There is no time like the present to consider YouTube channel promotion strategies.
Yet, why “now”?
The fact that YouTube is the second-most-visited website on the internet and that we now spend up to six hours per day watching videos is already ominous.
Utilize as many promotional strategies as you can if you want to stand out on YouTube.
Each of these strategies for advertising your channel to increase subscribers on your YouTube will be covered in more detail below. These suggestions are all appropriate, regardless of whether you’re just beginning started or want to watch your numbers rise.
Increasing your YouTube strategy
In addition to the 16 suggestions below, keep up with everything YouTube-related to make the most of your efforts with these guidelines:
- How to start a business YouTube channel – Simplify the process of creating and optimising your business channel.
- Writing YouTube descriptions: 11 Writing Tips With improved descriptions, stand out from the competition and make sure your movies are easy to search.
- How to improve your videos’ rankings on YouTube using SEO One of the largest search engines in the world now is YouTube. Make sure you’re meeting audience demands by using these suggestions.
- How to utilise hashtags on YouTube to get more views on your videos Demystify hashtag usage on YouTube to increase the number of people who see your videos.
- How to utilise YouTube Analytics to improve the performance of your videos – Ensure the success of all your efforts and identify areas where you may still improve with powerful data.
16 tested strategies for growing your YouTube Subscribers
Create captivating, must-watch titles
Presentation is key in YouTube marketing.
When it comes to the success of your video, titles can either make-or-break. Do you portray your material as something that is “must-see” or “meh”?
The secret to writing compelling titles is to draw readers in without using clickbait headlines. People want engaging content, and they also want to know what your film is about right away.
Take BuzzFeed and WhatCulture, two of the biggest YouTube channels, as an example. Such films sometimes rely on listicles, titles that ask a question, or exaggeration (such as “crazy” or “of all time”) to garner views.
Another excellent example are the fitness-related videos by Athlean X. The titles of the content on the channel are conversational while also managing to smuggle in pertinent keywords.
Best-of lists and “how-to” titles are also consistently reliable bets. The Disney Food Blog has some titles that are worth clicking on:
The lesson here is that you should definitely take your time considering intriguing titles rather than going with the first concept that comes to mind.
Many people have noted that the ideal length for YouTube video titles is somewhere between 70 and 80 characters. The CoSchedule headline analyzer, for example, suggests 55 characters for a catchy title. The CoSchedule tool is great for coming up with YouTube-friendly titles to help you market your YouTube channel even if it isn’t designed exclusively for video titles.
Sprout Social’s YouTube publishing tool
With the ability to upload directly to YouTube from Sprout, the potential on that platform are essentially limitless.
Host long-form video on your channel, broaden your audience using YouTube’s robust search tools, and monitor how you compare to other social media platforms.
Make your videos visible by optimising them
Consider this: 70% of the top 100 Google search results include YouTube videos.
Heck, just take a look. Any product or “how-to” search on Google will result in YouTube content.
In other cases, YouTube results even appear before regular blog postings or webpages.
Listen: YouTube alone ranks as the second-largest search engine in the world. On YouTube, individuals look for solutions to their issues and products much like they do on Google.
Consider your YouTube videos to be just another type of content that needs to be optimised for things like keywords and tags.
You should adhere to some of the top YouTube SEO strategies to improve your chances of appearing:
- Titles and descriptions: Make sure your titles and descriptions contain the targeted keywords. You can find keyword suggestions by using a programme like Keywordtool.io.
- Mentioning your goal keywords in your video can help YouTube comprehend what your video is about, claims Brian Dean of Backlinko.
- Engagement: YouTube ranks videos in its search results using engagement (likes, comments, and views).
- Use categories to give YouTube a better idea of the target audience for your videos.
- Tags: To provide YouTube more context about your work, you can now add tags to your videos in addition to categories. Add as many tags as you can think of, as you can use quite a few.
Don’t keyword stuff, just like with SEO for your website. Use keywords only when they make sense and not only for their own sake.
Determine the preferences of your audience.
You should always check that the content you create is in line with the preferences of your audience. Learn about your audience and the kind of material they want to see from you before writing a blog post or producing a video.
If you’re just getting started with YouTube channel promotion, research your rivals or other video producers in your niche. See which of their videos receives the most attention and views. This can help you determine what subjects and types of videos your audience is most interested in learning about.
