With more than a 1/4 of the global population active monthly users, YouTube has secured for itself the second most popular social media site (right next to Facebook). That being said, it easily stands in the #1 slot for most popular when it comes to video. And with video remaining the best way to grow your brand, it stands to reason you’ll want to jump on this train. Here’s why, and how to use video on YouTube.
Benefits of YouTube
As of 2024, 62% of internet users in the U.S. access YouTube daily. Even more impressively, up to 92% access it weekly.
With the integration of YouTube Shorts (as of 2020), YouTube has continued to expand its popularity. By numbers alone, YouTube Shorts technically outdoes TikTok with an impressive 2 billion monthly logged-in users vs. TikTok’s 1.5 billion.
As to its demographic, YouTube leans more towards males, with 54.4% representation vs. 45.6% being women. As to age range, the most popular age category is between 25-34 years old.
Let us also remind you that YouTube is owned and run by Google, the number one search engine (in case you hadn’t heard). This being so, it makes sense that Google favors YouTube in its search results (as doing this is basically favoring, well, itself).
Popular Videos on YouTube
YouTube users watch 1 billion hours of video content daily. Yep, you read that right. To top it off, 500 hours of new content is uploaded every hour to the platform. Yikes. Talk about competition.
But don’t lose heart. There is a place (and a way) to get your voice heard. Starting with the types of videos you create and post. So, to help you out, below are some video suggestions that can get you going.
Video Tutorials. These are great for brands and consumers alike. People love to learn. And what’s more, people love to learn for free. To give you an example, we’ve provided a quick video below (also showing you how to set up your YouTube Channel from scratch!).
Next up would be the ever-popular Explainer Video. Here’s one from a video partner of ours, Zendesk, providing an intro on what they do for their customers.
Last (but not least) would be Customer Testimonials. These keep your brand relatable and inspire trust. Here’s a great one shot for the brand Chewy, creating a colorful backdrop for a concise but effective message.
Optimizing Your YouTube
While YouTube does have comments to interact with your customers, it is different from most social media in that it is limited with direct consumer contact. However, it carries great potential for brand exposure through video shares and potential shop options (see eligibility requirements here).
With that in mind, as with all social media, you’ll want to optimize your channel to reach its fullest potential. Some ways to start doing this are the following:
- Titles. Giving your video a title that not only is clear but also clickable is key to the success of your content. Make it fun and catchy, so it stands out among the crowd! Just remember: don’t get too caught up in being “clever”. Keep it simple and understandable so people know what your video is about.
- Include Closed Captions. Closed Captions not only widen your video’s accessibility, but also help it appear in search results. YouTube automatically includes CC on your video, but be sure to go in and edit for correct grammar and punctuation after posting.
- Thumbnails. With 65% of the global population visual learners, it makes sense that the visual (aka “thumbnail”) of your video is super important. We suggest keeping it colorful but clear in what it’s about, preferably with humans in them (as these rank most effective with viewers).
- Video Descriptions. Here’s another great opportunity to include more text, while informing your viewer what they’re about to (hopefully) watch. Keep these as short as possible, with your main keywords early on, as it is this part of the description which will show to your audience.
And there’s your start! If you keep it creative, fun, and informative, you’ll be sure to win your audience over time. Keep in mind: consistency is always key, so play slow and steady when it comes to your video content. You’ll be glad you did. 🙂