How and Why Intel Nurtures its Segmented Audience on YouTube

For an example of a business cleverly using their YouTube channel to nurture their target audience, look no further than Intel. That's right, the technology company that put the processor in your laptop.

Intel has built up a superb video content plan to thoroughly segment its target audience and then appeal to those segments directly. Keep reading and we'll show you how and why.

Always provide value

On the surface Intel has pretty dry and complex products to promote. Electronic chips and microprocessors aren't the sexiest things on the market.

Despite that, the company has nailed down how to advertise its products and its brand in a way that's interesting and enlightening for its audience. After all, Intel is behind cutting-edge technology that almost all of us use every day.

Intel's video content marketing strategy on YouTube is all about consistently providing value to its audience. No matter whether they want to raise awareness of a new product, reinforce their brand messages or highlight their dedication to corporate social responsibility, every video they upload is entertaining, informative or inspirational (and sometimes all of those things at once).

By creating valuable video content, Intel isn't just encouraging people to watch their videos. They're also building a reputation as a provider of value, so that their viewers will be more inclined to seek out their content on YouTube and elsewhere.

Know your audience inside and out

Intel is a company that has to market itself to both B2B and B2C audiences. They've done a great job of identifying their major target audience on YouTube, and that means recognising that most of their viewers on the channel are consumers rather than businesses.

Specifically, they know that their target audience on YouTube is made up of tech-savvy young adults (under 35) with large disposable incomes.

To appeal to this key audience, Intel creates a wide variety of video content to draw them in, entertain them and teach them - all while making them aware of their products and brand. The best example of this is a series of videos featuring Jim Parsons, best known for playing theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory.

By using a celebrity well known to their target audience to humorously explain the technology behind some of their newest products, Intel can connect with their customers on an emotional level in a way that resonates with them. Hey - Intel likes the same things as I do! This means, to that audience, the company's message of technological innovation comes across as more authentic and believable (plus, it's endorsed by a respected third party).

Segment and conquer

But Intel doesn't stop there. They divide their target audience into smaller segments with more specific tastes and characteristics, allowing the company to create video content that engages each of these segments directly.

You can see this in the three other playlists featured on Intel's channel. The first contains videos aimed at more science-minded viewers, offering a glimpse into the technological advances taking place in Intel's fabrication plants.

The second playlist celebrates the 50th anniversary of Moore's Law, an important computing observation from Gordon Moore, co-founder of the business (here's a link if you want to learn more). Intel uses an interesting element of its company history to reinforce its image as a pioneer in scientific development.

Finally, the third playlist illustrates how Intel supports responsible, conflict-free supply chains for the minerals that make up their processors. By promoting their brand image in this way, Intel can also provide informative and inspirational videos targeted at customers who care deeply about social responsibility.

Finetune your channel

So how does Intel use its YouTube channel to help reach all of these segments in its target audience?

Firstly, they make sure their most popular videos - currently the Jim Parsons series that is most likely to engage their target audience - are featured at the top of the channel in a prominent "Best of Intel" playlist. Below that the page is categorised into different playlists according to series or video type, like the three examples listed above.

With a clean, organised YouTube channel that's simple to use, Intel is creating the easiest possible journey for its audience to reach its video content. Viewers can quickly find whichever videos interest them. They key point is that Intel isn't just providing value, but also making that value easy to reach.

Not only that, but Intel has multiple YouTube channels for different countries and other specialised content. For example, they have an "IT Center" channel more targeted towards businesses, and another 'Extreme Masters" channel broadcasting footage from the gaming competitions the company sponsors.

All these extra channels are part of Intel's high-level strategy to segment their YouTube audience as much as possible. While many companies do not have an audience large or diverse enough to make this kind of strategy worthwhile, it's still a useful lesson into a neat and effective way to segment drastically different video marketing content for drastically different audiences.

Intel gets many things right on YouTube. Not only do they produce compelling, educational and brand-focused videos, but they also use a consistent channel strategy to make sure those videos get watched by the right people. That's why Intel's YouTube channel is an excellent example of how a broad base of video content, along with effective channel organisation, can segment and appeal to a large target audience.