YouTube 101

Over the last five years, YouTube has swiftly become the dominant player in the online video industry. Currently over 35% of all online video plays are made on YouTube and because of this their audience is massive. YouTube offers businesses, musicians, and anyone else a massive platform where they can broadcast their respective content. Like Twitter and other web 2.0 tools, YouTube helps with search engine rankings. Once you start posting videos with valuable content and gain a following of viewers, you will begin to pop up more and more for various keywords.

For a start up business, YouTube is a significant tool in gaining a viral presence. I can cost companies thousands of dollars in PR and marketing expenses to gain a following and establish a brand, but with YouTube it is virtually free. Once you set up your company account, you will have also created your own YouTube channel. You can customize the CSS on your channel to be personalized for your respective brand. Once the channel customization is complete, it is time to fill it with video content.

What type of videos should you create? Let’s use a commercial real estate firm as our example. As a startup company you will want to prove you industry expertise. In this case, the first few videos should be discussions about specific markets that your company knows inside and out. Talk about the rent rates, demographics, future growth, local economy and other information that a client will find interesting and valuable. Post these videos and your target market will come to watch them. Once you have reached the 500-1000 viewer threshold think about making a recruitment video. In this video talk about what makes your company unique, your clients, your growth potential and the work environment. Finally, think about making video tours of high profile properties in bigger markets. This will give you a unique edge on your competitors.

YouTube has endless possibilities for startup and established companies alike. If you do not currently have a channel on YouTube, set one up right after you read this blog.