Are you looking for ways to expand your SaaS business outreach? Of course, you are.
Then video marketing might be the key to your success. While no marketing channel alone is necessarily better than others, video marketing can be truly effective.
With billions of monthly active users, YouTube is the second-largest search engine and the third-most visited website on the planet.
YouTube isn’t restricted by borders, it’s a global marketing solution perfect for SaaS businesses.
YouTube is also unique in the immense opportunity it provides for businesses to reach their target audience, and showcase their products and services through video. If ever a platform existed for building trust, loyalty, and a large brand YouTube was the answer.
The Power of Video Marketing for SaaS Businesses
As a SaaS business attracting new customers and retaining existing ones is key to running a successful business, especially with monthly subscription-type product offerings. The rise and dominance of digital marketing have allowed video marketing to emerge as a powerful tool for growth-focused businesses.
The process of creating and sharing videos that promote your products or services, educate your audience and tell your brand story all at once is not something that can be ignored.
Incorporating video into your marketing strategy has been proven to increase audience engagement, help conversion rates, and educate existing customers about your company – in turn leading to lower churn.
Understanding YouTube’s Impact on SaaS Businesses
YouTube has transformed the way we consume video content. In the 2020s viewing YouTube (or TikTok) as mere platforms for watching funny cats and music videos is naive. Indeed, video sharing on YouTube is actually a very powerful tool for businesses looking to create a better brand.
One study found that over 62% of businesses use YouTube as a channel to post their video content. Obviously, there will be varying degrees of success, but, in general, using YouTube can help you to tap into a massive audience and gain exposure for your SaaS business.
Benefits of Using YouTube for SaaS Businesses
Obviously, the reach of YouTube and its huge user base can’t be ignored, but there are many other benefits. Some of which are quite subtle.
Building Brand Awareness
This won’t come as a shock, but one of the biggest benefits of using YouTube for your SaaS business is building brand awareness. In other words, tell the business who you (and your business) are.
YouTube can help you to demonstrate brand personality in a way that showcases the humans behind your product. People don’t like to buy from corporations, they buy from people. Show off the people in your business. They are your greatest asset.
Creating educational and fun video content can also help your brand to establish a presence as an industry leader. Naturally, this is important for attracting new customers.
Generating Leads and Conversions
People watching your videos aren’t just doing so for fun… most of the time.
YouTube is also an incredible tool for your SaaS business’s ability to generate leads and conversions.
Creating video content like product demos, and tutorials, as well as showcasing customer testimonials, is a great way to persuade potential customers to convert and purchase your products.
Driving Traffic to Your Website
YouTube is also a great platform for driving traffic back to your website. You should consider including links to key pages in your video descriptions and encouraging viewers to visit your website in order to learn more about your products or services.
Additionally, by embedding your YouTube videos on specific blog posts, you can improve overall user engagement and increase dwell time on key pages.
Improving Your SEO Rankings
YouTube is a key tool for SaaS businesses, and in turn, it can help you to rank better organically.
Remember, YouTube is owned by Google, so video content often ranks high in the SERPs. Ensure that you always optimize video titles, descriptions, and tags – this will increase the likelihood of your videos appearing in search results.
Obviously, this has traffic and longer-term benefits for SEO.
How to Create Effective Videos for Your SaaS Business
Understanding the benefits of using YouTube for your SaaS business is good, but having a system in place to create the most effective videos that resonate with your target audience is absolutely key.
Understanding Your Audience
You won’t be able to create effective videos without understanding your audience first. Who are they, and what do they care about?
What challenges are your target customers facing, and how can your products or services help them to directly overcome these challenges? You need to try and create videos that speak directly to your audience’s needs and interests.
Crafting Engaging Content
Once you understand your audience, it’s much easier to produce content that they will find engaging. Your videos need to be a blend of informative, entertaining, and also visually appealing.
You should try and use storytelling techniques that captivate your audience and keep them engaged throughout the video. People love stories. This is a really underrated strategy and you should start to implement this.
Remember that your products and services have unique features and benefits, be sure to show off these unique selling points in a clear and concise manner.
Optimizing Your Videos for Search
You need your videos to reach a wider audience… then it’s essential to optimize them suitable for search. Video SEO is different from standard SEO, so you should take the time to learn about it. The content and depth of the video, as well as keywords, tags, etc., are all vital.
Also, for accessibility and organic reach purposes, you should include a video transcript and enable subtitles for people with hearing issues.
Promoting Your Videos on Other Channels
Finally, YouTube shouldn’t be treated as an isolated channel. That’s why it’s really important you don’t forget to promote your videos on other channels. Social media, your website, and any email newsletters you send out are all good ways to get new eyeballs on your video marketing.
Measuring the Success of Your YouTube Videos
To understand the impact that your YouTube videos are having on your business, you will need to measure the success of your YouTube videos.
That’s why you need to be continually tracking metrics like views, watch time, engagement, and conversion rates. Looking at these metrics will enable you to identify what’s working and what’s not.
This data will help you to make the decisions that drive improvements in your video marketing strategy.
Best Practices for SaaS Businesses on YouTube
SaaS businesses are like any other business in this way. To get the full potential out of YouTube you need to keep standard best practices in mind.
Consistency is absolutely key. If you want to attract a loyal audience on YouTube you will need to be consistent and share value often. Create a content calendar and stick to it, this is so important.
Additionally, you need to engage with your audience. Respond to comments and questions on your videos – this can help you to build a community and show your audience that you actually care.
Collaboration can be another good video marketing strategy for SaaS businesses. Teaming up with other creators, especially other SaaS businesses in your industry can help to increase overall exposure.
Conclusion
Video marketing is too big to be ignored. If you are able to commit the resources needed, then video marketing can be an essential tool for SaaS businesses.
It will allow you to expand your outreach and attract new customers. By leveraging the power of YouTube, there is a myriad of growth, financial, and SEO benefits that can be achieved.
FAQs
How long should my YouTube videos be?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, the ideal video length depends on what your audience likes to consume and the type of content you’re creating. A tutorial may only need to be 3 minutes, while a company update may need to be 7 minutes.
There is research that suggests shorter videos between 2-5 minutes in length tend to perform well. However, longer videos have an important role too.
Do I need professional equipment to create YouTube videos?
No, it’s not a requirement. Professional equipment should be used ideally as you are representing your brand through the quality of content. However, there are many successful YouTubers who use nothing more than their smartphone to create great content.
Can I use YouTube to promote my SaaS business if I don’t have a large budget?
Yes, absolutely. You don’t need a large budget to create effective videos and promote them on YouTube. While you may not be able to invest as much into promotion you can still find a way to publish content that speaks directly to your audience’s needs and interests.
