Too often, YouTube is overlooked as not only an engagement and marketing platform, but as an educational resource for small businesses.
In actuality, there are hundreds of YouTube channels dedicated to providing free and sound business advice. The challenging part is distilling the genuinely helpful videos from the heaps and heaps of video junk that litters the world wide web.
Listed below are five subscription-worthy channels that produce consistently valuable content, and who have validated their credibility with substantial viewership.
Add these to your daily diet of small business resources and stay on top of trends to gather up new ideas for your business.
1. Google Business
Make no mistake, the Google Business YouTube channel is a promotional tool for Google’s products. Having said that, there’s still no sales pitch here. What you’ll find is really valuable insight on how to use the multitude of free and low-cost platforms offered by the search giant.
If you’re looking to optimize your campaign or obtain a better understanding of the marketplace through search analysis, this channel provides plenty of short, well-produced instructional videos with a subscription.
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2. U.S. Small Business Administration
You may not think of the U.S. Government as your first source for valuable resources online, but the Small Business Administration has actually done a great job stocking their YouTube channel with important information about government initiatives, government loans, legislative changes, and general small business advice about technology and marketing.
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3. Robert Scobie’s Channel
Robert Scobie is known in some circles as a Twitter influencer and blogger. In the entrepreneurial tech scene, Robert “Scobleizer” Scoble’s YouTube channel is known as a valuable resource with candid interviews with some of today’s hottest startup pros.
The channel is less about hypothetical business advice, and more about the strategies entrepreneurs are actually utilizing in the tech industry. At the very least, it’s interesting stuff. At most, it offers concrete advice from some of the industry’s thought leaders that you can apply back to your own small business.
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4. Fast forward
Google and The Wharton School of Business have partnered up to develop a YouTube channel dedicated exclusively to Internet marketing. As you know, online marketing is a field that has been a boon for many small businesses looking to expand their reach on social networks and the web.
The channel offers many short, easily digestible interviews with business leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs who discuss the goals and challenges of savvy web marketing.
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5. Harvard Business Publishing
At over 17,000 subscribers, Harvard Business School’s YouTube channel produces regular “ideacasts” with a focus on “practical insights, tools and resources.” The show offers interviews with prominent Harvard professors, authors, and business leaders who speak to issues in markets large and small.
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Take advantage of these videos and add them to a regular routine of educational lessons to stay on top of trends and to gather new ideas for your small business.
Author Bio: Yo Noguchi is an experienced freelancer, guest blogger, and frequent contributor to a blog hosted by Benchmark Email, one of the world’s global email services.