HOW TO SET UP A YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR YOUR SME

Let’s start out by stating a simple yet telling fact, YouTube is the second most visited site in the entire world, trailing only behind its elder brother Google. According to Hootsuite’s data, the site gets an astonishing 1.7 Billion unique visitors every month while the total number of visits can reach beyond 14 Billion, shadowing all other competitors including TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

Apart from volumes the site also commands a high level of loyalty. 92 percent of all YouTube users visit the site at least once a day while almost all of them visit it at least once a month, no other site can claim to have such huge retention rates.

In addition to enjoying whopping audiences and loyalty the site also has a lot of face value amongst online audiences, with over 81 percent of all internet users claiming that they have visited the site at least once in their lifetimes, we can’t help but be curious about the other 19 percent though.

And let’s not forget about YouTube ads. Ads placed on the platform have the potential to reach almost a third of the global population and over half of everyone on the internet, talk about reach right?

Why are these statistics important? Because they help you grasp the gigantic marketing opportunity the site offers to small and mid-sized businesses. Building a presence on the site has become almost an essential prerequisite to any successful digital marketing campaign.

So, if you are running a small business and have yet to explore the platform to complement your digital marketing efforts, you have landed on the right article.

Creating a YouTube channel is no rocket science, but it’s no walk in the park either. This is why we have made a comprehensive list of all steps involved in creating a YouTube channel for your small business. But before we jump onto these steps, we need to make one thing very clear.

You will not be able to effectively leverage any YouTube marketing campaign without having access to reliable and fast-paced broadband. Because uploading and optimizing videos on YouTube is a bandwidth-intensive task. So, make sure that you acquire your internet connection from an established service like Cox Internet.

Now, that we have the boring but necessary technicalities out of the way, let’s jump on to the question at hand, ‘How to create a YouTube Channel for your business.’

STEPS INVOLVED IN CREATING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR YOUR SME

1. Start out by creating a Gmail account. A Gmail account is like a key that opens all Google services to you. 

2. Visit YouTube and click sign in. If you already have a Gmail account the process will be pretty self-explanatory. 

3. Go to the settings icon on the top right corner of the site. Click it and then click, create a channel. 

4. Remember, if you already have a YouTube account, the platform will also give you the option of updating it, you can choose to do so. Otherwise, just navigate to the creating your new channel. 

5. Decide on a name and a handle. And upload a unique banner image and profile picture that best represents the values of your brand. It’s smart to have already prepared these media files in advance. 

6. Click publish and voila, your YouTube account has been created. 

7. You can also customize your account’s landing page presentation to better reflect your brand’s personality. 

8. Now navigate to YouTube’s creator studio. And click upload to put up your first video. 

9. Once the video is up, decide upon a thumbnail. 

10. Once you have the thumbnail out of the way, write a compelling title and a description that best reflects what your video is trying to explain. 

11. It is always a good idea to install plugins and extensions like Tube Buddy and Vid IQ and link them to your YouTube account. These tools will help you optimize your video by suggesting proper keywords and hashtags for your title and description. These tools will also help you create better video thumbnails. 

12. And that’s that. Your account is all setup and awaiting a rush of audiences. 

WRAP UP

YouTube’s popularity has made it an extremely effective tool for small businesses looking to reach out to new audiences. If you have not created an account already, just follow the steps mentioned in this blog and you’ll be on your way to leveraging YouTube’s unlimited marketing potential.