Because there are lots of stories covering why Facebook or Instagram are important to your photography business, it can be easy to overlook one of the most vital places to post — YouTube. Take a look at a few of the reasons you shouldn’t neglect the video hub in marketing your business.

1. There’s a huge audience. You may have heard that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet. It’s also the third most-visited site after Google and Facebook. To give you an idea of what that means — more than a billion users have YouTube accounts, with users averaging 40 minutes a session — doubling year-over-year. Maybe that’s why our recent social media forecast revealed that small- to medium-sized business owners rate YouTube as the second-most important site for finding business after Facebook.

2. It’s owned by Google. Because the search giant owns YouTube, websites featuring YouTube videos rank higher on Google than equivalent sites without YouTube videos. And for that reason, it’s easy to improve your searchability on Google if you format your YouTube video in the right way.

3. It’s easier to get found. With a simple keyword system, you can create videos that users can find easily. And because YouTube will keep playing similar videos after a user’s initial selection, it’s possible to get found by customers even if they didn’t look for you.

4. Educational videos can help improve your craft. Though you may be focused on how to market your photography, YouTube’s still a great place to go see what other photographers are doing. Pros like Ana Brandt and Matt Granger can provide advice and inspiration while channels like SLR Lounge, Adorama, CreativeLive, or Animoto are great sources for education.

**5. TrueView ads can increase business. **If you’ve ever viewed a YouTube video, you know the site makes the most of its advertisers. But YouTube can also help you find customers if you know how to build your TrueView ad correctly. According to a recent study, viewers who finish a TrueView ad are 23 times more likely to visit or subscribe to the brand’s channel, watch more videos by that brand, or share the brand’s video. Even if they didn’t finish the ad, viewers were still 10 times more likely to subscribe, watch more, or share.

Are you using YouTube to market your photography business? Share a link to your channel with us in the comments below!