“Is YouTube Social Media?”
Yes, it is.
Did someone ask you this question recently, and you couldn’t answer with confidence?
Now, you know how to respond when put in a conscientious debate about YouTube being one of the social media platforms.
It is impossible for anyone who uses internet apps to turn their back on YouTube.
YouTube is a worldwide phenomenon with more than 2 billion monthly active users.
So, in this blog, we will uncover the details on how is YouTube social media.
What Are Social Media Platforms?
Different social media platforms come under the broad term social media.
As per the definition, it is an online service designed to allow people across the world to connect, produce, and share content with one another,
The purpose of all social media platforms is to be a space for people to interact.
Through interaction in various virtual communities, people can perform several activities, such as business promotion, staying updated with friends and family, and networking.
However, when discussing the strict premises of typical social media platforms, people get confused as, seemingly, YouTube doesn’t justify the “social networking” part of the definition.
Basically, all social media platforms present a message that is considered important by an individual.
The nature of the message is tangible, personal, and authentic. If you look at this aspect, YouTube will fall under the boundaries of social media.
That’s why the answer to “Is YouTube social media?” is a yes.
Read More: How to Get 1000 Subscribers on YouTube for Free: 20 Tips and Strategies
Is YouTube Social Media: Detailed Explanation
YouTube also shares content just like other famous social media platforms. However, the main difference between YouTube and other titans in this space is that it is a video-first platform, its intent and discovery.
Here are the characteristics that support the answer of Is Youtube Social Media.
1. Promotes Engagement
At their best, social media platforms use interactive content to help people connect.
The first characteristic to support the debate on “is YouTube social media” is engagement.
YouTube has the potential to create a community by helping people engage in the comment section of a video.
Usually, people have discussions in the comment section of a video by leaving emoticons as reactions.
The rate of engagement on YouTube videos depends on the time. Similar to other social media platforms, at a particular time slot, audience engagement is high.
For instance, the best time to share a video on YouTube is on the weekends in the morning or later in the evening to get maximum reach.
Likewise, there is a suitable time to get a good response on YouTube shorts.
Other than that, people choose to subscribe to the content creator they find relatable. By doing that, the platform notifies them whenever the creator shares a new video.
Other common social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have similar interactive content.
Additionally, based on the comments, the creator can reply to the audience and create content on demand.
Deepen Connections Using User-Generated Content Creation
93% of marketers believe that the audience finds the content created by the customers as compared to some other source.
To increase the trust score, YouTube offers the option of free user-generated content.
The audience can access any video by the content creator of their choice for free.
If they want, they can easily send the videos to their groups to make the information of the video known to all.
Brands, average users, and influencers can all make the content without paying for the platform.
And the targeted audience can watch it without spending their money on it. This format works as a genuine source in front of the audience.
2. Develops Community
This is another solid point in the argument of “Is YouTube social media?”. Similar to other social media networks, YouTube provides a feeling of community.
Social media platforms facilitate interpersonal connections, communication, and the development of communities.
People can join groups on social media sites like Facebook, for instance, to connect with others who share their interests.
The Community Posts feature on YouTube enables content producers to publish GIFs, polls, and photographs to their Community tab.
Furthermore, influencers on websites like Instagram and TikTok contribute to the development of communities, driving more brand loyalty.
Hundreds of influencers on YouTube create communities where individuals with like-minded interests can interact.
People can discover their niche and join communities to build interactions with others on the platform.
Whether it is in gaming, sharing the same hobbies, or entertainment, YouTube has options for everyone.
3. Features Ads
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the revenue generated by YouTube ads reached 7.9 billion.
Above all, 59% of the users believe that TV ads are less relevant than YouTube ads.
Thus, the slow death of TV commercials is working in the favour of YouTube marketing.
Since this network allows you to advertise the same way as any other social media platform, whenever you are asked is YouTube social media, use this characteristic.
You can reach people while they’re watching content on YouTube by running ads using Google’s ad platform.
They can be inserted into videos at the start, midway, on the YouTube page’s sidebar, and more. Apart from that, you can run ads on YouTube shorts.
As YouTube ads work differently compared to other social media platforms, the ads may not be displayed in the feed of the user searching for a specific product.
Yet, a business can reach a potential audience who are unfamiliar with it.
Learn more about YouTube ads: YouTube Ad Examples: Up Your Marketing Game in a Few Days.
These four characteristics give enough reasoning to know the reason behind the popular question, “Is YouTube social media?
5 Effective Tips for Businesses to Get Social on YouTube
Many businesses are reluctant to participate on YouTube.
They think their content will never go viral, so it is pointless to try it out. And they keep using their marketing efforts on Facebook using SEO and other methods.
However, the objective is not to obtain a million views on your video. Although it is good, having one video go viral doesn’t always help a business achieve its objective of attracting more customers and leads.
To make YouTube a part of your social media campaign planning, here are some tips to give a head start.
1. Find a Direction for Content
Provide material that people will want to view.
You must produce material your audience is interested in seeing if you hope to succeed with YouTube social media.
With an average duration of 4.4 minutes, 2,500 new videos are added to YouTube each minute, totalling 183 hours of video content.
You have to make sure that the video you post shines from the rest. In this race, you have thousands of creators adding fresh content to the platform.
