A lot of businesses are starting to create videos as a way of connecting with their audience and potential clients. It’s not an easy task to get in front of the camera if you’re not used to it, but it does work well. It generally increases engagement and you feel like you get to know the people behind the business more.
Once you’ve done the hard part of filming and creating the video, the next step is to share it. It’s easy to share the video across different platforms, but if you’re only sharing on platforms like LinkedIn, you could be missing out.
YouTube has been around for a long time and is the second largest search platform behind Google. Now other platforms allow you to share and watch video, it might not be the first place you think of for your business. But here’s a few reasons why YouTube could be a great place to start putting some of your videos if you don’t already.
It’s owned by Google
One of the main reasons to start posting your video content on YouTube is it’s owned by Google. When you’re searching on Google, if there is a YouTube video connected to your search, it will come up in the search results. This is a great way to add to your chances of being higher in search results.
Embedding YouTube videos on your website is also another way to help keep people on your website longer, which will also show Google people are engaging with your website.
YouTube Shorts are great for quick videos
Shorts are quick, engaging vertical videos under 60 seconds, which are shown to people whether they subscribe to you or not. Like TikTok, it’s all based on algorithms, so your video could be viewed by new people who could start engaging with your videos and want to subscribe.
These videos are a great way to increase the growth of your channel. For example, we started posting videos on YouTube Shorts for a client, using content we were already producing for Instagram and LinkedIn. Since then, their channel subscribers have grown 600% and views have increased dramatically too.
You could already have some shorter videos, or you could repurpose some longer content to create short videos and put them to use on YouTube Shorts. This way, you’re not having to redo videos you’ve already got, you can just tweak them to work in a new way.
Videos don’t get lost in your feed
For some platforms, the videos you post can eventually get lost in your feed. Uploading your videos on YouTube allows them to be seen constantly and continue getting engagement from new viewers, for months or even years after they’ve been posted.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you should post 1 or 2 videos and leave it for 6 months, you should still aim to consistently create content. But these videos should keep your engagement consistent.
It can support SEO
Adding your videos to YouTube can also support your SEO and GEO. You’ll notice when you search for something, videos can appear if Google thinks they are relevant. If your video answers a specific question, if someone searches for it, your video is more likely to show under the video section on the search results. It can also appear in the AI Overview as a source.
By optimising your titles and descriptions with keywords, Google and YouTube can use these to increase your chances of being found, so you will need to take this into consideration when uploading your videos.
You can see what is working through YouTube Studio
As with most platforms, YouTube has its own analytics area to help you see what’s working well and what’s not. It can give you information about viewing durations, how many subscribers you’ve had (and from what videos), and many other statistics which can help you when uploading other videos.
You can also A/B test titles and thumbnails, so you can figure out what works best and trial new ideas. Its built-in AI tools can also give you suggestions on what is working or not using your data.
Here are a few things to consider when uploading a video
- Think of a good title – Make sure your title is engaging but explains what you are talking about. Try adding some keywords in too.
- Add a call to action – If you’re creating a video specifically for YouTube, you could mention a call to action at the end of your video, or add a link into your description for more information. You could also add an outro to your video including this info if you’d prefer not to say it.
- Think about the thumbnail – You can add your own thumbnails to videos to help increase click throughs. Creating eye-catching thumbnails can really help, but if you’re unsure what to create, try searching something on YouTube and see what others have created.
- Keep looking at your analytics – You will be able to see what content is working or not working through your analytics, but don’t make quick judgements on videos in short periods. Some videos may work better over time, or they may need some tweaks, but keep looking at the data.
If you’re not sure where to start with creating video content, or need a space to create your content, we can help.