I was recently readingĀ 5 facts about online video, for YouTube’s 10th birthday at the Pew Research Center, and found this:
YouTube is the second-largest social networking site, behind Facebook. A 2014 Pew Research Center study of online adults found that three-quarters (77%) of internet users are on Facebook, while 63% use YouTube. Although YouTube has a smaller reach than Facebook, it is more widely used than LinkedIn (25%), Google Plus (24%) and Twitter (21%).
The article also says that 72% of online adults use sites like YouTube and Vimeo. They are watching videos.
Ok then. Why are we not using YouTube more? It is more widely used that LinkedIn and Twitter combined!
So … some things you can do to start (we’re working through the same things):
- Beef up your library’s YouTube account (or get one if you haven’t yet)
- Do some brainstorming on content ideas – think through a mix of tutorials, training, fun, and organizational news reporting types of videos
- Figure out who can do the work. Make a team if possible
- Create a schedule. It doesn’t have to be every day, or even every week – but consistency is key
And the hardest one – just start already. Make sure the video is short and the audio can be heard (most important thing in a YouTube video), and post that video. Then post it to social media (think about uploading separately to Facebook) and your website.
Then rinse and repeat, and see what happens.