Making the Most Out of YouTube for Business

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Using YouTube to get exposure for a business takes consistency and content … and not much money.

That was the message from entrepreneur and “YouTuber” Rayshone Oliver, who shared her experiences at a Listen and Learn seminar Tuesday at Kravitz Delicatessen. Videos can even be shot with a smartphone, she said.

“I actually used a bent fork as my first phone mount to shoot from,” Oliver said. “You can purchase a ring light that comes with a phone mount, but natural lighting is best.”

A graduate of YSU, Oliver applied her knowledge of cosmetology and science to found Weave N Luxury, which sells hair extensions made of 100% human hair to help those suffering from hair loss through trichotillomania and other hair loss disorders.

Two years ago, she started the YouTube channel #BeUtify to complement her business. She has since accumulated 207 subscribers and posted 230 videos.

“I started this year with the goal that I was going to post a video on my YouTube channel #BeUtify everyday,” Oliver said. “It’s a great place to show what your business does, as well as demonstrate how you do it.”

The event was organized by Youngstown Score, a nonprofit organization that offers free mentoring for small businesses in the five-county region.

“After I was helped by Score, I really wanted to help others through the organization, it really improves your approach to your business,” said Oliver.

Janet Moy, chairwoman for Score, recruited Oliver to speak at the event.

“I realized that we needed to get young people who were good in social media marketing, so that was my goal,” said Moy.

Oliver emphasized that a YouTube channel is intended to “add value” to a person’s business. While it is possible to monetize a YouTube channel, she said making money shouldn’t be the end goal.

“If you are looking to use your channel just to make money you are setting yourself up for failure,” she said.

Requirements for eligibility make monetization difficult, she said. According to YouTube guidelines, a channel must reach 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months and have 1,000 subscribers to be eligible for monetization.

Oliver provided handouts as a step-by-step guide to making videos for YouTube. Topics included anything from editing software to lighting, while reiterating that it doesn’t cost much to create effective videos.

A few free video editing applications listed in the handout were Animoto on Android phones and the IMovie app for iPhones.

“Kinemaster is the app that I use and am most familiar with,” she said.

She stressed the importance of spreading the reach of YouTube videos by using the platform’s social share system. By using links, YouTube makes it easy to integrate videos into other platforms, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Oliver recommends selecting the social platform that best meets the needs of the business. While Facebook allows for full-length videos, Instagram works best for photography and shorter videos.

Properly using hashtags can help take a post’s exposure even further, she added.

“Use a hashtag that you think is relevant to what you want people to see,” she said. “Hashtags show your videos to more people than just a YouTube tag. By doing this you are creating a brand for yourself.”

To maintain consistency, she advised attendees to keep a schedule of when posts should be made and stick to it.

“I watch a young lady who makes oversized cakes, and she posts every Tuesday. It’s not about how often you do it, but when you post and that you do a great job with your videos,” Oliver said.

Along with covering the basics of shooting and posting videos she advised attendees to pay attention to each video’s comments section, which allows viewers to offer feedback.

“YouTube monitors comments and you can control the comments section for your channel,” she said. “I love the interactions. Sometimes there are so many that it can be hard to keep track of. It’s still a lot of fun.”

After taking questions from the crowd, Oliver’s final bit of advice was simply to be patient, that it “takes time to grow a YouTube channel,” she said.

Pictured above: Rayshone Oliver, owner of Weave N Luxury and the YouTube channel #BeUtify, addresses those gathered for a Listen and Learn seminar hosted by Youngstown Score.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.