How to Market Dietary Supplements on YouTube

YouTube is the second-biggest search engine in the world and it just so happens to be owned by the largest search engine in the world – Google.

Yes, you read it right! While many people consider YouTube to be a social media platform, others believe it to be a video platform. When you really think about it, it’s a mix of the two.

With people becoming more health-conscious than ever before, it is a great time for you as a supplement business owner to capitalize on the health, nutrition, and dietary supplements market. Marketing your brand and products becomes essential in a highly competitive industry that is expanding rapidly.

So, apart from your offline endeavors, having a solid online marketing strategy is indispensable. And using all the mainstream advertising and promotional channels, including the likes of YouTube, is the key to reaching your audience and engaging them.

On that note, here’s the complete lowdown on how to market supplements on YouTube-

• Why YouTube is important for marketing?
• How to start and grow your own YouTube channel?
• How to create good video content?
• How to optimize your YouTube videos for SEO?
• How to use YouTube for advertising and marketing your supplements?

Why Is YouTube Important for Marketing?

Just about any business can benefit from a presence on YouTube. I say that with confidence because of the sheer number of people who access videos on YouTube around the globe – 1.3 billion! 80% of people in the 18-49 age group watch billions of videos on YouTube every day.[i]

With such a massive number and variety of people using YouTube, it is no surprise that businesses across diverse domains invest time and resources in capitalizing on this platform’s potential. Here’s another jaw-dropping fact – users upload over 300 hours of video every single minute!

In short, YouTube is essential for modern-day marketing because it delivers a host of benefits. Let’s look at some of the benefits of using YouTube to advertise dietary supplement products:

• It offers an effective way for you to reach a massive audience
• It is an extremely cost-effective online marketing channel
• People prefer watching engaging videos than reading content
• Videos are effective for all stages of the customer buying journey (awareness, consideration, and conversion)

Getting Started on YouTube

For supplement business owners looking to get a foot in the door, YouTube serves as a phenomenal marketing and advertising platform. However, rather surprisingly, only 9% of small businesses in the United States actively use YouTube.

If you, too, haven’t tapped into the potential of this outstanding platform, I’d recommend getting started right away.[ii]

1. Create your own YouTube channel

If you have a Google account, it is simple to set up a YouTube channel. Just sign into YouTube with your Google business account ID, go to the top right corner, click on the profile icon, and select “Create a channel.” Use the custom name option so you can use your brand’s name as the channel name (or come up with something creative).

2. Customize your channel

Upload a profile picture – for supplement brands, it is best to go with your official logo (800 x 800 pixels). You can upload a JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG file. Add a channel description and links to your important web assets, including your website and social profiles. While doing this, make sure you also add your YouTube channel link in your social media bios and descriptions and embed a YouTube viewer on your business website.

3. Create channel art

Channel art is basically the equivalent of your Facebook or Twitter cover picture. You can design your channel art in 2560 x 1440 pixels using your brand colors, tagline, or anything else that you deem relevant and important. You can use free tools like Canva to create your channel art (or work with a graphic designer). Refer to the image below to understand how your channel art will appear on different devices (and where you should concentrate your key elements and messaging accordingly).

4. Add your contact details

In the About section, scroll down and click on the “Details” option. Here, you can add your email ID for business inquiries. Doing so will enable potential customers to reach you.

5. Start adding great content!

Once you’ve customized and set up your YouTube channel, it is now time to get down to business. Begin with a channel trailer, which serves as a great way to introduce a new person to your channel or brand. Remember to keep it short – it should grab the viewer’s attention and get them hooked on to your channel right away. While there is no “perfect” length, I recommend keeping it between 30-60 seconds to drive maximum engagement. Collaborate with a video production expert to gauge how you can best represent your brand through video content.

What Do You Want to Achieve Through YouTube Marketing?

Once you are done setting up your own channel, it is imperative that you create a comprehensive YouTube video content strategy and YouTube marketing strategy.

Take these steps to create a video that connects with the target audience:

1. Conduct thorough research

Like any other content creation or marketing strategy, your YouTube channel strategy should begin with extensive research. Find out who your audiences are, study what your competitors are doing on YouTube, and analyze the kind of successful audio-visual content that already exists on other channels. Try and find out what your competitors are doing well, how they create and edit their YouTube videos or ads, and which types of videos get the maximum amount of traction. Doing so will enable you to better understand the demographics you are targeting, assess your competition's strengths and weaknesses, and gauge the gaps in the world of video content specific to supplements.

