YouTube Channels are Launching Business and Boosting Online Profiles

April 30th, 2012 Posted by joshuasinason in browsers, Code, Digital Advertising, Findings, Inspiration, Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Tutorials

Last week I wrote briefly about Chris Hardwick and his Nerdist Company. In the week since I got the chance to speak briefly with the man about his YouTube Channel and how he’s preparing for the time when YouTube and Hulu become rivals to Comcast Cable and Dish Network, “Three to Four years is a good estimate,” Hardwick said when asked about a time table for that. If his YouTube Channel is any indication he’s pretty ready. Along with a few others he’s building a huge following that could pay off big in the next few years. Hardwick, along with other mega YouTube Channel’s like Felicia Day’s Geek and Sundry, and a few others are starting big things using YouTube Channels and some other companies are boosting their online profiles in a big way.

YouTube channels are nothing new. They’ve existed in some form for years, but it is only recently that they have become a major force for launching new brands and products. Thanks to things like increased exposure via Playstation and Apple TV along with mobile and tablet video on the rise. The YouTube channel has grown as a great place to launch a brand.

Felicia Day’s Geek and Sundry Company launched on YouTube and Google Hangouts on April 1st and has already built up a huge following thanks to a big launch on YouTube. Felecia started out producing short films and games but ballooned into a small viral media empire. Geek and Sundry represents a huge leap as she launches various different products including internet publishing all funneled through her YouTube Channel. Day was able to take a little bit of buzz she built up thanks to her own site and build it into something huge using a YouTube Channel. And she did it all without spending much of anything on advertising.

One thing she did was do a large amount of cross promotion and build up her launch date in a big way. She found other websites and channels that had similar audiences such as Hardwick’s and cross promoted with them using giveaways on Twitter. Day used every form of social media including the brand new Google Hangouts to promote the launch of the YouTube Channel in a big way and it paid off with some great viral buzz that she fed continuously until her much publicized launch date.

Speaking of the launch date, Felicia Day held a massive launch day promotion that included a 12 hour streaming marathon on the brand new Google Plus Hangouts (Aside to YouTube and Facebook; make this more accessible. Streaming video is one thing you guys are lacking on and it’s going to make Google Plus look great in comparison.) This gave her some great buzz and even some trending topics on Twitter on her very first day of launch. She showed off her brand and made some great content for her YouTube channel while getting some great buzz all in one day and all without spending much. She made the launch of her new brand into an event and promoted it as such. She did it in a way any small business with a dedicated niche market can do. Remember, your niche audience is looking for things to talk about. All you have to do is find a way to get the ball rolling.

As I said, the new YouTube Channels are a good way to launch your brand and are great for SEO, but as just like the issues with streaming video, they still have some ways to go. As much as YouTube Channels are a great way to get your brand across there are still some drawbacks to putting your advertising dollars and your time into them as a launch pad for your brand. “They need to find an easier way for people to see them.” Hardwick said, noting the leaps they’ve already made as far as digital streaming to television goes. “YouTube needs to make your channel ‘one click away’ just like any other TV network. When that does all come together, Day, Hardwick, and anyone else along for the ride that develops a base there could be in for a major windfall.

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