TIPS FOR STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Hey there, fellow entrepreneurs and content creators! Are you ready to go on an exciting journey into the exciting world of one of the biggest and most popular social media platform worldwide? YouTube celebrates another ground-breaking year of content and innovation today and I have decided to seize this moment to explore the significance of starting a YouTube channel for your business.

YouTube is platform where creativity meets opportunity and connections are made one click at a time. Just one click and you get to connect with millions of people from different culture, backgrounds and orientation who may just be waiting for what your business has to offer. Whether you’re a seasoned business owner or just starting out, buckle up and let’s explore the endless possibilities that awaits every business owner on this interesting platform. Let’s get started with a few fascinating facts!

10 Fun Facts about YouTube

• YouTube was founded on February 14th 2005 by former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim.
• YouTube was originally conceived as a video dating site called “Tune in Hook Up” before pivoting to its current form as a platform for sharing and watching videos.
• The first video, titled “Me at the zoo,” was uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005 and has been viewed over 303 million times since then. 
• In 2006, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock.
• Over 500 hours of video are uploaded on YouTube every minute.
• YouTube is one of the most popular websites globally, with over 2 billion logged-in monthly users.
• YouTube is available in more than 100 countries and 80 languages, allowing creators to reach audiences globally.
• YouTube’s growth has been exponential since its launch. In 2019, it was reported that users were watching over 1 billion hours of YouTube videos every day.
• YouTube operates physical production facilities called YouTube Spaces in several major cities worldwide, providing creators with access to high-quality equipment, studios, and workshops.
• As of now, the most-viewed video on YouTube is “Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfong. It has garnered over 10 billion views since its upload in June 2016.

Why your business needs a Channel now

Times are constantly changing with the approach to doing many things along with it, this includes the approach to doing business. In today’s digital age, having a YouTube channel for your business is no longer just an option, it’s a necessity and could be a life-changing experience for not just your business but your personal brand. Here’s why:

Wider Visibility: With over 2 billion monthly users, YouTube provides you a fantastic means to engage more and diverse audience all over the world, and from your own corner. Whether your target islocal or international clientele, YouTube provides you the means to reach these millions of potential customers with ease, and at your convenience. 

Creative Liberation: YouTube allows you freedom of expression and the opportunity to showcase your brand, products and services in visually engaging and interactive formats. From demonstration tutorials to candid conversations or glimpse into your business operations, YouTube offers you a platform for self or business branding, allowing you infuse your distinct creativity to your content.

Brand Awareness: YouTube’s search and recommendation algorithms offer a powerful avenue to boost your visibility and attract new viewers to your content no matter how new or old it is. Consistently producing quality content and engage your audience can be a great means enhance your presence, business and brand. This will not only help establish you as a trusted voice and authority in your niche, it can also help you build your personal brand and followers on other social media platforms. When you include links and calls-to-action in your video descriptions, you can encourage viewers to visit your website, sign up for your newsletter, or follow you on other social media platforms.

Enhance Customer Engagement and Loyalty: YouTube fosters a sense of community and interaction between businesses and audience. Business owners, vendors or brand specialists who actively respond to comments, address customer inquiries, and engage in meaningful conversations with audience are able to strengthen customer relationships and build brand loyalty over time.

Additional Income: In addition to showcasing your business on YouTube, the platform offers various monetization opportunities that could reward your consistency and dedication. They come from advertising revenue, channel memberships, merchandise shelf, super chats during live streams, etc. Utilising these options, can help business owners or individuals diversify earnings and make the most of YouTube’s potential as a profitable side hustle. Isn’t all of these amazing?

Now, let's begin the journey of launching your YouTube channel with these simple steps:

• Create a Google Account. If you don't already have one, sign up for a Google account. That will serve as your log in credentials.
• Visit YouTube and set up a YouTube channel or sign in via your Google Account and click on the top-right corner option to create a channel.
• Choose a channel name and brand that aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your potential target audience. Don’t forget to add a profile picture, banner and a description that effectively describes your business, products and services. Afterwards, verify your channel, this is very important.
• Use the “Customise Channel” option to personalise your channel layout, branding and basic info. It helps to create a “Channel Trailer”. This can be a quick video to introduce visitors to your content and encourage them to subscribe. Ensure this is a grabbing and nice call to action.
• Plan a content calendar outlining topics and schedule for your videos.  This will help you spell out your activities. Consistency is important on YouTube, so aim to regularly upload content that aligns with your business and audience interests consistently.
• While you can start with basic equipment, over time, consider investing in quality equipment such as camera, microphone and lighting setups. Also, do not be afraid to experiment, test new waters, check out new terrains where you can learn about different ways to enhance your filming and edit your videos.
• Ensure to optimise your video for search using relevant keywords, tags and descriptions. This will improve your visibility and attract more viewers to your channel. 
• Foster a sense of community by actively responding to comments, asking for feedback, and encouraging viewers to interact with your content through likes, shares, and subscriptions.
• Sell yourself, no one can sell yourself better than you. Leverage other social media platforms to promote your YouTube channel. Consider collaborating with other YouTubers and influencers in your niche to reach wider audience. 
• Building a successful YouTube channel takes time, effort and patience. Stay committed to your content creation journey, learn from your experiences, and continuously strive to improve and grow your channel.

Starting a YouTube channel can be a fun and rewarding journey. If you follow these tips and stay true to your unique voice and vision of your business or brand, you can create compelling content that resonates with your audience, transcend time, and help you achieve your business goals. I will leave you with this Mark Twain’s quote that says, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” So, start your channel and let your creativity shine!