So what if YouTube is the second largest search engine?
Author: Katie
YouTube is the second largest search engine. That's old news. But recently I've seen that stat bounced around more and more often at conferences, in blogs, and, frankly, all over the place.
So what?
No one (that I know of – feel free to correct me) has addressed the real meaning behind that. Yes, it means people are looking for videos and that online videos are popular. But what are they searching for?
I've started playing with this idea of intention – that it's not enough to say "Facebook is the most popular social network so you need to be there." You have to supply context. What are people doing on Facebook? What is their intention, why are they there? Then the ultimate question becomes; can your brand develop a message or strategy that fits within those intentions?
If people are on YouTube to find interesting, quirky videos – do you have an interesting or quirky product/service? Will your video content be searched for, will your advertising fit in with people's mindset while on YouTube? If so, yes it matters to you that YouTube is the second largest search engine. If not….well maybe you need to rethink what that stat means to you.
P.S: speaking of keyboard cat…here's a pretty good one:
Posted via email from Katie Van Domelen’s Posterous
Posted in Uncategorized
Good thoughts, Katie. I agree with you. Appropriate/Context searching is more meaningful than size.
Katie,
Really good thoughts. I think your point about intention is something that lots of brands (and agencies) don’t think enough about when planning social media strategy. Not everyone needs a facebook fan page (though I’ve been surprised at the success that brands such as Texas Pete have had on the platform).
However, with regard to YouTube – Context is certainly king and works best with brands that can put out more quirky content. But I think that posting your video content on YouTube has the added benefit of being easily shared and accessible via mobile devices. This is great for making promotional and visually rich content available for sales teams and potential clients, without having to do a WebEx or deal with a tech learning curve. Most anyone can punch up a YouTube clip.
It was great to see you at BOLO. Got some great take-aways.