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PR and Advertising Agencies on YouTube, By the Numbers
According to my analysis of 100 leading public relations and advertising firms, many professional communicators do not know how to maximize the potential marketing opportunities presented by YouTube.
Basis of Findings
I compiled a group of 100 top-billing public relations and advertising agencies. To assemble this list, I used O’Dwyer’s top 50 independent public relations firms (by billings), and I added some major public relations agencies not included in the ranking.
To this group, I added the top 23 advertising agencies in the Washington, DC metro area (by 2009 billings), ranked by Washington Business Journal in the 2011 Washington Business Journal Book of Lists, as well as the top 24 privately owned public relations agencies in the Washington, DC metro area (same publication).
With this information in hand, I assembled a sample of 100 influential public relations and advertising agencies with ample resources and major clients.
The best of the best. Our industry leaders. The kinds of agencies we would expect to deliver superlative results in all aspects of their business dealings.
Summary of Findings: Agencies are Not Maximizing the Potential of YouTube
While many claim digital expertise, in practice, the majority of top-billing public relations agencies and advertising agencies do not take advantage of the branding opportunities and search potential associated with YouTube.
Thirty percent (30%) of the agencies I analyzed have not yet established a presence on YouTube. As for the remaining 70%, most (or nearly all) agencies on YouTube made elementary mistakes in the organization of their YouTube Channel and videos.
These additional findings apply to the 70% of agencies who had a presence on YouTube.
- 95% of these agencies did not have a video player on their website’s home page.
- 67% of the agencies on YouTube had not placed a YouTube button on the home page of their company website linking to their YouTube Channel.
- 66% had uploaded video that either definitely or probably violated copyright restrictions.
- 65% had uploaded fewer than 25 videos on their corporate Channel.
- 64% had uploaded video that was of an unacceptable level of viewing quality.
- 58% had achieved less than 4,500 total views for their videos.
- 43% failed to upload an image of their corporate logo to their YouTube Channel.
- 29% failed to add any text description at all to their videos.
If You Want to Know How Your Agency Ranks…
Please contact me to meet with you if you are interested to know if your agency was included in my analysis, what I discovered about your agency’s activities on YouTube, and how your agency stacks up to the competition.
Learn More: Come See Me Present on YouTube Optimization
I’ll be talking about how to get more views for your YouTube videos at Digital East on September 29, and I sincerely hope there will be some employees from DC area public relations and advertising agencies in the room, because, apparently, I have my work cut out for me. Register today!
We’re Here to Help
Fletcher Prince can help you establish or makeover your YouTube Channel, optimize your videos for search, and develop a plan for creating meaningful and engaging YouTube videos that will truly reflect the reputation and expertise of your company, and be a helpful online resource to your existing and potential clients. Call (571) 269-7559 to learn more.
Related articles
- Get More Views for Your YouTube Videos With This Checklist (fletcher-prince.com)
- Harness the Power of YouTube, Professional Communicators (fletcher-prince.com)
- Run a YouTube Channel Diagnostic (fletcher-prince.com)
Three out of ten leading agencies are not on YouTube
While many public relations and advertising agencies claim digital expertise, YouTube is not an expertise area for many leading agencies in the DC area.
To examine the participation of agencies on YouTube, I compiled a group of 100 top-billing public relations and advertising agencies. To assemble this list, I used O’Dwyer’s top 50 independent public relations firms (by billings), and I added some major public relations agencies who would not be included in the ranking because they are not independent, but are major players. To this group, I added the top 23 advertising agencies in the Washington, DC metro area (by 2009 billings), ranked by Washington Business Journal in the 2011 Washington Business Journal Book of Lists, as well as the top 24 privately owned public relations agencies in the Washington, DC metro area (same publication).
With this information in hand, I discovered multiple findings, which are reported in this blog.
Who’s on YouTube and Who Isn’t
Of the group of 100 agencies I reviewed, 70% had a YouTube Channel. 30 agencies have not uploaded their own YouTube videos.
30 do not have Channels, and that should be a goal for those agencies for 2012.
Agencies fail to optimize their YouTube videos for search
Image via CrunchBase
There are about 18 ways to organize a YouTube Channel and its associated videos for branding and search engine optimization.
To achieve organic search results, deliberate optimization is the only way your videos will receive any meaningful number of views.