2. Write down your goals

What do you wish to achieve from your YouTube marketing efforts? Is it views? Is it leads? Is it conversions? Do you want to attract new customers? Do you want to spread awareness about your brand and its products? Make a list of your short- and long-term goals so you can align your video creation and marketing strategy with them.[iii]

3. Make a good first impression

Nobody likes to subscribe to channels that simply promote their own products. And hence, to become a force to be reckoned with in the YouTube space, it is important that you strive to become a valuable resource rather than just another business trying hard to sell its offerings. Not all your videos need to be about supplements, products, offers, or discounts. Create click-worthy, share-worthy, and engaging content that people will love to watch.

4. Ensure that your videos are high-quality and look good

“I love watching shabbily made videos,” said no one ever. It is essential to make your videos professionally (even if that might cost a little more than making them yourself). Partner with a creative agency or individual to bring out the "wow" factor in all your videos.

5. Experiment with formats and video types

While you must ensure consistency in your videos' look and feel, it is equally vital that you don't shy away from experimenting and innovating with novel formats and storytelling techniques. Here are a few types or formats of videos you can explore:

• Live-action videos
• Process videos
• Production facility videos
• Explainer videos
• Product videos
• Animated videos
• Motion graphics

Whether it is a customer testimonial video, educational video, or product launch video, the key is to engage the viewer, bait them with a story that creates a personal connect and let your brand shine through. Tools like Slidely Promo, Wave, Vyond, etc. can be used to create compelling video content (in case you don’t have the budget to outsource it to an expert).[iv]

6. Ensure consistency and frequency

Once your YouTube channel is up and running, it is critical that you update, maintain, and monitor it regularly. People subscribe to a channel because they like what they see and want to see more of it – and it is your responsibility to not let them down. Make sure you have a video creation and publishing calendar that enables you to post new videos consistently. Some handy tools you can use include the likes of Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Lightworks, and Animoto for video creation. Platforms like Trello, HubSpot, Loomly, or Sprout Social make it easy for you to create and maintain a social media calendar and queue up your videos for publishing.

7. Invest in SEO and analytics

I cannot emphasize the importance of YouTube SEO enough! Most people are unaware that YouTube video optimization is something they should care about. However, as I said before – YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Conduct comprehensive keyword research, observe market trends, and build your video content around the most popular themes.

And hence, it becomes imperative that you incorporate all your keywords into your video titles, descriptions, tags, and channel description (just like you would do with your website, blog, and Amazon listings). YouTube offers a built-in analytics tool that allows you to keep a track of the progress of your channels and individual videos. Use this provision to analyze the performance of your videos – this will help you get insights on what is working for you and what isn’t, so you can tweak your future strategy accordingly.

8. Work towards key engagement metrics

When you publish video content on your channel, YouTube’s algorithm promotes videos that stand tall on engagement metrics like watch time, likes, comments, and subscriber count. Focus your efforts on getting these through organic promotion before you think of investing in paid promotion. YouTube Analytics will let you see heat maps and offer relevant data that shows how your viewers are discovering you, where they are from, how old they are, how they interact with your videos, etc.[v]

9. Ensure your captions are correct

92% of US-based consumers watch videos with the sound off, and in fact, 50% people depend on clear captions for important information!

Surprised? This is what a recent Verizon and Publicis study showed. Clearly, captions are an essential focus area when we talk of video marketing.

Additionally, you need to be mindful of the hearing-impaired community. What’s more, there’s an SEO benefit associated with having proper closed captions on your videos -from a search engine’s perspective, they serve as digestible text that can be indexed. Having closed captions can boost search traffic, improve your rankings, and increase engagement on your videos on YouTube. My recommendation is to use YouTube’s native editor, but you can also invest in tools like Zubtitle.[vi]

Creating YouTube Ads for Your Supplement Business

Advertising on YouTube (through Google Ads) is an effective way to connect with people who might be interested in what you have to offer. Here are some of the top types of ads that you should consider investing in:[vii] [viii]

1. Skippable video ads

Skippable ads allow the viewer to skip your ad after the first five seconds.

