Yes! YouTube is a social networking website as well as the second most popular search engine behind Google. And it’s a prominent social media platform where you can enjoy an ocean of content linked to various interests.
Table of Contents
What Is Social Media?
Any website that allows a network of individuals to connect with others is considered social media. Social media facilitates communication, fosters community, and disseminates content. Various social media platforms serve a variety of purposes, including networking, community development, marketing, curating, micro-blogging, and so on.
You utilise social media to stay in touch with and interact with friends and family. Others utilise it to grow their communities. Many businesses consider these platforms as a networking and marketing channel via which they sell and advertise their products.
There are various social media but YouTube is a popular one, which also offers several perks.
YouTube As A Social Media Platform
Is YouTube a valuable social media platform? Yes!
You know, there are 1700 Indian YouTube Channel till 25th Sept 2020. With more than 100 hours of video posted every minute that made it one of the most successful communication and networking tools.
Here are some of the benefits of using YouTube as a social networking platform.
1) Powerful Branding
We all enjoy watching videos. Do we not? Video is the most efficient and effective means to transmit any message, especially in marketing. It is the finest option. People respond effectively to visual signals, and video is the pinnacle of emotion and connection development. The powerful branding needs the right communication and efficient channel through which it passes. YouTube Videos & Shorts always stand out from others in terms of building a valuable brand.
2) Demonstrate Your Ideas
You can fully utilise videos to demonstrate thoughts and broad concepts. You can display your goods from a variety of angles. The platform is ideal for live conversations to create compelling content for others. Many YouTubers who create tech-related content demonstrate their multiple products easily which bloggers can’t.
3) Spreads Your Message
Not only is YouTube the most popular video platform on the globe, but videos are also extremely shareable. Consider how frequently videos appear in your Facebook Timeline or Twitter feed. How frequently do you get videos emailed to you? Video may be readily sent far and wide. But people would rely on videos to pass their message rather than text or written words.
A brief history of YouTube
Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim are the minds behind YouTube. They were, in fact, PayPal ex-employees.
When they were at a dinner party in San Francisco, they had the concept for YouTube. The trio was actually irritated by the tedious process of video exchange on the internet at the time. As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention.” The three came up with the idea of building something that could be used to exchange videos online.
They launched the beta version of YouTube in May 2005, and the first video was posted within a month. “Me at the Zoo” was the title. Karim who was one of the founders himself published the second video, which explained elephants and their trunks.
YouTube’s first video with one million views was posted in September 2005. This was a Nike commercial that went viral. Within six months, it had attracted multiple investors and had grown significantly. What transpired after that became history we will never forget!
Earning source from YouTube
There are three ways to make money on YouTube that you should be aware of. Before we get into the revenue sources from YouTube, let us first discuss some YouTube statistics. YouTube has half of all internet users and has produced countless millionaires. And you can monetize your YouTube channel by working as a part-time or full-time YouTuber to earn incredibly!
1) Join the YouTube Partner Program
Ads will almost certainly be the first money stream you look at. Joining the YouTube Partners Program and setting up monetization is a critical step whether you want to earn money on YouTube without generating videos or as a content provider. Once you’ve accumulated 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the previous year, you can apply for monetization.
YouTube Partners may earn money from a variety of sources, including adverts, YouTube Premium subscription fees, and features that directly affect your viewers’ wallets, such as Super Chat, channel subscriptions, etc.
2) Sell products or merchandise
There are several goods to offer that might assist you in making money with your YouTube channel. Selling merchandise—t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, snapbacks, stickers, and others. Merchandise increases your exposure by extending your online brand and personality into the physical world, and it increases your engagement with your fans as well. By allowing them to physically “buy” into what you’re doing give great results. Merchandise is a legal way to make money on YouTube and allows you to make a great deal of money.
3) Work with brands
Brands are investing more and more in influencer marketing, spending their traditionally big advertising expenditures on influencers who’ve already gained the devotion of their audiences. If you can negotiate the correct terms, this opens up a huge possibility for you as a creator. While your pricing will vary depending on the size of your audience, engagement, and relevancy to your potential partner. It’s one of the lucrative earning sources from YouTube.
4) Crowdfunding
If your concept is interesting enough, you may ask your own audience and the crowdfunding community to chip in to help you acquire better equipment, hire actors, or cover other production costs. Donation solicitation over the internet is becoming frequent! Many YouTubers generate money through crowdsourcing, and there are two prominent sites you should use: Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Crowdfunding is a genuine way to fund your upcoming projects with the help of others.
Conclusion
YouTube is a great social media platform for network building and business advancement. You can sell anything by making videos and convincing your audience to purchase items. Joining the YouTube Partner Program, Selling Merchandise, Working with Brands, and Crowdfunding are the four methods to generate money on YouTube.