Do leading public relations and advertising agencies apply these principles when organizing their corporate Channels on YouTube? Are they getting the search engine results and video views they could? Or are they missing opportunities?
1. Place a YouTube icon on the home page of the company website linking to the company YouTube Channel I found that 67% of these agencies had not. The agencies that did naturally had higher views for their Channels and videos. Little details can yield big results.
2. Add detailed text descriptions to videos, including description of content, call to action, hyperlink(s), cast names, and keywords As I mentioned before in this blog, not adding text descriptions to videos impacts the search potential. It also makes it more difficult for the viewer, so videos without text descriptions tend to be viewed less.
Tags are even more important because it’s how YouTube will group your with related to appear on YouTube watch pages. 75% of my video views come from watch pages and 5% of the views come from my Channel. So if you’re just counting on your Channel to get you views and not tagging and describing, you will get lower views. I have seen views as low as 18 and even 1 and 2 for PR content videos from major agencies.
Fortunately, most leading agencies (71%) did add text descriptions to their video, all of which, however, could be improved with better composition and inclusion of details and keywords.
The ones that did not even try (29%) missed an opportunity, which, again, reveals a lack of attention to detail.
Copyright and YouTube Video: Pointers for Agencies
Upload violations are a common error among leading public relations and advertising agencies on YouTube. Here’s an explanation of the problem and some better alternatives.
The Problem: Agencies Uploading Unoriginal Content on Agency Channels
What is very typical among public relations and advertising firms on YouTube (66% of a representative sample of leading firms) is that they upload content they did not produce, or for which they do not own the copyright.
For example, they produce a YouTube video for their client. Or a commercial. Or a public service announcement. They upload it to their client’s channel (at least, I hope they do). Then they upload it to their OWN, agency channel. To show what they can do. Or they upload copies of news clips showing placements, or their staff in interviews.
This is not a good practice. These uploads can be a violation of YouTube’s terms of service.
Agency Copyright Violations on YouTube Are Legion
YouTube does not allow you to upload video for which you do not own the copyright. When you are contracted to produce video for a client, you do not own the copyright, unless you provide for that in your contract. By default and law, the client owns the copyright to videos you produce for them. Therefore, you should not be uploading copyrighted content on your agency Channel. Even if you do own the copyright, you shouldn’t upload it to your agency Channel. You should be LINKING to those videos on your CLIENT’s Channel, where that content should live.
News Clips Can’t Be Uploaded to Agency Channels
Many public relations agencies (and some advertising agencies) like to upload clips of news broadcast placements for their clients, or news in which their subject matter experts appear. This is also a copyright violation. I understand the desire to showcase these broadcast media placements on YouTube, but it’s a copyright violation.
So, What’s a Few Copyright Violations?
At this point you might be thinking, oh, well, what’s the big deal? You may be wondering if YouTube could even catch an agency doing it.
Don’t get too complacent. YouTube is getting better at “catching” violators everyday, as this technology advances, with innovations such as ContentID.
But more importantly, if your clients see you doing it, they may think you believe it’s an acceptable practice for them. If they’re savvy to the risks, that won’t make your agency look professional to them. If they’re unaware, you’re putting them at risk for litigation.
There is another, more selfish reason: if you upload content you did not produce, such as a background song or clip from a broadcast news story, YouTube will not consider your video for the Partner program. The Partner program allows you to make money from your YouTube videos. You may not need the money, but you would surely benefit from the preferred placements your videos would received on YouTube.
You also would not be able to take advantage of the Promoted Videos program. In this program, you pay YouTube to feature your video prominently. For some YouTube Channels, this has resulted in 100s of thousands of views. But if you don’t play by the rules, you can’t participate.
So don’t do it. It isn’t worth the risks, and besides, it’s wrong. Only upload video content you have (1) created yourselves and/or (2) own the copyright for.
Duplicate Uploads Violate YouTube’s Terms of Service
When you upload a YouTube video to your Channel, and it also appears on your client’s channel (which I hope it does), you are violating YouTube’s terms of service about duplicate uploads. This can get the video removed and your account can even get banned.
Even worse, duplicate uploads cannibalize views from the client’s Channel. I am sure your client would prefer to get the views on their Channel, not yours.
