With each passing month, YouTube gets increasingly attractive to PR pros who can leverage the video site for branding purposes.
YouTube user numbers have been staggering. The latest milestone was announced this week: One billion unique visitors every month, according to the YouTube blog.
The blog tried to put that number in perspective with the following facts: Nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube; its monthly viewership is the equivalent of roughly 10 Super Bowl audiences and if YouTube were a country it would be the third largest in the world, after China and India.
What does this mean for the PR pro? Visual mediums such as Pinterest, Instagram—and YouTube—continue to grow in audience popularity, so there's no reason to pull back on video and image creation for your PR campaigns. So, it's wise to keep up on video trends made possible by the popularity of these visual platforms.
Here are four video trends to watch from Dirk Shaw, senior VP of Social@Ogilvy:
1. YouTube as TV Destination: YouTube ultimately doesn’t want to be a cable provider, it wants to be your TV, with a laid-back viewing experience. That’s why Disney and other media companies are developing content specifically for YouTube.
2. Snack-able Content: Videos that are one-minute or less in length (Twitter's Vine is leading this charge).
3. Searchable Content: YouTube has become a place for search and discovery. Take advantage of this with keyword research and other SEO tactics. Experiment with third-party sites like Waywire—co-founded by Newark Mayor Cory Booker—which allows users to collect, organize and share videos among friends.
4. Sociable Experience: Although these days it's tempting, don't forget about Google+, which fully integrates with YouTube, allowing a group to watch a YouTube video via Google+ Hangout.
Follow Scott Van Camp: @svancamp01
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