Marketing on YouTube: Your guide to success

Small business marketing tends to push YouTube to the lower end of the list when it comes to priorities.

However, with over 2 billion logged-in monthly users, YouTube offers an immense opportunity for businesses to reach and engage with their target audience. The world population is approaching 8 billion. That means a quarter of the entire world population uses, or has used YouTube.

TikTok might wear the crown for short-form video, but YouTube will remain part of the furniture in the mighty age of video.

In fact, the platform is so massive that it's the second-largest search engine. YouTube is not just a video hosting site; it's a community.

Why should small businesses market on YouTube?

YouTube marketing isn't just for mammoth corporations. For some small businesses TikTok might be restrictive because of the length of your content and audience bracket. But YouTube allows you the flexibility to create longer videos, and the audience reach to access your buyer persona.

Here's why you should market on YouTube:

• Reach: Marketing on YouTube allows you to reach a massive global audience, it means you can connect with audiences worldwide
• Engagement: Video content hits differently, using video allows you to convey your brand effectively and evoke emotions
• SEO benefits: YouTube and Google are cut from the same cloth. Because YouTube is the second-largest search engine, videos will often appear as a SERP result, and SEO will rank it in the same way as a web page. This means you can gain brand visibility and SEO rankings

YouTube works in a similar way to most of your socials, with an added dash of SEO. As the slightly younger sister of Google, YouTube marketing works via a balance of SEO and video content.

Essentially, YouTube is Google for those who choose to watch over reading.

Marketing on YouTube: The fundamentals

YouTube marketing might seem intimidating, but it's a smooth ride.

1. Set up your channel
2. Create valuable content
3. Optimise for SEO
4. Engage with the community
5. Build a content calendar
6. Be consistent

Create your channel as though it's your shop window

Your channel is your home on YouTube. It reflects your brand like a shop window, so treat it like you would any other social platform. YouTube is owned by Google, so you need a Google account to make a YouTube account.

Once you've created your channel, you can customise:

• Create a compelling channel description: This should reflect your brand's personality and include keywords relevant to your content
• Choose an eye-catching profile and banner images: These visuals represent your brand and should be consistent with your overall branding strategy
• Organise your content: Use playlists to categorise your videos and make it easier for viewers to find related content

Create valuable content

Good quality content is going to attract your buyer persona in every facet of marketing. YouTube is the same, you want to pique interest enough to generate a click-through from your videos.

The cornerstone of YouTube marketing is creating valuable videos that will keep your audience interested.

• Focus on quality over quantity: Make sure each video offers something valuable. Time is precious, and empty content wastes time, ensure there is a 'point' to your content
• Tell stories: We're all hardwired to love stories, so use storytelling tactics to connect with your viewers
• Educate and entertain: Create content that will educate and entertain your audience. Instructional videos, how-tos, and entertaining content tend to perform well on YouTube

Optimise for SEO

YouTube uses an SEO algorithm. Google and YouTube are cut from the same cloth, so the SEO works in the same way.

• Use relevant keywords: Include keywords in your video title, description, and tags. If you're a local business, use local keywords and locations
• Create custom thumbnails: Thumbnails can significantly affect click-through rates
• Take advantage of YouTube's auto-caption feature: Not only does this make your content more accessible, but it also contributes to SEO. It also makes life a whole lot easier

Build a content calendar

Content calendars will help you with consistent posting on YouTube. It plans out your posting timeframe, and you can integrate it with your other marketing channels within your CRM. 

• Plan ahead: A content calendar helps you stay consistent and timely
• Be flexible: While consistency is key, also be ready to adapt your content strategy based on what works

Engage

Just like your social platforms, YouTube marketing helps you create a community around your brand.

• Respond to comments: Engagement can foster a sense of community and loyalty around your brand
• Collaborate with other YouTubers: In the same way that influencer marketing helps you get a higher reach, collaborations can expose your brand to a wider audience
• Promote user-generated content: Encourage your viewers to share their own content related to your brand, this gets your audience directly involved in your brand

YouTube helps your business grow

YouTube isn't just for funny compilation videos of dogs doing zoomies, it's so much more than that now. It's for creating genuine, engaging content that embodies your entire brand. It can help you market your product in a way that other platforms can't.

Right now, in 2024 there are 800 million videos on YouTube. We love watching videos, and that's not disappearing any time soon.

So if you've never ventured into the world of YouTube marketing, then it's definitely worth it, it's where the world is. Marketing on YouTube could even help you tap into a whole new audience.

YouTube allows you to be creative, and it gives you a massive amount of scope. By understanding your audience, creating compelling content, and engaging with your viewers, you can really build a strong presence.

Plus, you can really gauge your market through YouTube. Building a presence on YouTube will tell you more and more about your buyer personas. It not only helps grow your audience, it builds your inbound strategy as a whole.