

3. Consistent branding and messaging on YouTube

It’s important to remember that YouTube is an extension of your business and this needs to be reflected in your brand. Use the brand colours from your website and logo on your YouTube channel to create a link between the two.

Don’t forget to think about the tone you use in your videos too. Will your videos be professional? Friendly? Authoritative? Funny? Think about the image you want to give off as a business owner and go from there.

A strong and recognisable brand can also help with viewer retention. If viewers know what sort of tone and content they’re getting from your videos, they’re more likely to watch your content in the future.

Take your business to the next level with YouTube

So, why should you add YouTube to your marketing plan? Because engaging video content helps to build brand visibility, creates trust through authentic storytelling, and encourages engagement with customers.

It’s a cost-effective marketing strategy that can increase your exposure when combined with effective SEO (through optimized titles, tags, and descriptions) and visually appealing content.

By creating valuable, engaging videos, small businesses can tap into YouTube’s vast potential to attract a larger audience and cultivate customer loyalty.

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