SEPTEMBER 2014
7
business
solutions
Why are businesses turning to YouTube? One reason is that when
you upload a video, you put your business in a position to be
found by customers; the search potential for YouTube approaches
that of Google. Online videos can also help build trust with your
customers by matching a friendly face with your brand and giv-
ing you the chance to do product demonstrations.
How could your business use YouTube? Consider these ideas:
Video Marketing
Use this method for engaging potential customers when words
alone don’t do the trick. Provide details about your products
and show how they’re used. Or, do something completely unex-
pected that’s likely to go viral.
Product Information
For customers who are already doing business with you, videos
are a great way to keep them happy. Provide step-by-step prod-
uct instructions that will help them use your products.
FAQs
While Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be written, why
not take it a step further and provide a personal touch? As with
product information, you can demonstrate some things much
more easily using video.
Recruiting
Consider creating a series of recruiting videos that show your
various departments, give a tour of the facility, and talk about
company values and expectations. Upon applying for work,
potential candidates will feel more comfortable if they have
already gotten to know you online.
News
Tired of the media chopping and slicing your well-crafted news
releases? How about releasing them on video? Record a promi-
nent company representative broadcasting your news item.
Training
Rather than always spending money for employees to travel
to training sessions, create videos to disseminate some of the
information.
Testimonials
What’s better than a potential customer reading about a raving
fan? A potential customer seeing that raving fan! A video can
bring a customer testimonial to life.
For best results with online videos, keep these guidelines in mind:
• To avoid “gobbling up” company bandwidth, reserve a
channel on YouTube and use it to store your videos.
• For search engine optimization, enter a title, description,
and tags when you upload each video.
• Try to keep the length of each video to less than two minutes.
• Promote videos within your other online communities, such
as your blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
Finally, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Your video
doesn’t have to be a polished production, and uploading to
YouTube is free and easy to do. Give it a try and put your com-
munications plan in motion.
Check out Blue Valley’s YouTube channel!
Get Down to Business on
YouTube
Online videos help customers find you and better understand your products
YouTube has become much more
than just an online entertainment
phenomenon. The popular video
site is now being used successfully
by many businesses for a variety
of marketing, customer service,
recruiting, and training activities.
