My client made an interesting point during yesterday’s Pick My Brain session.
“YouTube is turning business owners into idiots”.
She was specifically referring to a client of hers, who now has a major problem after taking terrible advice from a popular business YouTuber’s video. Her wider point is that she and her team are seeing this with increasing regularity.
I haven’t covered this topic with you before, so here’s a quick flyover of how this happens, why this happens and how to avoid it happening to you.
So, how does this happen?
Business owners search for advice, find a video with a massive number of views (or a YouTuber with a huge following), and assume those metrics reflect the quality of advice.
Confidence in the quality of the advice increases, as the results that come closest to the top are usually from YouTubers with lots of nodding fans. Fans who agree with, and add weight to, whatever the YouTuber says.
It’s a very compelling mix.
Why does this happen?
It’s actually pretty simple.
The most viewed business videos on YouTube combine the best optimization practices with the most entertaining content / charismatic presenters.
By getting that balance just right, they can begin to build exposure, which then starts a cycle where their videos rank higher, so they get more views and subscribers – more views and subscribers then helps them rank higher, resulting in more views and subscribers… Repeat.
They’re not necessarily the most accurate business videos on YouTube.
They’re not necessarily the most useful business videos.
And they’re not necessarily from the most trusted sources, either.
What they are, is:
- Expertly optimized.
- Really interesting to watch.
- And fronted by a confident and compelling communicator.
Yes, there are useful business ideas on YouTube. But we need to check (and credential) the source before we invest time or money on ANY kind of business advice.
Including advice from YouTube.