Emplifi recently hosted an exclusive webinar on how businesses can leverage YouTube to reach their strategic goals. Hosted by Cesar Christofodis, SVP of Global Partnerships and Sales at Emplifi, our all-star panel included:
Matthew Sneed, a VOD native with almost 20 years of experience dating back to HomeChoice, the UK’s first VOD platform
Tom McGirr, Executive Strategy Director at The Wild, Jungle Creations’ social-first creative agency
Paola Marinone, Co-founder and CEO at BuzzMyVideos, a leading Martech company that drives hyper-growth and new revenue from, and on, YouTube
Throughout the webinar, our panelists shared numerous insights about how YouTube is integral for any forward-thinking retailer. The creative space is exploding right now, and the opportunities for developing brand loyalty and awareness are endless. Let’s look at some key takeaways from the webinar below, and make sure to watch the full webinar here!
How one song can turn into a full enterprise
The webinar kicked off with a quick spotlight on a recent pop culture phenomenon: "Baby Shark."
If you’re a parent (or anyone else, for that matter), you’ve probably heard the song. But what makes “Baby Shark” more than just a catchy song? It’s how the creators effectively monetized it into a full business enterprise, creating merchandise and new viral challenges. In fact, it’s the most-watched YouTube video of all time, bringing in between $17 and $22 million in joint revenue with YouTube, and generating a net worth of $134 million for its creator, Pinkfong.
The purpose behind YouTube strategies in 2022
In this interactive webinar, we asked the audience which of these three goals are their primary purpose on YouTube:
Creating brand awareness
Generating revenues
Driving retention
The answer that got the most votes was brand awareness (76.2%). Our panel expert Paola Marinone noted she wasn’t surprised at this majority response because YouTube is used mainly for reach.
Your archive is your powerhouse
For Marinone, the key component to achieving digital success on YouTube is archiving the content you have. YouTube is the #2 search engine after Google, so if you’re a brand that’s optimized your content on YouTube, you have a high chance of it appearing high on Google searches. This is a powerful tool for reach. Even if your archive is old and off-brand, it’s important to note that it’s likely still getting viewed. Use tools like cards and playlisting to ensure the consumer is directed to the relevant videos after engaging with you.
Panelist Matthew Sneed also touched on the importance of archiving for a successful YouTube strategy. Most of NBC Universal’s (Sneed’s current company) content is archived, including some that were published over 60 years ago! For example, consider the iconic shower scene from "Psycho," a film more than six decades old. The video is valuable in itself; it’s a famous piece of content that will always get engagement, regardless of how far back the original scene dates.
Why should a brand or publisher leverage YouTube?
Next, our panel handed the floor over to Tom McGirr to discuss what value brands can gain from leveraging the YouTube platform. A pertinent case study we discussed was The Wild’s work with Major League Baseball (MLB), an organization whose social media and social presence are run entirely by The Wild.
McGirr notes that YouTube has allowed The Wild to create a dedicated and engaged audience for MLB. Equally, he stressed that consumers are often drawn in through channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but converted on YouTube. In fact, when it comes to paid advertising, YouTube converts more customers than any other social network. Its high engagement levels also lend themselves to community building.
Older, but more trustworthy?
While YouTube is an older social platform than apps such as TikTok and Snapchat, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! As Sneed noted, mature platforms often hold more trust from their consumers. So for long-form content, it’s the place to be.
This just scratches the surface of what we covered in this webinar. If you want to learn more, you can catch up with the full webinar.
