Too many businesses believe that to be successful on YouTube you need to invest big bucks or operate in a flashy industry. Not so. One local cashflow financier is tearing this notion to shreds, having notched up over 50,000 views on the platform to date. Here’s the secret to its success.
AR Cash Flow specialises in small business trade and debtor finance – a topic you would be forgiven for thinking is a touch too dry to gain widespread attention on YouTube. According to AR’s sales and marketing manager Julia Bonello, the secret to its success has been to create relaxed videos that offer a tangible solution to problems entrepreneurs are grappling with.
“We always try to create fresh content that we think answers people’s questions or leaves them with a lesson they can take away. For example, we kept getting asked about our sales process and why we do things the way we do. So we made a video about it. Not your typical topic for a video, but that one has had almost 500 views. Give the people what they want!”
Humour helps AR Cash Flow to add a touch of fun to the subject matter. Bonello told Dynamic Business the team don’t take themselves too seriously when putting the videos together, which means they don’t edit out any “stuff ups”.
“We aren’t movie stars or professional presenters, we’re just very passionate about what we do and like to have fun with it,” she said.
Social media plays an key role in driving people to subscribe to AR’s YouTube channel. Each new video is blogged about, emailed to a database and shared on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The team also uses the YouTube channel to send people back to its Facebook page to continue interacting there.
“It [social media] is such an important tool in recruiting new people and giving them a call to action… Why wouldn’t you take the opportunity to promote your business in every way you can?” Bonello said.
And their efforts are paying off, with a number of deals signed and new customers brought on as a result of the YouTube channel. According to Bonello, AR Cash Flow has heard ‘We watched your video and that’s why we called’ on a number of occasions.
“The videos are impressive as it shows we’re a modern and forward-thinking company, who’s embracing new technologies. To young entrepreneurs seeking finance that is really important!”
You can do it too
So, it’s clear answering a question will work to ensure videos gain momentum, but should small businesses be thinking more about quality or quantity when producing content for YouTube? For AR Cash Flow, Bonello says consistency is key.
“We do a lot of videos, but we release them once a week. Every Monday, our subscribers know they will receive an email from us with our latest video. I think people like consistency and a sense they can rely on you for information,” she said.
“Our strategy is not to saturate with lots of videos every day, it’s to create quality content consistently.”
And as for those business owners who don’t believe they have the time or the resources to put a video series together, Bonello has a straightforward message: “There is always time.”
“We literally get the camera out, shoot a video and then produce it in-house using Final Cut Pro. Sometimes it can all be done in 30 minutes,” she added.
The question is are you willing to make the time to invest in the platform? If you know your products well and are excited by what you do, the content writes itself.
“To not take advantage of an audience as big as the web provides just seems silly to me!” Bonello said.
If you’re thinking about trying your hand at video production, Bonello has these 3 tips:
- Create something you yourself would be interested to watch.
- Keep it short and sweet. Try and stick to no longer than 10 mins if you can, as people’s attention spans are pretty short.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the process and it will come across in the video. The thing is, finance doesn’t have to be stiff, we have so many awesome and funky clients and because of us they are able to keep their brand in the market. There’s nothing boring about that!
AR Cash Flow has just launched a new mortgage product, and has produced a series of educational modules to inform future investors and borrowers exactly how it works. To learn more about it, click here.
To view AR Cash Flow’s YouTube videos, click here.
