What type of video should you produce for YouTube? More immediately, what types of video can you produce? You have a number of choices to make when determining what type of videos to produce for YouTube. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation; what works for one company might bomb completely for another.

In fact, what works today might not be what you need to do tomorrow. And, of course, you’re not limited to a single approach; many companies employ two or more different types of videos, each designed to achieve its own specific goal. With that in mind, let’s look at the most common types of videos that companies incorporate into their online marketing mixes.

Repurposed Commercials Many companies think that the best way to use YouTube is as an alternative distribution channel for their existing television commercials. Their YouTube content consists of repurposed commercials—the same 30-second spots they run on television. This might be an appropriate strategy—if you’re TV spots are uniquely entertaining.

To be honest, however, this is a losing strategy for most firms; YouTube viewers tend to expect something new and different than the same commercials they see on TV. In fact, some companies have experienced the ire of the YouTube community for unimaginatively commercializing the site in this manner.

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You win the support of the community by doing something new and innovative; you lose their support when you seemingly don’t put in the effort, or treat YouTube as just another type of television station—which it most decidedly is not.