YouTube hits One Billion Monthly Users

Yesterday, Youtube announced that it now has one billion monthly users, joining the likes of Facebook, which achieved the milestone back in October of 2012. It took both sites roughly eight years to accomplish this feat. So what does YouTube hitting one billion monthly users mean for SMBs? It means we should be taking advantage of it!

Most all small businesses have a Facebook and Twitter strategy as it's free and easy to use, but not all SMBs are using YouTube, but they should be. YouTube reminded us yesterday that "Nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube. Our monthly viewership is the equivalent of roughly ten Super Bowl audiences." Some of us dream about advertising during the Super Bowl, so why wouldn't we advertise on YouTube, if we'd potentially be reaching ten times the amount of audience for free?!

YouTube is a great tool for content marketing. Advertisers' and business's videos are seen by a large potential audience in a format that isn't invasive to the end user's life. The user is choosing to watch and consume your content, which leads to more engagement, trust and ultimately, sales. SMBs should be using YouTube as part of their content marketing strategies as well as for advertising. It may seem difficult to produce a video, but it doesn't need to be. All you need is a webcam, which most laptops and computers have built in nowadays, and a piece of content or product explanation you want consumers to know about. Strategize on what topics and/or products and services your business offers that you think will be well received on YouTube and deliver on it, by creating compelling and engaging content in video format.

If YouTube, or video content marketing isn't part of your strategy yet, you should audit your internal resources and find time to make it a part of your strategy. Executing on this video strategy will prove effective in retaining and gaining an entirely new audience for your business.

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