When I was given the honorary title of “Multimedia Expert,”
the first thing that came to mind was, of course, YouTube. In case you reading
this blog post is the first time you have ever found yourself on the internet,
YouTube is a website that allows you to upload, share, and watch videos. Founded
in 2005, YouTube has grown exponentially in terms of users and content since
its inception. According to YouTube’s website:
- Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month.
- Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
- And 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
When many people think of YouTube they think of the
silly/hilarious home videos that permeate throughout YouTube and are
highlighted on shows such as Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 and MTV’s Ridiculousness.
While this is a big part of why YouTube has so many users, there are many
practical uses for YouTube as well, many of which are useful to businesses.
This past summer, I interned for the National Outdoor
Leadership School (NOLS). By working with them, I got to see first hand how a company
can utilize YouTube as a strategic business tool. Here are 3 ways in which NOLS
used this tool:
Marketing
NOLS, and many other companies, use upload videos on YouTube
as a form of marketing. A well crafted video advertisement can let potential
customers know what your selling, your mission, and create a sense of brand
awareness. Here is a NOLS video, which urges students to “Join Us” on a NOLS
course, persuading them through testimonials, great adventure footage, and a
catchy soundtrack.
Displaying Expertise
By posting informational videos, businesses can show that
they are leaders in their respective fields. For example, NOLS prides itself on
being a leader in the field of outdoor education. Each year they host a Faculty
Summit where all of their instructors come to their headquarters in Lander, WY
for a weekend long seminar on new issues and topics in the field of outdoor
education. This year they have uploaded videos of the presentations from the
summit. Here is a video they from the Summit of a forum they conducted on the
growing use of communication technologies in the wilderness classroom.
Customer Service
One common video used by companies is creating how-to videos
that teach the consumer how to use a product or service. Here is a video NOLS
posted on how to pack for warmth on one of their winter courses.
As you can see, there are many business opportunities to be
had through your use of YouTube. So next time you are watching a video about
talking cats, take a moment to see how businesses are using this astounding web
site.
Since Youtube censors some of its cotent to make it assessable to all ages, do you think this will keep it in a safe ground that has no potential for risky advances? And if so, how does the fourth amendment play a role in the inherent waiver signed by all video uploaders? What do you think about Russia's conservative stance of blocking all user content that may or may not have patented audible content?
ReplyDeleteYouTube has evolved quite significantly over the last years and it is becoming a more professional platform to launch new original content. Also YouTube is placing a stronger emphasis now on subscriptions. I believe many businesses still consider YouTube as a separate platform, as you said with lots of cat videos. They are more successful if they include YouTube in their overall social media marketing strategy. Looking forward to see if you can find such examples.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay in response to Nahtone C's question, seeing as I know him personally we have discussed his questions in person, but I thought it would be better late then never to answer it so any curious readers can know what I have to think. I think on any site that user are uploading videos there is inherent risk for "risky" videos to be uploaded. From a business perspective you would hope that those utilizing such avenues would have the common sense not to upload anything too risky. In terms of Youtube's waiver's and the 4th amendment I honestly not sure how that is applicable. The 4th amendment protects our right against unreasonable search and seizures, so I'm not sure if that is addressed in Youtube's waiver. In regards to Russia's stance, I would say that it would definitely make some of the cat video's online much less entertaining (such as this one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED0Z6GwJ5wE) if we in America had similar restrictions.
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