4 Reasons YouTube is Still Important
As a Google-owned platform, YouTube enjoys the advantages of being the leading SEO-focused video platform, but it has other benefits that make it a powerful tool for businesses to wield. In fact, 90% of YouTube users say they’ve discovered new companies or products through YouTube. Not only that, but video accounts for 82% of global web traffic.
Gartner Consumer Values and Lifestyle survey 2022
Whether you’re B2B or B2C it’s time to get onto YouTube. Here’s why:
1. YouTube works for you
YouTube has a highly accurate video recommendation algorithm— 80% of users say they watch the videos YouTube recommends to them.
YouTube recommendations make up the majority of overall viewership, even when compared to searches and channel subscriptions inside the platform.
On its homepage, YouTube compares your viewing habits next to people with similar viewing habits to create user groups (of sorts) for video recommendations. Using a funnel process to decide on which videos to recommend, YouTube ranks suggestions internally based on viewers after generating video recommendations. The rankings are strongly based on engagement levels like watch time and reactions to videos rather than clicks.
The algorithm is so personalized to users that even when people search for the same thing in the search bar, YouTube will personalize the results based on your previous watch history—meaning the same search will yield different results per user.
2. Long-form videos will always be in
It seemed for a while that short-form videos (around 30 seconds long) were all that people wanted to see. However, both Instagram and TikTok have slowly been increasing the video length limit on their platforms. TikTok now allows videos up to ten minutes in length and Instagram just increased their reel time limit to 90 seconds.
YouTube, however, has always valued long form videos. Look at this content creator's breakdown of her payment based on each social media platform to see how long-form video can be a huge ROI on Youtube.
In summary: if Taylor Swift can come out with a ten-minute song, you can create a long form video.
Here are 3 budget-friendly ways to create long-form content that performs well:
Educational content: What questions are your customers asking? Answer them in a simple video. All you need is a quiet room (ideally with carpeting to dampen sound) and the mic on those headphones you use for Zoom meetings (to help cancel background noise). Closed captioning (CC) is automatically generated, so review and edit it as needed, and you’re good to go.
Use Canva to put your content together. You don’t need to be a pro in video editing for simple long form content. Canva has the specs and all the basic editing you need to create a compelling YouTube video. Really consider your script here, as there are tons of stock footage and graphics that can be used to help you tell the story.
Standard video feeling like too large of a project at the moment? Get your feet wet with YouTube Shorts. You’re still accessing the same audience and getting your message out there in a less time-intensive format. Bonus: it’s easy to record on your phone in vertical format.
3. YouTube (actually) pays its creators
Unlike any of the other popular video or social platforms, YouTube pays its creators 68% of total advertising revenue per view of their video. This is important because it means YouTube is the most monetizable social media platform for creators, which leads to better content by creators and a more viable platform for those looking for information. As you might have seen in the content creator’s breakdown above, that can lead to some serious $$$.
While TikTok and Instagram might seem to dominate the content creator area, the best way to get paid is through YouTube and therefore the biggest stars are often born there (cough cough Emma Chamberlain cough).
4. Your target audience is waiting
Many assume that their target audience is only on LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok and/or Instagram. However, with YouTube being the only platform that actually pays its creators a decent percentage, we’re seeing many influencers in all segments moving to YouTube to make more (or any) money–and they’re taking their audiences with them.
Additionally, YouTube supports your business’ audience engagement with a find your audience tool that has accompanying data on your target audience. Just starting out? Go through the find your audience tool to get a general idea of the audience you’re looking for.
We selected an “affinity audience” (aka people whose interests relate to what your business offers) for food and beverage and this was the outcome:
But if you’re looking to hone in on your niche audience, ask yourself these questions:
What is special about your business?
What is your unique selling proposition?
Where do you differ from competitors?
*Consider not only the products or services you sell but your brand values and how those separate you from your competitors. (Example: Wendy’s vs. other fast food chains—they’re all selling burgers but Wendy’s is known for its comical Twitter presence).
Whatever your niche may be, YouTube will have an audience for it, as it is the most-used web service worldwide.
An oldie but goodie
YouTube might be one of the older social channels out there, but it’s stood the test of time against all the other social platforms. Use it to create a foundation of information for your audience to peruse. Reach out to us if you want to chat about your strategy.