Decoding: How laptop brands leverage YouTube in their marketing strategies

We take a look at how laptop brands such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer and Asus help the average user navigate the labyrinth of tech buzz words with their YouTube strategies.

Hope and aspirations are key values that are marketed while seeking investment, especially when it comes to technological marvels like laptops. It is important to make the buyer feel valued and see value in the purchase they are about to make. Another factor is the ease of after-sale customer services and troubleshooting if things were to go wrong. Other important content verticals, as can be ascertained from the YouTube strategies of various popular laptop brands in India, are feature explanations, collaborations, success stories and promotional campaigns.

We take a deeper look at the recent videos uploaded by laptop brands catering to Indian customers.

Dell India

On YouTube, Dell India focusses on promoting its initiatives and building the brand's story. The core idea seems to be on being a dependable brand for consumers and strengthen brand recall. Almost all recent initiatives have a hashtag as a part of their name.

Promoting Collaborations

Being a technology brand, Dell India runs several initiatives in the domain. These help them promote their products as well as support creators with the tools to innovate. One such recent initiative, #DellFuturistCreatorsClub, was brought forth in collaboration with Netflix India. While the brand got access to the OTT platform's content and characters, Netflix was able to extend the scope of their show into the realm of real life.

Product Usage By Experts

#LifeKaNayaBalance was an initiative by Dell Technologies India that came to life under the lockdown. Here, they brought forth two professionals with strikingly different areas of expertise and kickstarted conversations on how they were dealing with the pandemic, with a focus on the role technology was playing in making it possible for them to work remotely.

Making Customers Feel Heard

Dell India has various videos on YouTube where they promote their services for consumers. This includes access to Dell Technologies Advisors, with a push for their support options that cater to small businesses. These aspects help them strengthen their pitch to potential buyers.

HP India

HP India's YouTube strategy includes a more holistic approach where they often create campaigns that feature more than one product. A special focus can be seen on promoting their range of printers, along with laptops. This can be attributed to how it helps them show a tangible product in the narrative, adding value to the overall marketing communication.

Promoting New Features

Responding to the needs of professionals working from home, HP India had launched a range of laptops with specific features around webcam and battery backups. These were then promoted with the help of short digital ad films on YouTube.

Festive Marketing

The festive season before winter is an important time for electronic manufacturers in India. HP India had released an ad film for Diwali 2020, featuring a young boy's resolve to brighten someone's life during the festive season. A strong sense of pay-it-forward could be seen in the narrative. HP India was able to highlight its range of laptop as well as printers with this ad film. #YeDiwaliDilWali was prominently promoted using YouTube.

Cyber Safety Tips

With increasing relevance of technology and digital products in the lives of people running small businesses, HP India has conducted a few Live Sessions on YouTube. Called Be Unstoppable, the web series featured experts who talked on topics such as cyber security, helping business owners stay up to date with all things they should keep in mind while conducting business online.

Also Read: Decoding: Role of YouTube in ecommerce brands’ marketing funnel

Lenovo India

Lenovo India keeps the importance of technology for all at the core of their YouTube strategy and communication. They talk about the growth people are capable of when they upgrade their gadgets in sync with their needs. Given the increase in demand for products that students and teachers can use to keep learning and teaching despite schools being shut due to the COVID-19 situation, much of the brand's communication concentrated on how their products can help in the scenario.

Focus On Students

Most of Lenovo India's recent marketing communication has been centred around the importance of technological tools in the life of a student. They have touched upon the needs of school schools and teachers as well as college-goers and their socialisation requirements. The brand has tried to bridge the gaps that came to life because of the pandemic.

Advocating for STEM

Since Lenovo has been focussing on students, a good chunk of their communication has also been about the importance of a career in STEM subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. They have tried to introduce STEM as an inclusive and welcoming space and how exposure to technology from a young age can go a long way.

Technology For Businesses

In some of the recent videos, Lenovo has put a spotlight on professionals who are not directly linked to a career in technology. One such video features a chef who uses a laptop/tab to create her designs and smoothly complete her administrative and business owner functions. The video highlights as to how chefs are artists who design dishes and desserts, where technology comes handy in planning and execution.

Acer

Acer's YouTube communication stands on three key pillars: Promotion of the gaming laptops range, product introductions and features and the offers potential buyers should know about before making up their mind. The brand puts up a lot of videos where they talk about functionality and ease of use in real life scenarios.

Showcasing New Products

With the launch of new products, there is a need for laptop brands to create communication around why these are better than their predecessors and where do they fit into the lives of their consumers. Acer addresses concerns and highlights the USPs of their products with the help of YouTube videos.

Offers & Promotions

When one is targeting their marketing communication towards Indians, it is imperative to talk about costs and highlight available offers. Availability of products at affordable prices, along with the various add-ons that people can access, with these products, holds the potential to turn a lead into a sale. Warranty details are key to such communication.

Gaming & Trending Conversations

In 2020, Sonu Sood became a popular and loved name among people due to his philanthropic efforts towards the people of the country. This helped his score quite a few brand endorsements, including one with Acer. It was in connection with one of the initiatives around the brand's gaming laptops. The idea of a hero in real life and in games was central to the video that was shared on YouTube.

Asus India

Asus India has been focussing on promoting their products that help better gaming and business-running experiences. These aspects were key to their communication on YouTube in 2020, which majorly revolved around the new product they launched in September.

Supporting Collaborations

Laptop and computer software brands often work together to add credibility and value to new products for they are the key stakeholders in its future. Such a joint effort helps users understand the technology they are buying into, especially if they are acquainted with one of the two brands. Asus India and Microsoft created and shared such content pieces last year.

Products For Business

2020 was an important year for the digital transformation of businesses, especially small ones that were doing so out of necessity to stay afloat. In such a scenario, it was important for brands to pivot their communication and focus on such needs. Asus did so with their new product's launch and marketing efforts to promote it.

Experts & Influencers

Since laptop brands are essentially asking people to make investments with the promise of how the technology will make their lives easier, their YouTube strategies often include experts and influencers — known, credible faces — to talk about it. Asus India did so ahead of their new product launch in 2020.

In India, laptops, irrespective of the price range, are seen as investments and tools of productivity. With an increase in work and school from home case scenarios, the value and need for such an investment seem to have only gone up. So has the advocacy for digital literacy by laptop brands.

Importance of laptops and technology for businesses is also being highlighted significantly. These brands have upgraded their products as per the needs of the people and are now promoting these features with the help of marketing communications. Emotional connect and value for money continues to be at the heart of such initiatives, especially when it comes to the YouTube strategies of laptop brands.