YouTube launches new tools and resources for small business owners including a step-by-step guide to growing a channel, and a streamlined process for creating ads.
The rollout of these tools coincides with Google’s International Small Business Week, which includes a number of initiatives aimed at small business owners.
YouTube reports that 79% of small businesses with a YouTube channel agree that publishing videos helps with getting found by customers.
In addition, it’s estimated that 82% of global digital consumer traffic will be video by 2022.
Currently there are over two billion monthly users on YouTube watching a collective one billion hours of video a day.
Business owners can connect with these viewers and show them what makes their brand unique by creating a YouTube channel.
According to YouTube survey data:
- 72% of small businesses feel that getting started on YouTube is easy.
- 65% of small business YouTube channels say they use YouTube to showcase their products and services.
- 85% of viewers turn to YouTube for fresh content.
“For small businesses, the trend toward video represents a huge opportunity for growth. Put video and YouTube at the heart of your online strategy and see better results today – and in the long term.”
Here’s more about the tools and resources released today for small businesses.
YouTube Step-by-Step Playbook
YouTube has published a free step-by-step guide designed to help business owners launch a channel, establish an online presence, and reach new customers.
These are the chapters included in the guide and a quick summary of what each of them covers.
Launching a Channel
This chapter covers:
- The basics of creating a personal channel or a brand account
- Personalizing a channel with a custom name, description, URL, and contact information
- Branding a channel by utilizing YouTube’s layout and branding options
- Uploading a video, writing a title and description, and selecting a thumbnail
- Adding advanced elements like searchable tags, end screens, and video cards
- Measuring performance in YouTube Studio
Creating Videos
This chapter covers:
- Planning a video prior to filming
- Tips for filming with a phone
- The ABCDs of effective creative
- Using Google’s Video Maker to create videos with existing clips
Live Streaming on YouTube
This chapter covers:
- Verifying a YouTube channel
- Adjusting account settings to enable live streaming
- Streaming from desktop
- Streaming from a phone
Note: You’ll need at least 1,000 subscribers if you want to live stream from your phone.
Getting Started With YouTube Ads
This chapter covers:
- Creating a Google Ads account
- Setting up and launching a campaign
- Measuring results
The company reports that 89% of small businesses use a combination of paid ads and organic content on YouTube.
New YouTube Ads Creation Tools
YouTube is introducing a faster, easier way to create video ad campaigns.
With this new process, businesses can simply upload the video ad, indicate the audiences they want to reach, and set a budget.
This reduces the YouTube campaign creation time down to minutes, and with the new mobile experience businesses can more easily measure campaign performance.
Access the new YouTube ad experience at youtube.com/ads.
For more on these resources and guides, see the YouTube Small Biz Day landing page.
