Top 4 Reasons for Retail CIOs to Recommend Marketing on YouTube

By: Retail CIO Outlook | Thursday, October 10, 2019

YouTube, as a video sharing platform, encourages consumers to make purchases, and produces enormous benefits for a retail business using its video content.

Fremont, CA: Video content is one of the popular ways to reach customers who help drive brand awareness as well as brand recognition. Although video-based marketing has been followed for decades, today’s customers are looking for more than promotional videos. Retailers ought to find unique, fun, and personal approaches to incorporate video content into their overall marketing strategy. In that way, YouTube acts as the best social media platform to promote a brand. YouTube, when used for business, can be a cost-effective way to grow, if used regularly as a part of the marketing strategy.

It is no wonder that more than four billion videos are being watched every day, with a billion people visiting YouTube globally each month. Of all the video sharing websites, Youtube is the most popular one. YouTube is a powerhouse for views. Unsurprisingly, YouTube is the second largest search engine and third most visited website in the world. If any business aims to attract new customers, then their presence on YouTube is mandatory. Even Google has recognized the importance of videos, by blending together videos, images, news, and books in Google search results, to provide useful information for people searching.   

YouTube videos can get shared indefinitely, and when used to market retail businesses, the content can go viral. For the reasons mentioned above, retail CIOs recommend marketing on YouTube, and here are the reasons why retailers should use YouTube to market their brand.

Increase the Authority of Your Website

When other website owners embed a video on their website, it gains recognition, and as more people embed a video, that video will rank high in the Google search results. By associating the domain name in the respective YouTube channel, a brand can display itself as the official representation of it on YouTube. This can result in more related videos focusing on the same brand when someone searches for it or associated services. Also, a high-quality video gets shared a lot and is a signaling factor for Google that proves the content produced is valuable. Since videos alone cannot help achieve the ultimate goal, audiences should be provided with a variety of ways to consume information, including text, video illustrations, and audio cues.

Use Explainer Videos

As consumers are searching, they look for videos that provide answers to their queries. Focusing on video content, creating tutorials, and how-to videos can cater to the needs of the customers, thereby targeting a particular demographic while effectively increasing sales. When consumers come across videos that provide quality content, they are induced to buy the product. Videos can be made to reveal a new product or to show how a particular product solves a problem or how it works and more. Ultimately, it should trigger the viewers to play the video.

Concentrate on Easy Buy

Instead of posting videos that tell viewers to buy a product, using videos that contain in-video links to make a purchase delights the audience more. By including a call to action that encourages users to buy a product, retailers can quickly bring viewers to their store. The in-video links provide opportunities to hyperlink to external websites, including the respective website’s online store. When a hyperlink is created, the flow of the content should also be ensured.

Another benefit derived from YouTube is that it allows retailers to build an email list as one continues to provide engaging content. Using software that allows embedding the sign-up form directly into YouTube videos, retailers can collect the viewers’ email addresses and their subscription in the middle of a video. This helps in providing engaging video content that the audience might find appealing.

Adopt Influencer Marketing

Retailers should remember that audiences are the source of promotion as they make purchases because of the trust built on an emotional level. Big brands like L’Oreal, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, and others have invested in influencers to push their products to the masses. It is evident that by investing in influencer marketing, retailers can introduce their brands to many new consumers as the influencers have power of convincing and are trusted sources of information. In spite of doubling the count of YouTube followers, these influencers have the power to increase the count of Instagram followers.

Thus, every retailer should embrace YouTube in his/her plan to accelerate business outcomes as well as brand popularity.