Google has caught on to the power of YouTube and what it has done for many small businesses. A handful of companies have been chosen by Google to become marketing ambassadors for YouTube based on their entrepreneurial success with the platform. The ambassadors come from a variety of fields including education, instruction, retail sales, specialty equipment, and the clothing industry.
The group assembled at Google Headquarters in California last week to attend a two-day summit where they met with top executives and learned about online tools which could help business grow even faster with YouTube.
Meet Rokenbok Toy Company, one of the new YouTube Ambassadors:
Here’s a list of others who joined Google last week as new Brand Ambassadors for YouTube:
* BerkleeMusic.com (Boston, Mass.) – Berkleemusic.com is the award-winning online extension school of Boston’s Berklee College of Music. To encourage enrollment for online courses, this renowned school posts video music lessons and in-depth clinics with professors to give prospective students a true-to-life preview of online study with Berkleemusic.com. Bringing access to Berklee’s acclaimed curriculum to students around the world, Berkleemusic.com has taught over 30,000 students from 135 countries since 2002.
* Undercover Tourist (Daytona Beach, Fla.) – If you’ve ever planned a theme park vacation and wanted more than what’s offered in travel guides, you’re not alone. This travel business uses first-person videos to show the rides, shows and experiences offered at their partner destinations in Florida to potential customers around the world. The destinations now attract approximately 14% of their customers from the U.K., Australia, and Germany.
* VeryPink.com (Austin, Tex.) – Owner Staci Perry discovered a global classroom on YouTube, and now she offers knitting instruction classes and patterns online as a full-time business. Thanks to Google Translate and closed captioning on her videos, she has students in Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Italy, India and Syria—just to name a few.
* ModCloth (San Francisco, Calif.) – ModCloth, an online retailer selling vintage-inspired clothing, engages fans with how-to tutorials, behind the scenes tours and DIY videos (ever try your hand at DIY studded socks?). Their video contests have earned them nearly a million video views from happy ModCloth brand evangelists.
* Richard Petty Driving Experience (Concord, N.C.) – To show that there’s nothing quite like being behind the wheel of a NASCAR race car, the Richard Petty Driving Experience team records celebrity customers’ reactions after their final lap around the racetrack and uses the videos as compelling testimonials.
* Rokenbok (Solano Beach, Calif.) – This toy company transformed itself into an e-commerce powerhouse, gaining 50% of all customers from their YouTube videos. They also encourage fans to upload their own videos, which they regularly feature on their YouTube channel.
* BBQ Guys (Baton Rouge, La.) – To showcase their collection of high-end BBQ grills, the BBQ Guys film video reviews of new products so customers can get a personal walk-through of all the features and how they perform in action.
* RevZilla (Philadelphia, Pa.) – RevZilla co-founder Anthony Bucci deconstructs highly technical motorcycle gear through simple video reviews, giving tips on sizing and features. They’ve filmed more than 1,400 videos to help motorcyclists shop with confidence.
* Zagg (Salt Lake City, Utah) – ZAGG drives traffic to their website with engaging scratch test TrueView video ads showcasing their clear protective shield for electronics. Their iPhone 4 Scratch Test alone has more than two million views.
The YouTube ambassadors will begin by working with non-profit groups and serve as mentors. A series of Hangouts will also be featured on Google+ which helps users find success with using YouTube to market and promote their brands. Check out this G+ YouTube for marketers page to learn more about the forthcoming events and to discover who some of these non-profts benefiting from the ambassadors will be.
