Until YouTube came along, there was no social networking site that promoted user content in the form of video. This niche has catapulted YouTube to the forefront as a leading social networking site. Because of its ease of use and popularity, YouTube has become a launch pad for many business viral marketing campaigns as well.
Do you have a digital camcorder or webcam? If so, you can make a video that can be shared online. People like to see what others are doing. There is no better way to allow others to do just that, than through video media. YouTube is the largest generator of user video content on the web.
Yes, YouTube is another hot spot for kids on the Internet. They can create their own videos to upload or watch videos generated by their friends. Comments can be left on videos either praising or denouncing what they have seen. This feedback can be extremely useful for future video productions and marketing campaigns.
The best thing of all is that it is free to become a YouTube member. Once a member, it only takes a good video camera to create quality film capture for the public. The best videos are those from a wide angle for lots of movement like sports videos or still shots where someone performs a demonstration from a single spot. The more interesting you can make the video, the more hits it will get on the Internet.
Businesses have found a way to use YouTube to increase their bottom line as well. Videos are a great to head up a viral marketing campaign. What is viral marketing you might be asking? We do it all the time and many don’t even realize it.
When someone shares a good review of a product with us and we go out and buy it, that’s viral marketing. Essentially, it is word of mouth advertising. It also works on the negative. Poor reviews lead to lower sales of certain products. On the Internet, negative statements spread like wildfire.
With YouTube, the negative to a viral marketing video campaign is not being seen by anyone. Creating interesting footage of your business products and links pointing back to your website can drive traffic your way. Many YouTube business users have special landing pages on their websites just for people who discover them on YouTube.
Another way that many people create a viral marketing campaign via YouTube is to create their video, upload it to YouTube and at the end of the production, send visitors to their website to pick up a free report, product sample, or the ability to sign up for more information about their business.
Think about some of the ads that you see on television. How many times have you gotten to the end of the commercial and wondered what it was even about? A viral marketing video will talk about your business but present the material in an eye-catching way. Remember the Crazy Glue guy hanging from a beam by his hard hat? You might want to hang from the side of your garage instead of fifty stories in the air but you get the idea.
YouTube provides opportunities for businesses to market their business in a viral fashion. With high quality video and a bit of social networking around the site, traffic and sales will benefit. If you haven’t begun advertising your business via video, YouTube is the perfect place to start. It doesn’t cost a dime to put your business in front of millions, but can produce a return that maybe even you could never have imagined.