Your 15 Minutes of Fame: YouTube's 5th Birthday

www.youtube.com

96 million of us go to YouTube everyday, according to CBS news; however, longevity-wise, YouTube.com is a relative baby:  less than one month ago, they celebrated their fifth birthday.  The now social media giant, originally started out as a one man video about a trip to the zoo.  Now it is both a marketing and media mogul and an open mic night all rolled into one.  From wellness centers, like the Fountain of Youth, to jewelers, like West Coast, to CNET, and Train, and everything in between including River Dancing Monkeys, YouTube offers everyone the opportunity to star in their own video and get their own message out.

If your message isn't on YouTube, you're missing out on a large audience.  An audience to the tune of 96 million, and even if only a fraction of that are exposed to your organization, that's a fraction of the market that you didn't have before.

As the owner of a videography business, we have created professional videos for organizations and companies to use online.  However, YouTube allows anyone with a webcam or a camera that takes video to upload their footage to share with the world.  Businesses can:

• showcase their products
• introduce their staff
• demonstrate their community involvement
• promote specials
• create instructional videos
• broadcast training sessions
• show commercials
• have customers give testimonials
• etc.  

The uses for video - and specifically YouTube - can be endless, easy, and lucrative.  As has been discussed in previous posts, the medium of video is one of the most engaging resources that can be used for communicating with potential customers and current clients.  Make sure your content is appropriate. Think about how your video represents your company.  Keep your content suited for your audience, and then use this free site to connect with people in a whole new way.  Create an account, upload your video, add titles that give clear descriptions of what will be viewed, mark the video public, and you are on your way to your 15 minutes of fame!


YouTube has revolutionized the way we share information.  Keep in mind you are creating a professional image, and the old adage is true: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."  Before you share your video, make sure it conveys the message you really want to send.

And make sure to wish them a "Happy birthday!"  All together now!  "Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday, dear YouTube!  Happy Birthday to you!"

(Please tell me you got that?  Did anyone have their camera ready?  You mean no one got that?)





Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

Podcasting - Part Deux

www.everythingusb.com

Is podcasting social media?  No.  By its very name, social media implies that there is an element of connection - or, well, being social.  However, the purpose of podcasting is to enhance your product, website, etc. by adding a different medium for information delivery.   If you are setting yourself apart from the competition, a podcast can allow your prospective clients and current customers the opportunity to experience you or your organization with more depth.  Through an audio or video podcast, the site visitor is given insight into the sights, sounds, voices, etc. that surround your business.

The uniqueness of you, your office, your work, your product on a podcast helps to create branding and - if memorable - will help to differentiate you from others.  No matter what the learning preference of the viewer, the more ways and more times a person is presented with information, the more information will be retained.  A visual learner will find value and impact from the addition of a video podcast.  The audio learner will retain information provided from both video and audio podcasts.  But no matter who is looking at your page or site, the use of a podcast will add a new and superior level of engagement.

What's stopping you?  Feel you have a voice for silent pictures?  Think you have a face for radio?  We all have insecurities that make us second guess our abilities or our features; however, your clients and potential clients are more interested in the story of what sets you apart more than picking you apart.  So make a YouTube video and link to it.  Embed it in your website.  Capture your audience with a little extra flair, and your viewers will feel a little more connected with you, and connectivity is what social media is all about.



Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.