For a home improvement company, there may be no more valuable social media tool than YouTube. In less than ten years, YouTube has grown to become the world’s second largest search engine, right behind Google and ahead of Bing and Yahoo. The video sharing site receives more than 1 billion unique users, and over 6 billion hours of video are watched, each month. If you have yet to create video content to share with current and prospective customers, you’re missing a golden opportunity!
Why has YouTube become so popular? Well, the truth is that one of the main reasons is because people just don’t want to read anymore. Social media has gone the way of Twitter, with its 140 character limit, or Instagram, to view images and short videos. If you write 3-4 paragraphs about what a great service you provide to homeowners, chances are that most people won’t read it. They’ll skim the article or webpage for a few main ideas and move on.
However, if you’re able to actually SHOW people what you and your company can do, now we’re talking! There are a variety ways to use YouTube to your advantage, including on the job videos and customer testimonials. YouTube videos help build your reputation and credibility, two important qualities that homeowners look for when searching for a company to work in their home. Viewers are able to see firsthand how you approach a job, your expertise and craftsmanship, and how satisfied homeowners just like them are. The best part about this is – you can make these videos for free!
I know what you’re thinking. “I don’t have a high quality camera or video editing software. Heck, I don’t even know how to edit videos!” You’re not alone. As long as you have a smartphone, you have the ability to start producing video content today. On practically all Apple and Android devices, you can upload a video directly to YouTube. It’s a very quick and easy process!
Here are a few tips when creating and uploading video content. When recording videos on the job, make sure that the lighting is adequate and that the room is quiet enough to hear people speaking. Plan out what you’re saying beforehand, but try to sound as natural as possible. If you make a mistake, simply delete the video and start again. Finally, once you upload your finished video, be sure to add a great description that includes location (city, state) as well as a brief overview of the job at hand.