Is YouTube a video option for your business?

YouTube is presently the most popular video-sharing website.

Many businesses post videos on YouTube to reach out to their target audiences, and some of them have gained great results from their efforts.

If you are wondering whether or not you should use YouTube to promote your business, the following information may help you make the right decision.

Pros of using YouTube for business

Posting videos on YouTube is free

YouTube makes money from advertisements, and therefore, it does not require its users to pay a fee to upload videos. You may have to invest some money to produce your videos, but you can post them on YouTube for free.

Reach out to a large audience

YouTube draws more than one billion unique visitors from around the world every month. Although people who visit YouTube mostly watch entertainment videos, a large percentage of them are interested in product demos, how-to videos and other business-related videos.

If you post videos on YouTube to promote your business, you can potentially make your brand known to millions of people.

Adequate video time limit

The time limit for YouTube videos is 15 minutes or longer if you are a YouTube partner. This gives you the freedom to post all kinds of videos, ranging from product demos to interviews.

According to experts, the most effective promotional videos are those that last three to five minutes.

Get feedback from users

Users who watch your YouTube videos can leave comments below the videos.

By reading their comments, you will know whether or not people like your videos. Some viewers may even give suggestions on how you can make improvements to your videos.

Improve your search engine rankings

After posting your videos on YouTube, you can add them to your website to boost your search engine rankings. Search engines assign higher rankings to websites that have widely-viewed videos.

Cons of using YouTube for business

Unavailability of customer service

If you encounter any problems while using YouTube, you may not get any help from the YouTube team. It is not uncommon for YouTube users to have their inquiries and requests unanswered.

Inconsistent streaming

The playback speed of YouTube videos can be slow during high traffic times.

When your videos are not streaming smoothly, people will most likely not watch them from start to finish.

Blocked by many companies

YouTube is one of the most blocked websites, and many companies do not allow their employees to watch YouTube videos during work hours.

As such, your videos may not be accessible to some of your target customers, particularly B2B customers, who typically look for suppliers while they are at work.

Make your competitors more visible

Related videos that appear alongside your videos may be posted by your competitors. So, you may be unintentionally helping your competitors gain more visibility.

YouTube is definitely one of the best video marketing tools available today.

If you want to achieve the best results, you should try posting videos on other video platforms as well.

About the author

John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of business topics, from online marketing to the essentials of small business management.