A Better Way: Favorites and Playlists
You can still display the work you produce for others on your YouTube Channel. All you have to do is either Favorite or Playlist the video that appears on your client’s YouTube Channel.
For example, Fletcher Prince features a “portfolio” YouTube playlist on our Channel. It includes videos we have produced for other clients. When someone clicks on the video to view it, the client gets the click, not us. But other people can see what we produce. And our YouTube Channel is directing a few more views to our clients’ Channels and videos, which doesn’t hurt them a bit.
So, in this way, we are promoting the best interests of our clients and respecting YouTube’s terms of service. That’s how you feature client work on your agency Channel.
Besides, it just looks better, in my opinion, to set it up this way. Cleaner. More organized.
Brand-Building YouTube Content for Agencies
We thought we said this in 2006, but anyway, for those agencies who were not listening: YouTube is not television. A commercial does not necessarily make for quality YouTube viewing. A LOT of public relations and advertising agencies post nothing but examples of client videos (PSAs, commercials) they have produced for clients on their YouT ube Channel. As I mentioned, that is problematic.
But it is a problem for another reason. Agencies are failing to tell their story on YouTube, and more importantly, they are telling their clients’ and prospective clients’ stories (which is what people really want to watch). And why, when they have the resources to produce brand-building YouTube content, such as
- Advice and how to tips, presented in a visual and demonstrative way
- Examples and case studies that will inform and inspire clients
- Interviews with your subject matter experts on those frequently asked questions
- Profiles of your different services, and how they can fix client problems
- Client testimonials, client testimonials, and did I mention? Client testimonials
- A behind-the-scenes company tour (this could also attract new hires)
- Footage from an awards event where your agency makes a big win
- The history of your company: where you’ve been, where you’re going
- Holiday greetings to your partners, clients, vendors, and employees
- Footage of your staff at work on a pro bono or volunteer project
Most agencies have the resources to produce these brand-building videos on YouTube, and most agencies DON’T.
Agencies are not getting the YouTube video views they could
Challenge: creating videos people want to watch
A major challenge for most agencies appears to be creating videos that get viewed. This month, I examined the YouTube activities of 100 leading public relations and advertising agencies. I discovered that 58% of these agencies had less than 4,500 combined views of their video uploads. Of these, 32% have less than 1,ooo views!
No one should be behind Fletcher Prince, and yet…
To put this in context, Fletcher Prince has more views for its videos on its company Channel than do 94% of the leading public relations and advertising agencies on YouTube.
While we try hard, Fletcher Prince is not in the same league as these large and prosperous firms. Although, apparently, we could show them a few tricks (and we will! at Digital East next week!).
Getting More Views Starts With a Plan
YouTube is too important – more important than almost any form of social media — to neglect. I would like to see agencies dedicating real effort to optimizing their YouTube Channels and videos for search, then completely rethinking the kind of content they are putting out on YouTube.
High quality, relevant YouTube video. Because it’s only your reputation at stake
You know, for public relations and advertising agencies, YouTube is really a golden opportunity, in so many ways, as I’ve discussed in this blog before.
YouTube video allows you to showcase your subject matter experts and impress prospective clients. And many clients are interested in YouTube video for their own companies or nonprofits, so having quality YouTube video on your agency Channel allows you to show what you can do, and display your agency’s mastery of social media.
Unless you totally screw it up.
How NOT To Do YouTube
Let’s say I’m a client, and like most clients, I have at least a passing interest in making my company or nonprofit visible on the THIRD MOST POPULAR WEBSITE on the Internet (that would be YouTube, by the way). I Google a local, award-winning agency to see what they can do, and scan the results. What do I see?
1. The first search engine result is a link to the agency website. No image, but some text. The Google entry states, “Agency X is a “Washington D.C. public relations firm founded by two of the PR industry’s leading communications consultants.” So far, so good.
2. The second search engine result is a link to the agency’s LinkedIn profile. More text.
3. The third search engine result is a link to a company YouTube video. But there is an important difference about this result. The video link jumps out at me as I scan the results, because, unlike the other entries, there is a video player image, plus text. YouTube videos in search results are eye-catching and prominent.
I click: Shaky Flip video of junior staffers at Agency X eating a cheesecake in the agency conference room. A quick browse of the agency’s unbranded, generic YouTube Channel reveals this is their sole video.
