Dara Busch is co-CEO of 5WPR, a leading PR agency.
While Marcomms pros are typically very social media savvy, the focus on Instagram and TikTok tends to overshadow another important channel: YouTube. Dara Busch, co-CEO of 5WPR, explains the power of proper YouTube marketing and how to best engage with influencers on the platform.
When it comes to influencer marketing campaigns, a lot of companies still haven't realized that they can achieve a lot of success if they start focusing their efforts on YouTube instead of on other social media platforms. That's because the influencers that are on YouTube tend to have a much bigger impact on their viewers' purchasing decisions compared to influencers on other platforms. They're also able to connect to a variety of audiences across locations and demographics and generate a lot of brand awareness for businesses that do opt to work with YouTube influencers. That means companies must start investing in influencer marketing campaigns where they will be collaborating with creators on YouTube instead of other platforms.
About a decade ago, YouTube was just a platform where people could upload their personal videos until it turned into a platform where people could watch others' videos and have fun together. That gave birth to the first generation of YouTube influencers, whom practically everyone knew. These days, that has greatly changed and there are influencers on the platform that connects with different niche audiences that companies can work with to reach their consumers. That's why, the best way for companies to figure out which influencers are operating within their industry or are reaching their consumers is through Google, which provides its users with itemized lists of people on the platform with a lot of subscribers. This is an easy way for companies to figure out who they should be reaching out to, as they simply need to look up the name of their industry and the word "YouTuber" alongside it to get a list of relevant people.
Content
There are many different types of content that companies can get when working with YouTube influencers on marketing campaigns, however, it's important for companies to know some of the most effective types of content on the platform. First of all, the best strategy when creating an influencer marketing campaign with YouTubers is for the company to allow the creators to pitch their own ideas and content, and how they can incorporate the company and its solutions into the content, instead of giving them a script to read out. That's because these people already have thousands, if not millions of followers, and they know best how they can connect with that audience, which means if they create something that's vastly different from their usual content is going to fall flat with the audience. That way, whether the company ends up with a general product review, an unboxing video, a tutorial, or even something more creative like a comedy sketch, it's going to be a lot more authentic to the audience that the company is trying to target by working with the YouTube influencer, instead of having them make scripted content.
