| How to Promote Your Brand through YouTube Although there are thousands of websites out there that enable you to build your personal brand, few have the credibility and reach of YouTube, the biggest video sharing site on the web. YouTube is a highly influential video sharing site that is used by everyone from the White House staff, to Selena Gomez, to major universities. YouTube has over 120 million viewers in the US, so marketing yourself via YouTube can help to spread your brand messaging substantially. Furthermore, using video is a highly effective method of social media marketing in itself because viewers feel a more personal connection to you when they see your videos.When you watch a video of someone, you may feel like you have met them in person because you get a sense of what they are really like based on their voice, appearance, body language, etc. If you want to make your branding and social media marketing campaign more powerful, incorporating video into it is a highly effective choice. To maximize the success of your video stream and increase the number of views your videos get, it�s essential to create a strongly branded YouTube channel. If you already have a strong online presence on other social media websites, carry that presence over to your YouTube channel. For example, if you are considered an expert on herbal medicine online, make sure that your YouTube video channel is all about herbal medicine. You want to be certain that your brand image across different social networks is consistent. If multiple people will be contributing to the YouTube channel, make sure that the channel is branded based on a specific topic or company name. If it�s just you on the channel, then make sure to use your full name because you won�t be able to change the name of your channel later. You could also use a unique show name as the name of your YouTube channel. When you sign up for YouTube, make sure to select the correct account type. Many people don�t even realize that YouTube offers different account types. For example, if you consider yourself an expert in your field, you can select the �guru� account type. The benefit of selecting a �guru� account is that you can add a custom logo and links. After you select a YouTube account type and name your YouTube channel, make sure you set up your profile. Fill out the information on the profile, include a link to your website, and upload an avatar. If the channel is for you alone, upload the same photo of yourself that you use on all social networks, blogs, and sites with which you are involved. It�s important to take the time to craft a good profile since it will help you compete for attention with millions of other content producers on YouTube. Make sure to add tags to all of your videos. Use relevant keywords in your niche as tags for your videos. By using your target keywords as tags, it will make it easier for people to find your video when they are searching for information online. Also be sure to include your target keywords within the video title for SEO purposes. To ensure that your profile page is consistent with the image of your website, blog, business card, and other marketing materials, use a custom background and customize its colors, fonts, etc. There are plenty of websites out there where you can find free YouTube designs. You can also upload your own background if you�d like. In order to build a community around your YouTube channel, you need to check out the modules section, which enables you to monitor comments, recent activity, and friends. And in order to feature the most recent video anytime someone views your site, click on �edit� in the upper right hand corner in order to set the featured video to the most recent uploaded video. Once you�ve got your profile and channel good to go, you need to focus on creating awesome content. Your videos have to be humorous or otherwise very interesting in order to get attention and go viral. You can use a high quality web cam or an HD flip to create your videos. However, if you�re very serious about creating a popular video channel on YouTube and you want your videos to look highly professional, it may be worthwhile for you to invest in lighting, a sound system, amplifier, and other professional tools. In order to promote your videos, take advantage of all the connections you already have on other social networks, such as your blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Automatically update your Facebook profile or fan page with your YouTube videos by installing the YouTube Video Box Application on Facebook. You can also automatically syndicate your YouTube updates through Twitter, Facebook, and Google Reader by using the Sharing setting on YouTube. Embed your videos into blog posts. In your email signature and social network profiles, link to your YouTube channel. Although accumulating 150, 000 views on your videos may not happen overnight, a branded video channel on YouTube can be a great asset to your overall social media marketing campaign. YouTube is a great place to get started with video marketing since it gets so much traffic. Furthermore, you can easily share your YouTube videos with your friends and followers on other social networks. Videos can represent your brand better than just about anything else in your social media marketing toolbox because people can see what you look like and hear your voice, which makes them feel like they are getting to know you better. If you want to take your marketing to the next level and forge deeper connections with your customers, start building your YouTube channel today. |
