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Why use YouTube Shorts for marketing your business?

11/23/2023 by scmarketing

If you’re a business owner, you know that keeping up with marketing trends is vital for your success. With social media platforms constantly evolving, it can be tough to stay ahead of the game. Gaining popularity is YouTube Shorts. These are short-form videos that last for up to 60 seconds, making them perfect for businesses looking to grab their audience’s attention quickly. Here, we discuss why using YouTube Shorts can benefit your business and how these videos can help you to reach your marketing goals.

Easy to consume content: With the fast-paced world we live in, people’s attention spans have decreased significantly, making it challenging for businesses to create content that will keep their audience engaged. However, with YouTube Shorts’ short-form video format, you can provide bite-sized content that is easy to consume. This can help to increase your audience engagement because your viewers won’t get bored or feel overwhelmed with excessive information.

Cost-effective: Producing regular video content can be expensive, making it challenging for small businesses to keep up with the competition. However, YouTube Shorts can be relatively inexpensive to create since you don’t need fancy equipment or editing software. With a smartphone and a short script, you can create compelling content that can help to increase your online visibility without breaking the bank.

Increased sharing potential: YouTube Shorts have a unique sharing potential because they are created with mobile users in mind. This means that they’re perfect for sharing on other social media platforms such as Instagram, and Facebook. With over 2.5 billion monthly active users on YouTube, the potential reach of your content is vast. And, with the ability to be shared on other platforms, the sharing potential only increases.

High retention rate: One of the best things about YouTube Shorts is their high retention rate. With their quickly digestible format, users are more likely to watch them to completion, even if they’re just browsing through their feeds. This is good news for businesses because it means that your message is more likely to be heard and that your viewers are more likely to share it with their followers.

Great for showcasing your brand: YouTube Shorts are perfect for showcasing your brand’s personality and values. With the ability to create fun, light-hearted content, you can create a connection with your audience and show them what your brand is all about. By showcasing your brand in a unique and exciting way, you can increase your audience’s loyalty and grow your business.

Video marketing for your business

As social media platforms continue to evolve, it’s important for businesses to keep up with the latest trends to remain relevant and competitive. With YouTube Shorts, businesses can create cost-effective, quickly digestible content that is perfect for mobile users. By using this format, businesses can increase their audience engagement, increase their sharing potential, and showcase their brand’s personality, among other benefits. So why not give YouTube Shorts a try and see how they can help you reach your marketing goals?

If you need a hand with creating video content for your business, why not book a time to chat with us. We’ve recently launched a Video Testimonials service which provides a great way to boost your brand and create content for multiple social channels.

What are YouTube Shorts?

06/28/2022 by Gray Okenge

We’ve said for a long time now about the importance of video as part of your marketing strategy and recent insight from YouTube cements this further.

Over 1.5 billion users each month are watching YouTube shorts. You-Tube Shorts is a short-form platform offered by YouTube which simply means that videos are limited to 60 seconds. They are also shown as vertical videos. If this format sounds familiar, read on!

The YouTube Shorts app is fairly new. It launched in 2020 and has appeared in response to TikTok and Instagram Reels. YouTube Shorts is still in early stages and will evolve with the might of YouTube behind it – let’s face it there are 2 billion active users on YouTube each month.

Unlike its social counterparts, YouTube Shorts stay visible on the channel, they don’t disappear like Instagram Reels or Stories.

We know that video is important for increased engagement on social channels and so to is content in ‘bite-size’ chunks. So, we encourage you to trial using videos on Instagram Reels and perhaps explore YouTube Shorts to dip your toe into creating content on one of the most popular social media platforms for video.

To help you kick start your video content, head to our blog with tips for creating video for your business that are simple and effective to engage with your audience.

Video for digital marketing

If you need a hand with video content, we can help you factor these into your overall marketing plan from ideas and script creation through to video production and editing.

YouTube culture and trends of 2020

08/19/202212/22/2020 by scmarketing

An interesting report has been shared by YouTube which looks at some fascinating trends of 2020.