Am I impressed? Let me ask you: would you be?
This is not exactly cutting-edge branding, people. And the problem is widespread. In fact, researching top public relations and advertising firms, on YouTube, I found that 64% of a representative sample had uploaded video of unacceptable quality to their agency YouTube Channels.
Why YouTube Video Matters for Search
Now, it’s important to understand why Google starting listing YouTube video results in search engine results with video thumbnail images (back in 2009), while other search results (except images), appear as text. It’s important to understand why YouTube matters.
For one thing, Google does take consumer preferences into account on the search engine results they generate. I write a blog post nearly every day, for example, but my blog posts don’t get crawled nearly as frequently as my YouTube videos. Google knows consumers gravitate to YouTube videos like bees to honey. And people will look at a video before they read text on a website, any day. So, consumer preferences account for something in search.
But there is also a financial incentive. YouTube is a Google property. YouTube earns lots of money for Google. Last quarter, Google properties like YouTube (being the most popular of the bunch) accounted for 69% of Google’s income. So, yes, YouTube ranks highly in search engine results.
What to Consider Before You Upload a Video on Your Agency Channel
Fun and creative videos have their place on YouTube, as long as you can manage to also be informative and on-message. But real effort has to go into a video to pull this off well.
The next time you think about uploading a “fun” and spontaneous — and sloppy — video on your public relations or advertising agency YouTube Channel, keep in mind the search ramifications, and consider:
- If I didn’t know me or the people at my company, would I want to watch this? Would I still think it is funny?
- Would I think this video is worth watching, or does this video get really old after a few seconds, truthfully?
- Would this video teach my prospective clients anything about our company or industry that is useful, informative, and relevant to them?
- Do the production values of this video make my agency appear less than professional?
- Is this video actually a detriment to our brand?
PR agencies that are posting karaoke videos from holiday parties — and yes, there are multiple ones that do! — take it from me: those videos are only cute and funny to you.
If you want to put karaoke videos up, put them on your personal YouTube Channel. But deliver on the promise of your brand. People viewing public relations and advertising videos on YouTube expect to see creative AND informative videos on your Channel.
Step up your game, PR and advertising agencies!
In the last post of this series, I’ll provide some quantitative data to frame this discussion, and you’ll see this is not just a rant — I do have numbers to back this up. And those numbers will surprise you, so subscribe by email and stay tuned!
Make sure they can hear you: production values for PR agencies
An award-winning local public relations firm has uploaded video interviews with subject matter experts which were apparently recorded in a basement stairwell. Adjacent to what appears to be a very noisy party or convention.
The audio is so poor it’s impossible to tell what the people are saying. Can we just assume for yuks that good communication BEGINS with being able to understand words? I mean, can that just be a given?
I’m not sure what LOOK they were going for here, but if they really felt standing next to cinderblocks captured the essence of their agency’s brand, I suppose they could have at least added captions?
Once again, I am bewildered that a public relations firm thinks they can throw up any old video on YouTube.
What have we learned here, folks? If you wouldn’t put it up on YouTube for a CLIENT, then don’t put it up for your own agency. You are your own best client. Clients look at your YouTube Channel to see what you can do. If I were a prospective client and I saw that video, I would never hire that agency. Because no matter how snappy they may dress, there is no excuse for sloppy video.
Production values matter. They reflect on your brand. There should be a basically acceptable level of audio quality, lighting, and graphics in agency videos. At a minimum, people should be able to understand what you are trying to say.
It would be a small comfort if this problem were restricted to just one or two public relations or advertising agencies. It isn’t. In my analysis of 100 leading public relations and advertising firms, more than 60% had uploaded poor quality video to YouTube.
Agencies, moderate your YouTube comments
YouTube is one of the most amazing communications developments ever created.
You’d think professional communicators would be masters at using it, wouldn’t you?
Well, we are all learning. And as they say, if you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible lesson.
Today’s horrible lesson comes to you from the second largest PR firm in the world. Apparently, this firm doesn’t think putting a good face on a website that has 3 BILLION VIEWS EACH DAY isn’t that high a priority for them.
