Where is the best place to do influencer marketing in 2021? Although Facebook is still doing great, the most frequently mentioned platforms are Instagram and YouTube. However, in the context of promoting video content – it is YouTube that offers the greatest opportunities. So how can it be used in influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing on YouTube – why is it worth it?
Video content is becoming more and more important every year. In 2021, his role will be really significant; it already generates 57.7% of all internet traffic (which is double the traffic generated by Netflix). Even on Polish YouTube, we have 100 channels with over a million subscriptions and a lot of channels that have over 500,000. So the numbers speak for themselves.
This is not only because video content is very attractive in itself. A big part of this popularity is the fact that YouTube – in addition to being a video platform – is also an efficient and easy-to-use marketing tool. It allows not only for simple video editing, but also for promoting content within the platform itself (even for low amounts) and through Google Ads. You can easily track viewership, build a community around the channel and, of course, earn money – which is what tigers like the most.
If we add to this the fact that YouTube is owned by Google, and YT videos are positioned in the search engine, the question: “Is it worth having a YouTube channel?” becomes a rhetorical question. It’s also not surprising that many influencers have built their brand based only on this platform.
Now that we know all this, the question arises: how to use this potential in influencer marketing?
Before we start recording…
YouTube should be used in a thoughtful and planned way. One of the basic mistakes is when you record a video first and only then wonder what it is actually for. For influencer marketing on YouTube to be effective, the order should be reversed – we determine why we are going to shoot at all and what the purpose of our presence on this site is. At this point, it is worth noting that the purpose of a brand or influencer on YouTube – if it is carried out and implemented in a thoughtful way – automatically becomes a benefit from a marketing goal.
So what can we gain by conducting influencer marketing on YouTube?
- Sales support. If we plan to launch products (or we already have them), then the YouTube channel can be a great place to promote them. Of course, under no circumstances can this be done directly – we follow one of the golden rules of content marketing: sell without selling.
- Building the image of an expert. Have you noticed how many “how to” videos or reviews of various equipment and products on YT? This is a great way for the brand to reach customers. By establishing cooperation with youtubers and influencers from our industry, we can reach customers in an attractive way for them – while presenting products in a way that ordinary advertising would not allow.
- Building community and expanding reach. This can be both a goal and a side benefit of the business. By giving viewers good content, we can expect that a community will be built around the channel and the influencer that will want to establish a relationship with the influencer or with people who share a worldview or passion. We can also try to appear in the community of a creator who is somehow related to our industry.
Regardless of what we choose, the goal should be part of a larger strategy.
How to do influencer marketing on YouTube?
The rules of running a YouTube channel and creating videos have the same starting point as the rules of content marketing. In one sentence, you could say that you should provide content of the highest possible quality, while taking care of the authenticity of the message and image. In the case of video, however, you need to remember one thing.
The filmmakers’ saying says that the error in the script on the screen grows squared. This is the golden rule to remember – and also on YouTube. Every oversight and negligence we make in the strategy, film script (yes, it’s worth writing a script for every film) or the idea of working with an influencer or youtuber on the screen will be much more visible on paper or in our imagination. This brings us back to the starting point at the beginning of the article: if we want influencer marketing on YouTube to pay off, the choice of a YouTuber and the discussion of cooperation with them – as well as our goal of working with them – should be planned from start to finish.
There is no denying that YouTube is a real Eldorado for influencer marketing at the moment. This platform is a bit more demanding than, for example, running a fan page on Facebook or Instagram – but it gives you a lot of possibilities. What’s more – everything indicates that it will only get better…