YouTube isn’t just for music videos or for those who want to film themselves playing Rock Band. Businesses can get in on the visual market just as easily as anyone else. People create YouTube accounts as yet another way to brand themselves. Whether you’re selling discount apparel or provide Internet marketing for clients, YouTube can be a useful and fun tool. From an SEO perspective, it is another social profile, another link back to your business.

To your customers it shows even more credibility. They’d like to see a face behind the website. But what to film? Well, I can’t give you all the answers, but that really depends on what your business does. Retailers might want to make interesting videos about their products or fashion trends. The key word is “interesting.” If people aren’t intrigued within the first 20-30 seconds, chances are they will click away and look for a cat video. If you can make them laugh, they’ll be more willing to share it with friends. Soon your video goes viral over Facebook and Twitter. Bam! More customers checking out your website to find out who you are and what you do.

If you’re struggling for ideas, online marketing companies are here to help.

Many so-called experts are already making predictions for what path online marketing which choose in the new year. Everyone seems to agree that the biggest trend for 2012 and online marketing will be smartphones and mobile marketing. In 2011 there were 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions! Mobile ad spending is predicted to jump to $20.6 billion by 2015. If that isn’t a clear indicator, maybe you should reevaluate your marketing strategy all together.

Within a few years, it’ll be rare to find anyone without a smartphone. It’s nearly impossible to even purchase a standard flip-phone anymore. (The only ones offered are those cheap pay-as-you-go models.) Users will be seeking easy to navigate websites and shopping apps. The biggest way to boost revenue this year is to create a mobile version of your site, if you haven’t already. Likewise, also considering an app development. Developing an app is a great way to reach your target audience and provide them with an easy way to access your information and products.

Almost 23% of the mobile population will turn to smartphones. Can you afford not to include them in your marketing strategies? It’s not all just about ranking on Google anymore. It’s about knowing how your key audience receives the majority of their data and tapping into that.