It seems all the social media sites are adding the use of cards as an option with their platform. So, of course, YouTube added interactive YouTube Cards as part of their video platform. These cards are meant to eventually act as a replacement for annotations and some have already been labeled as “annoying” and “obstructive”. However, there are actually many excellent benefits to using YouTube Cards, especially for businesses, so don’t shy away until you give them a test drive for yourself.
Benefits of Using YouTube Cards
YouTube Cards give you the opportunity to direct visitors to other links related to your business in an attractive, eye-catching way. For example:
- Drive the viewer to watch other videos on your channel
- Link to a buy page for your products or services
- Take the viewer to your website or to another social media channel
How To Use YouTube Cards to Feature Your Website
As mentioned, when you use YouTube Cards, you are able to direct viewers to links of your choosing. One of the main reasons businesses utilize YouTube is to get the word out about their organization and to direct people to their site. With YouTube Cards, it’s incredibly easy to gain site traffic because you can feature your website on relevant videos and use lead-ins, such as “if you want to learn more…”
Not only will increased website traffic likely increase your sales, but it should also help to increase your site’s organic search engine ranking, creating a win-win situation.
How To Use YouTube Cards for Product Promotion
Do you have a brand new product that you’re excited about selling? Or, maybe you have a product that just won’t sell? YouTube Cards are the perfect way to promote any product you choose. Simply create a video, such as a commercial or a paid testimonial or review and make sure to have someone using, talking about and/or praising the product in the video. Then, at the end, you can provide a helpful link so that interested viewers can go out and buy that product immediately.
When you are trying to sell something, time is your enemy because people lead busy lives and easily forget about products, even those they are interested in. With YouTube cards, however, you don’t give them the chance to forget. They can immediately click and purchase.
Information You Need To Know About YouTube Cards
- If you have copyrighted content in your video the owners have claimed, your YouTube Card will not be displayed if they have a campaign running.
- You will not display a Call to Action Overlay on videos where you have cards setup
- YouTube Analytics will provide you a report of how your cards are working for you
- Featured videos and playlists are hidden on videos that have cards setup
You can visit YouTube FAQs for more on the use of YouTube Cards.
Have you started using YouTube Cards? I would love to hear where you are in your journey, so sound off below!
