The opportunity to trend on YouTube and go viral means thousands of content creators compete for the most viewership across industries. Thankfully, the core ideas that make an excellent video stay the same even as trends come and go.

The team of digital marketing specialists at Altflex has compiled a lift of the best YouTube video ideas to build your audience.

YouTube strategy basics

Since YouTube’s inception in 2005, marketers have been perfecting the art of advertising through online videos. Try these best practices to help you get a jumpstart:

• Pick topics wisely: Find topics your team knows and can speak about at length. Your viewers will appreciate your authenticity and consider your products or services, resulting in a good conversion rate.
• Optimize your channel: It’s also vital to master YouTube video search engine optimization (SEO) to rank in searches. While creating compelling titles and descriptions is important, optimizing topic tags and captions is also vital for SEO.
• Build a marketing plan: The next crucial step is to build your YouTube marketing strategy. You’ll need to set goals, like growing audience engagement, traffic, or sales, and use different content types to accomplish them. It’s also essential to decide your channel’s tone and content style.

After you’ve established your YouTube channel goals, you can start creating content that connects you and your audience.

How YouTube can benefit your video marketing

YouTube is one of the most powerful marketing and communication tools out there. YouTube’s wide variety of benefits can boost your marketing campaign, including:

• Audience: YouTube is the world’s second-largest social media platform, with billions of viewers watching content every day. When you launch a video on the platform, you have a high potential of reaching your target audience.
• Economy: YouTube is highly cost-effective. You can opt for paid advertising, but creating a brand channel for content marketing is free.
• Demographic segmentation: YouTube allows some of the most in-depth audience targeting available. You can direct content to everyone from affinity audiences with specific interests to viewers who have already interacted with your content.

5 YouTube video ideas for your channel

There are hundreds of millions of videos available on YouTube today. Out of these many options, digital marketers have uncovered various effective formats that can help audiences relate to your brand. Many types of video marketing you can even do on your own!

We’ve written a list of five of our favorites to help you start creating content for your YouTube channel today.

1. “About us” videos

An “about us” video offers your audience a warm handshake, introducing your company and brand with the proper tone. The core objective is to tell them who you are, what you do, and, most importantly, why your business exists.

Consumers want to know who they’re buying from — 59% of customers prefer to buy from brands they trust. Include the following in your company-centered videos:

• Team introductions
• Company news
• Your mission, values, and goals
• Community service or partnerships

Your audience should understand your values and behind-the-scenes story by the end.

2. Explainer videos

Explainer videos provide a quick, convenient way for viewers to understand your brand. For example, a new software patch for a product might have a three-minute explainer video for the new features.

Explainer videos can raise engagement for what you choose to spotlight and make it easier for potential customers to understand your product.

3. Review videos

A review video helps you connect with your audience outside of advertising your products. For example, a mechanic’s garage could review classic car shows in the region or demonstrate the quality of popular repair equipment and spare parts.

You can also review entertainment like television shows or music related to your audience to establish your company outside of your products and services.

4. Tutorial videos

Tutorials are one of the top trending videos on YouTube. They’re highly shareable — customers can show them to friends and family who want the same information.

Say you offer baking supplies and teach how to make popular desserts. Your audience can make the food and share the recipe with friends on social media. Or, if you have a product with multiple moving parts, you can demonstrate ow to use the product. These videos also help with customer questions!

Bissell created a how-to video for using one of their carpet cleaners:

Visuals are a critical aspect of a tutorial video. The audience should see the presenter’s face so they can connect see clearly. It’s also key to demonstrate the steps in the process and make sure to explain them in detail.

5. Product promo videos

Product promos showcase your product’s best features. This powerful, persuasive tool enables you to engage your audience and convince customers at the bottom of the sales funnel to purchase.

For example, PlayStation created a viral event called “The State of Play.” These product showcases drop with little to no notice and reveal several of the most exciting video game trailers and developers’ commentary.

However you choose to showcase your products, remember that even a product promo is an opportunity to connect with your audience through an entertaining format.