• YouTube is home to more than 2 billion users worldwide and drives more than 30 million daily visits, making it a great platform for small businesses looking to market with video content.
• Video is extremely engaging and useful for many types of businesses. Creating a YouTube channel for your business offers a centralized platform for your audience to view and engage with your videos.
• Completely fill out your YouTube profile and follow these tips to upload engaging video content that will resonate with your audience and grow your followership.
Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has become a modern media powerhouse. Currently, YouTube has more than 2 billion users worldwide and 30 million daily visitors. Nearly 500 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute, with more than 2,400 channels that exceed 1 million subscribers. The platform was purchased by Google in 2016 and currently ranks No. 2 for global and domestic web traffic, according to Alexa.
Marketing is moving toward video over static content, and YouTube is a key player. For an individual user, the site appears straightforward, but it's more complicated if you want to use it to market and grow your business. Here's what you should know to use YouTube for business.
How to set up a YouTube channel
These guides break down the process by which you can set up a YouTube channel for your small business. Each examines an important element of creating and optimizing your YouTube channel.
1. Signing up for a business YouTube account
2. Customizing your YouTube profile
3. Interacting with others on YouTube
4. Verifying your channel
5. YouTube Live
6. Trending videos on YouTube
7. YouTubers and influencers
8. Advertising on YouTube
9. YouTube Partner Program
10. YouTube Premium
11. YouTube tips and tricks
Signing up for a business YouTube account
Most social media networks require you to set up an account before you can view content. That's not the case with YouTube; you can view content without a YouTube account. However, an account is required for your company to upload videos and engage with other users. Membership is also required to view videos flagged as adult content.
Follow these steps to create your business YouTube account:
1. Sign in to your company's Google account. If you use Gmail for your business email, you'll use the same username and password for your YouTube account that you use for Gmail. Alternatively, you can create a new Google account that you use solely for YouTube business purposes.
2. Once signed in, visit YouTube's homepage. Double-check that you're signed in to the appropriate business account instead of your personal YouTube account.
3. Click on your Google account's avatar. You'll find this in the top right corner. It's a small circle containing your picture (or your company's logo if you've set that as your email address's picture).
4. Click on "Your channel." This option will appear in the dropdown menu that displays when you click your avatar. It's the top option in the first batch of icons.
5. Choose "use a business or other name." You'll need to select this option to get started with a business YouTube account. You can then enter your company's name.
6. Click "Create." Then, voila! You have a business YouTube account.
Once you've taken these steps, return to the YouTube homepage. In the top left corner of the page, there is a dropdown menu with quite a few options. There are links for the homepage, trending videos, your library and your subscriptions. Your library lets you organize which videos you've watched, liked and saved for later. Under your subscriptions, you can see all the channels you're subscribed to and receive notifications when they've uploaded new content.
In the top right corner of the page, there are four buttons. The one closest to the center, which is an icon of a video camera, directs you to the page where you upload a video. The middle icon, a square comprising nine smaller squares, is for YouTube apps. The next one, the bubble icon, will take you to messages. The next button is an icon of a bell, and it notifies you of your account activity, such as a new like or comment. The one closest to the right side, which is an icon of your profile picture, will direct you to your account information pulled from Google.
Interacting with others on YouTube
There are several ways to interact with other YouTube users.
• Comments: Comments can be organized by most popular or newest. You can boost your video's engagement traffic by responding to users who comment on your videos.
• Likes: This is a more passive form of interacting with content. However, if you've chosen to show your likes publicly on your channel, these videos will appear under the playlists section on your channel.
• Subscriptions: The best way for users to stay up to date with your brand's content is to subscribe. Every time you upload a new video, your subscribers receive a push notification. You should constantly encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel, as it improves your engagement traffic and increases the number of views. Many popular YouTubers incorporate reminders to subscribe at the beginning and/or end of their videos.
• Playlists: You can organize related content together using the site's playlist feature. If you choose to publicize your playlists, they will appear on your channel's page below your uploaded content. You can also organize other users' content with a playlist. For instance, if you run a marketing agency, you could compile a client's videos into one big list. Otherwise, this is another way to organize your own content on your channel.
• Sharing: The site's social widget allows users to share videos on other social media networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Blogger, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
• Messages: You can also share private videos and messages with friends and contacts on YouTube.