If you haven't yet considered advertising on YouTube, now is the time to jump in head first. Though its presence on the internet has been relatively brief, it's a format that intuitively connects advertisers to users. It's popularity is rooted in its diversity of content and consumer freedom over selecting content being watched. You will achieve results once you learn how to control the way your content finds your intended audience among the crowded mess of videos.

The main appeal for YouTube to guerrilla marketers is it's low barrier of entrance. Unlike conventional marketing, a single user with the right tools can outplay well-funded competitors. Unlike television, users are not forced to sit through your boring commercial to get to the entertainment. As such, your commercial needs to be the entertainment, or at least in itself provide viewers with some incentive to sit through the whole thing. There are several types of videos that server this purpose.

A great way to market your product is to show it in action. Much like an infomercial, you can quell consumer skepticism and gain trust with a practical demonstration. If your product is internet related such as an internet service, it is essential to attain screen-capture software with which you can give a walk-through. On the video you will be able to subtly bring them onto your homepage without them evening realizing it. In addition, you should add your url to the video description so that they will be able to conveniently transition to the actual site. If your product exists in the real world, you should give a brief and visual demonstration of it. In order to make the video as visually appealing as possible, you should preferably shoot with multiple cameras, different angles, or at least of several shots. Though YouTube is known for grainy home movies, effective content will still benefit from clean and inventive editing.

The second greatest appeal of YouTube is it's viral nature. Entertaining content spreads itself easily and quickly, however don't assume that your content will reach full viewership simply because you put it up. Several practices will ensure that you will reach the right audience. Titles, tags, and descriptions should be specific and directed toward a particular niche. If your ad is intended for a broad audience, it is may be useful to carve your viewership into targeted groups. If for instance you are trying to market an online DVD stores, it would be useful to advertise the merits of your different DVD genres separately. By narrowing the focus of yours videos, visitors will have an easier time finding you.

On your video's landing page, several video links to your other videos are displayed in the side bar. This makes it such that each of your videos becomes a traffic funnel for the other. Creating a channel with many videos that complement each other will also cause you to grow a following of return visitors. This is the high quality traffic that you should always be aiming for. In that same respect, you should avoid intrusive advertising tactics that attract video views but discourage followup. Avoid spamming your logo and url. One hyperlink in your video description and a small url in one corner of the video is sufficient. Do not use misleading tags. Tag spamming can lead your video being removed and will attract low-quality view. Above all else, make sure your videos content will serve a purpose to the user. If you are not teaching them something useful or entertaining them, your video serves no purpose.

Lastly, experiment with your videos. Try making both a how-to video and a funny one.

Mix and match your content to attract more viewers and to figure out which of your advertising strategies are most effective. The substance of your individual videos will ultimately determine their popularity, but diversifying your content will help you create those few viral videos that spread themselves.