YouTube isn’t just for gamers or make-up artists, believe it or not.
It’s an extraordinarily effective marketing tool for businesses and individuals in a variety of industries. Indeed, 78 percent of marketers believe YouTube is the most effective video marketing medium, outperforming Facebook and Instagram. That’s an astonishing statistic to overlook in a time when video content reigns supreme!
What’s the point of YouTube?
So, what is it about YouTube that makes it such a marketing powerhouse? For starters, it has a huge audience, particularly among young people. According to research, 81 percent of internet users in the United States between the ages of 15 and 25 utilise the site.
Not only does YouTube have over two billion monthly users, but its members are also quite active, spending an average of 11.50 minutes per day on the network. Furthermore, these viewers are willing to buy from businesses, with 90% of shoppers discovering new goods thanks to the site.
Video is also much more engaging than static photographs, allowing content providers to talk more directly to their viewers. This helps potential clients develop the all-important like, trust, and know factor. YouTube is also quite adaptable. There are so many different forms you may employ, whether it’s instructional videos, an interview series, or an informal Q+A.
If you haven’t already started making videos for your business on YouTube, now is the time! Creating an account and uploading your first video, however, is only one aspect of the process. It’s critical to optimise and promote your content, just as you would with any other marketing platform, to ensure that your fantastic content is seen. The good news is that there are tried-and-true methods for ensuring your channel’s success!
Commit to these 30 YouTube growth techniques and watch your subscriber base rise!
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Cross-promote on your other social media accounts.
If you have a Facebook following, they are ready and waiting to become loyal viewers of your YouTube channel if you introduce it properly.
Let’s look at an example of a company that nailed the “build up” strategy by launching their brand on Instagram. Glossier’s team used images of their inspiration boards and models wearing everything from branded stickers to sweatshirts with just the company name on them to promote their beauty brand.
The first video didn’t go live for another year after the business was launched, but they’ve had a lot of success since then.
What are they doing properly in terms of content creation? The brand’s “Get Ready With Me (otherwise known as #GRWM)” series has become extremely well-known and well-loved, and it’s then cross-promoted on all of their other social media channels. They’ve also organised the series into a playlist on their YouTube channel.
What are your main takeaways from the thrilling Glossier brand launch?
Tease your existing fan base on other social media outlets with indications about a new project (your YouTube channel!).
Create a particular series (or a few) that they begin to expect and look forward to once you’ve gone live.
Use a unique hashtag for the videos and group them together in YouTube playlists.
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Interact with your fans on a regular basis.
Engaging with your followers and companies you respect is one of the finest methods to assure cross-promotion of one social media platform on another. Never undervalue the importance of this stage. It seems straightforward, but when there’s a lot to accomplish, it’s easy to disregard it as a monotonous duty.
Make sure you’re swiftly reacting to people’s likes and comments, whether it’s directly on YouTube or on one of your other social networking sites. And instead of simply saying, “Thank you!” and walking away, attempt to initiate a conversation. Inquire if there’s anything specific they’d want to see in your future video, or if they have any suggestions for improvement.
Your fans will be more engaged and willing to share your material with their friends if they believe you’re paying attention to them. They will feel valued and appreciated if they know you are listening to them, and they will be far more inclined to stay loyal to your firm (across all channels).
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Make your YouTube thumbnails perfect
Although video thumbnails are modest, they are one of the most important things you can focus on (after generating your video) to effectively promote your films across other social media sites. Consider your YouTube thumbnail to be the page’s business card. It will appear not only on your homepage, but also when others search for a certain video or share a video.
To increase traffic to your page, you may use Canva to create a completely unique and actionable YouTube thumbnail. Canva will help you design the remainder when you’ve uploaded the particular proportions you require. To get started, go to your homepage and click the “use custom dimensions” link.
Use this checklist to guarantee that your thumbnails are as effective as possible while developing them:
Use short, straightforward text to explain what your video is about.
In one of the bottom corners, place your logo.
Use complimentary colours or make them BRIGHT while thinking about colour.
Maintain your brand’s consistency at all times. To make your films easy to find, use the same font type, colour scheme, and/or general layout.
Vlog of Canva’s Personal Life The YouTube Thumbnail template is a great place to start when creating your own video graphics.
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Use your social media platforms to share unique promotional content.
If you already have a sizable Instagram following, for example, make sure you have a distinct vision from your YouTube channel. While your tone should be consistent, why would a consumer want to follow you on different channels if they’re already getting the same content?
Try posting a “behind-the-scenes” footage on Instagram to get your Instagram followers to promote your YouTube videos. If you’re sharing a blog post on healthy eating on Facebook one week, indicate that you’ll be posting a YouTube video shorts showing some terrific fitness techniques to go along with your new food plan from the blog. The voice is the same, but the content is different.
