According to a recent report, YouTube, which is now owned by Google of course, is considering introducing a series of channels that you’ll have to pay for. The rumoured monthly charge is as low as $1.99US or about £1.20 or so, but the big thing is not the amount of the charge so much as the charge!
It completely changes what we’ve all come to expect from that great channel, but should we expect too much more from our friends as Google? Well no is clearly the answer, but… how will it affect businesses promoting on YouTube?
We know of many companies who use the promotion of videos as a method of promoting their businesses – training videos for fitting window blinds, taking great photographs, keep fit and much more. These types of videos have proved a great success as many companies have offered professional advice on all manor of things from wall papering to fixing a bicycle wheel. The logic behind such production of course is that prospective customers will search YouTube to learn how to fix (in this example) a puncture, find a good video promoted by (say) Joe Bloggs cycles and get a good feeling about that cycle store, perhaps buying the repair kit from them.
A good and logical bit of PR in any event, but now imagine if everyone who checks out your video has to pay for the privilege! Or to be more precise, won’t see it unless they subscribe… How will that affect your PR campaign?
Let me emphasise that there is no statement from Google/YouTube to this effect yet and if it does happen it may not affect our pals at Joe Bloggs, but it would sure be the beginning of a slippery slope
