The use of videos in marketing is becoming more and more popular. If you don’t believe that, you need to check out the new YouTube report that states that they have an audience that now matches the amount of people using Facebook. The report also states that if YouTube were a country, it would be the third largest.

That’s a lot of folks. It’s actually right around 15% of the people alive on this planet. And it’s not a fad. We can take this clue from the fact that yahoo has recently placed a bid to buy YouTube’s largest competitor, Daily Motion.

But hey, not all of us are comfortable getting in front of a camera, much less figuring out the technicalities of getting a video up on YouTube. So here are some tricks of the trade to get your small business started in the world of video marketing.

• First, understand that one video will not make much of a difference. You need to find a way to incorporate a series of videos into your marketing. The more videos you have out there, the better the chances you have of one of them going viral.
• Be natural. If you appear stiff and totally orchestrated, people will see you as fake. Do what you can to relax before you step in front of the camera, even if it means heading out and grabbing a drink or two over your lunch break.
• If you really don’t want to get in front of a camera, consider doing a voice-over. You can play this over a product or service demonstration or a professionally done presentation.
• Use your social media accounts to advertise your videos.
• If you are embedding a video on your website do not set it up to auto-play. Let the viewer choose whether or not they want to see it. Auto play makes the viewer feel as if they are being forced to watch something and this nearly always makes them stop the video and ignore it completely.

After a while, you’ll get over the stage fright and jitters. It’s important to be confident enough in your brand to make videos and to get yourself out there in a whole new medium. YouTube allows you to do this while also placing your brand in front of a potential new audience.