Do you think YouTube is just for entertainment seekers and gamers? Think again. Millions of businesses are using YouTube to reach out to their target audiences through video promotions. YouTube has over 1.9 billion active monthly users making it the second-most visited website on the web after Google.
But that also means the competition is as huge as the benefits. So, how do you cut through the intense competition to achieve your marketing goals through YouTube? Easy! You can do this building and promoting your own YouTube channel the right way.
Here is how you can promote your YouTube channel in 2019 like an expert.
Great SEO is at the start of a great YouTube channel. And the only way you can accomplish your SEO goals is by identifying what your target audience wants.
People don’t just use YouTube search to find videos. They search for video content right from Google. In 2018, YouTube was the second most popular keyword.
This has become even more important after the Google June 2019 Core Update that includes video carousel as part of search listing for a record number of keywords. Google lends priority to videos over all other content.
Now, you need to understand that with all algorithm related things, there is never any set rule or one formulawins-all approach. There is no way of knowing the kind of keywords that you require to rank high. But, with the help of a bit of reverse engineering, you can identify the ones that will get you close to your goals.
This is a tried and tested trick of finding Google-friendly keywords for your YouTube videos:
Many YouTubers forget to fill out their profile and jump straight into content creation. The easiest way to promote your channel is through a compelling profile. This will also help you boost your SEO. Here are some best practices to use while filling out your YouTube profile - optimize it.
Your YouTube channel description is a great place to add keywords. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to optimize your channel description. Make sure you don’t indulge in tag stuffing, but include a choice few “relevant” keywords.
There are two things that YouTube lays emphasis upon in their metadata guidelines – honesty and quality. These metadata rules apply to inherent features like categories and tags. Categories are important for YouTube to understand your target audience and the people you videos should be recommended to. Likewise, make sure you include tags only in the “tag section” and not the video description while uploading videos.
This is one of the most obvious things. You cannot expect results by promoting sub-par content. The only way you can keep your viewers engaged and keep coming back for more is by giving them awesome and relevant content. This is also the most effective way to rank high in search listings. Before you go ahead and upload any video, ask yourself these three basic questions:
It won’t hurt to learn basic editing skills. Now, you don’t have to purchase expensive cameras.Most basic smartphones manufactured after 2016 come with a decent camera. But, you need to pay attention to the audio. Do a sound check before you begin recording.
Youtube is just one tool in a suite of content marketing products that can be used to help your site rank higher and have greater visibility in search.
YouTube is like any other social platform at its core. You need to increase your level of engagement if you want to increase your followers and actively promote your channel.
Q&A series can go a long way in interacting and engaging with your followers. In fact, audience Q&A is one of the most effective tricks to building a large YouTube community that remains loyal.
All you need to do is ask your subscribers to send you questions by email, tweets, or comments. And, then you address those questions by creating awesome videos.
You will boost watch time, engagement, and view counts by showing your fans that they are important and that they matter. Your subscriber and viewer count will thank you for this. Also, Q&A series can be a life-saver if you are fresh out of content ideas.
Contests are another great way of promoting your channel by getting your audience involved. You can collect viewer data, gain subscribers, and encourage likes or comments with a single video.
Here are some tips on creating successful YouTube contests:
You can easily broaden your reach with the help of brand partnership. This will open new avenues for you to promote your channel. Working with other brands can also help you come up with new ideas when you are stuck.However, if you really want to make your partnership work, then you really have to stress on your authenticity.Identify those brands that are relevant to your audience and reflect your brand personality. Ask yourself whether it makes sense to partner with them. Also, don’t forget your users. Your content needs to add value to your viewers.
Remember, it is better to keep looking till you find the perfect mate, rather than creating inauthentic videos. Less than desirable videos will do more damage than good.
You should consider creating a series if you want your subscribers to keep coming back for more. And, remember that consistency always pays off. Make sure you let your viewers know your posting schedule and stick to it.
