the sephone blog

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of marketing students about YouTube, and its viability as a marketing vehicle for your brand, or for yourself. We talked about the importance of becoming involved in the growing communities fostered by YouTube, and other social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Participation in these kinds of sites, as well as blogs, gives you the opportunity to either meet others who do what you do, or who need what you offer.

Many of the students I spoke with hadn’t realized the impact of YouTube. A few numbers, courtesy of Wikipedia.org:

• In June of 2006, people watched an estimated 2.5 billion videos on YouTube.
• In May of ’06, about 50,000 videos per day were uploaded, a number which increased to 65,000 by July 2006.
• There are currently an estimated 72 million videos on YouTube, and over five million user accounts (which doesn’t include the number of YouTube visitors without accounts)
• In November 2006, Google acquired YouTube for the cool sum of $1.65 billion in Google stock.

And those numbers are growing.

Of course, the reasons people watch online video are numerous. Oh, sure, if you want to watch cute videos of bulldogs skateboarding, or otters holding hands, you certainly can, and millions do. However, as a Brand, or as a Marketer, you must know two immutable facts: First, online video is RAPIDLY becoming an information source – a place to learn about politics (Remember the CNN YouTube debates?), keep up with current events, discover new music, and so on. Second, it’s still pretty young. It’s a new idea for many, who don’t yet see the possibilities it presents as a bona fide medium.

YouTube’s slogan is “Broadcast Yourself.” So, if you’re selling yourself, or you’re selling a product or service, why not? It’s free, it’s pretty easy, and you don’t have to be a professional videographer to post your own videos, comment, interact with the community, and be visible to millions. But you don’t have to reach millions. You don’t have to be worldwide. You can post a video to YouTube, and very easily embed it onto your own website, or your company’s, or your MySpace or Facebook page, where your customers, contacts, or colleagues already are. You can post a video, and link to it when you blog, or when you comment on other blogs. In fact, if your laptop has one of those little video cameras, create and post your vlog (video blog). You can be more visible for free.

Best of all, that increased visibility can be targeted to the people you want to reach. Say you’re a hotelier in a New England resort town, interested in attracting vacationers. You can produce a short video* about your hotel or your town, post it on YouTube, and then put that video on your website, maybe the town’s Chamber of Commerce website, as well as link to it through travel blogs, and so on. Plus, YouTube allows you to add searchable keywords to your video so that viewers who are searching for, say, “Maine vacations” can find your video more easily. In short, your product, your service, your Brand, can be placed online where it’s easy for people who are looking can find you. Compared to ad campaigns through traditional media, it’s an extremely cost-effective way to add a facet to your marketing, and “fish where the fish are.”

To see what a YouTube “channel” looks like, I invite you to visit my SlatersGarage channel: Try it. Explore. You can set up a free YouTube account without having to upload videos. You can simply watch, comment, add favorites, and participate within the community. If you’re a business owner, search YouTube for similar businesses, and see what others are doing. As you read blogs, notice how many have YouTube videos embedded in order to augment content.

I’ll sum up with the same words I spoke to those students last night: Get involved online. If you’re marketing a business, blog about your own, and contribute to others. If you’re marketing yourself, do the same. Your YouTube, MySpace, or Facebook pages are like living, breathing resumes that are always visible to future employers and future colleagues. It’s interactive marketing in an interactive medium.

So, interact.

* Look for future posts soon on how to inexpensively produce your own videos, as well as more on consumer-generated advertising, viral marketing, and online video concepts and strategies

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