"How To..." Take Advantage of a New Digital Marketing Trend

Do you know how to survive a shipwreck? What about tie a tie, change a tire, apply makeup, dance the Whip/Nae Nae, or cook the perfect poached egg? You can learn these skills and more through step-by-step instructional videos on YouTube. And consumer's love these handy tutorials. Google says that YouTube how-to video searches have increased 70% this year over the previous year.

In 2015, viewers watched more than 100 million hours of how-to content from YouTube. 91% of these viewers, consisting largely of millennials, turn to their smartphone to search for these videos because of its convenience and availability. The most attention grabbing detail of this to digital marketers is that about 30% of this millennial audience report buying products as a result of watching a how-to video.

No matter what industry you are in, there are numerous how-to videos that appeal to your target audience, making it easier for marketers to get their ads in front of people who are most likely to convert. Check out these strategies to capitalize on this trend:

• Take advantage of what you know best, your industry. Use the keywords your consumers search for the most to put your business at the forefront for anyone who searches for your services. For example, a bathroom remodeling business can use keyword video targeting on YouTube with keywords like “how-to renovate a bathroom” and your video pre-roll ad will appear before the top organic YouTube ranked videos, making your business the first thing potential consumers will see prior to a tutorial. You can build out up to 500 keywords per campaign that only show up in your geographic area.

• If your business has never created a YouTube channel, now is the perfect time to jump on the bandwagon. Deciding where to start is simple, just create videos on your most commonly asked questions. Once you determine the inquires your consumers may have, your brand can be at the front and center of all their searches. You set yourself up as the expert.

• Remember when we told you how important blogging is? That applies here too! Use the same frequently asked questions you hear from your customers all the time and write blog posts about them, and link those posts to your YouTube channel as an additional resource. As always, the easiest way to make your YouTube videos easy to find is by adding descriptions, captions, and relevant tags when you post them.