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Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has become a modern media powerhouse,
beginning with the development of the first wave of influencers (YouTubers) and,
more recently, with the launch of its music streaming platform YouTube Music.
Currently, YouTube has more than 30 million daily visitors. Nearly 500 hours of
video are uploaded every minute, with more than 2,400 channels that reach in
excess of 1 million subscribers. The platform was purchased by Google in 2016 and
currently ranks No. 2 for global and domestic web traffic, according to Alexa.
Marketing is moving toward video over static content, and YouTube is emerging
yet again as a key player.

For an individual user, the site appears straightforward, but it's more complicated if
you want to use it to market and grow your business. Here's what you should know if
you want to use YouTube for business.

Setting up a YouTube channel

1. Signing up for an account
2. Customizing your YouTube profile
3. Interacting with others on YouTube
4. Verifying your channel
5. YouTube Live
6. Trending videos on YouTube
7. YouTubers
8. Advertising on YouTube
9. YouTube Partner Program
10. YouTube Premium
11. YouTube tips and tricks
Signing up for an account

Most social media networks require you to set up an account before you can view
content. That's not the case with YouTube. You can view content without a YouTube
account. However, an account is required to upload and engage with other users.
Membership is also required to view videos flagged as adult content.

To sign up, you must be logged in to a Google account. You can sign up using an
existing Google account or create a new one. Once you're logged in to your Google
account, go to YouTube to customize your YouTube business channel.

In the top left corner of the page, there is a dropdown menu with quite a few options.
There are links for the homepage, subscriptions and trending videos, as well as three
categories: Library, Subscriptions and More From YouTube. Your library helps you
organize which videos you've watched, liked and saved for later. Subscriptions sends
you updates on the channels you're subscribed to, notifying you when they've
uploaded new content.

In the top right corner of the page, there are four buttons. The one closest to the
center, which is an icon of a video camera, directs you to the page where you upload
a video. The middle icon, a square comprising nine smaller squares, is for YouTube
apps. The next one, the bubble icon, will take you to messages. The next button is an
icon of a bell, and it notifies you of your account activity, such as a new like or
comment. The one closest to the right side, which is an icon of your profile picture,
will direct you to your account information pulled from Google.

Editor's note: Looking for a tool to help you with social media
management? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with
vendors that can help.

Customizing your YouTube profile

Once you've signed up for YouTube, you'll need to customize your profile with your
business's information. Every user is assigned a channel according to their
username. Likewise, you'll be given a specific URL so other people can find your
channel through a direct link.

To customize your channel, go to your avatar icon in the top right corner of the
homepage. Then, click on My Channel. Here you'll be asked to enter your name, but
you also have the option to use a business name. Click "Use a business or other
name," which will take you to a page where you can enter your business's name.

You can then add channel art, which is similar to a Facebook or Twitter banner. The
header is a great place to add your business's logo and/or tagline.
Your profile photo and channel art should represent your brand clearly through high-
quality photos. If you don't upload a photo or art, YouTube will fill in generic default
images for both. However, your profile photo is pulled directly from your Google
account and must be uploaded through Google, not YouTube. It will take a few
minutes to sync your Google profile photo to your YouTube account.

It's important to fill out information about your business. Share information about your
business, its services and so on. You can also add your website along with your
company's tagline. Other YouTube users, especially subscribers, should get a
general understanding of what your business is about and how to find more
information by looking at its channel page. After all, every social network is a chance
to gain new audiences and, ultimately, loyal customers.

Interacting with others on YouTube

There are several ways to interact with other YouTube users.

 Comments: Comments can be organized by most popular or newest. Engaging with users
who comment on your videos boosts the video's engagement traffic.
 Likes: This is a more passive form of interacting with content. However, if you've chosen
to show your likes publicly on your channel, these videos will appear under the playlists
section on your channel.
 Subscriptions: The best way for users to stay up to date with your brand's content is to
subscribe. Every time a user uploads a new video, a subscriber receives a push
notification. You should constantly encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel,
especially since it improves your engagement traffic and increases the number of views.
Many popular YouTubers incorporate reminders to subscribe at the beginning and/or end
of their videos.
 Playlists: Organize relevant content using the site's playlist feature. If you choose to
publicize them, playlists will appear on your channel's page below your uploaded content.
You can also organize other users' content through a list. For instance, if you're a
marketing agency, you can compile a client's videos into one big list. Otherwise, this is
another way to organize your own content on your channel.
 Sharing: The site's social widget allows users to share videos on other social media
networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Blogger, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest and
LinkedIn.
 Messages: You can also share videos and message privately with friends and contacts.
Verifying your channel

