4 Types of YouTube Videos You Can Use to Market Your Business
May 3, 2018
YouTube is one of the major content hubs on the internet, making it a fantastic place to gain exposure for your brand. Here are 4 types of videos we’ve found to be effective for business marketing on YouTube.
An unexpected finding in the Pew Research report on social media use in 2018 was that – along with Facebook – YouTube dominates the landscape.
The report acknowledges that YouTube “contains many social elements, even if it is not a traditional social media platform.” It is now used by nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults and 94% of 18- to 24-year-olds.
Indeed, YouTube is second only to Google for overall use online. Along with Facebook, YouTube is the “social” site that gets the most overlap, meaning that most social media users also use YouTube.
With the right marketing strategy, it’s one of the most effective platforms for getting brand exposure.
Also (with the right strategy) YouTube can target traffic with high buying intent – which is not always easy on other social media platforms.
While the tactics we discuss here are about initial engagement via organic results, you can increase marketing ROI out of this tactic by linking your YouTube channel to Adwords and running remarketing ads.
If you tested social media as a brand advertising tactic and had mixed results, YouTube is worth a look.
Producing videos – with today’s technology – isn’t that hard. What’s harder is creating the types of videos that both serve your marketing goals and attract viewers.
Here are 4 types of videos we’ve seen that work well for organic search on YouTube, with examples.
Informational Videos: Offer Tips, Tricks, and Advice
This type of video is essential for any business where prospects tend to have informational gaps.
People search YouTube videos seeking advice and answers, just as they do Google. With videos, they’re usually looking for short, direct content that answers a specific question.
For example, if you search for “ecommerce marketing ideas” on YouTube, Marketing 360® ranks in the first two positions:
The top video has over 200k views, giving considerable exposure to our brand through this search.
The point of this video is to offer useful tips with valid takeaways for anyone looking to improve their eCommerce results. We don’t attempt to pitch our products, but rather use it as an opportunity to establish ourselves as a trusted resource.
Reviews and Demos: Rate Products and Provide Buying Guides
Another excellent use for YouTube videos is to provide reviews and demos of the products you sell. This a particularly effective way for resellers to establish their brand and gain a competitive edge selling popular products.
These types of videos, of course, work best for products where shoppers use reviews to inform their buying decision. Everything from sports equipment to cosmetics to vehicles benefits from review videos.
For example, on a recent YouTube search for “powder ski reviews”, this product video from Line Skis was on page one.
One of the more ingenious uses of this tactic comes from Blendtec. They bring the social media element into their videos with a humorous, outrageous approach that also demonstrates the power of their products.
True to a successful social media marketing campaign, this video garners substantial “viral” effect (it has nearly 6 million views).
Both of these review their products and demonstrate them in action. However, since they’re made by the manufacturer, they are only ostensibly reviews. Of course they’ll have positive things to say about their own products.
Product resellers have an excellent chance to get their eCommerce brand in front of buyers by doing impartial reviews of products they offer.
For example, a search for “coffee maker reviews” lead me to this video:
They provide comparisons of each product, then link to their product pages in the text section below the video.
“Product name/type + reviews” is a common search with strong buying intent. Ranking videos like these can be a valuable sales channel.
How To Videos
How to videos provide golden opportunity to connect with buyers looking to solve an active problem.
This tactic works best when the “how to” solution involves (or even requires) a product that you sell.
Appliance Parts Pros is an excellent example of how to use this tactic.
This video shows people how to fix their washer, and provides a link to their eCommerce site so people can buy the necessary parts.
This tactic can work for any search where people do a “how to” search connected to the product you sell.
Company Promotional Videos
Small businesses doing local marketing and lead generation can also benefit from YouTube videos.
For example, Marketing 360® created this video for a home remodeling service in Virginia:
This video can now be optimized for search in their local area while also serving as excellent content for their website homepage or Facebook business page.
These videos should present your value proposition, give a brief overview of services, and include contact info.
Low Hanging Fruit
If you do searches for products or services on YouTube, you’ll notice an array of videos. As you watch them, you’ll also notice that many aren’t very good.
There are still a lot of amateur videos on YouTube, and many videos that do a poor job of connecting the informational query to a marketing goal.
This means there is a lot of opportunity for well produced, search optimized videos on YouTube.
In fact, at this point, YouTube may be the single greatest, untapped marketing platform online, as the Pew Research report notes. It’s incredibly popular across demographics, yet most business entities have not mastered the tactic of video marketing.
This open opportunity won’t last. If you think you could create the types of videos we’ve outlined here, then strike while the iron’s hot.
Speaking of informational videos, here’s JB with more tips on how to create and market YouTube videos.
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