If you’ve already published videos, you may also check your YouTube Analytics. You may find comprehensive data on the audience’s demographics, location, interaction, and other useful statistics on YouTube. With YouTube reporting in Sprout Social, you can expand your approach and compare your content to other social videos you’ve created.
Want to comprehend your YouTube numbers more fully? For information on the most crucial metrics to monitor and inspiration for creating video content suited to your marketing objectives, download our cheat sheet on video analytics.
Interact with the YouTube audience
Although you might not consider YouTube to be a social network in the traditional sense, it does represent a vibrant community where users interact with each other and with content through profiles, “likes,” and comments.
Sounds quite “social,” in our opinion.
As was already mentioned, YouTube views any engagement with your visitors favourably. Engaging with your subscribers can at the very least help you develop a closer relationship with your audience. The process of “liking” comments and “pinning” a comment that you really like to send to your subscribers takes just a few seconds.
As an illustration, the music channel Artzie Musik frequently “likes” and comments on its most recent uploads. The author of the channel frequently communicates back and forth with viewers to express gratitude and provide information.
On any other social network, you would reply to comments and interact with your fans, and YouTube is no different.
Make your thumbnails unique
Making custom YouTube thumbnails is one of the easiest yet most powerful strategies for promoting your YouTube channel.
Consider using your title and thumbnail together as a kind of one-two punch to draw a viewer in.
For the thumbnail, YouTube by default takes a screenshot from any given video. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the picture it takes is a hazy one of you moving the camera or a transition.
It doesn’t look good, right?
Making your own thumbnails not only gives your films a more eye-catching first impression, but it also conveys a certain level of professionalism.
Additionally, creating thumbnails doesn’t have to be difficult. To make it more standardised and in line with your brand, you may even design a template using a specific font and style. Utilizing image creation software like Canva helps to make this process extra simple. Here’s an excellent illustration from Binging with Babish :
Check out our free YouTube banners that you can download right away if you’re seeking for basic social media templates to get started with Creator Studio.
cross-promote your own YouTube videos
There’s a good chance that you and your YouTube channel cover the same themes.
Cross-promote your videos when appropriate to get the most out of your older content.
As a kind of call-to-action, you may insert links inside a video’s description and invite viewers to click on them. Although the recent loss of YouTube’s annotation feature may have disappointed some, linking in your description entices visitors to watch your films all the way through rather than skipping forward.
Focus on Google search outcomes
As already mentioned, YouTube is really crushing it in terms of SEO.
You should advertise your YouTube channel with SEO in mind, even though you shouldn’t entirely develop material for search engines as opposed to people.
Particularly, long-form (10+ minutes) videos covering keyword-specific topics and how-to articles about products often rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). If you are struggling to come up with content ideas or want to capitalise on a hot industry keyword, think about how your YouTube channel marketing may help.
Hold an event or giveaway
A giveaway is something that YouTube subscribers adore. Promote your YouTube channel by holding a contest or giveaway to get viewers to subscribe and interact.
People can enter your contests by like your video, leaving a comment, and subscribing to your channel.
Use some of our recommended strategies when hosting a social media contest:
- Ensure that you are abiding by YouTube’s rules.
- Give away a product-related present if you want to draw in more people than just those looking for free stuff.
- Use your imagination by include user-generated content and other novel admission criteria.
However, exercise caution while holding frequent YouTube competitions. To avoid wasting time, money, and resources, you should ensure that your efforts are producing results. Wait a time after running a contest before checking your engagement and subscriber drop-off rates. If your subscriber base isn’t active, you might merely be drawing in folks looking for free stuff.
Inspire fans to continue watching your series
A targeted video series with a reoccurring subject or topic is a clever strategy to advertise your YouTube channel.
The well-known gastronomic channel Bon Appétit actually has a number of distinct series, including their ongoing “From the Test Kitchen” films, that make up their YouTube presence.
Series are beneficial to both their creators and their audience. For creators, you don’t have to scramble for ideas because you hold yourself responsible for producing original YouTube video. Your audience now has something to anticipate as well as a motivation to stay visiting your channel.
Incorporate YouTube videos
Beyond YouTube itself, there are some excellent places to advertise your music on YouTube.
For instance, it has been demonstrated that video content increases conversion rates and decreases on-site bounce rates. Add a video to a product page or blog post to encourage people to stay there longer (like we did below).
Keep in mind that it’s always advantageous to direct your website’s (or social media!) traffic to YouTube.
To arrange your YouTube content, create playlists.
