Youtube Marketing

 YouTube is generally known as one of the most popular social media platforms of our generation, and for good reason. Growing up I remember discovering Casey Neistat and instantly became a huge fan. Going back and watching over 3 years of videos he had already uploaded and watched every daily vlog he put out since. His videos immediately inspired me to take up a career in social media, more specifically working for a company like GoPro. I then spent all my allowance money on the newest GoPro camera and started making videos right away. Looking back, they were definitely not the best quality videos but hey I was 12. Most of the videos I made were about vacations we went on, mountain biking videos, and other random activities I thought would look cool on camera. Now I never put any of these videos on YouTube or the internet in general, but who knows maybe it could have led to a real career. I do want to discuss the possibilities of marketing that exist within the YouTube platform, and some of the things I would have done, given I knew how. 

    YouTube is one of the biggest social media platforms by numbers with an astounding 2.5 billion monthly users, with almost 90% coming from mobile usage. Surprisingly though, the United States is not the top country of users, instead India takes the top spot. Given YouTube was made in America, India's population vastly outnumbers us. In today's day and age, the marketing industry has seen a massive shift to online video content, especially on platforms like YouTube. In fact, over 90% of the world's top businesses operate a YouTube channel. So obviously many companies use them, but the next question is why?

    As YouTube is a part of Google, they use the same advertising platform called Google Display Platform. Like other platforms, YouTube and Google work together to orchestrate an algorithm that gives targeted ads based on variables such as demographics, data segments, and interests. YouTube is great for reaching an audience through paid advertising, but also great at creating a brand through posting videos. YouTube allows you to post content about any industry and any type of content such as product reviews, lifestyle vlogs, and even livestreams. Overall, YouTube is a platform that has everything on it and more, so if you are a looking for exposure, this is the place to look.