Smart Ways Retailers Can Incorporate Social Media Into Marketing Plans

Mashable calls YouTube the go-to site for video online. One hour of video is uploaded to the site every second. With 800 million unique users a month worldwide, YouTube is the third most visited website — and it receives millions of hits from those users sharing video links with each other.

Retailers can use YouTube to post videos such as customer testimonials, product showcases and "how tos." A furniture store, for example, might highlight how one of its designers helped a customer pull together a room. Or a bakery might give instructions for decorating the perfect birthday cake. Think about your YouTube channel as a way to answer a question relevant to your product that a customer might google — e.g., how to accessorize for the office, summer grilling tips, etc.