// WIDSIX WRITTEN WORD //

Should You Have a YouTube Channel?

YouTube has remained a consistent, steadfast force in the online world for the last decade. However, you don’t see a ton of companies or businesses leveraging this platform for marketing purposes. This is likely due to the fact that creating a high-quality video that represents your brand well is extremely difficult to pull off. To do so, you would usually need to hire an entire production team and pour hundreds of hours (and dollars) into each project. Or so you might think…

It’s actually entirely possible to sustain a lead-generating YouTube page on a scarce budget. In fact, according to HubSpot, one-third of total time online is spent watching videos, and YouTube has more than a billion active users. The platform is so extensive that it can be accessed in 76 different languages, accounting for 95% of the world’s population. However, this doesn’t mean that every company or business should have one. So how do you know if creating a company YouTube page is a good marketing move? Ask yourself the questions below to find out.

Can you provide valuable content?

YouTube videos should provide some sort of value to an audience. But if you’re, say, a plumbing business, you may initially worry that people will not be interested in videos about plumbing. However, this isn’t the case at all! Tons of people take to YouTube to learn new skills and DIY projects. In fact, 70% of millennials go to YouTube to learn how to do something, according to Think With Google. There are plenty of small projects and maintenance work that people can do for their fixtures on their own, but they often don’t know where to start. This is where video tutorials come in! Educational content provides tons of value, but don’t neglect the entertainment aspect…

Can you provide entertaining content?

A lot of thought should go into the entertainment value of the content you plan on producing. Why? People are more likely to stick around and hear what you have to say if your video captures their attention. And the best way to capture someone’s attention is to provide content that will excite, intrigue, and inspire them. If your content is not only informative and educational but can teach skills and lessons in an interesting and attention-grabbing way, you’re golden. If you have no clue what makes a video entertaining, you can simply consider the type of things that capture your interest when consuming media. You will also want to do a lot of research on videos from other channels that are popular amongst your audience. What do all of these have in common with one another? Read the comments as well. What are people pointing to as being their favorite parts of the video? Attempt to capture the same energy within your own videos.

Will you be able to post consistently?

The key to remaining relevant and seeing the growth of your channel on YouTube is to post on a consistent basis. Preferably, this would be once a week at the same time every week. This way, your subscribers will know to look for a new video when it’s published. However, posting one video per week can be challenging, so if you are unable to have a dedicated team for this task, consider putting your money into a different platform that may be more feasible to pull off with your current resources. 

Do you have a decent list of video ideas to start with?

If you sit down to brainstorm a list of video ideas and are already beginning to struggle, this doesn’t look great for your channel’s chance of success. Your ability to produce content consistently relies on having a hefty list of topics to go off of. If your attempts at idea generation are coming up short, take to the Internet to see what you can find. You might be surprised at how many ideas lead to more ideas or expand upon each other until suddenly you’ve got a nice range of subject matter to work with! However, if you scour the Internet and come up with little to nothing by way of content ideas, you may want to reconsider starting a channel. 

Do you have the time/budget to dedicate to planning, filming, editing, and producing videos?

Producing high-quality, educational, entertaining, engaging videos every single week is going to require a LOT of time, money, and resources. If you’re a small business or just starting out, you may be in over your head. But, with the right mindset, it is possible to create valuable video content with an iPhone and a basic, free video editing software. Just be aware that someone will have to dedicate time to filming, editing, and uploading these, so you’ll probably need to hire a person who can focus solely on video production for the business, regardless of what equipment you choose to use. 

So… what’s the verdict?

If you’ve answered “no” to most of these questions, perhaps you might consider holding off on embarking on your YouTube career, and instead focus your time and energy on other, equally effective but lower-cost methods of marketing. It looks like YouTube will be sticking around for quite some time, so focus on building your brand and resources, and it will be there when you’re ready. But, if you feel confident in your ability to start reaping the rewards of this unique platform, by all means, go for it!