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Organize fun competitions
People enjoy a good competition. Whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, if done correctly, it can provide you with a LOT of cross-promotion and, hopefully, a large number of new subscribers to your YouTube channel.
Vans Custom Culture is an expert at running successful contests on social media. Their Facebook page has over 80,000 likes, demonstrating that their passion for assisting students in embracing their creativity is also benefiting their organisation as a whole.
The idea of their annual competition is to open up registration to schools all over the United States in order to be one of the first 1,500 to enter. If they make the cut, the school will receive four pairs of Vans to customise as they see fit. The final goods’ photos are then submitted to the Vans website, where they are voted on. The winning school in this year’s tournament will get $50,000 for their art programme.
Even if your firm isn’t as large as Vans, you may learn a lot from them. Your YouTube channel exists because you’re passionate about it, no matter what it’s about. Focus your contest on your content, and if it’s a hit, why not do it again next year? And what about on a lesser scale? To count as an entry, something as easy as like your YouTube channel might work wonders.
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Analytics should never be taken lightly.
Your metrics will most likely be wrong for a while if your YouTube channel is new or hasn’t been active in a long time. Examine your Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics, or any other social media network where you spend the most time.
Take extra time to figure out these questions, and then delve even deeper:
What day(s) of the week do your followers seem to be the most active?
What time of day do your fans seem to be the most active?
What are the most popular types of content?
Knowing your metrics like the back of your hand is critical to promoting your YouTube channel on social media successfully. You can publish as many videos as you like, but posting with purpose usually pays off.
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Maintain consistency
While beginning a YouTube channel is exciting, you should commit to being consistent before you do so.
While you don’t have to stick to a strict plan all of the time (whether because it’s the Christmas season or because you’re promoting something new and exciting and want to post more frequently), your fans and potential fans will come to expect new videos on the timetable you establish.
Creating suitable hashtags relating to the day of the week and the content of the video is a terrific method to hold yourself accountable to consistency on your YouTube channel and then cross-promote it. If you’re making food videos, it might be “#tacotuesday,” and if you’re covering lifestyle and fashion trends, it might be “#fashionfriday.”
Another strategy to maintain consistency is to use the same messaging across all of your platforms. So, if you’re promoting your YouTube video on Twitter, you might use the same Canva template every time, but change the background colour and title of the video. Canva features a variety of easy customisable templates in various colours, such as the ones shown below, that you can recycle and use again and again.
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Collaboration based on trust
Getting engaged with another firm, especially one in the same industry, is probably the last thing on your mind when thinking about tactics to promote your YouTube music across social media. However, there is a widespread saying that “you catch more flies if you catch more flies.”
Make a point of contacting people on social media who operate in a similar space to you to discuss the idea of collaborating on YouTube channels. This does not have to take a long time or cost a lot of money. Create an email template that you may send to a variety of organisations you’d like to collaborate with (while tweaking it somewhat each time to make it more personal) and click “send!”
These kind of collaborations are both mutually beneficial and cost-effective. You’ll double your visibility by sharing on the partner channel while you’re sharing material with your audience, so make it count!
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Think outside the box!
There’s probably an industry standard YouTube video for any field you’re in. Take the other approach! You don’t want to look like your competitors, and you certainly don’t want to be monotonous. Consider some of the YouTube videos that have gone viral on social media. A great example is Tasty (previously Buzzfeed Food).
You’re missing out if you’re on Facebook and haven’t seen one of their catchy handmade food videos. These YouTube videos, which they upload on their Facebook sites (and other social media platforms), are frequently shared and go viral. They’re one-of-a-kind, don’t take too long to complete, and feature simple directions. Many YouTube culinary channels have attempted to imitate their style.
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Make sure your YouTube titles are optimised.
Your video’s title and description are also very important. Consider the following factors when deciding on a title for your next YouTube video in order to maximise its potential for social media sharing:
Be succinct, but distinct (and funny if appropriate).
Use terms that are synonymous with your company’s image.
Use a popular hashtag or one you’ve successfully used on another platform.
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Get your video SEO down pat.
Keep in mind that YouTube is owned by Google when it comes to SEO. This means that YouTube is basically its own search engine, and SEO (search engine optimization) is crucial.
By putting target keywords in your video titles and descriptions, you can ensure that your material gets found by the types of people who are looking for it. It’s the same with your channel’s description.
If you offer productivity suggestions on your channel, for example, you’ll want to make sure the keyword ‘productivity tips’ is sprinkled throughout. This includes your transcripts, closed captions, and subtitles, as well as your lists, metadata, description, and videos themselves. Also, keep in mind that your content might be found both inside and outside of YouTube.
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Link your other social media accounts.
Here’s a useful tip! Connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your YouTube account so that all of the videos you upload are automatically shared on social media. Simply go to your YouTube settings and select Connected Accounts to do so. Enter your login information and permit YouTube to automatically publish videos by clicking on the accounts you want to link.
