YouTube Generation

YouTube is blowing up and it is no surprise. Anyone can create an account and upload fun videos to gain attention. YouTube is quickly becoming a resource for people and brands to express themselves. There is more video content uploaded to YouTube in a 60 day period than the three major U.S. television networks created in 60 years. That is a lot of content especially for a company that was only founded seven years ago. With so much content being uploaded daily you might be wondering how you make yourself or your brand stand out.

First, identify your target audience. Are you a brand? Who is listening to your message? Once you pin down the identity of your audience you can then choose how you want your YouTube branding to be. Is YouTube a resource to help get your business message out there? If so, then your content should help describe your business and showcase the company culture.

Second, you want to keep your content fresh and innovative. Once you have built an audience you don’t want to lose them by posting irrelevant information and not sticking to your brand identity. The best way to keep an audience engaged is by making your channel personal, posting often and incorporating your channel with your other social media platforms.

Last, ask for feedback from your audience. What do they like that you are posting? What are the video’s with the most views? Another way of asking for feedback is on your other social media sites. Once a video is up you can post a Facebook message saying “Check out our new video. Click LIKE if you want to see more videos like this.” This also helps your audience feel engaged with your channel and helps you gain insight for future videos.

Now that you have all the tools needed to create a successful YouTube channel you can get out there and test the waters! Don’t forget to have fun and for old times’ sake check out the first video ever uploaded to YouTube here. Have fun YouTubing!

2008 PR Trends

It’s always good to stay on top of the PR trends so here are a few standouts to help you better spotlight your clients in 2008.

Hope they help and Best in 2008!
Risë

BLOGGERS
Blog is the name of the game these days – you can monitor stories about your clients and their competitors and/or pitch and place valuable content.  Consider distributing your client messages to independent bloggers as well as corporate blogs through a credible third party.  In terms of market penetration, blogging is definitely creating “word of mouth” buzz in the marketplace.  A few of the top blogs are gizmodo.com for tech/gadgets, tmz.com for Hollywood gossip, huffingtonpost.com for politics and treehugger.com for eco/lifestyles.

ONLINE VIDEO
You’ve probably heard that online surfing is the thing to do while doing lunch at your desk and more folks are surfing than eating these days!  So, take whatever video you’ve already produced for your client, or produce new video, and think about placing it online on websites that already attract your target demos.  For example, for moms there’s iVillage or Ladies Home Journal, or smaller sites that, when added together, will still generate a solid audience.

Speaking of video, think funny and think offbeat to really get the YouTubers and other onliners to click on and then forward to their friends.  If it’s viral and video, it’s healthy.

GO MOBILE 
Mobile gizmos and gadgets can generate a whole new audience for your client messages.  Breakthrough technology in mobile websites can target the growing audiences that are attached to cell phones and mobile e-mail daily.  Your client will need a version of their website that is tailored for displays on mobile screens and we anticipate a spike in the number of companies/clients who will have their sites mobile-ready in 2008.

The top ten mobile sites include Google.com, WashingtonPost.com, Ask.com, Yahoo.com Flickr.com, Live.com, Facebook.com, Overstock.com, Weather.com and USA Today.com.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING 
We’ll soon be in full-tilt presidential election mode and that will tighten up traditional media programming and inventory for 2008, especially in battle ground states.  So, strategic story placements for your clients are key.  Look for election-related hooks for radio and TV such as the economy, housing, healthcare, the environment, etc., but also think outside the box to include online audio and video and e-mail marketing where there’s literally “more room” to deliver your message to target demos to pump up those audience numbers.

SOCIAL NETWORKING
It’s just good business to create a name for your clients online as well as offline especially on the off the hook social networking sites.  Think about placing promotional banners, client content or actually joining online communities (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, iSaveSmart, Bebo) to promote your client message.