There are loads of ways a brand can use YouTube and these can and should vary depending on who the brand is, who their customers are and their general tone of voice. YouTube is widely known as the world’s 2nd biggest search engine.
In other words, you should be there. In fact, you need to be there.
Why not get the creative juices flowing? There are so many ways you can utilise YouTube, in more traditional ways and some more innovative ones too. Here are a few ideas:
Informational Videos
Lots of people search YouTube to find out How to and what a great way to introduce your brand to people who may not have heard of you before. If you can create a really helpful and relevant how to video that answers a user’s question you’ll gain brand awareness, and also importantly some brand affinity.
In other words people will like you, and people who like you, will turn into people to remember you. And people who remember you, may well turn into people who use you! Win!
Do something unexpected
The drinks brand Innocent are the Kings and Queens of social media; in the build up to Euro 2016, they released a video titled Innocent – being football since 1999. Ok so they are the Official Smoothie Sponsor of Euro 2016, but they have managed to create much more than a promotional video – and with over 420,000 views in 2 weeks, that ain’t bad going! Agreed, they do get more views for their films about smoothies, but they would have opened up to a whole new audience – those searching for football and believe us – that is a lot of people!
Pull on the heartstrings
Dove created film asking people to describe themselves to an artist who couldn’t see them, who using the description then drew a portrait. The artist then asked a stranger, who had sat in a room with the person to describe them again, the artist then drew another portrait.
When the subject saw both versions of the picture of themselves, they were overwhelmed at how different the pictures were. The strangers saw them in a different way, a more beautiful way.
While the brand is overtly part of these films they have created a very special emotional bond with the audience. There are 2 versions of this film, a 3 minute and a 6 minute version. Together they have been viewed over 70 million times. If that isn’t a boost for their brand awareness, I don’t know what is!
Be topical
Creating really relevant topical content is a great way to keep your channel fresh and exciting. Has there been an industry update, a national event like the Queen’s 90th birthday (PG Tips celebrated Royal-Tea with a video), or perhaps you’re attending an event?
Why not create a YouTube video? It doesn’t have to be long and can be as fun or as serious as needs be. What matters here is when you post it. Do it on the day. Be keen, be relevant and be part of the conversation. Is Wimbledon is about to start and you sell Lawn Mowers?! Amazing! Your customers could have grass as perfect as that on Centre Court – couldn’t they? There is a YouTube film in the making there for sure!
Now, don’t forget the important bits:
Title – Here is the best opportunity for you to optimise your video, make sure you get your keywords in, and get them in at the start.
Tags – Give your video between 20-26 relevant tags – another great way to optimise your video. Use the keywords you think people will be searching for the kind of content you have produced
Thumbnails – A great thumbnail can go along way, include the title and a couple of different screenshots from the film. It is a great idea to keep your thumbnails consistent, people will recognise them and hopefully click more when they see them
Have fun! – Youtube is a really exciting way for you to showcase your brand in ways you may not have thought of before, and it is really is a fun way to generate content. Don’t forget to tell people about your new awesome film on other social channels and via your blog and website.