Use YouTube to improve your business reputation

Use YouTube to Improve Your Business Reputation

To the untrained eye, the video-sharing website YouTube is little more than a database of funny cat videos and bootleg TV shows from the 1980s. In reality, however, YouTube, and video sharing in general, offers small business owners a tremendous opportunity to gain a foothold in Google search results and proactively build a positive online reputation.

This article offers a five-step approach to how small and medium-sized businesses can use YouTube videos to extend their online brands, connect with customers and control valuable Google real estate and improve your business reputation.

Step 1: Sign up.

To enjoy the fruits of YouTube, you must first sign up for the website. Choose a user name that is closely tied to your business identity. For example, if you run Pete’s Pizzeria, your YouTube user name should be “PetesPizzeria,” “PetesPizza” or a similar variation. It doesn’t do any good for your business to have a YouTube user name that people won’t be searching for.

Step 2: Have a video strategy.

Before filming anything, think about what your customers want to see. Your average customer probably isn’t interested in your home videos, for example. Continuing with the previous example, Pete might want to film a video showing how his pizzas are made. That’s interesting, engaging and directly relates to his company’s brand.

If your business is featured in a local news story, see if you can get a copy of that video to host on your YouTube account. You’re not Steven Spielberg, so stick to simple ideas at first until you become more comfortable with the process.

Step 3: Start making videos.

Modern technology has made digital videography relatively simple. Most new computers come with some kind of preinstalled video editing software, and digital video cameras are becoming less expensive all the time. Even some point-and-click digital cameras have robust HD video functionality. The odds are good that all of the equipment you need to start filming is already in your own home. So go ahead and start shooting!

Step 4: Upload videos thoughtfully.

Keep in mind a few important considerations when uploading videos to YouTube, including a video’s title, description and keywords. The video title should be descriptive and relatively short. The description should restate what the video is about and offer additional information about your business. The keywords should include your business’s name, words related to your business and other pertinent information. Remember to use language that potential customers might use when searching for your business. Improve your business reputation as you keep this in mind.

Step 5: Share your videos.

The beauty of YouTube is how easy it is to share videos you’ve posted. If you blog (and you should be blogging), copy and paste your video’s embed code into the HTML of a blog post. Posting the link on your Facebook wall will allow your fans to watch the video directly from Facebook. Remember that every new person who sees your video is a potential customer.

But resist the urge to overshare. Repost videos only when it makes sense and is appropriate. Constant reposting of your videos — or any of your online content for that matter — is a spamming tactic that will reflect poorly on your business.

Now that you’ve got the lowdown on online video, you can start making your own mini–business movies today. Don’t expect to create million-hit YouTube sensations right off the bat. If you work at it over time, however, and continually offer valuable content to your customers, you’ll be well on your way to gaining a top-notch online reputation and a more profitable business.  Improve your business reputation with these tips in mind.