Five Lessons From YouTube’s Latest Success Story

At first glance, YouTube might not seem like a useful tool for your business. But with more than 1 billion unique users visiting YouTube each month, you could be missing out on a great marketing opportunity. Not just for watching kittens playing the piano or Miley Cyrus swinging around in the air, YouTube can be a home for your business, too.

So you don’t create any videos right now, but could you? Don't think in terms of what you currently do, but what you could potentially do. Videos can be a great form of content for engaging customers with your brand. But for this to work, you need to do it well.

Let’s take a look at an example of a great YouTube channel. While YouTube’s own YouTube Spotlight channel currently has the most subscriptions, it is followed closely by PewDiePie, a Swedish video game commentator with over 18 million subscribers, and I must admit my current obsession.

In a nutshell, PewDiePie makes a living playing video games (also known as living the dream). He gives a running commentary and records himself in a picture-in-picture so viewers can see his reaction to what’s happening on-screen. He is very funny, and his personality shines through in his videos.

So what can we learn from Pewds? Or rather, what can we learn from a young guy playing video games in his living room while giving the in-game characters funny voices and shouting Swedish expletives when he inevitably dies at the hands of a gruesome monster (or simply falls off the edge of a cliff)? Let’s take a look at what he’s doing right and how you can apply it to your company:

Be entertaining or informative

Everyone likes a good laugh, and they like to share funny videos with their friends, so if you can create an entertaining video related to your business, you could be a winner. If this doesn’t sound like it suits your company, then remember that YouTube is also a great source of information. Videos that help people to carry out a task related to the products or services you offer would be great content people will be looking for. PewDiePie manages to do both, introducing viewers to new games and showing them how to play, while being entertaining as he plays them.

Be friendly and show personality

This is perhaps what makes PewDiePie so successful. He’s just a regular guy doing what he loves and being himself, and without really trying he’s managed to get people to love him. Videos can help you put a friendly face on your brand. In your videos, use someone customers will be able to connect with and you’ll be on your way to building relationships and making customers feel closer to and more positive about your brand.

Upload regular videos

PewDiePie uploads one or two videos every day. Though you don’t necessarily need to upload new videos quite this much, if you create content regularly then people are more likely to find you, remember you, and stay interested in what you are doing.

Appeal to your target market

PewDiePie regularly plays video games that his watchers have suggested to him or takes advice from users on what to do at a particular part in the game. This is how he creates videos that his subscribers will continue to watch and enjoy. You can do the same by thinking about your target market, creating the kind of content they will enjoy, and taking on board any comments or feedback.

Keep it exciting

PewDiePie doesn’t just play one type of game – he plays horror, fantasy, and any strange indie games he can get his hands on. Make sure you aren’t churning out the same content all the time, and keep it fresh by talking about different things and creating different types of videos.

Remember that YouTube may not be an appropriate marketing tool for every business, but as with all social media, it is worth playing around and experimenting to see what works best for you.