The more videos you produce, the more challenging it is for viewers to find what they’re looking for on your channel.
Because of this, playlists are crucial. Playlists encourage your visitors to binge watch your videos by categorising your videos and allowing you to arrange your channel.
For instance, Beardbrand’s grooming channel consistently posts new content, resulting in the accumulation of hundreds of films on a wide range of subjects. The channel’s numerous playlists direct viewers to pertinent content without them having to look hard for it.
Boost participation in calls to action
Given the immediacy and connection that video content can foster, asking for engagement might occasionally be the best approach to get your videos seen.
It’s become more and more common to include these reminders in the description or in the video itself because not everyone who enjoys one of your videos will remember to “drop a like” or “become a member.”
There’s no shame in simply requesting some love, especially if you’re a rising channel. In fact, the best strategies to maintain engagement are to ask viewers a question to answer in the comments section or to watch another video. Additionally, you can use links to external websites or other movies as a form of call to action.
Try out live streaming
One of the largest social media trends is live video, and it won’t be going away any time soon.
More and more businesses are embracing live streaming thanks to apps like Facebook, Periscope, and Instagram that make it simpler than ever.
Live video streaming has been available on YouTube for years, but it has only recently gained popularity. To get a feel for how other brands are utilising the platform, take a look at some of the most well-liked YouTube Live broadcasts.
Here are a few instances of how to use YouTube Live:
- Webinars
- live instruction
- Q&A sessions
- demonstrations of goods
If your streams don’t go as well as you’d want, don’t stress. Live video is exciting (and risky) in part because you never know what will happen. Live footage is fascinating because of its unrefined, natural quality. Visit Google’s guide to live streaming for more advice on how to get started with YouTube Live.
Work with other brands and creators
Working with other users is a strategy that some of the biggest YouTube stars have utilised to increase their fan base. Each partnership exposes you to a new group of people. The best part is that because you’re collaborating with a content creator they already know, like, and trust, those new viewers are more inclined to subscribe to your channel.
Finding the proper partner is essential for a YouTube collaboration to be successful. In order for your video to come across as authentic, you should cooperate with content creators who have similar interests to your company. One of the best examples of a creative cooperation that doesn’t appear excessively commercial is this now-classic BuzzFeed and Purina project.
Carry out a paid YouTube ad campaign.
You always have the choice to increase your visibility through paid YouTube advertisements because marketing in general is moving toward a pay-to-play model. There are many different ad formats available on YouTube:
- Only available on computers, display adverts appear in the right-hand sidebar of videos.
- Advertising that are put on the bottom of a video are known as overlay ads because they are semi-transparent. Only desktop computers may access them.
- These advertisements appear before, during, or after a video and are either skippable or cannot be skipped. Non-skippable advertising must be seen through in full before the viewer can access their video, but skippable ads can be skipped after five seconds.
- Bumper ads are non-skippable advertisements that must be seen before a viewer can access their video. They may last up to six seconds.
- Sponsored cards: These cards appear in conjunction with pertinent videos. They might be utilised to advertise your goods or other stuff.
You have the option of using an existing video or making a brand-new one for your ad creatives depending on the campaign. The benefit of using an existing video is that you can pick a segment that has historically worked well. Running paid advertisements might enhance your results if a video has already attracted a significant amount of organic views and engagement.
On the other hand, making a fresh film for your advertisements will enable you to provide material that is more specifically targeted and under your control. To point viewers to a landing page or another video, for example, you may design an advertisement with a specific call-to-action at the end. Here is more information on the many YouTube video ad formats.
Publish your YouTube material on social media on a regular basis.
It’s no secret that video content dominates in terms of performance and engagement on social media.
In order to get your social media followers to subscribe, you need frequently promote your YouTube channel to them. Make it a point to alert your followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn as soon as a video becomes online. For each social media platform, you can also create excerpts or previews that connect to your most recent work.
You can cross-promote your content and schedule it with Sprout Social without switching between different platforms. Features like ViralPost can also make sure that your material goes live at the right time for your social media audiences.
This concludes our overview of YouTube channel marketing.
What are some ways to advertise your YouTube channel?
It takes effort to increase your YouTube traffic.
And yes, if there is a lot of competition in your area, it could feel like a grind.
That is precisely the reason why having a choice of advertising strategies on hand pays off. Even while some of the aforementioned suggestions demand more work than others, they all potentially increase the number of viewers who view your channel and the number of subscribers you have.