By Eric L. Steckel, LCI’s Digital Media Strategist

In part one of this two-part blog, we discussed how to optimize a brand’s YouTube channel by examining initial strategies and tactics that will improve it. However, that really is the tip of the iceberg. Ideally, as we develop the channel we’ll take a higher-level look at how the channel works as part of an overall web and content marketing strategy. Two key questions to consider are:

What are the brand’s current challenges?
What do we hope to achieve with the channel?

Once we answer those questions, we can begin an ongoing strategy to ensure that the YouTube channel and its video content are serving the stated purpose and being improved upon over time.
Maximize Website and Online Efficiencies
Creating a successful YouTube channel is not accomplished in a silo. Ideally, all other online properties are utilized to create an integrated solution. In an effort to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts, we:

Analyze the purpose of YouTube
Determine how to better utilize the channel in converting leads
Ensure the channel is functioning in an integrated way with the brand’s website, landing pages and other social media channels
Make recommendations on how to proceed moving forward

There are various approaches that can lead to a more successful use of online video within the YouTube environment and other web and social media properties. First, we will review the existing video content and make recommendations on the type of content that will achieve the stated goals. We’ll get into this further, but as the saying goes, “content is king.” However, it’s important that the brand creates content that is relevant to the target audience and “speaks the language” that they are speaking.

Another concurrent consideration is how the content fits within the overall social media strategy. Social media channels encourage sharing, both by the company and by brand advocates. It’s important to create content that fits those channels and encourages sharing. LinkedIn is a fantastic business-to-business resource because relevant YouTube videos can be embedded into the LinkedIn company page. In addition, if content is relevant to LinkedIn Groups, it’s important to share via groups. For example, if a bank creates a video on how to secure a small business loan, that content would be relevant to small business groups on LinkedIn and the result would take advantage of earned and paid LinkedIn traffic. For B2B, Twitter is another key channel for sharing. For B2C, Facebook and other social channels may be crucial avenues for sharing your video content.

As part of an ongoing campaign, it’s crucial to track the return on investment of leads converted by the various sources. For example, leads derived from LinkedIn which have a high conversion rate should be maximized through sharing and paid reach. Understanding value and return on investment is important to continually improving the performance of content.

Create Compelling Content
Compelling content that resonates and engages ideal clients is essential. More than simply a place to upload a 30-second TV spot, a successful YouTube channel contains compelling content that keeps viewers’ attention and triggers them to respond to the desired call to action.

Here are a few ideas:

Welcome Video – What’s the first thing a viewer sees when they visit your channel? By taking advantage of the feature video, a brand can create a welcome video that encourages people to stay and interact with the content.
How To Videos – One type of content that’s extremely impactful is “how to” videos. Online resources like this provide clients with something of benefit – for free.
Create Custom Thumbnails – This can be applied to existing videos and new content. By relying on YouTube to essentially select the thumbnail, you’re missing out on a visual opportunity to show what a piece of content is about.
Lead Strong – Whatever the content, it’s important to lead strong. Statistically, viewers will determine if they want to watch content within the first 10 seconds. If you do not lead strong, you might lose them before they ever get to the good stuff.

Questions or comments? Please leave comments below or send an email to [email protected].

3 thoughts on “LCI Blog: Digital PR – Tips for YouTube Optimization Within All Web Properties”

Eric – thanks for a very pithy Part 1 guide to how to leverage a brand’s YouTube channel. All your points are valid, but especially: think strategically. That means – identify your goals, then identify the audience to reach your goals, then identify how/where those audiences digest information – and then and only then create content that’s appropriate for each channel delivery. Good reminders here. Cheers, David

Great suggestions Eric! I’d like to know how do you know social media is appropriate for what you’re doing, and if so, which channels (e.g. YouTube) are best?

Good question, Forrest. It may seem obvious, but there has to be a clear business objective in mind if a brand is going to invest the time, effort and capital on a specific online channel. It’s really not enough to just “be there because we should be there.” Even if the assumption is simply “because online videos get found on YouTube, we need to post our videos to YouTube”, you should take it a step further and create a strategy and an objective behind your efforts. That will increase your chances of success.
However, back to your original, how do you know that social media is appropriate? Market research can bear that out. Before going too far down the road in selecting any online or social channel, researching the appropriate ones is wise.

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