YouTube Sensation

Digital guru Jamie Ginsberg
provides tips for using video
to educate and retain clients.

WHY IS YOUTUBE A VALUABLE TOOL FOR
spas? Because more than 3 billion videos are
viewed every day on YouTube. More than 100
million people engage socially with videos on
YouTube each week. Also, searching truly works
on YouTube, because it is powered by Google
(which owns the site). You do not want to host
your videos on your spa’s website. Instead, you
want your videos on YouTube, where people are
watching and sharing videos. Having a YouTube
channel for your spa is like owning your own television
station—you have a powerful distribution
network enabling you to easily share videos with
your clients and potential clients.
The first step to get your clients viewing your
videos is optimizing your spa’s YouTube channel.
When you create your channel, you must take
the time to fill in the details about your spa.
When you edit your account, you can click on
My Channel, then Settings. This is where you
add Channel Tags. These tags become metadata
that improve how your channel’s videos show up
in a search. You can add the same keywords used
to optimize your spa’s website for searching as
the Channel Tags for your spa’s YouTube channel.
Once you have optimized your channel for
searching, it is time to start uploading videos.
Creating and loading a video onto YouTube
is easy. When you upload your video to your
channel, start with the title. The title must
be descriptive, include at least one of your
keywords, and be inspiring. Next, start your
description with a link to your website. This
way, the link will almost always be easily accessible
when people are viewing the video, and
you will be creating an inbound link to your
site, improving your search engine optimization.
The description should use your keywords and
effectively communicate why people want to watch
the video. Finally, put in the tags and keywords for
your video. These serve as critical metadata that
will help Google rank and qualify traffic to your
video. Whether you are describing the services
your spa offers or teaching your clients how to
apply products, including this metadata will
improve the searching and sharing of your videos,
as well as help familiarize people with your spa.
Last but not least, the quality of your content
will determine whether people watch your videos
and whether they are inspired to share your videos
on their social networks. Yes, you can make videos
on your iPhone (the new 4S shoots video at high definition
1080P quality), but these videos tend
to be shaky and difficult to watch. High-quality
productions and engaging content will encourage
your clients to watch and share. Remember, the
quality of the content is a reflection of the quality
of the experience and services you off er.
Educational content is critical to the success of
your spa’s videos. When you educate clients, you
make it easy for them to want to buy your services
and products. You spend a lot of time training your
staff on the products and services you offer, and
this knowledge has to be shared with your spa’s
clients. Video is the best tool you have.
Aft er you have uploaded and optimized your
video on YouTube, start sharing it. If you have
connected your Twitter account to YouTube, the
video will be tweeted automatically. Click “Share”
under the video, and copy the link. This link
should be shared on Facebook (share it once every
few weeks until you have done so at least two to
three times), in your email newsletters, and added
to your website. When you share your videos on
Facebook, you should encourage people to like
or comment—this encouragement increases the
activity on your video and opens it up to a greater
network of potential clients for your spa. Don’t
forget that 3 billion videos a day are being viewed
on YouTube. Make sure your spa’s videos are one
of them.

Jamie Ginsberg is a social media strategist
working in and with technology since 1994. Link
to him at www.linkedin.com/in/jamieginsberg,
and follow him at twitter.com/sonicallstar.