The role of YouTube in digital PR

YouTube has become a key platform for businesses and brands to reach and connect with their audiences.

As one of the world’s most popular search engines – YouTube can be classified as a search engine – the site can be a potential goldmine for brands looking to build awareness, credibility and engagement.

But how did we get here? Why is video content so important?

Let’s unpack all those questions and look at the role of YouTube in contemporary digital public relations.

A brief history of YouTube

YouTube was founded on February 14th 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, three former PayPal employees. The original idea was for a video dating site called “Tune In, Hook Up” where users could upload videos to find partners. But that didn’t work out and the founders pivoted to a general video-sharing site.

The first video, “Me at the Zoo”, was uploaded by Karim on April 23, 2005. It was an 18-second video of him at the San Diego Zoo and that was the start of YouTube as we know it today.

The beta launched in May 2005 and by December of that year it was launched out of beta to over two million views a day. By mid-2006, it was over 100 million views a day.

In November 2006, Google saw the potential and acquired YouTube for around $1.65 billion in stock. This allowed YouTube to scale its infrastructure and services in a major way.

Today, YouTube is the world’s leading video-sharing platform, boasting over two billion monthly users who watch hundreds of millions of hours of content daily. It has evolved from a simple video-hosting site to a complex ecosystem that includes user-generated content, professional productions, and various monetisation options for content creators.

Why YouTube matters in digital PR

Besides being owned by Google and being the second-largest search engine on the planet, you might also have noticed the appearance of more YouTube video content in your day-to-day Googling.

Google’s ongoing diversification and tweaking of search engine results pages, means it’s now seeking to show a greater variety of content formats for the end user. The most critical reason for this is a user’s preference.

This change is being driven by the ever-increasing appetite and consumption of online video content.

More people want more video content and, in digital PR terms, that has a huge impact.

What can YouTube marketing do for your business?

At this point, it must be said that a successful YouTube channel does not happen overnight. Like all content strategy, it takes time, careful consideration, planning, a certain degree of ‘failure’ and the absolute necessity of learning from these moments.

If you’re approaching YouTube and video content from a perspective of wanting to go viral, then that’s a perception you’re going to have to rapidly move away from. Because the truth of the matter is that this is hugely unlikely to happen and in reality, it rarely happens when you try to force it.

So what should you be focusing on and how can YouTube content help your business?

Thought leadership

YouTube allows you to show off your expertise.

Through content creation, you can flex your thought leadership muscles. Show the people why you are the person, business or brand they need to listen to. Creating engaging video content that matches search intent can be a great way of building engagement and help you become a thought leader in your space along the way.

Your target audience is out there, chances are you just haven’t found them yet.

More engagement

YouTube videos appeal to both visual and auditory senses.

You can listen to a long-form discussion on high-level business tactics or you can dive right into the how-to guide on a particularly tricky piece of flat-pack furniture.

Both of these examples, while starkly different, ultimately serve the same purpose of engaging the viewer. In your overarching digital marketing strategy, this audience engagement is potentially the most valuable asset you can nurture.

Engagement, more so than conversions or anything else, should be your priority when engaging with a YouTube audience.

Customers are savvy. They know when they’re being sold too and quite frankly a CTA too soon, too hard or too often is going to switch people off to what you’re trying to say.

Finding your audience on YouTube

Billions of daily views mean a global audience is out there for you. Whether you’re a local tradesman, a tech start-up or an established and esteemed financial advice organisation, you can leverage YouTube content to engage with your target audience in a truly meaningful and beneficial way.

YouTube is popular with certain generations and demographics. Many use it as their sole platform for information and content consumption. So, there’s a strong likelihood that if you aren’t present on the channel, there is a gap in your potential market penetration.

This is a gap that can be filled by further exploring and implementing YouTube marketing strategies.

But, it’s very important to understand that the concept of a successful YouTube channel is very much a relative one.

Avoid over comparison

Sometimes comparisons can provide useful barometers. But there’s a point where comparison becomes more of a hindrance than it helps.

If you want to compare yourself to other YouTube channels, then try to do so within your sector or niche. You can very easily find yourself falling down a rabbit hole of negative comparisons.

Perhaps you’re looking at competitors’ viewing figures for a certain video and comparing them to your own. That can be helpful, but on its own, is quite an atomised view.

A competitor might have more views on one or more videos than you do, but they also might have been doing this for a lot longer than you have. So, they have time on their side when it comes to audience engagement and building brand loyalty.

That time is a critical factor, success – for want of a better word – will rarely happen overnight. When it does, it tends to not be a good thing.

Don’t put too much stock into ‘Views’

Views alone are a deceptive metric: they don’t tell you much about how your content has been received.

You might say we’ve had 15,000 views in 48 hours. It sounds great, but this is ultimately a vanity metric. That statistic tells you nothing about watch time, average view duration, subscriber counts and engagement rates.

