YouTube is the new black

It was not that long ago that the verb 'to Google' was added to the English language and then came 'to YouTube'; a visual Google as it were. The terms are now commonplace in the English language but the real question is how effectively are South African brands utilising this virtually untapped social media marketing tool to reach their target markets?

Hinds cannot emphasise enough how much YouTube can benefit brands wanting to reach any market, young or old. "YouTube has no age group or age parameter. Whether you are watching cute, fuzzy kittens or How To videos, you're on YouTube. Having a YouTube channel does not automatically infer that your brand is only appealing to a younger audience; quite the contrary."

The top two YouTube channel searches are music and gaming-related in first and second place respectively, but even then music is not exclusively reserved for younger target markets, nor is gaming.

"The average age of a South African gamer is 35 and 40% of that figure is female. It is time to dispel the misconceptions and really delve into what YouTube as a marketing tool can offer all brands across all ages, genders and races."

With over one billion unique visitors each month, YouTube is an effective social media marketing tool that any small or large brand should consider in its cache. Just as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+ are now incorporated into marketing strategies; YouTube can add value by displaying relevant content and facilitating real and engaging conversation with consumers.

Hinds, whose own YouTube channel recently reached 1 million views - an accolade only a mere handful of South Africans have achieved - uses his gaming channel to demonstrate how a brand can utilise the platform as a social media marketing tool.

"When it comes to creating content for YouTube be creative, invest in good quality video content, keep it short, be consistent and be professional. Your YouTube channel is also an extension of your brand and should therefore be treated with as much respect as any other marketing tool you currently use, so hire professionals to create quality content.

"After Google, YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet. That means that every day people are searching for answers to problems or questions they may have around your brand. Having a dedicated YouTube channel can showcase your products and services, offer tutorials, promote specials or campaigns, show your expertise in your industry, showcase customer testimonials and even offer behind the scenes peeks into how your organisation ticks.

"Collaboration is one key ingredient of many successful YouTube campaigns and careers that have flourished from early tomfoolery into fully-fledged businesses and careers. It is no secret that collaborating with the right influencer does add credibility to YouTube content. However, the best way to ensure credibility is to involve the influencer from the very inception of a campaign in order to capture that which the influencer's followers naturally gravitate towards. This may be their wit, charm, expertise or simply their notoriety," concludes Hinds.

For more information, go to www.youtube.com/user/granthinds.