YOUTUBE IS AN ONLINE VIDEO PHENOMENON AND A CHEAP AND ACCESSIBLE TOOL TO PROMOTE YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE. BILL DOYLE EXPLAINS HOW YOU CAN USE IT TO REACH A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

Online video advertising and marketing is experiencing rapid growth with the popularity of YouTube.

Take your small business marketing to the next level with online video advertisement and your own channel. YouTube is an interactive worldwide community, there are numerous ways to use the platform to inform people, get them to participate and broaden awareness of your business.

Television commercials have largely been beyond the reach and affordability for of small businesses, a YouTube channel can offer you a new and inexpensive marketing medium.

Setting up your YouTube channel is far from complicated, as your channel is automatically generated for you when you sign up for a new YouTube account. To set up a basic channel follow these steps:
1. Sign into your YouTube account and click the Account link (at the top right hand corner of the page).
2. Click the large blue My Account link in the top left hand corner of the screen.
3. From the My Account drop-down menu, select the My Channel option.
4. In the left hand navigation section, click Channel Info.
5. Add the information you'd like to appear on your channel
6. Don't forget to click the 'Update Channel' button to save your changes!
7. You can then click the 'View your public channel' hyperlink (in the top right hand corner of the page) to see the edits you have made on your channel.

You can now customise your channel to push your business branding, product advertisement and offer support features. Go to Channel design to choose a colour scheme to match your logo. Go to Branding options to add banners, icons and URL's linking users to your business website or other relevant businesses. Choose your top video, the top video on your channel automatically plays each time someone visits your page. Update this regularly to keep it fresh, or keep your most important video there as an introduction. Use a video to push your company's brand, just the way you would with traditional television advertising. You can also take a more direct approach and use a video to promote individual products. Keep your videos informative, educational or entertaining. Include a lot of close up shots of the product and a link back to your own website where further product information is available.

A YouTube channel can be used for more than just the business to consumer relationship, it can be utilised as a tool in streamlining business to employee relationships for product training, employee communications and recruiting new talent. A YouTube channel can offer your business both value and opportunity as one of the lowest cost marketing tools you can find.

Source:Marketing Mentors Bill Doyle and Sandra Hammond from Altitude Communications publish the popular 'My Marketing Mentor' weekly eZine with over 3,300 subscribers including solo-preneurs, entrepreneurs and business owners.
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