Today, quite a lot of companies and entrepreneurs work in social networks. After all, this is a convenient platform for developing a business or personal brand, and also for attracting customers and all kinds of advertising. You can’t underestimate YouTube or consider it obsolete. Let's consider it in more detail.
YouTube briefly
When it comes to launching a career as creators helping people make a living on social networks and creating a loyal customer community for brands of all sizes, it's hard to imagine any social media platform that doesn't have a YouTube channel.
Nevertheless, in recent years, the YouTube video giant has been rolled back from many creators and brands due to the demonization of some channels and seemingly inconsistent censorship of what was later called Ad-pocalypse.
However, last week YouTube introduced several new features that allow publishers to monetize more than just ads. Piggybacking from the success of live streaming platforms such as Twitch, where creators make the most of their revenue from stream tips, YouTube rolled out super chat and super stickers where subscribers can pay to let their comments and icons appear live on the creator. In fact, some creators like Nick Eh are now approaching 50 percent of their YouTube monthly income from features like Super Chat
Due to the success of merchandising companies such as Fanjoy and Creator Ink, YouTube has also created more seamless ways for creators to earn money on branded products. Finally, due to the growth of subscription platforms such as Patreon, YouTube has developed simpler ways for creators to implement tiered subscription models where loyalists pay a monthly fee in exchange for benefits and premium content.
New ways to earn money on YouTube
This is what these changes mean for brands and influencers, why you should take care of new features and how to make full use of them.
1. Use YouTube to create a community
Although these updates are certainly targeted at small companies, even the largest companies should use YouTube to turn their customers from a bunch of indifferent customers into a community of loyal fans. Easily creating branded products for your viewers to buy and wear, you naturally increase their loyalty to your company.
You can also use YouTube's subscription models to communicate with loyal fans at a deeper and more intimate level. This will not only allow you to increase the likelihood that they will continue to buy your products, but also allow you to focus and clarify (or even discover) exactly who your target audience is, which can then be used to sharpen your social ads, paid search ads and much more.
2. Do not go all-in on any platform
As social media platforms — from Facebook to Instagram and YouTube — continue to become more robust with the new features they add, it may be tempting to go all-in in one app. Do not do this.
Remember how quickly these features are added, they can be changed or deleted as quickly. Platforms can update their algorithm, reduce organic reach, censor content based on arbitrary rules, or even exit the business. Instead of investing entirely in any one platform, repurpose your content to a large number of them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and much more. This can be done easily with tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer.
Also, never stop expanding your email list and website. Thus, you will build your house on your own land, and not on a rented one.
3. Invest in videos with YouTube priority
There is a thing that is fixed in iron - that the video is on the rise and here in order to stay. A visual environment such as video should foster a closer, more trusting relationship between the brand and its audience in relation to written content or photography.
It will not be cheap when it comes to video. If you decide to start by hiring a talented freelancer or take another step, attracting an internal specialist, this will cost a lot of money in the long run. In other words, some of the clear “winners” in the YouTube business space are social media moguls, such as Gary Vaynerchuk and Dan Lock, who actually hire full-time individuals dedicated to increasing the presence of people on a specific social media platform.
Conclusion
If you want your brand to have longevity in the market, you will almost certainly have to invest in videos, and YouTube priority is a great place to start.
YouTube constantly puts its creators at the forefront of the features that it rolls out, at least compared to ad networks such as Facebook or Instagram. Soon, other networks will find out how YouTube was able to encourage creators and brands to continue to publish content on their platform. If they do, social media will become a much more effective place for entrepreneurs of all sizes and industries.