By Peter Peng, MangoRabbit

Note from lite prepcenter: We invite our partners to write for our blog, introducing our audience to new ideas, tips, advice and different points of view. lite prepcenter client, Peter Peng, who runs MangoRabbit, has been remarkably successful using YouTube videos to develop the reach of MangoRabbit apparel.

My wife and I run an apparel store, Mango Rabbit, one of lite prepcenter’s clients. I love getting a chance to connect with fellow operators and marketers and I’ve shared our Instagram experiencewe have 1/2 million followers there. However, we should have spent more time on YouTube.

Weve recently landed our second viral SEOd video with 80k views compared to our average of 4k views. Its interesting to see how YouTubes algorithm works in real time. Here is how we are using YouTube to market our clothing store:

Realness is Everything

Realness is everything, you cant photoshop a video.

Realness on YouTube means you have to be flawed, yet cool. Honest, but politically correct. Relatable, yet unique. Bonus points for good looking people.

Think its not that hard? Imagine trying to hold the attention of the average teenager for more than 5 minutes.

The punishment for being fake means top tier YouTubers might do exposs on the bad products. These get millions of views and are often quite funny to watch. In this case, I dont think any publicity is good publicity.

Video Reviews

My wife makes detailed reviews for Mango Rabbit and other brands. These are 6-9hr long projects but those videos always convert to many sales.

Ive also contacted several other YouTube influencers hoping they will review our clothes for payment. However, none has replied and I think its because it’s not about only money or clothes. For them, it’s about reputation and it comes back to realness again. If a YouTuber has a history of reviewing name brands, and suddenly does a review for a boutique store, then she might be a sellout. However, encouraged by my wifes results, I will keep searching as we improve our selection.

YouTube Does Wonders for Affiliates

In my Instagram post on lite prepcenter’s blog, I talked about how we use affiliate programs on Instagram.

YouTube is even better. An influencer gets to put many clickable links in the caption. We get many comments that thank us for creating such a smooth shopping experience.

As a brand, having your own YouTube channel may be beneficial if you have the budget. However, your branded channel wont pass the realness test, viewers will know you have a business motive.

YouTube SEO

YouTube videos gets preference in text-based Google searches. Google sometimes pushes video results right near the top.

We take YouTube SEO very seriously. The video title, thumbnail, the first few lines of the caption, the hashtags, the video category, playlists, end cards, location tags all executed strategically. We need multiple reviewers to make sure we dont miss something.

YouTube for Small / Mid-Size

Given rising PPC costs, I think the industry will see brands either branch out or dig in.

I am experimenting with workflows and fellow business owners to build YouTube channels that scale smoothly for small and mid-size businesses. Hopefully Ill have good news to report to you in the future.

Other Blogs, Services & Articles
Win InstagramApparel Marketing Tips
Leveraging Your Inventory for Faster Growth
Why Should Amazon Sellers Bundle Products