Promoting a business can be extremely taxing, especially when you’re just getting started. If you’re into checking out marketing blogs, you’ve probably come across some information about YouTube marketing. This form of advertising falls under the umbrella of video advertising, which falls under the even larger umbrella of Internet marketing. Take a look at some specifics of this business strategy to deepen your understanding about its importance and utilize it to help popularize your products or services.
Why Online Video Advertising?
Video marketing is one of the leading advertising platforms on the Internet. People of all ages and from different backgrounds are taking advantage of this promotional opportuníty in an effort to maximize the visibility of their business. It falls under the concept of showing rather than telling and continues to draw an abundance of viewers if done correctly. There are several types of video marketing. The primary kinds include article video marketing, viral video marketing and social video marketing. Individuals can utilize one or multiple forms according to their specific needs and intentions. If you’re not certain about how to implement videos, it’s a good idea to consult with a professional or consider audio production schools in your area that’ll provide thorough instruction:
Article Video Marketing
This type of video marketing typically interests those who prefer the less time-consuming practice of watching informational videos rather than reading articles. Video marketing involves businesses or individuals developing numerous short clips that display the contents of articles written beforehand. Most videos are between two and five minutes and cover a wide range of topics. After the videos are created, they’re uploaded onto popular video-sharing websites to target an audience.
Articles can be converted into videos in a number of ways. One of the most popular ways is to turn the written pieces into a PowerPoint presentation or animated slideshow. Pictures and a voiceover narration are usually added to the presentation before it’s recorded via screen capture software and put on the Internet for viewing pleasure. An alternative involves recording an article and saving it as an MP3 file. Afterwards, video layout software is used to change the audio to a video. The finished product is then exported and uploaded to relevant websites for exposure.
Viral Video Marketing
Another form of online video advertising is viral video marketing which contains humorous events, eyewitness incidents or clips from comedy sketches on television. Many clips are shot by amateurs on mobile devices and edited with the use of economical tools and software before being published on video sharing sites, social networking sites and personal websites.
Most viral videos are created as a dialogue and shared with the intention of entertaining family and friends, although many people use it as a way to engage prospective customers. This option has benefited word-of-mouth marketing and was preceded by email-sharing. These videos continue to grow in popularity in a variety of sectors, including education and music. However, fans of this concept must be careful not to violate copyright laws, as this has been a major downside to viral video-making and has been the result of several problems within the entertainment industry.
Social Video Marketing
This choice is equally significant. Social video marketing (SVM) is similar to viral video marketing in that it engages a wide audience through the distribution of video. However, the notion of self-expression tends to be more evident. This form of video marketing relies heavily on social theory, consumer culture theory, and economic theory.
SVM also intends to leave a deeper contextual message, rather than simply being a pass-along model between sender and recipient. In other words, a more individualistic approach is taken and the finished product tends to have more depth as it forms solid relationships and builds trust between publishers and viewers.
Introducing YouTube
Despite the kind of video marketing used, many advertisers can attest to the benefits of sharing their clips on YouTube. This video-sharing site attracts millions of visitors on a regular basis and contains a large host of products, including music videos, TV clips, movie clips, video blogs, and original clips. Although mostly individuals upload videos on the site, several major corporations have been known to make contributions as well.
Content is constantly investigated by YouTube’s employees. Explicit or offensive material can only be viewed by registered users. This group also has the privilege of uploading videos, as well as watching them. Unregistered users, on the other hand, solely have the right to view distributed clips.
Besides uploading, YouTube also contains other valuable features. Playback is a major attribute on the site and enables users to view finished products if an Adobe Flash Player plug-in is installed on their computer. Browsers that support specific HTML5 versions, such as advanced video coding and WebM, also afford individuals the opportunity to view videos, although some clips are still inaccessible with this alternative. Additional features include 3D videos, various platforms and a new localization system.
How it All Began
At the beginning of 2005, YouTube was established by three former PayPal employees. The entire concept of the video-sharing website was developed over the course of a few months and started out as a technology start-up company. Its headquarters were initially located in San Mateo, California.
After its inception, the site grew faster than anticipated. By the summer of 2006, it was reported that thousánds of videos were being uploaded every day and millions of viewers were watching clips per day. Numbers continued to increase and moved into the billions by 2010. Since then, YouTube has embarked on several new concepts, such as the ability to upload full-length videos and the free streaming of specific content. A new design was also launched to provide additional benefits to users.
Today, YouTube is headquartered in San Bruno, California. After being acquired by Google, the Google+ social networking site was integrated with YouTube which allow the site’s videos to be viewed from Google’s interface. YouTube is a dominant force in the online business market in the United States and it also ranks relatively high in other regions, including the United Kingdom. As of 2012, more than 4 billion videos are streamed per day.
