Beginner's Guide to YouTube Marketing for Retail

With 1.5 billion viewers visiting every single month and up to 300 hours of video uploaded every minute, your retail business needs to be a part of the action on YouTube. Alongside funny cat videos and talented songwriters waiting to be discovered, you’ll find businesses, and in particular retailers, racking up big numbers and getting creative with video to boost their sales. From video content ideas through to YouTube advertising, let’s explore ways your business can get maximum exposure.

Why Video?

So why is video so vital for getting your business message out there? With viewers retaining 95% of your message via video, compared to just 10% via text… it just makes sense. And when you consider that by 2019 video will account for almost 80% of global internet traffic, it’s safe to say that video really is king.

Yes, video is an essential part of your Facebook and Instagram strategy but YouTube has always been the leader of the pack and just in case you’re not already convinced here’s one more reason to be on YouTube: Google owns it! YouTube is the second largest search engine in its own right, but when you’ve got Google preferencing YouTube content in search rankings, you need to make sure you’re there to be found.

Developing a Strategy For YouTube

Now before you go creating a library of potential YouTube videos, let’s get a little strategic and cover off on the four ingredients of a successful video. It needs to be:

1. Educational
2. Demonstrative
3. Informative
4. Entertaining

You don’t need to tick every box but you do need to decide what it is you want to achieve from a business perspective and more importantly from a customer perspective. Make sure you’ve answered the following questions before you start rolling:

1. Who are you targeting?
2. What will your customer get out of it?
3. What need are you fulfilling?

Now that we’ve got that part sorted, it’s time to get creative! Here are a few of the types of video suited to retail to add your library.

Professionally Produced

There’s a place for every type of video on YouTube (that’s for sure) but when it comes to your business, invest in at least a few that are professionally produced. A day or two of filming will give you enough content to create bite-sized clips that can be drip fed to your YouTube channel over time. Or, you could consider digital animation, which combines photographs and moving graphics without the expense of a film crew.

Behind the Scenes Action

From models receiving their final touches before hitting the catwalk to the office dog snoring under the desk while your team brainstorms, revealing what goes on behind the scenes is a great way to humanise your brand. And the added bonus of this type of video is that while the camera work needs to be watchable, it doesn’t need to be perfect. Your customers will appreciate the authenticity.

Instructional How-to Videos

If you look back over your Google search history, chances are there’s a few ‘how to’ questions in there. Think about your business from the customer’s perspective and create a range of instructional videos to address their needs. A good place to start is your customer enquiries or instruction manuals. From setting up to replacing parts or adding accessories, create one for every aspect and life cycle of your product. For example, if you sell cameras you could do a ‘how to take a photo like a pro’ series.

Class is in Session

As an extension to your instructional videos, build a library of short educational clips. If you’re a health professional, discuss common ailments or injuries and their causes with a few preventative tips. Or if you’re in a creative field like arts and crafts, demonstrate a technique for viewers to learn. And if you’re a food producer or supplier, use an overhead camera angle to show off your ingredients in a step-by-step recipe. Check out Buzzfeed’s food channel ‘Tasty’ for some great examples.

Customer Testimonials

A written reference does wonders for your credibility but a video testimonial takes it to a whole new level. Viewers can see for themselves how genuinely happy your customers are with your product or service. Just ensure it comes off professional and prepared but not too polished – it still needs to feel authentic.

| Related reading: 4 essential tips to delivering great customer service online and offline

User Generated Content

Picture the ecstatic look on a someone’s face when they unwrap a birthday present they love – even better if it’s a gift purchased from your store. A genuine video from a customer is priceless in so many ways and there’s no reason why you can’t ask your customers to share the love. You’ll be surprised by the number of willing contributors who will demonstrate your product, display their latest creation or talk about the personal journey they’ve been on with your business.

YouTube Advertising

Now you’ve got all the right video content, you’ve created your own YouTube Channel and it’s linked from your website and social media but… what next? Marketing is all about converting prospects who are already there. And by there, we mean on YouTube, so it’s time to step into the world of YouTube Advertising. Depending on your budget, you can choose between in-stream ads (which run before or during a YouTube video) or in-display ads, which show up next to a video search. Your ultimate goal is to get clicks through to your website so be sure to include a call to action button at the end of your video.

What Next?

Remember, above all that your videos need to be true to your brand and true to your customers. A video feels personal and your customers need to feel they can trust your message, it should engage their interest and be relevant to the relationship they have with you. To ensure you build trust rather than break it, check out our tips on ways to build trust through social media.

Neto is the only Australian retail management platform that provides a complete solution for ecommerce, point of sale, inventory, and fulfilment. Our integrated back-end technology enables exceptional and consistent customer experiences via any channel, be it in-store, online or through a marketplace. We automate repetitive tasks and integrate with multiple sales channels to manage orders and shipments.