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YouTube Playbook for Small Business

Connect to customers with compelling videos on YouTube.

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Here’s what we’ll cover

Get to know YouTube

Create a home for your business on YouTube

Make an eye-catching video

Get customers to take action

Reach more of the right people

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Playbook for Small Businesses

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Get to know YouTube

YouTube is the world’s largest video network and the second-largest search engine behind Google. Every day, businesses just like yours start reaching interested customers by setting up their channels and creating their own videos. Let’s take a look at some stats.

Playbook for Small Businesses

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YouTube is the largest video network in the world

1Source: YouTube Internal Data, Global, 2018. 2Source: YouTube Internal Data, Global, 2016. 3Source: YouTube Internal Data, Global, 2015.�

1.9 billion people sign in and visit YouTube every single month – that’s nearly half of the world’s internet users1

400 hours of new content are uploaded to YouTube

every minute3

The number of small- and medium-sized businesses advertising on YouTube has doubled over the past two years2

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Get to know YouTube

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YouTube keeps people watching

1Source: YouTube Internal Data, Global, 2017.

Users spend an average of more than an hour a day watching YouTube on mobile – and that’s growing1

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Get to know YouTube

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Now let’s see how you can build a spot for your business on YouTube so people can easily find all of your content in one place.

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Create a home

for your business

on YouTube

Playbook for Small Businesses

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Getting started

Give your business a public presence on YouTube.

Make sure you’re using your business account, not your personal account.

Quick tip:

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Create or sign in to your business account on YouTube

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Follow prompts to Create a new channel and fill out the necessary fields with your information

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Create a home for your business on YouTube

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Build a successful channel

Make sure you pick the category that best matches what you’ll feature in your videos. One way to start is to look at the YouTube channels of businesses like yours.

Below are a few examples of categories you can search for:

Auto & Vehicles

Beauty & Fashion

Food

Gaming

How-To & Style

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Step one:

Pick a category

Create a home for your business on YouTube

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  • What type of content is on this channel that you could leverage for your business?
  • What audience does this channel aim to reach?

Step two:

Identify the best practices for

your category

Ask yourself these questions when viewing other channels:

Build a successful channel

Taking a look at the autocomplete results from YouTube searches can help you identify common themes and trends to inspire your channel.

Quick tip:

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Create a home for your business on YouTube

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  • Channel trailer:

Tell people about your business and channel

Add a website link and other pages to the About tab on your channel to drive more potential customers to your business.

Quick tip:

  • Channel sections: Organize videos by product or theme and highlight featured content

Build a successful channel

Step three:

Introduce your business to your viewers

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Create a home for your business on YouTube

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  • Update your channel banner, icon, and name

Add your logo or customize your channel banner to represent your business.

You can show a different layout to new viewers and returning subscribers.

Quick tip:

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Make your channel your own

Create a home for your business on YouTube

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  • Put descriptive and searchable content first

This helps viewers immediately understand what your video is about.

Write helpful descriptions

The first few sentences of your description will appear on YouTube search results, so make sure you have a clear call to action, also known as a CTA.

Quick tip:

  • Add extra information and links if needed

Channel descriptions, social links, and more give your viewers extra detail about your video and your business.

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Create a home for your business on YouTube

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Let’s take a look at how you can share the story of your business on YouTube with a video. Here are some tips that will help set you up for success.

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Make an

eye-catching video

Playbook for Small Businesses

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Create your video

When creating a video there are a few things you should keep in mind.

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  • Who do you want to star in your video?
  • What’s the story you want to tell?
  • How can you best capture the sights and sounds for your video?
  • Once you’ve shot everything, what’s the best way to edit it all together?

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We’ve put together a quick guide to Making Your Video Ad that helps you get from initial concept to the final cut.

Already have a video?

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UPLOAD IT NOW

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Make an eye-catching video

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  • It’s important to include searchable titles and descriptions to make it easier for people to find your video – even if they’re not specifically looking for it

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  • Well-written descriptions with the right keywords can boost views and watch time by helping your video show up in search results

Make sure customers can find you

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Using common search terms like “how to” and “review” is a good way to connect with more customers.

Quick tip:

Make an eye-catching video

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A few good tips:

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  • Try to keep it to 45 characters or less so you show up more easily in searches
  • Identify content type (for example “tutorial”) so it’s clear what your video is about

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  • Label with brand or series if needed (for example “Tuft & Needle Presents: Mattresses Uncovered”) to will help people search for your similar videos

Write searchable titles

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Make an eye-catching video

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Let’s check out some interactive features that will help encourage interested customers to check out your site, watch another one of your videos, and more.

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Get customers to take action

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What they are:

End screens show up during the last 5–20 seconds of your video. You can add up to four elements to promote your content, channel, and website.

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Why they work:

  • Longer engagement – build viewership and increase engagement by promoting your other videos and playlists.
  • More connections – link to your website and drive traffic from every video.
  • Increase subscribers – invite subscriptions to your channel.
  • Promote another channel – if you have another channel, let your viewers know with end screens.

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How to start:

Visit the Help Center for step-by-step instructions on how to set up end screens.

End screens

End screens can only be created on videos that are at least 25 seconds long.

Quick tip:

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Get customers to take action

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What they are:

These enable you to make key moments of your videos actionable for viewers. Choose from different templates that work within your video’s content.

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Why they work:

They’re a way to take users to the next step. For example, invite your viewers to “Learn more,” “Download the app,” “Buy now,” “Watch more,” or whatever else makes sense for your business.

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How to start:

Visit the Help Center for step-by-step instructions on how to set up information cards.

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Information cards

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Get customers to take action

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Learn how people are engaging with your videos – and how to hold their attention. Plus, see how you can get your business in front of more interested customers with YouTube Advertising.

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Reach more of

the right people

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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CHANNEL

EMAIL

BLOGS

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YOUR WEBSITE

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This is an excellent way to get your videos in front of interested customers, encourage continued interaction with your brand, and help spread the story of your business through word of mouth.

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An example of this would be posting your video on your company blog or including a link in a marketing email.

Integrate your channel into your website, social,

and email

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Reach more of the right people

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GET STARTED

Start reaching even more potential customers around the block – and around the globe – with YouTube Advertising.

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Your new audience is waiting

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  • Connect with the people who matter to you�You don’t need to get your ad in front of everybody – just the people likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

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  • Only pay when they engage with your video ad

You only pay when someone chooses to watch at least 30 seconds or clicks on your TrueView ad.

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  • See how you’re doing and what to improve

Get real-time insights about how people are responding to your video ads. You’ll know how you’re doing – and how to do even better.

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Reach more of the right people

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Additional resources to help your business get started on YouTube

Playbook for Small Businesses