Today’s crowded marketplace has become a battleground for attention. And there might be no better way to capture buyers or users than YouTube, the planet’s second-most visited website, behind Google. Plus, the video-streaming service is uniquely effective at outperforming other channels in impacting consumer behavior. YouTube viewers are 2X more likely to buy something they saw on the platform.
It also stands out among its social media peers, with YouTube viewers 4X more likely to use the platform to get information about a brand, product, or service.
The challenge with YouTube is in standing out on a platform cluttered with creators, eCommerce competitors and distractions. Below, we provide 5 actionable steps on how businesses can effectively leverage YouTube to sell products and drive traffic to their website.
Learn more: Multichannel selling
Why YouTube is integral to selling online
When it comes to selling online, getting your product or service in front of a large audience is critical for success, especially if you're starting a business with little money.
Read Also: How to start a business
YouTube just happens to be a very powerful marketing and sales too due people’s love of video-based information and its hyper-personalized recommendations system. It's reach is also growing with YouTube videos now appearing on over 791.3 million search engine results pages in the US.
How to sell on YouTube
As it looks to further compete with Amazon, Google has been making it increasingly easier for businesses to sell on YouTube. To get started, you’ll need to do the following:
01. Set up your YouTube account
Create a YouTube account (if you don’t already have one). This handy 3-minute video from Google tells you how to set one up.
02. Create a landing page or online store
A landing page or online store. Wix eCommerce can help you with this one. More than 700,000 eCommerce merchants have found starting an online store with Wix extremely simple. (Note: you don’t need a website to sell on YouTube because you can promote products in your videos and sell in online marketplaces or from a physical storefront but it sure makes things easier if you do).
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03. Plan your YouTube content strategy
You'll need a content strategy that incorporates video into its mix of tactics. This is probably one of the most important steps when it comes to selling on YouTube. The success, reach and engagement level of your content is what will define your potential to sell on the platform. You'll need to start by:
Defining your target audience: think about what content they might be interested in. Younger audiences for example, prefer YouTube shorts and content in more sizeable bites.
Researching your competition: don't be afraid to fully analyze their YouTube content to see what resonates with their (and your) target audience. Just make sure to put your own unique spin or touch on it and make sure its true to your brand.
Setting specific goals: lay out clearly what you want to achieve with your YouTube presence. These can include increasing brand awareness, driving sales or generating leads. When it comes to selling on YouTube your goals might be very specific, for example, to sell x quantities of product within a specific timeframe. Your goals should be measurable and trackable with clear timelines to review if you're meeting them or not.
Branding your content: a lign your content with your brand identity, products/services, and how you want your audience to see you. Choose engaging and informative video topics that address your audience's pain points and add value to their lives. Keep an eye on trending topics too.
Creating high-quality content: invest, where you can. in production value, using good lighting, sound and video editing for a better viewing experience. This includes creating engaging and informative videos that keep your YouTube audience captivated and coming back for more.
Optimizing for search: while not technically a search engine, the way users find content on YouTube is not unlike how they would on search engines. You can also do keyword research on YouTube to find relevant search times used by your target audience. Then remember to optimize your video titles, descriptions and tags with these keywords to improve search visibility within YouTube.
04. Figure out how to create high-quality videos
You'll need to find a way to create high-quality videos to sell on YouTube. Sure, you can use your iPhone, but when using video to sell products, we recommend having a dedicated camera and tripod setup so you can take professional recordings of your products in use (and stand out from the clutter while you’re at it). After you’ve recorded your media, you can use the Wix Video Maker to add complementary music, eye-popping visuals, and attention-grabbing fonts to your videos to ensure a professional finish.
05. Set up Google Ads
A Google Ads account is necessary if you want to run paid ads on YouTube. YouTube ads are managed through Google’s advertising platform, so you’ll need to open a Google Ads account if you want to advertise. If you have a Google Ads account, you can create shopping ads for YouTube that connect viewers directly to your products. TrueView for Shopping campaigns pulls your Google Merchant Center product data into shopping cards that appear in video ads. Get the details from Google Ads Help, including how to create a TrueView Shopping campaign and how to select what products to feature.
How should I market my business on Youtube?
It might sound obvious, but marketing your business to sell on YouTube starts with creating a thriving YouTube channel.
Learn more: YouTube marketing
First, focus on building a strong “About” section with a keyword-rich channel description.
Make sure to add links to your website and/or social media accounts. Keep the description short and relevant.
Next, create a compelling channel trailer to pique viewer interest and encourage them to subscribe. Channel trailers are a great way to introduce your brand and channel to new viewers.
Now you now how to start uploading videos. Answering customers’ product-specific questions is a great way to start populating your channel. According to data from the Pew Research center, over 50 percent of people visit YouTube to figure out how to do things they haven’t done before. Something to keep in mind when thinking of what content to produce.
Here are some other topics and tactics to consider when selling on YouTube.
01. Customer testimonials
Customer testimonials and reviews help showcase your products, highlight your brand and establish trust for viewers who may not be familiar with your business.
02. Vlogs
Vlogs, short for “video log” are video versions of the (written) blogs we all know and love. Vlogging about your business is a creative way to showcase and promote products. Vlogs can take the form of product demos, how-to videos, product “hauls” that highlight multiple products with a common theme (e.g., ten great holiday gifts for teens), and any other relevant topics you can think of.
03. Influencers
Influencers, a.k.a., people with large social media followings, are a great source for promoting your business and products on YouTube, as it is with any other social media channel (think how to sell on Instagram and how to sell on Facebook Marketplace). It’s not typically free to work with influencers, but partnering with them has the potential to get your products and store in front of many-a-viewer. Alex Garza, a YouTube influencer with nearly 900,000 subscribers, frequently partners with retail brands. This video by Garza for Walmart was viewed nearly 35,000 times and showcases different outfits, all of which are from Walmart.
04. Co-marketing
Co-marketing campaigns are another way to get in front of new viewers and sell on YouTube. Brands like Nike and Purina use comarketing to reach new and/or large audiences. For example, Purina’s Puppyhood campaign featured a series of (extremely cute) videos about a man and his brand new puppy. These videos were shown on Buzzfeed’s website and reposted to YouTube. At their core, these were just puppy food commercials, but they were also wildly popular and, thus, widely shared. The original video got nearly 30 million views.
Driving YouTube traffic back to your business
Building an audience on YouTube is a great way to sell products but it’s not the only way. Think of your website as your digital storefront. It serves as a destination for visitors who learn about you from YouTube and other channels like Facebook, Google, and via offline sources too.If you’re wondering how to drive traffic to your online store using YouTube, one of the easiest ways is to include a link to your website or product pages on your channel page and within each video’s description. You can also mention your website and feature your URL as a graphic in your videos.
YouTube also has a feature called “cards” that creators can use to link to playlists, videos, and channels. There’s a “link” card that allows users to link to an external website, but you must be part of YouTube’s partner program to use it.
Partner program members can also add end screens to videos that are at least 25 seconds long. Among other things, end screens allow users to link to an external website.
Don’t have an online store to link to? You can create an online store and run your business with Wix eCommerce.