Building Trust and Authority: How YouTube Can Elevate Your Brand's Online Presence

Kristina Stubblefield: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of WedPro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield. I cannot wait to dive in to this topic, YouTube. Now, if you're not a fan of video, I get it. And you may be thinking to yourself, but wait, don't you do videos all the time? That doesn't mean I'm a fan of doing videos.

I can so relate to people that are hesitant about showing up on camera and talking about their businesses, the services they offer, or like I like to say, the solutions that you offer your clients, however. Stay with me because I'm going to talk about what is YouTube? Well, how has it become this phenomenon and also how can you leverage it for your business?

I promise it'll be worth the listen. 

Before I get too deep into this topic, [00:01:00] I'm excited to share with all of you that I have started my own YouTube channel. So I can't wait to share with you my own experience along the way, as well as my own statistics and reporting. And you know I always like to pull back the curtain and give it to everyone straight.

So I encourage you to come become a subscriber on YouTube.

So if you want more information from me, you can always hit the subscribe button and get notified of new videos.

So where do we start in all of this? Well, I've put some notes together because I want to make sure I hit on some of the most important points. And I want to start off by saying YouTube is the second largest search engine. What in the world does that mean? Well, Google is number one.

You hear me talk a lot about Google. YouTube is the second largest search engine. [00:02:00] YouTube is a search engine. Now, the other thing is I wanna explore why YouTube can be such a game changer for your businesses online presence and why you should be harnessing its power to expand the reach. And promote your products and services.

So when I started things off, I said the YouTube phenomenon. So we need to start by understanding what makes YouTube so special. Well, you need to know it's not just a video sharing platform. It is a search engine in its own right. And I want to share with you some statistics. And I think this may catch your attention.

You know, I'm a numbers person. If you're going to invest time or money in something, it has to make sense for your business. And let me share this with you. YouTube has [00:03:00] 2. 7 billion active users worldwide. 82 percent of U. S. adults use YouTube Every day people watch 1 billion hours of video on YouTube and YouTube short surpassed 50 billion daily views in February of 2023.

Just a couple more to share with you. Over 122 million people visit YouTube every day, either through its website. or apps. And last but not least, 720, 000 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every day, every day. So YouTube has become an indispensable tool for businesses. And these stats that I shared with you are from Demand Sage and they are as of September 5th, 2023.

So hopefully now I [00:04:00] have your attention. People use YouTube. So is your business on YouTube? Video is the most engaging form of content out there. And YouTube is the place to showcase your brand. Online, whether it's product demonstrations, how to guides, or behind the scenes, glimpses into your business and what you offer.

Video marketing on YouTube allows you to connect with your audience on a personal level. One of the most remarkable aspects of YouTube is its ability to reach such a wide audience.

But what does that mean if you're local? What if you're not a worldwide company? Well, whether you're a small business that's local or a large firm, YouTube levels the playing field, enabling you to connect with potential customers worldwide. [00:05:00] And YouTube's advertising tools allow for precise audience targeting, ensuring that your content reaches the right people.

So if you've ever ran social media ads on let's say Facebook or Instagram, you know that those ads can be highly targeted from demographics, including location, Ages, interest, the same goes for YouTube. So, here's a staggering fact. I already shared it with you, but I think it's worth repeating. YouTube is the second most popular search engine after Google.

I feel like people need to hear it over and over again. People are actively searching for content. relevant to their interests, needs, and problems. By optimizing your videos with proper keywords and metadata, you can significantly enhance your [00:06:00] visibility. Get ready for this. On both YouTube and Google search results, that's right. Your Google videos can also show up on Google, which is the number one search engine. I love talking about online presence. I love it. YouTube is an excellent platform for building trust and authority in your niche. Sharing informative and valuable content positions you and your business as an industry leader.

When people trust your brand, they're more likely to become customers. but also refer you business or talk about your business. Now, of course I need to mention beyond expanding your reach and building authority. YouTube offers monetization opportunities that you can earn income through ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and more.

So it's not just a promotional tool. It can also be a [00:07:00] revenue stream in itself. okay, what if you don't have a YouTube channel? Well, let's talk about how to get started on YouTube. Now that we've talked about the importance of it, let's go over a few things about getting started. And I'll also share this with you.

Even if you already have a YouTube channel, you may want to listen to these few things that I'm going to share with you because you may want to go back and review the information you have on your channel. So number one, I will share with you, know your audience. Who is your target audience? Who do you want to reach with your videos?

By understanding who that audience is, you can then tailor your content to what they're looking for, their preferences. You can really turn your content into valuable assets. The next thing is, if you don't already have a Google account, you're gonna need to create one because you will go in and set up a Google account [00:08:00] to access YouTube.