This PR firm has not moderated Channel comments on its YouTube Channel for several months. Channel comments are different from video comments, by the way. Your Channel on YouTube is like your home page on YouTube. It’s prominent. It is the extension of your brand on YouTube, just like a Facebook Page is the extension of your brand on Facebook. And Channel Comments are really conspicuous.
So it’s important, if you’re going to enable Channel Comments, to activate AUTOMATIC EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS and MONITOR your Channel for SPAM.
And stuff even uglier than SPAM. Like hate comments.
Because that would take, like, less than a minute to do.
Among many offensive comments, this Channel happens to prominently display a comment announcing there are hookers and cocaine in its agency conference room.
I wish I had made the last one up, but it’s true.
Lord forbid a client should see that! This is basic stuff! WHO is minding the store, people?
Homework assignment: Dear President-of-the-Second-Largest-PR-Firm-in-the-Known-Universe: have you looked at your YouTube Channel lately? May I suggest you turn on your computer and check it out? Then find out who is in charge of moderating your YouTube Channel at your company, and fire that person. And make sure you put someone in charge of your social media who gives a damn about your agency’s reputation.
On YouTube, you can’t afford to go logo-less, agencies!
You know advertising agencies are in the business of branding, right?
And logo design would be a major part of that.
So the largest advertising agency in DC has a YouTube Channel. Yes, it does.
It does not have a logo on that Channel.
In case you were wondering, that’s the YouTube equivalent of showing up for a job interview in a Brooks Brothers suit and forgetting TO WEAR SHOES.
Guess How Many Are Logo-Less?
You would be surprised how MANY well-heeled agencies skip this important branding step. Want to guess? Okay, I’ll tell you. 43% of leading public relations agencies and advertising agencies — the top billing, most reputable agencies around — have not uploaded a logo to their YouTube Channels.
Why Branding Matters on YouTube
A square version of your logo is brands your presence on YouTube — and Facebook and Twitter, as well. This square version of your log is your agency’s stamp on other Channels you subscribe to. Whenever you post a video or a comment, that logo appears.
And not having a logo? What does that suggest about your brand? Not good things. Like you don’t really “get” YouTube. Or branding. Or that you don’t pay much attention to detail. None of these qualities are going to endear you to prospective clients.
Aren’t You Ashamed of Yourselves?
Come on, advertising and public relations agencies, step up your game! It’s 2011. There ARE no more excuses for logo-less lameness.
Homework assignment: If you have a company YouTube Channel and you don’t have a logo, you either need to get your graphic designer on that project right away or pay me $450 to make it for you. Now, get to work!
How to Use YouTube Video For Your PR Firm
Extra effort can make your video worth watching.
If you work for a public relations agency, or you are an independent public relations consultant, I am sure you appreciate the tremendous value of YouTube video to you and your clients.
Producing video at Fletcher Prince is one of our favorite services, and we feel fortunate to have several PR practitioners as clients.
Making YouTube Video Work for Your Public Relations Firm or Practice
Since YouTube video is becoming more important for marketing and public relations every day, I’d like to review some of the reasons why it is essential for PR firms and consultants to develop a branded YouTube Channel, as well as some common pitfalls to avoid.
Let’s look at the many good reasons why a PR practice would elect to develop a YouTube Channel and YouTube videos:
- Tell the story of who you are, what you can do, and what you have done in a way only video can do. People may not read your website, but they WILL watch your video.
- Enhance recognition and foster trust for your practice among potential clients and partners who view your videos.
- Increase search engine results for your name brand, staff names, and industry keywords. Twenty-five percent of all Google search processes through YouTube.
- Exemplify how you use YouTube for marketing and public relations to your clients who will also want to make the most of YouTube (credibility).
- Showcase a portfolio of videos and Channels you have produced for your clients on your Channel, through links and playlists (demonstrated results).
- Display convincing video client testimonials (trust).
- Present your subject matter expertise on public relations-related topics, particularly for your niche areas of practice (credibility and differentiation).
At Fletcher Prince, we work with clients to create YouTube video plans, including identifying goals and target audiences, developing editorial and production calendars, and planning for promotion, integration, and optimization.
We also develop branded and optimized YouTube Channels and produce affordable, reputation-building videos for public relations firms and practitioners.
Would you like to meet with us to discuss a makeover of your YouTube Channel, or to help with creating a video production plan that works for your firm or independent practice? Just ask us!
