Should professional services firms use YouTube and 7 common mistakes when they do

I've just been listening to a really insightful podcast by @socialmediaexaminer that reminded me of the benefits of YouTube and gave several tips and mistakes people make when using it to distribute content and engage audiences.

The first thing to understand is that YouTube is the 2nd biggest search engine, with over two billion users per month, which makes it an extremely powerful platform for businesses to use. YouTube is owned by Google and so any content you post won't only tap into Googles search engine but also other search engines such as Bing that index YouTube videos in their results.

On YouTube you can create a unique channel of your own that will help you get in front of the right audience (if you use it wisely and correctly).

1) Don't use it to advertise of directly sell your services

Like all social channels the biggest mistake companies make is just posting content about themselves and how good they are or their expertise. Whereas, what you need to do is for your YouTube channel to become a channel that houses valuable resources that people will value and return to. So many firms merely post promotional videos or testimonials that add little value to the audience. Don't be that firm!

2) Don't assume the audience know you

Bear in mind that this may be the first video they have ever seen by you or that they may not watch another. This doesn't mean that you should just promote yourself, but simply at the start of the video introduce yourself and your company before you continue with the video.

3) Don't use professional services jargon or abbreviations

Like any content, speak in plain English and not industry language. Position it to the knowledge you feel the audience will have. If you do use industry terms or abbreviations, then simply explain them to your audience.

4) Don't launch into it without a plan

So often companies make one video and immediately start a YouTube channel with little idea of what comes next. As with any other marketing, you should plan. This channel should form part of your social media strategy and should have a clear plan. What topics will you cover in the future? How often will you post a video? Who are the videos aimed at? How will all the videos fit together and flow on your YouTube channel?

5) Don't always end videos with a Call To Action (CTA) to your website

Most businesses want their videos to drive an action at the end that benefits them and maybe drives people to their website. Bear in mind that YouTube's objective is to keep you on YouTube and they will monitor when people continually jump off site to other places and this will affect how or if YouTube serves your content up to others. Another big no, no is to put the call to action at the start of a video.

Instead, maybe end one video with promotion of another video you have on YouTube. You can look at other ways of driving a call to action to people who really do want to get in touch. For example, put your contact details in the text of your channels About section and ensure you put your website link in the About section too.

6) Don't go in blind - track and learn from what works

Look at your competitors' videos and other business videos and channels and understand which have the most views or interaction. Keep an eye on your own videos, which perform best, have the most views or have some interaction.

7) Don't underestimate its benefits

Remember what a powerful search tool YouTube is. Not only that, like Google, it's a powerful prediction engine. It can not only help people find the right content but predict the type of content users watch, the devices they watch it on, the time of day they watch and various other things. Spooky maybe to some but it's incredibly good at identifying the right people for your content and present your content to them. It's a great way to launch into video, learn what does and doesn't work, build a video presence online and best of all it's free!