All you have to do is go to Google signup page and follow the instructions to create an account. Then once you get over to YouTube, You're going to log in with that same Google account and you're going to go in and then you're going to identify by clicking on your profile picture in the top right hand corner, you're going to identify that you want to go to your channel.

That's the option your channel and you want to follow the prompts to create your specific channel and you're going to want to choose if it's your personal name. Or if you're going to create a brand account for your channel from there. Once you have that set up a few things I want to share with you about customizing your channel.

You're going to want to add a profile picture. Usually it's your logo, or if it's your own channel for your own brand as yourself, you may want to use a picture of yourself and then you also want to customize the channel banner image [00:09:00] and that can be a graphic. There's so many different tools out there.

Canva is a great tool to use to go in and design a YouTube cover image for your channel. And then you want to make sure that you put in a very good description for your business that explains exactly who you are, who your target audience is. And what you have to offer. Now you may be thinking, How will I use YouTube?

Now, you may be wondering, how will I use YouTube to promote my business? Well, here's just a few ways that I can share with you about promoting your products or services. One of the first things is you can do demonstrations and you can create videos that showcase your products or services in actions.

You can talk about the features, benefits, how they solve your customers problems. [00:10:00] So many opportunities there. You can also do how to videos. And offer helpful tutorials related to your niche. Customer testimonials. This is a great one to use on YouTube. Get a video of satisfied customers discussing their experiences with your business.

That authenticity that those testimonials hold are gold. And they can build so much trust and credibility. One of my next favorites, behind the scenes content by just setting your phone and hitting record while you're working with a client or you're putting together a product or you're working on your computer, you can give viewers a glimpse.

into what goes on behind the scenes in your business. Can be like a day in the life. It could be an office tour. It could be how things are produced. There's so many [00:11:00] opportunities with behind the scenes content. And the other one that I think about is Q & A. You can take your most frequently asked questions and each one of those you could turn into a video that you upload to YouTube.

And that's something that probably everyone out there has had the same questions asked over and over and over again, and I have news for you. If there are people asking you those questions, there's other people out there wondering, they're just not asking you. So that is a way that you can connect with your target audience by really addressing those Q and A's right on your YouTube channel. Storytelling. This is one that sharing your business's story. Why do you do what you do? It just really can be a great connection video with your target audience. And when I work with clients on their videos, [00:12:00] I really try to have them relax.

And think about why is it that they do what they do, because the more you can show up authentically when you're telling your story, just like you're talking to another person, the more that that video will resonate with your target audience, depending on your specific industry and the products and services that you offer, you can tailor your content to meet your target audience and their preferences.

But I will remind you, consistency is a key to building a successful YouTube presence for your business. Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention YouTube Shorts. So, this is kind of a topic for another day, but I just want to share with you the key differences between YouTube videos. And YouTube Shorts, [00:13:00] and that would be the length, format, and purpose.

Those are the three things that I think about. YouTube videos offer more flexibility and depth for content creation. While YouTube Shorts are designed for quick, attention grabbing, and shareable content. Now, you may choose to use both formats to engage your target audience at different levels. And really, it's about diversifying your content strategy.

And there's another keyword, strategy. You know, in the number of years I've been doing this, I talk to people a lot about the benefits of strategy sessions and planning and whether you're doing the marketing on your own. Or you're working with someone having a strategy session and planning out where you are right now and where you want to go . That way you have step by step what [00:14:00] to work on, whether that's content, whether that's platforms that you're on the list goes on and on.

But I do a lot of strategy sessions with all different types of businesses, and I really enjoy doing it because I like to help people realize how important it is to have a strong foundation with your online presence. And I refer to it a lot like building a house, the stronger your foundation, when you start to put those blocks on top of it.

It won't crumble. And the way that I talk about it is you don't have cracks in your foundation and in marketing and advertising, those cracks can be wasted dollars or wasted time or both. So that's why I really love working with people on strategy and planning sessions, to get them a roadmap on marketing.

Their business and reaching [00:15:00] their target audience because the more people that can know about your business, product and services, the more opportunities you have to generate leads, which then turns into sales. So as I wrap this up, just to recap, YouTube isn't just a video sharing platform. It's really a gateway to a wider audience, a tool for building trust.

And establishing credibility. And I encourage you, if you do not have a YouTube channel, that you consider having one for your business. And even if you just start out with an about video, that storytelling video that I mentioned just a few minutes ago, about who you are, why you do what you do, who you help, and the solutions you provide.

I believe that you can start to reach a wider audience for your business. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening to this. I encourage you to subscribe and if [00:16:00] you like what you hear, leave a review or a comment and share this episode with friends or fellow entrepreneurs. If you haven't already joined my free Facebook group, WedPro Business Community, come on over and join us.

We continue the conversation well past the podcast episodes, and I discuss other strategies, tips, software, and information. Thanks again for tuning in and until next time, take care.