If you’re trying to grow your YouTube channel, do you have a set strategy in place to do so?
YouTube boasts more than one billion users, and with so much traffic, you need to have a set strategy to build brand awareness and garner views. It takes more than uploading lots of content and waiting for the subscribers and attention to come in. If you’re going to reach your channel’s goals, you need to create a marketing strategy that brings your audience to you.
Using visual content like videos on landing pages can increase conversions by 86 percent. Video marketing generates leads, drives traffic, and increase engagement for brands who use it correctly.
Let’s look at four tips you can use to increase views and grow your YouTube channel.
1. Create content that aligns with your target market
If you want to garner views for your channel, it starts by creating content for the right audience. Did you know that 43 percent of consumers want video content from marketers? Once you pin down your target market and understand their needs and interests, it’s easier to create content they’ll enjoy.
There are several ways to collect information on your target audience, but the best place to start is by creating customer profiles, or buyer personas. These are detailed profiles of your audience that tell you about their lifestyle, pain points, interests, needs, and more. When you see what they’re struggling with or what they want to learn more about, it’s easier for you to create content that aligns with those needs.
When creating video content, consider your branding and keep your brand voice consistent in every video. This builds your channel’s credibility and increases your following.
If you have existing viewers, ask them what they want to see from you next. Suggest they leave a comment on your video, email your business account, or reach out on social media.
2. Optimize video titles
The title of your video is the first opportunity you have to grab your audience’s attention and persuade them to click through. If it isn’t optimized or thoughtfully crafted, it won’t entice users to watch.
YouTube, just like all social media, requires search engine optimization to thrive in search. This is especially important for your video titles because you want your content to show up before anyone else’s in YouTube’s and Google’s search engines. Include target keywords in the title and description and use these keywords in your video.
If you search a how-to topic in Google, you might see a featured snippet followed by YouTube videos on how to accomplish the task:
If you can get your video at the top of search results, it’ll drive traffic to your channel and encourage users to watch your content. This helps build your brand’s community.
To optimize your video title, make sure it’s relevant to the content of the video. Its job is to tell viewers what it’s about so they can determine if they’re interested or not. For example, if you create a contest and your video is about what subscribers need to do to enter, then make sure the title reflects that.
The title should also be compelling enough to encourage people to click through to the video. Stay away from clickbait titles that lead viewers on because they lower your credibility and your audience won’t trust the information you give them.
AmandaRachLee clearly states what each video on her channel is about so her viewers know what to expect when they click through:
3. Create playlists
As your channel progresses, there will be more content you provide for your audience. The more content on your channel, the more challenging it is for viewers to find exactly what they’re looking for. YouTube lets creators separate their videos into categories called Playlists so you can organize your videos based on their content.
Playlists increase engagement and views because they make it easy for users to navigate through your content. It shows you want to provide a positive user experience and have a strategy that encourages people to subscribe.
Playlists are also effective because they use auto-play. Even if viewers don’t intend to watch several videos in one playlist, likely, they will anyway because they play automatically.
4. Promote consistently
Promotion is obligatory if your channel is going to collect a substantial amount of views. Unfortunately, organic SEO doesn’t guarantee that your channel will garner views, so you must take the extra steps to spread the word.
First, promote consistently. It’s not over when you post a link to Twitter one time. Your promotional strategy is just as, if not more, important than your creation strategy. Without views, your content doesn’t serve a purpose nor helps anyone. Leverage social media to post your videos to other channels where similar audiences can gain awareness of your brand. Use your existing email list to email subscribers with the link and a short description of its content.
If you’ve made friends with other creators in your niche, tell them about your new content and see if they’re willing to share it with their audience. It’s important to build an authentic connection before asking; otherwise, it sounds like the only reason for the connection is to develop your channel.
Over to you
Increasing the views on your YouTube videos means you have to create content for your audience they’ll enjoy. Optimize for SEO so your videos show up in search, reap the benefits of playlists, and create a promotional strategy so your channel reaches its full potential.
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Syed Balkhi is an award-winning entrepreneur and online marketing expert. He is the co-founder of OptinMonster, WPBeginner, MonsterInsights, and WPForms.
