For some business owners, particularly those who may be new to video, there’s a certain formality they may ascribe to the medium, even though YouTube is famous as an informal media — as well as everything else. That’s not to suggest that informality is, or is not, the best way to present your brand via video; certainly controlling your message and brand presentation is pertinent to TV and YouTube. Yet it’s still helpful to include among one’s opportunities the notion of informality as a way to increase consumer and client engagement.
Shar Caesar Douglas, Head of Creator Marketing at Google EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) discusses YouTube with Gordon Ramsay, who is a Michelin-starred chef and TV personality.
Ramsay talks about his business strategy centered around video and the difference between YouTube and TV. Although the video may be even more interesting if you are a foodie, nevertheless for me, the key takeaway is when Ramsay states, “Big, glossy formatted [TV] shows [that are] cleverly edited is the opposite of what we do on the [YouTube] platform.”
He elaborates upon the informality of the platform and embraces making mistakes and even showing them off. In other terms, the idea would be described as providing an authentic viewer experience.
Of course, a basic purpose of the video is for Google to promote YouTube. And Ramsay has a successful YouTube channel. Who wouldn’t want that?
But what’s not mentioned is that his celebrity would have been a factor in drawing attention to his channel to achieve its growth in the first place.
You and I could leverage a tremendous amount of promotion, including paid ads, and not come close to his level of viewership. (Ramsay has over 2.5 billion views so far).
Nor should we under-emphasize the real work that would be invested to create and maintain the content for the channel. But as a model for others, few noncelebrities would be able to achieve the level of viewership as Ramsay, even by putting in the same or more work.
Regardless, what’s even more pertinent to the world of small- and medium-sized businesses with low to moderate budgets, is how much more attention and customer connection that can be established through video.
You can certainly post a video now and again on YouTube to gain a few views. That may not generate enough interest to support the effort of creating and posting the video. And although there are some examples of people posting videos that went viral with no paid advertising and no effort, that’s analogous to winning the lottery. It does happen, but it’s a low probability — especially if your video has any commercial implications.
A more predictable path towards generating meaningful results from YouTube is to implement a marketing and advertising strategy and see it through.
You don’t necessarily have to invest a lot of money (although some brands do), but you do need to determine some part of your marketing dollars as a way to establish and sustain a YouTube channel or even one paid video advertising campaign (whether YouTube or Facebook or elsewhere).
With even a moderate budget and some amount of effort (depending upon how much you want to outsource), a powerful marketing opportunity is at your fingertips to generate tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of views — again, depending upon your budget.
Video marketing is something that should not be ignored, and YouTube is front and center in that sphere.
Avid hiker, bicyclist, motorcyclist and long-time advertising pro. Founder of Skyworks Marketing, Nonprofit Fire and Our Ventura TV (cable TV). One career highlight was working on a small team that built a business from nothing to over $100 Million in 3 years. Skyworks Marketing provides lead generation and video advertising services. We create custom marketing funnels that provide the highest-quality leads and sales.