4 Do's and Don'ts of YouTube That Will Improve Your Company's Channel

With over 72 hours of content uploaded every minute, YouTube is the king of online video content.  YouTube generates one billion unique visitors per month, and, if used correctly, can provide businesses with a great opportunity to reach their targets in an engaging manner.

YouTube visitors view an averageof two billion videos per day.  If you follow the tips below and create quality content, you can generate interest in your business and avoid being buried in the sea of videos.

Do's and Don'ts of YouTube for Business

Do…

Share webinars, interviews, and video responses

So what type of content can you put in video form?  The good news is there is plenty.  Use your YouTube channel to share webinars, slides to PowerPoint presentations, or a video response to an industry related video.  You can also hold internal and external interviews that relate to popular topics in your industry to drive traffic to your channel.

Tag your videos with relevant keywords

Make sure that your video is easy to find both on and off of YouTube.  Include your targeted keywords somewhere in your title to optimize your SEO.  There are ways to include keywords and still have a creative title (such as using a colon between an original thought and keyword), so get creative.  In your description, include your full URL and continue to be keyword rich.  Finally, include your relevant keywords in the tags field.  The more effectively you do this, the more likely it is that your video will be found on both YouTube and Google.

Create playlists for related videos

Stay organized.  Once your company has posted a large number of videos, things can become very disorganized if left to chance.  Sort related videos into specific playlists so that customers can more easily find what they are looking for.

Create a watermark URL for your video and embed a direct link to your site

Not every viewer will read the video description or comments.  Watching your video is nice, but you want your visitors to go one step farther.  Try embedding a link to your website or a related blog to drive your potential customers into your sales funnel.  Another option is including a watermark URL, usually of your homepage.  This watermark will show up in a corner of the video, but should be light enough that it does not compete with your content.  Make sure that viewers know where the video came from, and encourage them to visit the source.

Don’t…

Create a YouTube video on a whim

Just like you wouldn’t launch a social media campaign without setting goals and planning, you don’t want to create a YouTube video on a whim.  Shooting from the hip will more than likely produce low quality content, and that will reflect poorly on your company.  When you decide to make a video, plan and then execute.  Create a script, practice, and edit to create a high quality video that your targets will find useful and enjoyable.

Overuse annotations

Annotations can be a great way to encourage viewers to subscribe or visit your website, but use them appropriately.  Annotations are text overlays that you can place on your YouTube videos.  They pop up at a certain time in the video and usually encourage your viewer to take action.  While this can be a great tool, annotations can be seen as distracting, so use them sparingly.  Having text popping up multiple times during a video will annoy your viewer and lead them to go elsewhere.

Create a video for the sake of posting content

You want to be active on YouTube so that viewers will periodically check back with your channel, but don’t post a pointless video.  Post content that will be beneficial to your customers and targets.  If you are unable to come up with an idea for a video just actively participate in the community.  Searching through videos related to your industry to see what is trending may spark your next video idea.

Submit a low quality video

Your YouTube channel is a product of your company.  Low quality video will reflect the standards of quality that your company holds, whether it is true or not.  Poor lighting, camera work, or audio will drive your viewers to another channel, and it is very unlikely that they will return.  Make sure that the videos you produce are professional and of high quality so that customers will connect high quality video with high quality products and services.

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