Clothes Horse

What Is YouTube?

YouTube is an online video sharing site that was created in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and is now owned by Google. It is the second most visited website, second only to Google itself (Wikipedia). And YouTube is just that, it’s a You-Tube, You on the tube. Everyone can upload videos on it to share with others. I just did! and here’s a link! https://youtu.be/BoZNdEbvwa4

How to YouTube

It’s easy to do!

From your computer:

• Record your video and save it on your computer, open YouTube on your browser and be sure to sign in- that way you’ll be named the creator.
• Click on the Upload icon and select the file you want to share. You can then add a description and a title- remember those key words we talked about in my previous blog post https://wordpress.com/post/clotheshorses.ca/23 These are going to be important on YouTube as well. They will help keep your video on top when people search YouTube for certain words or topics.
• Then just before you click publish, you can chose a Thumbnail to set as the title picture for your video. Choose a good one because this may be the deciding factor to for someone to watch your video or not. If your video comes up with a search and the other videos that also came up have better or more interesting pictures- viewers may pick their video over yours if they like the title pic better.

From Your Mobile:

• You can film, edit and trim your video right on the mobile app once you’ve logged it.
• As with the desktop posting, add a title and description and choose a privacy and audience setting. Then tap upload.
• When downloading on both the mobile and computer, you can also modify the comment section. You can either allow all comments to be displayed under your video as they are posted, or you can hold all comments for your approval, or you can just not allow comments at all.

Create a Channel and Get Subscribers

When you’ve signed into YouTube, you can select “Create A Channel” in your settings. A channel is like your personal page or profile on YouTube. It’s where your uploaded videos will all be for people to view them. Like Facebook or Instagram, creating a profile or channel is free.

People can also subscribe to your YouTube channel, this means that people will get notified when you post new content. It’s a way to build a following on YouTube. When people subscribe to your channel, it’s the equivalent of following you on Twitter or liking you on Facebook. It’s a great way to connect your audience for future posts.

Using YouTube for Business

YouTube is a great tool for to increase your social media presence even further. Linking video to your other social media accounts is a great way to deliver even more information to your followers. For example, creating a How-to Video and adding a link on your blog can help explain to your audience in a way that text just cannot. Demonstrating your product is another example of something easier to see in action than on text or just a picture. Your company could even use YouTube videos to train staff on product knowledge or customer service. The ways that YouTube can assist in your growing your business is unlimited.

So??? What are you waiting for??? Let’s Tube Some You!!

Have you thought about starting a blog for your business? Blogging is a great tool to help your business connect with your customers, drive customers to buy products and services, and increase your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

“You can buy attention (advertising). You can beg for attention from the media (PR). You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales). Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free.”

David Meerman Scott

A picture on Instagram or a live on Facebook are both fantastic ways to engage your customers but did you know that by linking a blog to your social media and following some key steps to blogging you can grow your business exponentially. According to Hubspot, businesses that blog regularly attract 55% more traffic than those who do not. Blogging is a great way to help customers understand more about your business and how it started, gain knowledge about your brand, and learn how to best use the goods and services you provide. Making connections and identifying with a brand can be the reason why a customer chooses to spend money with your business or not. Gaining understanding of a product or a company build consumer confidence and engaging with customers drive sales and growth.

According to Wikipedia, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. There are several things that, when included in your blog can increase your SEO and help grow your business. Using keywords, consistently blogging, and including links are all common practices used to help SEO ranking.

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Keywords

Deciding what key words or phrases that create interest in your brand and placing them strategically in your blog (i.e. in the title or URL) can drive SEO up. Make sure the words are chosen to entice readers to learn more about your product, create a buzz, and describe the topic of the blog. When choosing keywords, try and think of what you would “google” if you were looking for an article about your product and services. What would your audience use to search for what you’ve offering?

Consistency

Regularly posting is an extremely important way to stay at the top of internet searches. Everyday, search engines use algorithms to keep current and informed and help people navigate through an endless ocean of posts. To keep your posts and website at the top, consistency is key. Blogging only a few times a month or year will not keep your posts in the forefront. Instead, they will get lost among the others and lose their power. By keeping with a regular blogging schedule, your readers will feel engaged, and that leads to more sales as well as sharing your posts with friends, family and acquaintances. Another good idea when blogging is to encourage your audience to share your post and have a place for them to comment. Replying to reader comments also creates a bond and loyalty with consumers by showing them that their thoughts and comments about your products are important and you take them seriously.

Links

Using both internal and external links are important when blogging. Giving your reader a way to easily learn more about your business can increase consumer confidence. If you have written a prior post related to your current post, you can easily link the two posts together. Not only does this give your reader more information but keeping your customer on your page longer also increases your SEO. Double bonus!

All in all, blogging, especially when does strategically can help build brand power, consumer confidence, and build traffic to your sight- all these contribute to growth and sales. There are many other practices that can help your blog be successful. To learn more, check out this article from Bluleadz.

Also, check out Word Press to start your blogging journey now!

Don’t hang around here anymore- Ready, Set, BLOG!!!!

Image used under license from Freestock.com

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.