YouTube Marketing Zig Zag with Billy Gene

MakingBank S3E21 with Billy Gene

Why do we resist change? What keeps us from taking progressive steps with our work and expanding our skills for the betterment of our business? The short answer is we’re comfortable. We rely on what has worked in the past and expect it to continue working in the future. Maybe it will. You might be able to skirt by doing what you’ve been doing, but for how long?

No one could have predicted the immense change that erupted out of the advent of DVR in the late 90’s. Suddenly commercials were optional. What had once been a pillar of the advertising industry, was nearly obsolete overnight. Advertising and marketing firms had to completely change their strategy to compete with the fast forward button.

When Netflix launched their streaming platform, the game changed again. Now, you didn’t have to fast forward at all. You could watch TV without any commercials. With cable becoming more and more antiquated, and streaming services dominating the digital entertainment world, advertisers were constantly having to rework their strategy to even reach potential buyers, let alone bring them in. If they didn’t, they were dead in the water.

In 2007 Facebook introduced targeted audience ad campaigns—an answered prayer for the advertising industry. Social media platforms gained momentum as a place people could say what they wanted, show who they were or who they wanted to be, and connect with people from past lives, or meet people in far away countries they’d never encounter otherwise.

With each platform, came a new way to capture an audience and shuttle them to new products. From clickfunnels to landing pages and automated email campaigns marketers found a whole new way to draw people in and keep them coming back. You can too, but to do it successfully you have to stay ahead of the curve, and be willing to learn new skill sets. Which shockingly, most people resist.

This is where we get to the zig and zag. As an entrepreneur, a lot of the time, you are your own marketing team. And just like the big firms had to adjust to the changing media landscape, you have to do the same.

On this week’s podcast Billy Gene encouraged us to “Go where everybody isn’t! When the market zigs, what should you do? Zag. That’s why we’re on YouTube.” Time to zag. People know what to do with Facebook. People are overwhelmed by the sheer number of options on YouTube. But options mean opportunity.

Doing video ads scare people. They don’t want their face on camera, they don’t know how to ‘act’ or what to say, and they can’t fathom what it takes to take an idea from a script to a finished product. That’s okay! The good news is, all of these things can be taught to you, and when you have someone as accomplished as Billy Gene leading the way, it’s a lot easier than it looks!

As Billy said, “Everything is social right now. Everything is personable. People don’t want to interact with your logo.” Keep that in mind when you start down this road. People want to interact with you, because you are the expert on what you’re offering and if you’re into it they will be too. If you can capture their curiosity you can capitalize on it as well.

It’s okay to hit roadblocks when you’re building a business. It’s inevitable. What matters is how you react to those hiccups. Adapting to a changing environment, evolving your marketing to reach more people, and the willingness to learn new skills are all paramount to maximizing success. Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from putting cash in the bank. Challenge yourself to try something new…especially if it scares you!

Listen to the whoel interview with Billy for practical steps towards developing your YouTube ads, video resources he recommends, and links to Billy’s course.