How to use YouTube for business in 2021?

YouTube is a fantastic platform that allows businesses to connect with their audience and communicate their message effectively. Here are a few aspects to focus on to leverage YouTube for business in 2021.

1. Branding.

It goes without saying that YouTube is an extremely visual platform. It’s built around video content, which by far is one of the most effective ways to connect with your target audience and communicate your message. With that said, the importance of the visual elements is hard to overestimate.

Use components of your brand identity to create a unique look for your channel. Consistent visual representation – things like brand color palette, fonts, logo, images – will help you stand out on YouTube and make your channel recognizable and uniform with the company website. It helps people spot your content on other social platforms as well and keep strengthening the relationship with your brand.

Introducing the faces of the business to the audience is a great benefit. Whether you’re a startup owner wearing all the hats or a multi-million dollar company, your audience wants to see real people behind the scenes. It helps to form an interpersonal and emotional connection. Seeing someone’s passion for the brand makes a huge difference when it comes to deciding to purchase. Figure out who would be a great “face” of the company on YouTube whether it’s a single video project or an ongoing series. Personify your brand, and you will see how much easier it is for the people to connect with the business rather than watching dull monotone series of b-rolls and graphic sliders.

Create Thumbnails that inspire people to open your video. Think about it this way – there’s a fraction of a second that determines a decision to click on a video, and your thumbnail is the main tool to help trigger the positive response. The three tactics that work for many YouTube content creators when it comes to Thumbnail design are:

• adding a headshot of a person in the video
• using extremely eye-catching bold legible fonts
• using high contrast colors to make sure all elements of the image stand out. 

Here is a great example of successful brand theme implementation.

2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

It’s not a secret, YouTube is one of the largest Search Engines, and it has a huge archive of search traffic. What this means for you is you should use SEO tools and tactics to ensure your content is found by the people who are actively looking for it. Don’t you think it would be a major waste of your time spent on content planning and creation for it to just sit there not getting any traffic?

Keyword is everything. 

Now, if you wish to be efficient with your YouTube efforts, the one thing you should focus on when it comes to YouTube SEO is a keyword search. Find out what your ideal target customer is looking for on the platform. What are they typing in the search bar? Which topics have a high volume of search and a ton of content created by many other channels? Which topics have a high search volume but less information on the subject or maybe the content you came across is not concrete and can be improved? Pick the subject you wish to speak of in your next video, and choose one focus keyword or a key phrase that will grab the attention of your target group.

Example:

Key phrase: LinkedIn for business

Video title: How to use LinkedIn for business in 2021: 5 tips to grow LinkedIn business page

Caption: Learn how you can leverage LinkedIn for business in 2021 with these simple tactics.

Tags: LinkedIn for business, LinkedIn for business 2021, grow your business on LinkedIn

Consistency.

As any other social media platform or search engine, YouTube loves consistency. Content that comes out on a set schedule is likely to be favored by the algorithm. Not to mention, your fans will appreciate your ability to deliver on time. In 2021 the more you post the better. Some creators post daily content on YouTube and turn it into a full-time job within a year. 

Content Strategy.

Posting for the sake of posting is not going to cut it in 2021. You have to have a content strategy and make sure your content is well-thought-out.

Clear purpose.

Before filming a video ask yourself – what is the purpose of it? What are the benefits this content provides to my followers? Is it educational, entertaining, or inspiring? If you don’t have a good answer to any of these questions, sit down, take a pen and paper and think about your idea some more. As a business, you cannot afford to invest your time and money in purposeless content. This will reflect badly on your company’s reputation and turn away potential clients. 

CTA’s or “Calls to Action”.

What actions do you want the viewers to take while watching your video? If you want people to subscribe to your channel, give them a good motivation to do it. If the goal is to encourage the viewers to participate in a giveaway – provide clear directions on how they can enter. Want them to share your video with someone else – ask nicely and state the reasons why. Add an incentive and/or a sense of urgency. What is the benefit of completing this action? “Follow my Instagram page to win a free book”, “Shop the new collection and 20% off before the end of the day”, “Trade your email for a 50% off coupon”, etc. A good CTA has clear and easy directions to what needs to be done and what the outcome of this action will be.

Recycle existing content.

If you’ve had your channel for a while, you can and should repurpose your existing content. Take a look at some of your popular videos that had a good engagement rate in the past, add value to the information by updating it with industry news, your observations over time and discoveries, and case studies, then reshoot it with a fresh perspective.

Leverage playlists.

If you’re noticing that some of your videos are unified by the same topic or format, organize them into playlists to navigate your followers through the information you’re presenting them with. This will help them scan through your channel and find exactly what they’re looking for.

Takeaways.

Strive to deliver high-quality content that is beneficial to your audience. Post often and consistently, and focus on creating content that serves a specific purpose. Choose topics your target customer is interested in, and support each video with a searchable keyword or a key phrase. Implement it in the video title, caption, and tags to make sure your content is easily found. Have a unique and uniform style for your channel that makes you stand out among competitors. Elements like color palette, thumbnails, can help you connect to your audience and personify your business. Use clear Calls To Action to navigate viewers through the content and achieve the goals you set for your channels.

And if you need help with your social media marketing strategy, management, or content creation, reach out to us, and we’ll do our best to help you flourish in the online arena. Request a free call below, and speak with us about your business goals on social media.