308 - How to Start A YouTube Channel for Your Brand with Avi Shenkar
Feb 5, 2025
auto_awesome
This week’s guest, Avi Shenkar, CMO of Luxury Bazaar, dives into the vibrant world of YouTube marketing for luxury brands. He debunks myths about the platform's decline, emphasizing its potential for creating engaging content. Avi shares how to transform articles into videos and the importance of striking a balance between viewer retention and reach. With anecdotes about Philadelphia cheesesteaks and strategies for building a production team, he reveals common mistakes brands make and innovative approaches to capture audience attention.
YouTube remains a valuable marketing channel, particularly for brands pivoting to organic content amidst traditional advertising constraints, as highlighted by the luxury watch industry's experience.
Creating engaging video content through behind-the-scenes storytelling and personal branding can significantly enhance audience connection and brand recognition over conventional corporate messaging.
Deep dives
Building a YouTube Channel with Constraints
The discussion emphasizes the advantages of starting a YouTube channel when facing constraints in marketing options. When traditional methods like running ads on platforms such as Meta or Google become problematic due to legal restrictions, exploring organic channels like YouTube offers an opportunity for growth. The speaker highlights how the luxury watch industry faced barriers when attempting to retarget potential customers, leading to a pivot towards content creation on YouTube instead. This shift allowed them to creatively showcase their business while avoiding trademark issues, ultimately facilitating organic brand recognition and engagement.
Creating Compelling Content
The podcast outlines strategies for generating engaging video content that resonates with viewers. By focusing on behind-the-scenes storytelling and day-to-day challenges in the luxury watch business, the speaker successfully captures audience interest. Episodes detailing dramatic incidents, such as lost shipments or customer disputes, receive significant attention, illustrating the value of incorporating humor and relatability into content. This approach not only entertains but also keeps potential customers invested in the brand, encouraging them to stay tuned for more updates.
The Role of Personal Branding
An important insight shared is the shift towards individual personalities over traditional corporate branding in the digital space. By positioning the founder as a thought leader, the content connects more authentically with the audience than a generic brand message would. This strategic move capitalizes on the current trend of influencer engagement, where viewers prefer following personalities they can relate to rather than faceless corporations. As engagement increases, so does tangible brand recognition, proving that empathizing with the audience is essential for successful marketing.
Adapting Content Strategies for YouTube Success
The podcast provides practical advice for businesses looking to establish a presence on YouTube, particularly in the current landscape of short-form video content. It recommends initiating the strategy by producing YouTube Shorts to gauge what resonates with the audience before committing to longer content. This experimental phase not only helps in understanding viewer preferences but also exposes the brand to a wider audience more quickly. Overall, the key is to maintain a consistent flow of content that showcases expertise while remaining adaptable to evolving viewer interests.
Don’t believe everything you hear: YouTube (especially with its Shorts feature) isn’t dead or going downhill anytime soon. Just ask this week’s guest, Avi Shenkar.
YouTube is a great platform for a mix of news and behind the scenes content. From product reviews to education, the creative opportunities are endless. What’s the REAL best cheesesteak in Philly? Avi tells us how he learned from a video that it’s not Pat’s or Geno’s. (And without viewing that video, he wouldn’t have had the best cheesesteak ever.)
Plus, you can reformat your textual content, like articles, into videos. Everything is a remix, and that’s a way to grow your content library, share your thoughts, and circle back. However, there’s a balance between quality viewers and people who’ll view your content briefly. How do you get them to stick around?
And, brands are making a huge mistake on YouTube—find out what Avi has to say about it.
If you’re on the fence about scaling your brand on YouTube or exploring video options for your brand, this is the episode for YOU.