Okay, okay, I know it says I’m quitting Instagram in the headline, but I’m not 100% leaving the platform. I’m not deleting it, not losing my (hard-built) presence there. But my strategy is changing, and Instagram needs to downshift. I will still be posting on Instagram still but with a new part-time schedule. My main focus for the rest of 2023? YouTube.
I’ve dabbled with YouTube in my content strategy back when I would make race recap videos for Randy Meyer Racing and I also had a short-lived homemade vlog series way back in the day. I haven’t poked around that channel for a while, but I noticed that my old videos are starting to gain some traction—years later. Which brings me to my first point of why YouTube is the missing piece of the motorsports marketing puzzle:
The Pros of YouTube
Content goes further on a search engine platform, like YouTube, rather than a social platform, like Instagram.
Creating longer-form content with the potential for it to grow massively over time is attractive. You should try it, too! This means you can take all those on-board videos you’ve shared in the past to other social media platforms and post them onto YouTube to get more views. Plus, YouTube content never expires; you can still watch videos that are 5, 10 years old, which means when you publish a video you don’t need to stress over getting your first 100 views like you do on Instagram.
And since my content creation funds my racing career, YouTube has a lot of potential. Not just in sponsorships, but in the realm of video monetization. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the average influencer on YouTube makes $4,616 a month through advertising, and roughly $0.018 per view (or $18 for every 1,000 views). And that’s just for advertising that YouTube inserts into the video; not including sponsorship deals that are much more of a financial art than a science.
The Cons of Instagram
Over the last few months, Instagram has steadily decreased in video views, impressions, and engagement, and not to mention the removal of the Reels Bonuses program. I’m seeing this not just on my page but all of my clients as well. I am encouraging myself and them to try something new so we don’t get burnt out on posting on the same platform day after day and chasing engagement that’s almost nonexistent.
In the past, Instagram has always been my primary focus on social media, treating Facebook as a secondary platform. But my Facebook has always been stronger with engagement. I love that you can include links to press releases, sales pages, and sponsor websites in each caption, unlike on Instagram, to drive traffic to your own website or to your sponsors where you can directly see page views and sales just from 1 post.
I used to default to Instagram because it was growing fast and is so versatile. But in my opinion, they have lost their identity in trying to keep up with other platforms. What do you think?
Because I don’t want to completely ghost my followers there, I will still be active on Instagram, but you’ll see less of me sharing there and instead posting more relevant content over on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn — where my target market is. To make things easier I’ll even be re-posting my best-performing content from Instagram onto YouTube Shorts to see if it does just as well and for new eyeballs to watch!
With that being said – check out this week’s newest video!
When you subscribe to my new YouTube channel, you’ll be met with two different playlists. First is “Motorsports Marketing Tips” where I’m sharing my best tips and knowledge about how you can promote your racing career, build a following, and attract paying sponsorships. This is what I’m known for and I love educating others! The second is “Chasing Chaos” where you can follow me behind-the-scenes on my racing journey in the 2023-2024 Nitro Chaos series. I’m sharing the real moments when the helmet is off; the good moments and the embarrassing ones, candid conversations with the crew, and what it’s like to be a mom to a toddler at the race track. You can watch episode 1 right now!!
