Seminar touts using YouTube as business tool

By John Underwood / john@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 2/14/19

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Google’s Pamela Starr had a message for small business owners during a seminar held Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Baldwin County Association of Realtors in …

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Seminar touts using YouTube as business tool

Posted

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Google’s Pamela Starr had a message for small business owners during a seminar held Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Baldwin County Association of Realtors in Robertsdale.

“Many people are intimidated when it comes to shooting, editing and uploading videos to promote their business,” she said. “It’s really not as hard as you might think.”

The free seminar, “Sharing Your Story Through Video By Google,” was presented by America’s Small Business Development Center through the University of Alabama, in cooperation with the BCAR and Baldwin County’s five Chambers of Commerce, the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, Bay Minette; Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, Robertsdale; Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, Fairhope; South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, Foley; and the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, Gulf Shores.

It was the second seminar as part of the “Get Your Business Online” with Google seminars featuring Starr to be held at the BCAR over the last year. The first seminar was held in May of 2018.

Starr started the seminar by asking two questions, “What is the most used search engine on the Internet?” The answer is Google. “What is the second most used search engine on the internet? The answer, which might surprise most people, is YouTube.

“Many people thing of YouTube as just a place where you can watch videos,” Starr said. “But it can be a powerful tool to promote your business.”

But how much does it cost, you might ask?

“It is completely free to set up a YouTube business page,” Starr said, “and guess what, chances are everyone in this room has a video camera either in your pocket or on the table in front of you. It’s called your smart phone.”

Unlike slick television commercial advertising, Starr said, high production value when it comes to online videos isn’t really all that important to the consumer. And, unlike television commercials, the majority of consumers actually watch online advertising.

“I’m not saying that you should not use television commercial advertising to promote your business,” she said. “All tools have a place in promoting your business, but unlike television advertising, consumers will seek out video advertising on the Internet to learn about a subject.

“And they won’t just watch one video, they will watch 12.”

Thursday’s seminar covered a variety of topics, such as what to include in a video and how to use Google and YouTube’s search engine to get consumers to your videos by using the most commonly searched words, such as “How To” and “Best.”

Alabama’s SBDC is committed to “strengthening Alabama’s econom by providing high-quality one-on-one, confidential assistance, training, and education to small businesses targeted for increasing employment, fostering growth and improving financial stability,” according to information provided by the SBDC during Thursday’s seminar.

“This series is a small part of giving your small business all the tools it needs,” said Yolanda Johnson with Alabama’s SBDC.

If you would like more information about future seminars, or other tools to help grow your small business, call 1-877-825-7232, email asbdc@ua.edu or visit asbdc.org.