Simon Dutta

Never think that you are restricted to using separate social media tools to promote you business and boost your sales.  If you get a bit creative, you can use all social media tools in conjunction with one another in order to cross-promote and make your business all the more visible on the web.

We will start with looking at YouTube as the main “social media” platform to kick off the use of all other social media accounts that you may have for your business, though you can start with any social media site when you want to begin your cross-promotion campaign.  A lot of people don’t see YouTube as a social media network, but it is.  YouTube gained so much popularity because not only is it easy to use, but you can also create your very own personal page on YouTube which features videos you post, as well as ones that you have made a favourite.

What also makes YouTube a very effective social media cross-promotional tool is that it can easily be spread quickly across a number of different social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook.  You can also embed YouTube links into your personal websites, and you can include them in any email that you send out.

With thousands of  Tweets per minute containing a YouTube video, and with there being millions of hours spent on YouTube in one month, you can see just how important YouTube can be for your overall social media marketing strategy.

The best way to kick off the cross-promotional strategy is to upload videos on YouTube and post them to your other social media pages, like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  When at all possible, make sure you include your signature, website, or your Twitter name with the YouTube video you post.

Next, you will want to customize your channel so that it becomes a compliment to your company.  You can choose which videos will display first, how your playlists are displayed, and how your content is displayed.  Colours and themes can all be changed to suit your marketing campaign.

Comments can also be left on your YouTube page.  The best way to generally go about comments is to allow all comments, or to only allow comments with your approval.  When you leave comments, make sure you redirect people to your Twitter feed or Facebook for further information about your business or product/service.

ABOUT: Simon Dutta has 20+ years’ executive marketing and business development experience spanning 18 countries and 24 industry sectors within start-ups, SMEs and multi-£billion blue-chips. His particular expertise lies in driving revenue growth by: (1) developing products that the market actually wants; and (2) executing customer acquisition and retention strategies that actually work. Simon is a Certified Internet Marketer, Chartered Marketer, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.  He also sits on the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Regional Board (West Midlands).