For best results, invest time while creating the title of your series. Keep it catchy and keyword-friendly. Don’t forget to create custom thumbnails that lend each video in the series a similar look.
Playlists work the same as series in keeping viewers addicted. These are also a great a way of making people watch more videos from your channel in one go.
Playlist collections are addictive. As soon as one video ends, the other begins, keeping viewers hooked.
You also increase discoverability with playlists. Videos that are part of playlists have a better chance of appearing in YouTube’s “Suggested Videos” column. You can make the most of playlists by adding keywords in the playlist titles.
There are two approaches to creating effective playlists:
1. You can group existing videos on your channel page under a common theme. This keeps viewers on your channel for longer.
2. You can collect videos from partner channels or relevant influencers. This is not counter-productive since your subscribers get the general idea that you are “in the know”. This approach may well help improve your share signals.
One of the best ways to promote your channel is to go live. YouTube is an unbeatable live stream platform, and also one of the more popular ones. You can take advantage of this fact by creating content that works well live.
Q&A, webinars, and events work great in live sessions. You can get inspiration by browsing YouTube live and seeing what your competitors are up to.
Reach out to your community outside of YouTube to gain more exposure. Think of ways to incorporate your YouTube videos or include a mention of them on other social channels, email newsletter, and blog.
You would be amazed at the number of innovative ways to cross-promote a channel that doesn’t involve posting the same message multiple times. Here are some basic ideas to get you started on your YouTube channel’s cross-promotion.
Social Media
You need to use different strategies on different platforms. For instance, GIFs are a fun way to promote your video on Twitter, whereas link mentions on Instagram tend to work better. Social media is an important part of any solid seo plan and works great to promote your website or youtube channel.
Make sure you brush up on recommended video specifications for each platform. Don’t forget to optimize your video accordingly. It is important to make sure that your brand’s overall personality is consistent everywhere.
It is very important that you use different captions whenever you post your video on a new social media platform.
Email Newsletter
You may think emails are old-school or obsolete, but they still very important and carry a punch. 66% of online marketers claim email newsletters to be effective. Hence, create an email list of all your YouTube subscribers and send them a head’s up email whenever you post new content.
This is one of the best ways to promote your channel and upcoming content. This is also a great way to increase your video’s view count in the early days. You may just kickstart YouTube’s recommendation algorithm.
On the same lines, don’t ignore your website or blog’s newsletter subscribers. Send them a separate email about your upcoming video and a link to your channel.
You can also take advantage of your email signature while sending regular mails. Add your channel URL to it to gain more subscribers. It is best if you add a simple icon (preferably your logo) rather than a long, nasty-looking URL.
Blog
Blogs are a great way to promote your YouTube channel. Embed videos in your post to increase both video and page views. Don’t forget to add searchable transcriptions.
You can even use your blog as inspiration for new content ideas for your YouTube channel. Find out the posts that receive most traffic by using Google Analytics. Convert that into a video, and you get multiple benefits from the same content.
You can embed the end results right into the post to add value to your blog while encouraging your readers at the same time to check out your YouTube channel.
Clever YouTube marketers take advantage of holidays and long weekends. You can easily win some extra eyeballs by anticipating the kind of content people are looking for. Popular movies and other trends are great opportunities to post relevant content.
People will flock to your channel if you give them what they want. They will even help you promote your channel and content by increasing your social shares, to help Youtube drive your sites search rankings with SEO. However, you need to make sure your chanel is on point with your viewers as your primary aim before engaging in search engine optimization for Youtube.
It’s crucial that you promote your Youtube channel as whole rather than simply promoting individual videos. YouTube works on similar principles as site authority – it is at the end of the day still a website to promote using SEO or other methods. The fact that domain authority affects page authority holds true for videos as well.
Wherever possible, link to your account and push for subscribers to help your videos and channel rank higher in Google and YouTube searches.