As COVID-19 impacts our lives with many working and socialising remotely, the video sharing platform’s insights reveal how people are consuming digital media and what’s of interest.

Key stats from the report revealed that 70% of people used YouTube to watch online replacements of live events. While 47% agree that this year, online videos helped them cope through a problem in their life.

From a marketing perspective this is incredibly important to know that half are consuming online videos that provide them with solutions for challenges they face.

We often talk about the importance of answering your target audiences’ questions and concerns in your content marketing. This just validates it further that your content marketing strategy in 2021 should not only encompass insight led informative written information, but that you should bring it to life with video supporting material to help engagement further.

You can watch the YouTube Culture and Trends report here.

Digital marketing Croydon

Get in touch for a free consultation where we can discuss a digital marketing strategy for lead generation for your business encompassing video, search engine optimisation, google ads, and social media.

Smart Cow is a digital marketing agency based in Croydon, South London.

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How to use different social media platforms

The different social media platforms and how to use them

09/20/202104/25/2019 by scmarketing

Social media is one of the many tools of digital marketing. It is a quick way to get your message out, cost-effective and an efficient way to promote your business to potential clients and consumers. You’re able to reach out to prospects at the click of a button. Social media also helps you to engage with your audience through an open line of communication. But with so many social media channels out there it is important to utilise the right social media platforms relevant to your business to get the most out of it.

Take a look through some of the most popular social media platforms and see if there’s something for your business:

Instagram

Via Instagram you can discover new trends, people, and businesses through sharing images to followers. You can use hashtags to spread the reach of your messages to people who are interested in the type of content you produce. Ensure you post regularly with hashtags and note what posts get the most likes or comments to guide you in future posts. Think visually and create a themed Instagram feed to really help showcase what your business is about. Instagram is very popular with engagement on Instagram 15 times higher than it is on Facebook!

Facebook

Facebook, some might say, is slowly coming to the end of its popularity, but this doesn’t mean you can completely overlook it, especially if you are trying to appeal to a slightly older audience. You can easily add links to blogs or upcoming projects or create events. You can also use Facebook messenger to interact with your audience and fill them in on any news they may find interesting. You are able to create live videos to further engage your audience. It’s more consumer focused so getting that tone right for your audience is key.

Now there’s no excuse not to network. Linkedin is a business2business channel with networking at its core allowing you to connect with other professionals, clients, colleagues, prospects and employers. You can promote yourself by showcasing your achievements and what your business is about. Produce engaging content to encourage likes, shares and connections. LinkedIn helps boost your business brand and profile.

Snapchat

Snapchat allows you to post live photos or videos instantly to your audience. These stay online for 24hrs, so it is important to upload every day. You post via ‘Stories’ which can be viewed by anyone subscribed to your Snapchat. Snapchat is great if your target audience is slightly younger as 71% of Generation Z (born between 1995-2015) use Snapchat daily. To ensure a successful Snapchat following, promote your Snapchat account on other social media channels.

YouTube

YouTube can be used to discover new things going on in the local area, nationwide, or even globally, so it is perfect for whatever audience you have. To get views you need to have an enticing title and thumbnail. You also need a continuous flow of content, perhaps once or twice a week. You are also able to use tags, keywords and categories to help your video appear higher up in YouTube searches.

Twitter

With a Twitter account your bio is a quick opportunity to showcase what your brand is about in 160 characters. Track when is the perfect time to tweet. Twitter peak hours tend to be around 1-3pm on weekdays, the worst times to post are after 8pm and after 3pm on Fridays. Content needs to be regular and more often than other channels. Like other channels, spread your reach with relevant hashtags – but not too many on this channel.

Keep it relevant

The most important factors to consider when it comes to using social media marketing is to post frequently, connect all your social media channels together through links, and engage with your audience. Utilise all the channels at your disposable, as long as they are relevant to your business, and set aside time in your day to work on your social media platforms.

Social media marketing agency

If you need help and advice on using social media and a successful marketing tool, then get in touch with Smart Cow Marketing. Digital marketers based in Croydon, we can help create a professional marketing plan tailored to your business. Call us on 020 3137 1826