A beginner’s guide to YouTube marketing for businesses

If used correctly, marketing using YouTube can be highly successful and lead to a big increase in sales.

To help you get started with YouTube marketing, we have written a beginner’s guide to get you on your way to joining thousands of businesses who already use the channel as a fundamental part of their marketing strategy.

Why use YouTube as part of your marketing?

Videos now make up a pivotal part of our online experience, and the medium is becoming rapidly more popular in marketing for most sectors.

According to a report published by Wyzowl, 87% of marketers surveyed stated that using video has increased traffic to their site. On top of this, a staggering 80% have also said it has directly helped to increase their sales. This is proof that using video such as YouTube marketing can and does boost your business.

One of the many benefits that video sharing platforms such as YouTube offer is diverse and varied content that that attracts an equally diverse and wide ranging audience.

Using keywords and effective titles through YouTube can help you instantly connect with your audience and increase the likelihood that your business is found organically – meaning less reliance on paid activities!

During the year in which we have seen ecommerce skyrocket, as more consumers flock online for their purchases due to the closure of brick-and-mortar stores for long periods; there is no more perfect time to consider integrating YouTube into your marketing strategy.

How do I get started with YouTube marketing?

This can be a daunting task especially for smaller businesses, but it needn’t be. For SMEs who aren’t experienced in video creation or editing you can find free video editing software such as OpenShot which is user friendly and great for beginners.

If you’re worried about video quality at this stage, don’t be. The cameras that can be found on devices such as iPhones are more than good enough to start with, but make sure to invest in good lighting equipment and a microphone to aid in the presentation of your content.

According to Brandwatch, just 9% of small businesses in the US make use of YouTube for marketing which means the competition for SMEs is smaller. Plus, with over 1.3 billion active users, you won’t need to reach out far to hit your target market.

Before you start…

Your first step into YouTube marketing is your approach, you should avoid looking at this in the same way you create content for social media marketing. Users don’t often come to YouTube to socialise, so treat this as a platform to entertain and educate, rather than deliver content in short, sharp bursts.

Creating a YouTube account for your business

This is the first step you will need to do before you do anything else. Set it up specifically for your business. This will help you get more clicks and users will recognise you as an authority quicker.

All you need for this is a Google Account. Then, simply go to YouTube, click Sign In, then “Create Account”. Make sure you choose the option “To manager my business” as this will give you more options when creating and managing your account.

Then all you need to do is fill in your details, come up with a channel name (keep it short, simple and memorable) and voila, welcome to the world of YouTube marketing.

Choose your profile assets carefully

The next step will be to pick your images for your channel. There will be two images you need to upload; one will be your smaller profile thumbnail picture which works in a similar way to your Facebook profile picture.

The second one is your channel art; this will be presented along the top of your channel page. These images may well be the first things your potential consumers see when they find you so make sure they are relevant, attention-grabbing and reflective of your brand.

Recommended channel icon size: 800 x800 pixels

Recommended cover size: 2560 x 1440 pixels

Make sure you include your website address and information about your company in the cover art, to help users know here they can find your business. However, don’t make the picture too complex or over detailed as this could put off consumers and you want them to find out about you primarily through your channel.

Fill in your profile

Make sure you add your links and contact info onto your profile. You can add one email for business enquiries and then 5 custom links. This can be your website, social media platforms or anything else you want to direct them to. To do this, simply click the pen icon at the top right-hand corner of your cover picture and select “Edit Links”

Another very important thing which many YouTubers forget about is the channel description. This is your chance to summarise your business so that users know who you are and what you do before watching your videos. This is added in the same place as your email address and links.

Consider creating a channel trailer

This is not a mandatory step, but we do highly recommend this. A channel trailer will be placed at the top of your channel page and so will stand out from the rest of your content.

This is a great excuse to make an introduction video stating who you are, some of your values and what you sell or offer.

Your channel description will not appear on your first page, but this will, so make it attention grabbing and interesting to hook potential consumer’s attention.   

SEO – is it important?

The simple answer to this is yes. Just like when you are writing a blog post, SEO is an important tool to use for YouTube marketing as it will help direct potential consumers to you as well as improving your rankings.

Using the same keyword research tools you would use for optimising blog posts and other web content, it’s important to make sure your videos use the right keywords that are being searched by your audience.  

Make sure you include this in your title and description. However, make sure it sounds natural and not forced. Also, make sure you tag your video with popular keywords that relate to your topic as well as your main keyword.

Other tips to optimise your SEO for your YouTube marketing includes, making sure to categorise your video, uploading a custom thumbnail image for your videos instead of the recommended one and using an SRT (SubRip Subtitle) file to add subtitles and closed captions.

These will all help drive your rankings on YouTube and should lead you to attracting more organic search results.

Time to get creative

Now you are ready to start uploading content for your channel. Feel free to be as creative as you want. Think about your target audience and tailor the content to them. To attract even more visitors consider making seasonal content as well.

Simply look for the upward facing arrow at the top of the page and click on this. You can then select or drop a video file onto the page which will start uploading instantly.

Whilst it is uploading you can enter basic information including the name of video, video description, privacy settings and which playlist you want it to appear on. Make sure you add tags to help it appear on more organic searches. You can also add in text translations if you deal with international clients.

All that is left to do now is choose your video thumbnail. You can either opt for the one YouTube recommends or pick a custom one. We recommend opting for a custom one with elements of your branding on it.

Once your video has uploaded you can edit it further, either before or after it has been published.

Now you have the building blocks, what are you waiting for? Take your first step and join the community that is YouTube, you may well be surprised about the results you see from it.

How we can help

With over 10 years of video production experience, we fully understand the importance of a professionally produced video and the vast array of marketing and business benefits that can be achieved as a result.

Whether you require a short channel trailer or assets for a wider YouTube campaign, our team will work with you from storyboarding and conceptualisation through to filming and editing to deliver your business with a bespoke videos that exceed your initial requirements.

We also have extensive experience in helping organisations get found online through best practice SEO approaches.

Get in touch to learn more about our YouTube video marketing services.