A high number of views doesn’t always equate to a lot of positive engagement, nor does it tell you how engaged people were in any given video. Focusing solely on views is not conducive to building a healthy channel.

So, if the aim of the game is to build a healthy and engaged organic audience, how can you do that?

You can start by looking at the 95/5 rule.

Applying the 95/5 rule to video content

The 95-5 rule is a principle that states that only 5% of potential customers are ready to buy at any given time, while the remaining 95% are not.

How you interpret that is very important. Some see it as a rationale to solely engage with the 5%. But the placing of conversions above awareness fails to recognise the importance of brand building with the 95%

These 95% of your people may be currently ‘out of market’ but that doesn’t mean they are exclusively and infinitely in this position. Disregarding them and focusing all your efforts on converting the minority is not the most effective use of your digital marketing strategy.

At some point, the 95% will want to make a procurement decision. This decision will be based on a combination of trust and stringent research.

The business that has spent time nurturing its audience with helpful, engaging and informative content will inevitably come up trumps here.

Be wary of clickbait content creation

Clickbait is a huge problem on YouTube and one that the platform is actively trying to fix.

It might seem tempting to lean into clickbait strategies for purposes of views. But it should be avoided, particularly from a business.

Clickbait and ragebait content are self-explanatory. They garner views but don’t confuse popularity for likeability.

YouTube is in the process of a crackdown on what it calls egregious and misleading content.

But ultimately it comes down to optics. As a business, you need to be seen to be activating community-led tactics. Engaging in clickbait video content might give you a boost of views but at what cost?

 

Digital marketing tactics and strategies for implementing YouTube content

Content strategy 101

Establishing a content strategy from the outset will give you the foundations on which to build your online presence. Establish a regular posting frequency within your strategy. This frequency will then shape your production timelines for content. Weekly content updates tend to be the most effective.

Content posted with the same cadence and frequency sets the expectations for your subscribers and YouTube’s algorithm loves it.

While this baseline strategy might be useful, it needs to be adapted in real time. If things aren’t working as your strategy and plans had predicted, change things up, whether that’s posting at new and different times to try and find your optimum slot, or changing up your content quality, topics and formats to match the changing needs of your audience.

Don’t just set it and forget it.

Optimise for search

Use SEO strategies and tactics within YouTube to maximise your visibility inside and outside of the platform. This means focusing on things like keywords in video titles, descriptions and hashtags, video transcripts in descriptions and snappy video titles that match search intent.

Use YouTube shorts

YouTube Shorts are a big deal. The platform is pushing them constantly in the ongoing battle of short-form video supremacy. Google has also added a short-form video option to the SERPs.

These short, snappy vertical videos are a must!

Engage with your audience

If you have a YouTube channel, you’ll be able to share community posts. The community tab of your YouTube channel allows you to post updates, polls and various other elements, allowing you to engage with audiences.

There’s also no longer a subscriber requirement to use the feature. So, make sure you’re using it.

Collaborate with influencers

Partner with industry influencers to increase your reach and credibility. This can help you tap into new audiences and gain trust by association. You could do any of the following examples:

1. Tutorial series: a software company could create a series of “how to” videos showing off their product features, answering common user questions and solving industry pain points
2. Behind the scenes: a manufacturing company might create videos that give a glimpse into their production process, showcasing quality control and innovation.
3. Expert interviews: a consulting firm could interview industry leaders and position themselves as well-connected thought leaders while providing value to their audience.
4. Case study showcases: B2B companies can create video case studies that showcase successful client partnerships, and real-world applications of their products or services.
5. Live Q&A sessions: hosting live streams where company experts answer questions can increase engagement and build trust with potential customers.

In summary

By using YouTube in your digital PR, you can tap into its massive audience, engage with your viewers and become a trusted industry voice.

Remember to publish high-quality, relevant content and optimise this content for search to get the most out of this powerful platform.

When analysing and reviewing your content, try not to get too caught up on viewing figures alone. Instead, try to see the bigger picture by looking at engagement-specific metrics. Also, don’t be tempted to fall into the clickbait trap; the optics of this for a business are not good.

When it comes to developing a content strategy, it’s a fantastic building block for future growth. But you need to make sure you’re constantly evolving these strategies. If something isn’t working as it should, put the steps in place to change tact and pivot your content.

And remember, when it comes to creating content. The 9 -5 rule is a brilliant baseline for building out your topics and themes. Focus too much on conversions over genuine engagement and you’ll risk alienating your audiences and scuppering your content strategies.

At AMBITIOUS, we’ve seen firsthand how a content strategy can transform businesses. It’s not just about getting likes or shares; it’s about building relationships with your audience that last and deliver real results.

Get in touch to talk about how we can help you develop a strategy that’s as unique as you are.