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Create a series
To establish a loyal and enthralled YouTube audience, you must first pique their interest in your fresh video. There’s no better way to do this than to make a series!
This is when you send your viewers a series of thematic videos at the same time every week, month, or fortnight. This will have your viewers eagerly expecting your content, just like a fantastic TV series. Alternatively, consumers may want to binge-watch a number of videos from your series at the same time. They’ll be hooked in any case!
In YouTube, you may create a series by going to your playlists and selecting the videos that will make up your official series.
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Promote your podcast on multiple platforms.
Despite the fact that podcasts are primarily audio, YouTube is the most popular place to consume this type of material.
In fact, more individuals listen to their podcasts on YouTube than on Apple or Spotify, according to research. Cross-posting your podcast episodes to your YouTube channel and vice versa is a great method to grow your following. You can achieve this in a lot of different ways. You may make videos of your programmes and then upload the audio to your podcast channels.
You could also take the audio and combine it with a still image of your interview with captions. In either case, your episodes’ reach is increasing, and your material is working smarter, not harder!
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Organize your content into playlists.
Playlists are a fantastic method to get people to subscribe to your YouTube channel. These are videos that are organised by topic and displayed in a list manner. They’re great for when you have a lot of various types of material and want to make it simple for users to traverse your channel. The best thing about playlists is that they play the videos in order, one after the other.
This encourages users to binge-watch your content, much like a great Netflix show, which can help transform them into raving fans.
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Make shorts video teasers
You want to tease your audience when promoting your YouTube videos. That is, you provide just enough information to peak their curiosity without making them feel compelled to view the entire film.
Making small video teasers is an excellent method to accomplish this. These are graphics that combine a short excerpt of your episode (usually less than 30 seconds) with your audio’s subtitles. You may also achieve this by coupling a still image with merely the audio from your episode. Then, with a call-to-action to visit your YouTube channel, you can share these on your social media networks.
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Make your banner art more appealing.
When someone comes upon your YouTube channel, one of the first things they notice is your YouTube banner. As a result, it’s critical to make the most of your time!
The horizontal graphic that appears above your channel’s name and videos. Of course, your banner should be eye-catching, aesthetically beautiful, and reflect your brand’s personality. It should, however, be informative, giving users an idea of the type of content you offer. Consider utilising a short, snappy tagline that summarises up what you do and what your videos cover in addition to your name and logo.
The horizontal graphic that appears above your channel’s name and videos. Of course, your banner should be eye-catching, aesthetically beautiful, and reflect your brand’s personality. It should, however, be informative, giving users an idea of the type of content you offer. Consider utilising a short, snappy tagline that summarises up what you do and what your videos cover in addition to your name and logo.
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Make a blog post about it.
While video is currently king, don’t overlook the power of the printed word. Posting about your video on your website’s blog area is a great method to expand the reach of your material.
You can do this by having your video transcribed (that is, the audio translated into written text) and publishing it verbatim, or by simply providing a brief synopsis of the video’s content. The video can then be embedded within the blog article, with a link to the entire video for your readers to watch.
This is a win-win technique because evidence shows that blog posts with video generate 50% more online traffic. As a result, you’ll likely draw more visitors to your website, where they’ll be more likely to make a purchase.
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Get to know the algorithm.
YouTube, like other social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, has an algorithm. This is built-in machine learning that allows them to show viewers the most relevant videos. To guarantee that your material gets seen by the correct people, it’s crucial to know what YouTube loves and doesn’t like. Of course, this, like any other algorithm, is subject to change. High-quality material that adds value and well-optimized descriptions, on the other hand, never go out of style!
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Have your videos translated.
YouTube is viewed by billions of people in over a hundred countries. As a result, it’s critical to make your content available to a global audience in order to expand your audience.
As a result, it’s critical to make your content available to a global audience in order to expand your audience. One of the simplest and most efficient methods to do this is to translate your video material!
YouTube allows you to add subtitles to your videos in a variety of methods, including utilising an external tool, automatic, machine-generated translations (though accuracy varies! ), or community contributions. Subtitles make your content more accessible to hard-of-hearing or deaf viewers, non-native speakers, and viewers in noisy surroundings. That means more people will see and hear your stuff!
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Create holiday-themed content
Many YouTube users are looking for content for specific holidays, such as Halloween costume makeup ideas, Thanksgiving cooking ideas, or Christmas gift purchasing ideas. As a result, including seasonal videos into your YouTube strategy is a wonderful approach to increase the visibility of your material.
These videos may not do as well all year as your more evergreen material, but they are a terrific way to acquire new viewers. Check through holiday and special event calendars to see what’s coming up and adjust your content accordingly. Consider topics like back-to-school dates and the changing seasons, as these can provide fantastic content inspiration.
