Minorities Winning Audiences with Video Marketing

By Webimax Company | April 26 2012 8:45 AM

There is a certain formula for a video to go viral. It needs a bit of character, a bit of message, some purpose, and has to be relatable to people - or it can simply be very funny. The former descriptions are true for more cause-related videos as seen with the Kony 2012 video several months ago. But in terms of promotion, a video that strikes the right humor cord with the right people can get the legs it needs to take off and achieve a certain level of brand exposure for a business.

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A recent Washington Post article, though, by Hayley Tsukayama raises the interesting fact that a disproportionate share of the biggest personalities on YouTube are minorities, which is in heavy contrast to that which is experienced on television in the country, she points out. This reality sheds some insight into the video producing and consumption landscape on the all-important YouTube platform and is worth a closer look for marketers and SEO companies that help businesses strategize videos and optimize them to rank in search engine results.

Further statistics show the considerable segment of the market that minorities have carved out. Eight of the top 20 YouTube channels with the most subscribers feature minority individuals. Most of these are Asian American, however a large amount of African American and Latino shows are among the top 50 subscriber channels. According to research from Pew Internet & American Life Project, less than 70% of white individuals regularly watch online videos, whereas almost 80% of minorities regularly view them. These are staggering facts for marketers and those looking to capitalize on the video market. The question becomes how can marketers leverage the popularity of minority production and consumption of online videos?

Creating LeverageNot taking advantage of minority talent or 'band-wagoning' on successes, but marketers can incorporate minority production and consumption into their video marketing for mutual benefit. These strategies can aid in this process:

Guest spot - Marketers can recruit those that are popular on the platform and feature them as quests in their videos in order to gain a wider following and increase exposure. This cross-promotion has exposure widening benefits for both parties.

Targeting Content - Launching a video series that is catered to a minority audience and profiles a minority host can build a following that seeks the quality, relevant content that is created. This can build a new or larger segment of a business' audience.

Businesses have an excellent opportunity to utilize video marketing to engage their audience in purposeful communication through quality content that viewers will seek out. Incorporating minority produced content that caters to a minority audience can be mutually beneficial if quality content is generated for the audience. SEO companies can assist businesses in this process and as well as the post-production work of optimizing it so the greatest amount of people can see the video.