Guide to Marketing on YouTube for Small Businesses 2020

YouTube is one of the most popular social media platforms with a total of 2 billion users worldwide, and best of all, the actual functions for YouTube are very simple to learn. Small businesses can use YouTube to share videos on their website, introduce their business and generate awareness about their video. In this article we will be sharing how you can run your YouTube channel and build a strong connection with your consumers.

Work on your titles and thumbnails

If you have a look at the desktop and mobile view of YouTube, thumbnails appear before titles. You want your thumbnails to be visually appealing to generate audience interest. Go beyond a simple screenshot from the video. This could mean doing some editing in Photoshop or Canva to include the title to quote in a fancy font/colour, combine images from different parts of the video, or include your business logo. Your title is also very important as this plays the biggest role when appearing in search results in both YouTube and Google. Make sure it explains the video's content succinctly and if relevant includes your business' keywords.

Create lots of content

Building a great following on YouTube doesn't happen overnight (most of the time anyways). Post meaningful contently consistently. Think of it as trial and error with YouTube's algorithm and audience's preferences. Once a video starts generating many views, the views will grow exponentially! A creative way to grow your following is posting trendy content or content that is unexpected. This can assist in increasing your reach with potential consumers and making a memorable impression.

Include calls to action

A call to action can be incorporated on YouTube just like other social media platforms and mainstream advertisements. Let consumers know where to go to find out more information or make a purchase, pose a question to them to answer in the comments or simply ask them to subscribe to see more. You can include these at the beginning, end or during the video, wherever you see fit, but don't overdo it because it can deter your audience.

Write a great description

One of the most obvious uses of the description is to describe the contents of the video. You can also use this space to include relevant links (such as those related to your calls to action) and hashtags, although these aren't that commonly used to search for content on YouTube. It's also great to include a description about your business or your channel as new viewers can get familiar with what you do quickly.

Creating your channel

If you've read this far and are still unsure of how to create a channel, don't worry we've got you!

Sign in with your business' Google account
Go to youtube.com
Click your profile picture on the top right corner
Select Create a channel.

Customise your channel by setting a profile picture such as your logo (recommended size: 800 x 800px), a description about your business and the content you plan to post on YouTube, and add your links to your website and social media.

Have fun creating your YouTube channels. Link your channels in the comments below or forum and we'll check them out!