How will you know if a channel is verified or not? There will be a small checkbox,
which indicates a verification badge next to the channel's name. To apply for
verification, your channel must have 100,000 subscribers. However, interested
businesses can contact Google directly to inquire about verification.
YouTube Live
Similar to Facebook Live, YouTube has its own livestreaming feature. Broadcasts are
usually oriented around news or sports. YouTube Live isn't as important as the site's
standard video format, because it's not as widely known, and your account must be
verified to conduct a livestream.

If you choose to do a livestream, there are four ways to go about it. The first, which is
the quickest, is the Stream Now option. The second is through the Events tab, which
gives you more control, because you can preview your stream ahead of time. The
third option is found on the site's mobile app; if you use this, the stream will later be
archived on your channel. Lastly, you can stream from your computer's webcam.

Trending videos on YouTube

Trending videos are videos that YouTube users are interacting with at a very high
rate. Often these videos were uploaded within the last couple days. You can view the
current trending videos under the Trending tab on the YouTube homepage even if
you're not logged in or don't have an account.

Trends reflect popular culture, one-off viral hits and current events. The site also
features users tagged with a blue Creator on the Rise, Gaming Creator on the
Rise or Artist on the Rise badge next to their channel names on the Trending Videos
page. These channels are showcased for 24 hours. The criteria for making the cut
includes having more than 1,000 subscribers, and users can only be chosen once.

For brands, the goal of creating trending content isn't necessary. It could be a shoot-
for-the-stars goal, because if one of your videos goes viral, it could end up on the
trending page and thus gain significant exposure to your company. However, silly
commercials, like those on the Super Bowl, have ended up as trending YouTube
videos shortly following their television debut.

YouTubers

You might have heard about YouTubers, or video content creators solely based on
YouTube. These are essentially personalities, such as those on television talk shows
or reality shows, with their own unique channels.

Many specialize in a particular niche, like cooking or beauty, while others document
their day-to-day lives in the form of a vlog. Many of these personalities have grown
and maintained a large following, sometimes with hundreds of thousands or even
millions of subscribers, such as Grace Helbig and Tyler Oakley.
While recruiting such a large following is an admirable goal for small businesses, that
isn't the only thing we can learn from YouTubers. In fact, working with YouTube
personalities can turn out to be a smart business move. [Learn more about
working with influencers.]
Many YouTubers have corporate sponsorships. These sponsors send YouTubers
their products to mention or use in their videos. Often, YouTubers will verbally
mention the company and how awesome their product is. For instance, makeup
companies often send popular beauty bloggers their products so these bloggers can
make videos applying the makeup. Some creators upload haul videos where they
review several products at once.

If your business has a service or physical product that fits a certain YouTuber's niche,
it's worth reaching out to see what their rates are and if they will feature you in a
video.

Advertising on YouTube

There are a few ways to advertise on YouTube, as users reap the benefits of the
site's free service. Since the site is based on video content, companies are
encouraged to add a call-to-action link directing viewers to their website following the
video.

There are four video ad options, including TrueView in-stream ads, which play
before, during or after other videos. After five seconds, users can skip the ad. You'll
only be charged for the ad when a viewer watches 30 seconds of the video or
interacts with the video.

There are also discovery ads, which appear when a user is searching or browsing
content on YouTube or across the web. These clips aren't limited to 30 seconds; they
can be as short or long as you wish. You'll be charged every time someone clicks on
the ad to watch the full video.

Bumper ads are six seconds or less, and users can't skip these. These ads also
appear before, during or after another video. Outstream ads play only on mobile
devices, showing up on partner websites and within apps. You'll be charged for these
ads based on cost per thousand impressions (vCPM).