2. Non-skippable video ads

Non-skippable video ads don’t allow the viewer to skip your video advertisement and can be 15 to 20 seconds long. These are generally played before a viewer’s chosen video or as a mid-roll (in the middle of a video that is longer than 10 minutes).

3. Bumper ads

Bumper advertisements cannot be skipped and are usually up to six seconds in length.

4. Overlay ads

Overlay advertising comprises image-based or text-based advertisements that appear at the bottom of a video that is playing. These banner ads are 468 x 60 or 728 x 90 pixels in size and are visible only on desktops.

5. TrueView ads

You only pay for TrueView ads when a user watches your ad for at least 30 seconds or interacts with it in some way (like clicking on a call-to-action). These ads can be anywhere between 12 seconds and six minutes in length. TrueView ads are of two types – in-stream ads, which play before a viewer’s chosen video, and discovery ads, which appear within the search results and in the right-hand sidebar (above the suggested videos list).

6. Sponsored card ad

These ads appear as unobtrusive call-to-action popups within videos. Basically, a small “i” pops up in the top right corner of the video, and the card only expands when a viewer clicks on it.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to how you can get started with YouTube advertising:

• Upload your advertisement video
• Go to your Google Ads account
• Click on “All Campaigns” and then click on the big blue “+” sign
• Select “Video” as your ad campaign type
• Choose a goal that corresponds to your ad campaign objective
• Name your campaign (something simple, so you can find it quickly)
• Set the average amount you want to spend each day
• Choose your start and end dates (how long you want the ad to run)
• Select your networks (avenues where you’d like your ads to show)
• Choose the geography and language you want your ad to appear in
• Select how you want to pay for your ads
• Choose an inventory type (standard inventory is your safest bet)
• Zero-in on your target audience by defining the demographics
• Enter your target keywords or topics, so your ads are shown on content about specific subjects
• Search, select, and save your video ad
• Select your preferred ad delivery format
• Add a catchy headline, important URLs, and a compelling CTA
• Click on “Save and continue” – voila, your campaign is ready!

YouTube Advertising Policies – What You Should Know About Selling Supplements

While YouTube is relaxed when it comes to rules and regulations around what you can and cannot market through video ads, it is important to bear in mind that your ads shouldn’t be offensive to anyone.

Another critical aspect of YouTube’s advertising policies is that there are certain unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements that Google Ads doesn't allow. This includes ads related to weight loss, ephedra, and anabolic steroids.

Start Selling Your Supplements on YouTube

Video content is expected to claim 82% of all web traffic by next year, so using YouTube for supplement marketing is a good idea. YouTube’s dynamic advertising formats provide supplement brand owners and marketers with a wonderful suite of tools that can enable them to reach their target audience.

If you are a new player in the supplements industry or are looking for the right strategy to create and introduce a new dietary supplement product in the market, NutraScience Labs can help you through the entire process.
Having been around for a substantial period of time (120+ years of combined experience in the nutraceutical industry), our deep domain knowledge and expertise can enable you to deliver a winning supplement. We are turnkey service providers and pride ourselves in offering highly efficient production assistance throughout the manufacturing process.

If you are looking for a world-class contract manufacturer that is reliable, experienced, and capable of providing you with high-quality products you'll be proud to put your name on, look no further than NutraScience Labs. Call  855-492-7388 to discuss your supplement manufacturing, packaging, and labeling needs with one of our knowledgeable and friendly representatives or request a free price quote now!

References:

[i] https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-use-youtube-to-market-your-business-4159318

[ii] https://buffer.com/library/create-a-youtube-channel/

[iii] https://www.ondemandfulfillment.com/how-to-build-your-supplement-brand-on-youtube/

[iv] https://marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/how-to-use-youtube-to-promote-your-business/

[v] https://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/view/how-use-web-videos-grow-nutrition-dietary-supplement-sales

[vi] https://www.3playmedia.com/blog/7-ways-video-transcripts-captions-improve-seo/

[vii] https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2467968?hl=en

[viii] https://www.oberlo.in/blog/youtube-ads-beginners-launch-first-campaign