Luxury fashion houses compete on YouTube channels, releasing more and more new films, online stores are not lagging behind them, and with the help of services for YouTube creators and brands come up with new ideas to attract users to their channels. After all, it is no secret that video is an effective sales tool.
Why do some people neglect YouTube?
The vast majority of website owners have no idea what to do on YouTube and what its value is for business/marketing, and how it can be used to increase the number of customers and sales. This leads to the first and main problem – the lack of a strategy, and without it, it is impossible to track the success of the efforts made.
So, you have decided to start a YouTube channel to promote your online store. The first thing you will need to do is choose a promotion strategy:
- traffic from the channel to the site and conversion of interested visitors into buyers;
- increasing the level of interest and converting into channel subscribers.
Each marketing strategy has its own implementation tools and pitfalls, but the main thing that unites them is the implementation timeframe. You shouldn’t expect quick promotion results and set Napoleonic goals for yourself “I want to be cooler than Coca-Cola or Levi’s in a month.”
The process of promoting a YouTube channel is long and painstaking. It includes creation, content, relationship building and audience engagement. You may ask: “What will I get if I spend a few months?” You will receive the effect for six months or more. Popular video content that has gained a large number of views will bring traffic to the site, increase the number of subscribers and, accordingly, sales volumes.
The YouTube channel has been created, but the question arises: “What to fill it with?”
If you have TV commercials, product reviews, holiday video greetings, etc., then the first stage is completely cost-free for you. Post on the channel what you already have, don’t wait for a reason that will have the effect of a bomb exploding.
For further content, it is best to use short videos that take into account the interests of users and expert videos.
What’s the point of expert content? It benefits the channel’s viewers. Let’s look at the idea of creating such a video using an example. Let’s say you’re going to buy a yogurt maker. Before choosing a specific brand or model, you’ll ask yourself a few questions:
- Which companies produce yogurt makers and what are their differences?
- Which model is right for me?
- How to make yogurt and where to find the ingredients?
By entering one of these questions in the search bar, you will see a video that tells you step by step how to make yogurt using a yogurt maker of a certain brand, what ingredients are best, and where to get them. Such an expert video will bring a positive effect for a long time and bring traffic to the site. Therefore, before you shoot a video, think about the factors that influence the decision to buy your product.
A great idea is to create a how-to video that will allow you to use your product in a new way. For example, you sell rice. Record a short video about how to make a hot water bottle using a sock and rice. There are many ideas for life hacks.
The YouTube channel has been created, the videos have been posted, but how do you attract an audience?
Communicate with viewers in their language, organize contests, polls and shoot videos with the winners. The most valuable thing for business and the formation of a pool of loyal users is two-way communication.
Old Spice, for example, filmed 186 video responses to comments from regular fans and celebrities on social media in 2.5 days. On the first day, the video was viewed on YouTube by 5.9 million people (Obama’s victory speech got fewer views in a day), on the second day, the video took 8th place out of 11 most popular on the Internet, and on the third day, the number of views exceeded 20 million. A week after the campaign was launched, it had reached 40 million.
Following these steps will help you launch a channel on YouTube and get results and profit from sales in the near future.
You can evaluate the effect of promoting a YouTube channel on your business using the following indicators:
- Quantitative:
- number of views of the video;
- number of subscribers;
- traffic to the site from video and channel.
- Quality:
- viewing depth;
- feedback from viewers (number of comments, likes, dislikes, sharing);
- interaction of users coming from the channel with your site (viewing depth, bounce rate, conversion).
The choice of one or another evaluation indicator in turn depends on the goal you have set for your video channel.
Stop Waiting, Start Getting New Clients From Your YouTube Channel
In conclusion, I would like to note that most business owners do not know how to use YouTube for sales because it combines the properties of a social network and an advertising platform. But this should not be feared, because a competent approach to promoting the channel will help you reach a huge layer of the target audience and get additional profit.
In addition, you can involve popular video bloggers in promoting the store’s channel on YouTube.
Such videos not only increase brand awareness but also collect a large number of comments, which provide useful food for thought for the company.