OK, so I work in video production. So, naturally I’m looking to sell video production services to everybody? Wrong. I’m here to sing the praises of a YouTube channel so if you don’t already have one, you’ll seriously be thinking about it by the time you finish reading this.
So what are the benefits of having a YouTube channel. Firstly, it’s 100% free. Book your username right now if you haven’t already done so. When starting out in business, choosing a catchy name is important and indeed so is finding out about availability. Is the Domain available? Is the name still untaken on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Check all of these. If you are already established, take your YouTube name now.
Secondly, YouTube is owned by Google. As far as most are concerned there is just the one web crawler. Yahoo – what’s that??? Google and YouTube are brother and sister. That’s why videos appear on Google searches. Sure videos hosted on other platforms (vimeo, daily motion) will appear but, much further down the list. So the crux of this second point really is about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). If you’re looking to improve the Google ranking of your website, I strongly urge you to embrace YouTube technology. Even if you do not have any content of your own, you can use other peoples videos and post them on your YouTube channel. You can then go ahead and set your channel tags using the same keywords you are using to drive traffic to your regular website. If you have a WordPress based website or you have a site with good CMS functionality, go ahead and embed a video on the front page of your site. The channel tags you set will help drive traffic to your site and improve your Google ranking. At the end of the day, all the businesses in your area are vying for the top spot when it comes to that all important inbound phone call.
Thirdly, producing good quality content for your channel needn’t cost the earth. Maybe record a vlog on your webcam. In the modern spirit of social media, share knowledge with your contemporaries and keep friends and competitors alike up to date with industry news. The more content you can submit to your channel, the greater prominence you’ll enjoy on Google searches. Remember, Google (and YouTube) like fresh content.
And last. Now that you have your brand spanking new channel, take the time to customize it with a funky background and nice smiley profile pic. Make friends on YouTube and subscribe to others’ videos. Give comments where they’re due. youtube likes