Discovery

It is my understanding that a major benefit to content marketing is discovery. If you put content out there, people might bump into it while wandering around online. And they might follow that content back to your home base on the Web. This is something that I concern myself with on a daily basis as a person creating content for a major retailer. I also know that if one of your goals is to get found on the Web, you better understand how Google fits into the equation.

The Agent of Discovery

The folks at Google are working very hard to maintain their position as the world’s preferred resource for discovering content on the Web. That is why their services are constantly evolving. The new PlayStation 3 YouTube app is a perfect example. Google is improving the user experience on YouTube in as many ways as possible with the goal of keeping people on the site longer. The new PlayStation app brings YouTube to your TV, where people are used to spending hours watching video. If YouTube can deliver a great viewing experience in the living room, on the biggest screen in your house, people should be willing to stay engaged on the site for extended periods of time. More time on the site will eventually lead to more ads served, and more profits for Google.

The User Experience

For the plan to pay off, YouTube will have to deliver on the user experience. I recently installed the new app to give it a try. There are some highlights, and there are also some opportunities for improvement. The navigation is a bit cumbersome using the PlayStation remote. I had to blow through tons of pre-populated content categories one at a time to get to the stuff I really wanted. On the other hand, the device pairing feature is a massive highlight. I can go straight to my subscriptions, or search for what I want with ease. My Kindle Fire and Android phone are now highly sophisticated, touch screen TV remotes. The device pairing is easy, and there is hardly any delay between selecting a video with my hand-held device, and seeing it play on my TV. See for yourself if you like in the video above.

The Relevance To Content Marketers

I think the case for content marketing on YouTube was already pretty strong, but it just got a whole lot stronger. I see a lot of potential in apps that take advantage of the devices that people are already using. As average folks begin to spend longer periods of time on the site, the opportunity to engage with customers grows. YouTube will continue to develop new ways to help people discover content that is relevant to their interests. If you are publishing good content that is related to your business, chances are that it will be seen by an audience that actually wants to interact with your company. That’s a lot better than interrupting someone’s entertainment with an ad. As YouTube pushes its way into our daily lives, the audience will only grow, and get more social. Publishing on YouTube will become an even more powerful way to reach a specific target, and spread your content via social media through that network.

The Flip Side For Advertisers

The flip side of this trend is that other paid media may decrease in effectiveness. If people are spending more time on YouTube, they must be spending less on something else. That something else is likely going to be TV. As it becomes more difficult to see results through traditional TV ads, supplementing those efforts with content on YouTube will be crucial. Get in the game now, and figure out what your customers want to see on YouTube. If you can do that, you may find that your branded videos are playing on TV screens rather than your competitors’ commercials.