The final installment in our social media marketing series is about YouTube. YouTube is a fantastic channel for reaching your audience when your products require demonstrations, step-by-step instructions, or detailed explanations. YouTube is also great when you want to create personal connections with your audience or if you enjoy using video content. Your videos might feature a tailored message, a product demo, or a behind-the-scenes view of your workshop and process.

YouTube is also a great storehouse for videos that you share on other platforms (even other social media platforms). This is especially true if you want them to be available to the public and searchable. Because YouTube is owned by Google, your YouTube videos are more likely to show up for your audience in a Google search than the videos you store on another platform. You can even better leverage this relationship by tagging your videos with terms that your potential customers search, not only on YouTube, but also on Google.

Best practices for video include:

Create a script, even if you do not use it. It will help you become familiar with your material and confident in your delivery.
Look at the camera when you're on video, not your script
Create multiple versions of the same video using different lengths or slightly different messages for each platform
Stick to a regular content sharing schedule for your videos - If you do MeTV every Wednesday morning and suddenly switch to Thursday without warning, your audience will notice and they probably will not appreciate the change
Practice. A lot. Rehearse before you hit record so that you get the best possible performance every time.

Take the time to experiment with video. Test a few different types and see which ones work best for your business. If you see a lot of customer interaction with a "How It's Made" type video, develop other videos of the same kind to determine whether it is the process or the product that interests your customers most. Video content should not be static. If your process or mindset changes, you can always re-record new versions of the same videos with modifications. Then, re-release the videos to reach your audience again. The new content will help your videos remain fresh and on-trend. Have fun with video and use it to create deeper connections with your audience.

TB

P.S. A note about our Social Media Marketing series: There are plenty of other platforms that we didn't cover, but the five that we did should allow you to get started with your social media marketing strategy. If you still need guidance to plan your social marketing efforts, reach out to us. We'd be happy to help you create a SMM strategy that works for your business.