What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Using YouTube?

YouTube is the most popular video-sharing website in the world. Along with this, YouTube is also the 2nd-largest search engine in the world. Due to these facts, YouTube is an attractive option for both businesses and individuals alike. But have you ever wondered- what are the advantages and disadvantages of using YouTube?

There are many advantages and disadvantages of using YouTube. Some advantages include YouTube being the most popular video-sharing website and the 2nd-largest search engine in the world. A few of the biggest disadvantages of YouTube are needing recording equipment to produce videos and some basic video editing skills.

Whether you're an individual or business owner, creating content on YouTube is never a bad idea. It is important to acknowledge, however, that while there are many advantages of doing so, there are also some disadvantages. Depending on your situation, the disadvantages might pursue you not to create content on YouTube.

What Are the Advantages of Using YouTube

Have you ever wondered- what are the advantages of using YouTube? If so, you aren't alone. While YouTube is a very well-known website, there are still many businesses and individuals that aren't sold on creating video-based content for the platform. Why should someone create content on YouTube and not another platform?

Some advantage of using YouTube include:

• Free to use
• Monetization opportunities
• Platform popularity
• Organic marketing capabilities
• Audience expansion

Let's break down each of these advantages in a bit more detail.

Free to Use

In the past, having the ability to host a large number of videos on a website was unheard of. Nowadays, however, this isn't the case, as YouTube has made it possible for creators to publish an unlimited number of videos for free. This is a great luxury, as having website hosting capable of hosting so many videos would be incredibly expensive.

Monetization Opportunities

One of the largest benefits of creating YouTube videos is having the ability to monetize videos through Google AdSense once you are a member of the YouTube Partner Program. Along with this, it is becoming more popular to monetize videos in other ways, such as with affiliate products.

Platform Popularity

YouTube is the most popular video-sharing website in the world. Since this is the case, many people go to YouTube to consume video content. Publishing content on such a popular platform can allow you to reach a significant number of people who might be interested in what you do.

Organic Marketing Capabilities

Along with being the most popular video-sharing platform, YouTube is also the world's 2nd-largest search engine. Due to this, YouTube offers creators the ability to get their videos discovered organically. This leads to more targeted and long term video views over time. Sometimes, videos can get views months or even years after they've been published.

Audience Expansion

Not everybody enjoys reading blog posts. Many people enjoy consuming content in a video format. As a business or individual content creator, publishing videos to YouTube can help you expand your audience if you tend to create non-video content. This can help you reach more people and expand your audience.

What Are the Disadvantages of Using YouTube

While there are many advantages of using YouTube, you might be wondering- what are the disadvantages of using YouTube? After all, no platform is perfect. There must be some issues present with YouTube that causes people to focus on other platforms. But what exactly are these issues?

Some disadvantages of using YouTube include:

• Equipment needed
• Technical skills required
• Time investment
• Patience required
• Lack of control

Let's discuss these disadvantages a bit further.

Equipment Needed

While mobile phones are now equipped with high-quality cameras, it's important to acknowledge that equipment is required to be able to create YouTube videos. Often, equipment becomes quite expensive, making it difficult for many people to be able to create high-quality videos.

Technical Skills Required

Video recording, editing, optimizing are just a few of the skills you need to possess to be able to create videos and achieve success on YouTube. Many people struggle to create content on YouTube, as the required skills take time to learn. With this said, you must remember that the more videos you record, edit, and optimize, the more skilled you will become.

Time Investment

Creating videos takes a lot of time- especially when you don't have a lot of experience in doing so. Combine this with a steep learning curve and creating videos to publish on YouTube can take a significant amount of time. Any business or individual looking to create videos must be prepared to invest the time required to learn skills and create content.

Patience Required

YouTube is a long-term game. Since this is the case, anybody looking to achieve success on YouTube must be prepared to publish videos that few people see for a long time. Overnight success is nearly impossible to achieve on YouTube, so patience is a necessary skill to possess as a content creator.

Lack of Control

As with most platforms, you sacrifice some of your control when you publish content to a platform you don't own. At any moment, YouTube can remove your videos or ban your account. Be aware of this fact when creating videos. This is why having ways to communicate with your audience off of YouTube is so important.

Conclusion

There are many advantages and disadvantages of using YouTube. For most people, the advantages of using YouTube outweigh the disadvantages. However, depending on your circumstances or needs, you might find that the disadvantages present cause you not to pursue YouTube.