General Information
YouTube is social media platform enabling users to share
video clips online. All users can watch videos on YouTube but the user must be
registered to to upload their own videos. When a user is registered that user
has their own “channel”. A user’s channel is the location where all of the
videos that specific user uploads can be found. Users can subscribe to other
user’s channels. YouTube.com described subscribing to a channel this way, “Instead
of visiting each channel and looking for new content, subscribing allows you to
see all of their new content, as well as what they’re watching and liking,
right from the desktop YouTube homepage.” YouTube also allows users to build their
own personalized playlists of their favorite videos eliminating the need for
users to search for their favorite videos. Lastly, I believe another important
use of the site is to allow the organization and storage of videos which ultimately
serves to help the user remember important memories.
Purpose
YouTube.com states, “YouTube allows billions of people to
discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum
for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as
a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and
small.” Given this self description I assume the purpose of YouTube is to
connect, inform, and inspire people across the globe through video clips.
Use in Business
YouTube provides one primary feature for businesses,
video advertising. However, it is my opinion YouTube can also improve specific business
operations when applied creatively. For example, at the physical therapy
facility where I work I will routinely give my patients the name of a YouTube video they can watch to remind them of the
correct way to perform an exercise while at home. In this specific situation YouTube
can be used to provide better customer service. Another specific example is
providing an employee with a video detailing how to use the features of
computer software. If after the training the employee forgets how to use one of
the software’s features the employee can review the video instead of asking
another employee or calling the IT department thus increasing overall
efficiency. Applying YouTube to create small improvements in operations may not
yield a drastic impact on a business’s bottom line but this type of application deserves mention.
The most common method of a business using YouTube is advertising their brand, products, or services. Video offers the unique
ability to deliver sight, sound, and convey the spectrum of human emotions which creates a better ad and thus
increases consumer motivation to purchase a product. Channel.com describes ten
reasons why advertising on YouTube can be successful:
- Incredible Reach: YouTube has the
potential to reach the largest percentage of the population of any
marketing medium.
- Search Engine
Optimization: Video results appeared in almost 70% of the top 100 search
listings on Google. When consumers look for products and services, the
most likely first stop is a search engine.
- Share-ability: If viewers like what
they see, the video shoots out across the video marketing universe in an
instant, without the marketer investing another dollar to expand the
video’s reach exponentially.
- Affordability: Television advertising
is cost-prohibitive to reach a significant percentage of the target
audience, but YouTube video marketing
is extremely cost-effective.
- Product Support: Consumers want to know
more about products and services they are considering purchasing. In 2012
Marketing Charts found that videos boost purchase
confidence among viewers. More than 60% of consumers will
spend at least two minutes viewing a video to obtain information for a
planned purchase. At that time, about 66% of YouTube visitors responded
that they had watched a product video within that social network.
- Obtain Feedback: Consumers are more
likely to comment about online marketing messages than they are about
traditional television advertisements.
- Measurability: Today’s advanced
analytics enable marketers to understand exactly who is watching their
message and when.
- Durability: While most advertising
campaigns have a limited shelf life, YouTube video marketing is eternal,
with a video message ready to respond every time a new prospect begins a
search.
- Effectiveness: Consumers are motivated to buy after watching a video. In a ReelSEO study, 71% of the respondents confirmed that video converts better than other content.
- Adds Personality: An online world can get impersonal pretty fast, but video gives marketers the opportunity to add some personality, humor, or testimonials, and put a “human face” on a corporation.
Assessment
According the statistical data provided by the DMR YouTube
statistical Report there is enormous worldwide use of YouTube.
- How many people use YouTube- 1 billion
- How many video views per day- 4 billion
- Hours of video watched per month- 6 billion
- Percentage of U.S. small businesses using YouTube- 9%
- Percent of millennials using YouTube- 81%
- Percentage of U.S. Gen X using YouTube- 58%
- Percentage of views coming from outside the U.S.- 80%
- YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine and the 3rd most visited website worldwide, behind only Google and Facebook respectively
Unfortunately, the full report was no offered so
I was not able to develop a complete understanding of YouTube’s effectiveness.
From the information that was presented I am hesitant to recommend all
businesses utilize YouTube for advertising purposes. YouTube may have a large reach,
however, it may not reach into the demographic businesses may be targeting.
My interpretation
of the statics I saw was YouTube heavily saturates several demographic groups
(millennials and Gen X) but lacks reach in younger and older generations.
Another telling statistic was 80% of all views come from outside the U.S... So, if
you are business targeting consumers only in the U.S. the number of people viewing YouTube in your demographic drops from 4 billion to 500 million. Which still sounds substantial considering the population of the U.S. was around 318 million in 2014. However, the number of 500 million views is not substantial when you consider how YouTube is typically used and what the mentality of the
consumer is when using it.
Anecdotally, from my experience, people use YouTube to
listen to music, watch movie previews, or watch comical videos. So, when I am
using YouTube I do not have the mentality to buy something. I want to relax or party when I listen to music and be not be required to think when I watch comical videos. At that time I become extremely annoyed with ads
and I become frustrated when they pop up. The ad actually has the effect of
making me dislike the product or brand for annoying me. In conclusion, of the
500 million views in the U.S. that occur everyday the majority of those views
are not of a business’s channel and seeing an ad for something when a consumer
is not in the mood turns them off to what is being advertised. Thus, the total impact
of YouTube’s reach is substantially smaller than the initial figure of 4 billion
views leads someone to believe. Therefore, my opinion is the majority of
businesses should not commit financial resources toward advertising on YouTube.
My Experience
Until this blog post I have not been a registered YouTube
user, but I have been a viewer for many years. Creating an account was easy because
I really didn’t need to. Since Google owns YouTube and I use Google for
everything I went to my Google plus and selected the YouTube icon. So, in the
future if I am logged into Google I will be logged into YouTube. To upload a
video all that is needed is to drag and drop. I favorite a video about how to
tie several different types of tie knots which also easy. Overall, the site is
very intuitive, free, and quick so I had a good experience using it.
References
Wikipedia-Youtube
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