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C h a p t e r 2 Developing Your YouTube Marketing Strategy 31

Instructional Videos

Similar to the infomercial is the instructional or how-to video. In this type of video,
you create something truly useful for your target customer, and then drive business
by direct link from the instructional video.

As an example, take Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies (www.youtube.com/user/
drsfostersmith), a retailer of aquarium supplies. They’ve created a series of videos,
like the one in Figure 2.4, which show users how to set up various types of aquari-
ums and aquarium equipment. Each video exists unto itself, with the sole goal of
providing practical information to the viewer; it’s really useful stuff for the hobbyist.

Figure 2.4 A how-to video from Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies.

While this type of video is not a hard sell, and shouldn’t be, the company benefits
when viewers need to buy related equipment.

Product Presentations and Demonstrations

You can also use YouTube for more obvious selling efforts, the most common of
which is the product presentation or demonstration. Here is where you use the
video medium to show customers a particular product, in the kind of detail you
just can’t do in print or on a web page.

Many products are good candidates for video demonstrations, from kitchen appli-
ances and power tools to computers and other electronic gadgets. Automobiles also
benefit from video presentation because there’s a lot to see there; Figure 2.5 shows
just such a video presentation from Audi (www.youtube.com/user/Audi). In fact,
any item that’s not quickly or easily understood, or that has a bevy of sophisticated
features, is a good candidate for a YouTube video demonstration.