To understand how YouTube can be hugely beneficial for your business, let’s start off by taking a look at some statistics.

• YouTube is the 3rd most visited website in the world behind Google and Facebook.
• YouTube has more than 1 billion users
• Every minute, they upload 300 hours of video
• Every day, this translates into billions of views

This extensive audience is ready and waiting to be capitalised on by nearly every kind of business, regardless of its size or sector. But how exactly can you go about doing this?

Here is a DIY guide to using YouTube to grow your business.

Continually create content

Just like any other form of content marketing, you will need to have a steady stream of videos coming off the production line. Successful channels continually upload videos in order to attract new audiences and retain existing subscribers.

Use a variety of different videos

Don’t always produce the same kind of video, as things can get repetitive quite quickly. So, mix things up and think about creating webcasts or webinars, video demonstrations or brief tutorials of new products and repurposing other content such as infographics.

Encourage your audience to take action

Before you start shooting, come up with some objectives and make sure these are included in your video. Whether its asking viewers to get in touch, leave comments or share the video, call-to-actions can encourage potential customers to take the next step. These can also be included on your description or within the video as annotations.

Respond to comments and feedback

YouTube is also a social network, as it provides a platform for discussion and debate. So, just like Facebook and Twitter, you will need to respond to comments and feedback in a timely fashion. Interact with your audience, show them you appreciate their opinions and give the brand another voice with your replies.

Think carefully about titles and descriptions

YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine too and users seek out results in the same way as Google. So, be sure to include the keywords and phrases your target market will be searching for. Descriptions also need careful consideration, as they should be short yet informative and descriptive yet promotional.

Pick the correct category and tags

With 15 YouTube categories to choose from, you shouldn’t struggle to find the right one. However, you will also to add the correct tags as well, which help identify what your video is all about. Thankfully, YouTube will suggest tags to use based on common searches and it is always a good idea to include these in addition to your own.

Collaborate with other channels

To increase video views and engage with your audience to a greater extent, you may want to collaborate with another YouTube channel. If your budget allows, enlist the help of a prominent video blogger, as top YouTube creators were found to be more popular than mainstream celebrities among US teenagers according to Variety.

Stand out from the crowd

After setting up a channel, which will tell your subscribers when you have uploaded a new video, remember to customise the page layout. By using the same colour palette as your brand’s logo as well as adding images, links and any other important information, you can stand out from the crowd and establish a stronger YouTube identity.

With these tips, you should be able to take advantage of the merits of YouTube all by yourself.