If we were to ask an individual between the age of 13-40 on what their favourite social media platform would be, we would get many different answers. Examples would be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Pinterest and many others. It is not anything new when I say that businesses have been and still are using social media to market their products all over the world to all sorts of customers. This sort of marketing is extremely powerful, as we live in a world where everyone is connected through the internet and social media but things might be evolving and marketers might soon have to change their strategies when it comes to Social Media Marketing.
What prompted me to write this blog post was this article I came across, stating that Facebook is no longer an effective way to market their products. The article then goes on to list the top social media platforms used and Facebook is the most popular. What is interesting is many marketers believe that their posts on Facebook don’t really make a difference and I would have to agree based on my personal use of Facebook. I went on and read another article on how Instagram was the new upcoming platform to market on again I would have to agree as many people do use Instagram and it also creates a certain link with consumers that Facebook just can’t.
All these articles made me think “what about other social media platforms? What about YouTube?”. I was very interested as YouTube is one of my main social media platforms and it is different from Facebook and Instagram. YouTube users or “Youtubers” create content for many reasons, be it to entertain others, educate, or even just to share their experiences with the world. What made me think further was Youtubers make money! They receive monthly pay based on their channels standing, number of views from their videos and ads that are displayed before and during their videos. This made me think, is Youtube an effective platform to market products? I think yes!
Now, the ads that are displayed before and during videos are just like any ads on the radio or TV. The marketing strategy I am talking about is partnering up with famous Youtubers like Tyler Oakley, The Holy Trinity ( Mamrie Hart, Hannah Hart and Grace Helbig), RoosterTeeth, and many others. These Youtubers have millions of subscribers, and many of them are highly influenced by their idols. Companies like Naturebox, Audible.com, Squarespace and many others have partnered with these Youtubers and successfully marketed their products to millions of people. Even huge companies like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Netflix have all taken advantage of YouTube’s popularity and its large community.
However, it is not as easy as writing up a contract and presenting them to Youtubers to sign a deal. Youtubers are content creators first and businesswomen/men second. Most Youtubers will not partner with a company if they do not share the same values as that particular Youtuber and each Youtuber is unique so creating a generic contract for each of them will not work. Many Youtubers will also not partner with a company if they do not believe that the company is of high quality as they have worked extremely hard to establish their own brand. A good video explaining this is this interview of Tyler Oakley. However, as hard as it is to come to an understanding between company and Youtubers, when a deal is formed, companies gain an enthusiastic, entertaining and dynamic form of marketing. It is not just an ad or a celebrity sponsorship any longer. This form of marketing is personal and forms a deep connection between company, Youtuber and customer. The company is no longer this “corporation that is trying to sell us products” but is considered part of the YouTube community.
I find it very interesting that many companies have realised the potential of YouTube and are moving into the platform. It believe it will and has already been a huge game changer in social media marketing.
http://mashable.com/2014/04/29/instagram-marketers-friend/
http://mashable.com/2014/05/21/facebook-not-effective-marketing/
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/using-youtube-your-business
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365181484/