THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE: How to use YouTube for your digital business?

or WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO USE YOUTUBE FOR YOUR DIGITAL BUSINESS?

Here on Hotmart’s blog, we have already published some content with several tips on how to make an excellent video. Now, we’ll teach you the best practices to publish these videos and create a channel on YouTube for your digital business, with a focus on sales.

The video social network from Google has over 1 billion registered users and hundreds of thousands of hours of content watched every day. That’s why digital entrepreneurs who are already producing videos can’t be left out and need to include YouTube into their digital business strategy.

If you’re already a Digital Producer or Affiliate, it’s likely you already know the importance of creating good content to get the best results. Regardless of your niche, the quality of all your uploads will be crucial to building a solid online business.

In addition to audiovisual quality, you need to make sure the content is also suitable for your audience, so use our tip on how to create an editorial calendar for your videos too. Besides working for your blog, it can also be used for your YouTube channel.

Having quality and content in mind, it is also important to ask yourself what the purpose of the new video is for your strategy as a digital entrepreneur. Unlike traditional YouTubers or bloggers, digital Producers and Affiliates use these tools aiming to make sales, even if in the long term and indirectly.

Use the funnel strategy to do business on YouTube

That’s why you need to set the theme of your video and its purpose before you start recording it. Will it be a video for the top, middle or bottom of the funnel? Will its main purpose be to attract more audience, to increase the engagement with your online business or to make sales directly?

If you’re a bit confused about this step, review our posts that better clarify the Sales Funnel strategy. This way, you will understand what kind of content works best for each stage of your sales process.

A good example of content directed towards the bottom of the funnel is a demo video of your own product. In this video, it is necessary to reinforce the benefits and characteristics of your offer. If possible, make use of “screencasts”, or images of your computer screen, showing the content your student will receive after the purchase. In this case, it is crucial that the video description also has/contains the HotLink to the purchase.

SEO strategies can also be used on a YouTube channel for business

Since we’re talking about the description, you need to be attentive to the text that goes with your videos. Did you know that SEO techniques also apply to YouTube? The correct use of keywords and tags makes all the difference when it’s time to rank your video among the top search results.

To help you, we have a practical tip: stop your reading and go to YouTube right now. Look for any video related to your niche and note what the first results shown have in common. Note that the number of views is not the only factor that influences ranking – it is possible to find videos with hundreds of thousands of views and others with up to 10 times less.

This happens because a lot of other factors influence the visibility a video receives on the first page of results. It is likely that the keywords related to the subject are in the title of the video and also in the description, and that makes a big difference in the ranking of videos on your YouTube channel for digital business.

To study your competitors, click the video with the best positioning and analyze the source code of the page. When searching for the term “keywords”, you can see all the keywords registered and associated with this video.

By making this analysis, it becomes easier to understand what makes some videos have more views than others. If your content is competing directly with those terms, consider creating a video for each of them.

A good Youtube channel for business needs to have frequency

If creating many videos can be a problem for you, then ranking with your YouTube channel for digital business may become a problem. Frequency is essential for those who want to have a popular YouTube channel. The logic is not very different from a TV show, it takes a regular content schedule.

There is no ideal frequency. Many successful YouTubers post videos every day, while others only post weekly. The important thing is to come up with a routine of posts, whether it’s weekly or every other week, or, if possible, two or three times a week. This routine is what will bring more loyal followers and increase the credibility and visibility of your channel.

A very common question among Producers and Affiliates is about how long a video should be. And once again, to the dismay of readers who seek for an exact recommendation, the answer is: it depends. Length should be enough to explore the content in such a way it’s neither superficial nor tiring.

The length will vary a lot according to the theme of your video. Talking about World History in a thirty-second video is virtually impossible. But talking about a culinary technique in a video of more than an hour can make your audience more sleepy than interested.

Also, monitor all the comments and don’t miss out on the opportunity of interacting with your audience in this space. Answer all the questions that may come up, suggest additional content and even if there’s criticism, don’t worry: politely answer each one of them.

Build  partnerships with other YouTubers

Have you ever thought that there are YouTube channels for a business that complement yours? And that they can bring a new audience to your videos? For example: if your channel is about weddings, it is possible that your audience finds it interesting to follow a channel about makeup tips and vice versa.

This collaboration between channels can be very positive to attract new followers. If you know other YouTubers, contact them to suggest a partnership. And even if you don’t know any in person, set aside shame and contact them too. Follow YouTube channels with the potential to become partners and start interacting with YouTubers via comments and emails.

The partnership format can vary a lot – the most important thing is that your channel gets mentioned to a new audience. Some ways to do this:

• Record a Skype call between you and another entrepreneur;
• Record a video in person with the special guest;
• Record a video and mention the other channel while recording.
  

Diversify the format of your videos on your YouTube channel for business

Have you ever noticed how the same television channel has the same content in different formats? Even when this channel is extremely focused on a single niche, like journalism or sports, it has a wide variety of styles and formats.

The same logic applies for a Youtube channel for business. Alternate your publications between serious content and funny ones. Also create shorter videos with practical tips and longer videos, which are almost a lesson about a particular subject. Test different styles of internal and external location shooting.

Keep in mind that when using YouTube for business, you are free to test different ways to express yourself with your audience, as long as you always provide them with quality content. Some interesting content ideas are:

• Interview with specialists in your market;
• Description of products you recommend;
• Videos with tips on a particular theme;
• Videos with buyers’ testimonials or success stories;
• Behind-the-scenes videos of your business or your routine;
• Tutorials or Guides with practical tips;
• Roundtable with a group of special guests.

With the list above you won’t be short of ideas when it’s time to shoot a video, right?

Put some effort into the titles of your YouTube videos

After creating this rich, high-quality content, you can’t help but also have attractive titles for your videos. After all, they are crucial to a video’s open rate.

If you are a little insecure when writing, be sure to take the lessons at Hotmart Academy. There are classes on subjects such as copywriting and storytelling, and they can be very helpful. But, in addition to your studies, we already have some practical tips for you:

• Write clear and objective titles;
• Do not exceed the limit of 100 characters;
• Use your keywords in the title;
• The title must match your audience’s expectations.

This last tip deserves to be highlighted. A title that meets your audience’s expectations is the one that avoids sensationalism. The title can’t work as a trap to lure more views – it needs to make clear what the content of the video will be, in an efficient and attractive way.

Thumbnails matter for your business on YouTube

Finally, remember that, just like the title, the thumbnail will also influence the video open rate. Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images. In the case of YouTube, a thumbnail works as the cover image of your video – it is that static image that appears before the video is played.

Avoid letting YouTube automatically select the thumbnail for your video because it can select unattractive frames that don’t show the full potential of your content. It would be ideal if you created your own thumbnail with any design tool – even the simplest one will do.

When you edit the thumbnail and manually load an image to be the cover of your video, you ensure a visual identity for your channel. You can, for example, keep the same background color, add a text to the image and ensure that it is truly effective.

Notice how the most popular YouTube channels usually put some effort in their thumbnails. Take advantage and access our YouTube channel – there you can see these and many other tips put into practice. Plus, of course, you can check out all our video content created especially for entrepreneurs like you. See you next time!