TrueView for Action

TrueView for Action allows you to drive leads and conversions by adding a
prominent call to action (CTA) and headline text overlays to a TrueView in-stream ad.
You will need to set up conversion tracking to run the campaign.
YouTube also has a curated directory of ad agencies that can be matched to your
business needs and is planning to create video-creation tools to help users more
easily create ad content.
YouTube Partner Program

With the YouTube Partner Program, you can monetize your content on YouTube.
You earn money from advertisements on your videos and when YouTube Premium
subscribers watch your videos. You're eligible for the program once your channel
reaches 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months and 1,000 subscribers.
You can check your watch time and subscribers under YouTube Analytics, which is in
your dashboard. While it may be difficult to reach these requirements, the program
allows you to make money on videos you plan to create anyway.

YouTube Premium

YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) is a subscription service, starting at

$11.99 a month, that allows users to stream video content and music without
advertisements at the beginning of videos. It also lets you download videos to watch
offline.

Although you don't need a premium subscription to operate YouTube for your
business, it's good to know the latest news about the site to better familiarize yourself
with it. Plus, with this subscription, remember that videos are ad-free. At the end of
the day, though, YouTube Premium could hurt your business, because the premium
services take users away from in-stream advertisements.

YouTube tips and tricks

Now that you understand how to use YouTube, here are a few tips and tricks to use
the site to your brand's advantage.

Encourage viewers to subscribe. Subscribing is the best way for your audience
to know whenever you've uploaded a video, created a new playlist and more. It also
gives you an estimated figure as to who will eventually view your video.
Share videos on other social media platforms. Link back to your videos
whenever possible on your website and other social media networks. However, don't
stop at direct video links. Link back to your channel so your audience can see what it
looks like and have the chance to subscribe.
"[You should] have a video strategy," said Tracy Sestili, head of marketing
at SparkPost. "Without a strategy, you can post videos as a repository, but you may
not get the return."
Use relevant keywords in a video's title, tags and
description. Experiment with different titles and descriptions. As with other social
networking sites, selecting relevant keywords to increase hits is a common SEO
strategy for marketers. It helps audiences find content that interests them. A quick
exercise would be to watch one of your company's videos from the beginning and
then create a list of words and phrases as you watch. You should also be realistic
about which keywords you use.

"Don't go after keywords that big brands compete for," said James Robinson,
marketing advisor at Iconic Genius. "Go after local keywords."
Engage with similar content uploaded by other users. Like and comment
on videos uploaded by other users. Not only might those users stumble upon your
videos and channel, but anyone else who sees that comment or like might as well.
Do this with videos that have a similar topic, interest or theme as yours to attract new
viewers.
Curate playlists. If any of your videos follow a consistent theme, organize them
together. Perhaps you have a Friday series, meaning you upload a video every
Friday morning. You should compile all those videos into one spot through a special
playlist. These playlists will also appear on your channel's page, right below your
uploaded videos.
Upload content regularly. Especially if you've developed a decent pool of
subscribers, viewers will be counting on you to create, edit and upload new content.
This adds relevancy to your brand. This also applies to any other website where
users can follow and engage with your content. It's best to add content whenever
possible, even if it isn't as consistent as you'd like.
"Be consistent," said Michelle Baxo. "I found that I was building the most traction
when I did a weekly post at the same time and notified [on] my social networks."
Use clickable links to reference other content. At the end of videos, you'll
notice many videos reference previous, relevant or maybe even newer content with a
clickable link inside the video. You can add these while editing your video in the site's
video manager. This feature can also link back to any pages or sites your video
covers.
Work with top content creators to place products. Popular YouTubers,
especially those with frequently trending content, have hundreds of thousands to
millions of subscribers constantly watching their channel. It could be a great business
opportunity to reach out to them as a potential sponsor. Many YouTube personalities
place products in their videos, which gives a specific brand a larger audience than
usual.
Use YouTube stories. YouTube recently created YouTube stories, which
are similar to Snapchat or Instagram stories. A story is a collection of short videos
that can remain visible for a day or until they're deleted. Google is now testing Al to
swap backgrounds in stories, running a beta version of it with some content
creators.
Run a contest. Running or promoting a contest on YouTube is an easy way to get
people to watch and engage with your content. However, before you post a contest,
read YouTube's rules and guidelines.
Credit to : https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/

Watch
Me DOMINATE Page
#1
for ANY Niche with
just 3 Clicks
and GET TARGETED
TRAFFIC from BUYER Keywords

https://bit.ly/lingoblaster-2