If you could increase your website traffic by 300%, keep people on your website longer, and exponentially increase your Google ranking with one free tool, would you? It would seem silly not to, yet so many small businesses do not embrace this tool due to perceived technology barriers or a fear of being on camera. You may have figured out that I’m talking about video–specifically YouTube.
Possibly the biggest obstacle to producing a video is the fear of being seen and heard on video. The goal of YouTube marketing should be to send users to other social channels, or to your site (or both). Make it easy by adding links to your channel. They'll appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your channel art, in a place that's easy to see and highly clickable. However, if you’re the face, brand and the personality of your business, that means YOU need to be on camera. Being present on the camera – by yourself – sharing your personality and your excitement for what you do cannot be matched.
Do you remember your reaction the first time you ever heard your recorded voice? If you’re anything like most of us, you probably recoiled at the sound and thought to yourself, “That’s not me! I do NOT sound like that!”
I’ve also seen many businesses shy away from YouTube because they are unfamiliar with making a video. Truthfully, terrific videos can be created with basic, inexpensive equipment. The determining factor in how well your video will work for your business is how adept you are at grabbing your audience’s attention with content that interests them and how you position yourself to meet their needs.
Whatever the reason for your reluctance in embracing YouTube, the numbers do not lie. Videos have a 50 times better chance of ranking within the first page of Google for the respective keywords (Forrester Research). If Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is even a small part of your marketing strategy, you need to be embracing YouTube NOW.
If you’re ready to break free of these perceived barriers and learn how to create videos that get results, check out the YouTube module of The Social Media Jump Start Kit – available now! Experience the difference video makes for your business!