Consider your target market and industry, and then use the social media platforms as a way of providing value.
When you’re planning what to post on your YouTube channel, keep this in mind. To get your audience to watch, connect, and leave comments on your posts, make sure the content seems plausible and interesting to them.
2. Make Your Channel Awesome
Recognize what matters to your followers on social media and the current landscape.
People are eager to see your brand when it offers compelling products, excellent customer service, and a robust social media presence.
Write attention-grabbing taglines that provide evidence that your product is worth buying or you are a reliable source.
Anyone can spend thousands of dollars on influencer marketing campaigns or giveaways in the hopes that the content will be shared.
However, that shouldn’t be the only effort a brand should make.
When watching YouTube videos, viewers often look at the title to get an idea of what to expect.
You need to write a title to pull in the users to click on your video and view your content.
Plus, make sure the description in your title accurately describes what viewers might expect when they click on your video. By including the focus keyword, you can start SEO as well.
To avoid the common SEO mistakes that many businesses unintentionally make, click here.
3. Produce Captivating Thumbnails
One of the most important aspects of your YouTube video is its thumbnail, just after the video title. What viewers can anticipate to see in your video is displayed by your thumbnail.
You may have seen videos with poor-quality content getting millions of views with a catchy thumbnail.
Regarding YouTube thumbnails, you have two choices:
Select a scene for your video: You can use a scene for your thumbnail. With this option, you may take it directly from the video and save yourself the extra effort.
Custom thumbnail: You can upload your own image to be used as the thumbnail by using a custom thumbnail. This option is preferred by many content creators since 90% of the videos that perform well have custom thumbnails.
To create a custom thumbnail to catch eyeballs, here are some simple design suggestions:
- Use the recommended measurements for your YouTube thumbnail, which are 1280 by 720 pixels.
- Make sure your YouTube thumbnail appropriately captures the essence of your video.
- Add a shortened version of your YouTube thumbnail to your description.
- Make sure the text in your thumbnail is legible on smartphones as well.
- To draw attention to and distinguish your YouTube thumbnails, use contrasting colours.
- Make sure that each of your thumbnails has the same placement for your brand’s logo.
To establish a powerful brand aesthetic, utilize the same YouTube thumbnail template every time.
To make it simple for viewers to identify the kinds of videos they enjoy most, colour-code the various content streams.
4. Develop Connections with Influencers
One advantage of YouTube marketing is the capacity to establish connections with influencers.
Influencer marketing is 6.9 times more fruitful than other marketing strategies at targeting a bigger chunk of the audience.
Influencers are people with a considerable YouTube following who can promote a company through their content.
Businesses can reach a larger audience and possibly increase traffic and sales by working with influencers.
Sometimes, influencers assist in producing content for a company, like product evaluations or client endorsements.
They vouch for a brand, establishing credibility and trust with prospective clients.
Make it a part of your YouTube marketing plan since it can help companies expand their audience and spur growth.
In the example, you can checkout how Sephora has sponsored an influencer’s video to market their products.
5. Take Time to Interact
In your video, pose questions that urge viewers to provide feedback. And if they do take the time to leave a comment, be sure to respond.
A considerate reaction to a viewer’s comment brings personality to your channel, builds confidence, and demonstrates that you are an authority, giving you an edge over the fierce competition.
If you engage with users who comment on your material, YouTube becomes a social media platform.
Its common strategy among those who follow social media best practices is interacting with the followers by responding to their comments on the postings.
During live streams, YouTube premieres creators to engage in real-time communication with their viewers.
This emphasizes the feature of the platform even further by generating a live event environment where spectators and creators may talk in real-time.
In the example below, you can see how a question-and-answer video can get millions of views.
Is YouTube Marketing For You?
By reaching out to your target audience through YouTube with high-quality videos, a company can cleverly portray their product as the solution to all of the problems of the audience.
You can use videos that highlight the qualities and advantages of a tangible product or show off how to utilize it by being as creative as possible.
Remember to add a CTA that encourages the user to perform some type of action, if not a direct purchase. For instance, subscribing to your newsletter, etc.
However, YouTube might not be a useful marketing tool if you don’t have the following:
- A creative team for relatable content production
- Willingness to post content consistently
- Resources to perform YouTube SEO
- A solid presence on social media platforms
In the end, you should carefully consider the business objective, target market, available resources, and prospective costs and advantages before deciding to employ YouTube marketing.
FAQs
Why is YouTube a good social media platform?
It is a highly optimized medium with a considerable number of people using it on a daily basis.
What type of social media is YouTube?
The suitable division for placing YouTube into is the video-sharing site category.
How can I use YouTube appropriately?
To use YouTube effectively, you need to make content for a particular segment of the audience. Note that, even the most beautifully crafted content is useless without views.
Why is YouTube great for social media marketing?
It is a free tool that can increase your ranking on Google if you post consistently. Consequently, you get more qualified leads.
In Conclusion
With this blog, you won’t ever shrug your shoulders over the question “Is YouTube social media?”.
Additionally, you know the plan to drive a massive reach through YouTube.
Given the current social media marketing climate, there is no better time than the present to use YouTube for it.
Therefore, The Dreams Agency helps you with social media marketing to give your company the exposure necessary to achieve business goals.