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Make a pin
Try merging your seasonal video material with Pinterest to significantly expand its reach. It’s a site, after all, where seasonal content reigns supreme! Pinterest only recently added video functionality, so it’s still an undiscovered goldmine for growing your YouTube following for many content creators.
Consider using Canva‘s Purple and Cream Nature Pinterest Video template to integrate a segment of your YouTube video into a Pinterest pin and pinning it with a call-to-action to watch the entire video (as well as link to your YouTube video)
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Incorporate it into your email marketing strategy
Many marketers believe they require a ‘reason’ to send an email to their mailing list. A new YouTube video is the ideal occasion!
Most reputable email marketing providers will allow you to embed your YouTube video directly inside your email, allowing recipients to watch it right there in the email (and it will still count towards your total views) Of course, most people prefer to watch the movie in their browser, so make that as simple as possible for them. To entice your subscribers, create an eye-catching video thumbnail as well as a brief description of what the video is about.
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Participate in joint webinars
JV (joint venture) webinars are another wonderful method to collaborate with other content developers and broaden your reach. This is when you use someone else’s platform (in this case, their YouTube account) to teach about a certain subject, and vice versa. You can also collaborate to give a webinar or workshop on a topic about which you are both competent.
It’s a fantastic and mutually beneficial method that allows you to reach out to a similar audience in your area. Not only will you be able to provide valuable content to your audience, but you’ll also likely gain some new viewers!
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Take part in competitions
Participating in YouTube and social media challenges is a great way to make your content more timely and viral. In fact, studies show that challenge videos receive more views on average than standard videos. Why? Because they’re usually entertaining, amusing, and promote a sense of community. They can also be a terrific method to show off your less serious and more relatable side if you’re a company.
There are thousands of various challenges on YouTube, ranging from food challenges like ‘Hungry Hippos’ to beauty films like ‘Asking My Boyfriend To Do My Makeup,’ and new ones are added all the time. So keep your eyes peeled for fresh ones to sink your teeth into.
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Don’t forget to include forceful calls to action.
Do you want to know how to encourage people to subscribe to your YouTube channel? Inquire of them! There’s a reason why almost every successful YouTuber still includes the following sentence in their video: “Make sure you like and subscribe to my channel to receive notifications about new videos.” If you don’t explicitly convey this guidance to your viewers, they are likely to forget! Consider including this call to action not only at the end of the video (when many viewers will have already abandoned it, regardless of how good the topic is), but also at the beginning. It should also be mentioned in the video’s description as well as the graphic slides.
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Make your videos public.
Movie premieres have traditionally been utilised in the entertainment industry to promote anticipation for a film. The same method may be applied to your YouTube videos! The built-in ‘premiere’ feature allows you to arrange a video to go live ahead of time.
It not only allows you to view your video at the same time as your audience and connect with their comments, but it also allows you to see it at the same time as your audience. It can also help you stay on track with your posting schedule and ensure that you post when you say you will. If you’re releasing a series of films on the same subject, the ‘premiere’ option comes in handy because you may utilise the prior video as a starting point.
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Go live
While YouTube is best known for pre-recorded videos, it is also the most popular platform for live streaming! Another great way to increase the reach and engagement of your content is to go live on YouTube. Sure, you lose control over your content, but there’s something thrilling and primal about watching a video emerge in real time. Furthermore, your followers will be notified that you are going live!
So, how do you make advantage of YouTube’s live streaming feature? It’s great for Q&A-style interviews or live, podcast-style interviews..
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Use TikTok to promote your stuff.
It’s no secret that TikTok’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent months, especially among the younger generation. While the bite-sized video platform is unlikely to totally replace YouTube (the two platforms serve very different objectives, after all! ), it may certainly be utilised to augment your strategy.
Some content creators prefer to split their TikTok videos into shorter, 15-second videos (the maximum length allowed on TikTok) with a call-to-action to go to YouTube to see the complete video. You may also link your YouTube account to TikTok to make it easier for your viewers to access your content. It’s a fantastic approach to reach a younger, more engaged audience!
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Find out what your audience wants.
Asking your audience what they want to see is one of the best ways to ensure you’re posting high-quality material for them. You may do this by simply asking your viewers in the comments section of your videos if they want to see more similar content or if they have any other themes they’d want you to explore.
You may also hold polls in your channel’s community tab. This not only ensures that you’re making useful and engaging videos, but it’s also a terrific way to interact with your YouTube audience.
Are you ready to promote your YouTube channel?
It’s almost as crucial as the quality of the content itself how you get the word out about your YouTube videos. However, by using the basic tactics outlined in this article, you’ll be able to advertise your YouTube channel like a pro and expand your fan base (as well as your whole brand!) in no time.
