Youtube is referred to as the world’s “second largest search engine". It can help your content be discovered promptly and engaged with thoroughly - if you know a few tactics. Here are 5 effective ways you can improve your YouTube channel.
The latest superhero movie trailer has arrived! For some internet users, they will visit social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the newest entry in a movie franchise.
However, users would experience some difficulties on certain social media platforms because the websites handle more than just video.
One of the best places to view the trailer would be on a website that is dedicated to watching videos such as YouTube. The website is more than just a place for people to share videos of their pet cats lounging around or doing something unusual.
YouTube has become a popular source of income for content creators and a way for people to learn more about topics they are not familiar with.
Created in 2005, YouTube has become one of the most powerful video-sharing websites in the world. The website gained popularity for its random pet videos and becoming the space for regular folks to become content creators.
As content creators, people were able to make a living with the help of YouTube and utilizing its different parts when uploading a video. Beyond the regular content creator, businesses are also harnessing the power of YouTube to promote their products and more. Here are tips to improve your digital marketing efforts with the help of YouTube.
The first question that comes to mind would likely be, why should I use YouTube? The statistics below show how much power YouTube holds.
YouTube has 1 billion unique users visit the website each month
56 countries post content on YouTube in 61 different languages
2nd largest search engine only behind parent company Google
6 Billion Hours of Video watched on YouTube monthly
Imagine your channel being able to capture just a fraction of the audience that YouTube holds today. As a channel owner, you would be more than satisfied with a steady flow of more than 100,00 views or something in that range. The statistics above are only a sample of the immense power that YouTube has over the world. Try out these tips and see how your YouTube statistics change.
1. Keep Title 100 and Make It Appealing to The Viewer
The most important detail to take note of on YouTube is to keep your title below 100 characters. Having your video title below 100 characters will improve your video's chances of reaching the first page of Google. Similar to a website with a bad meta title (the blue line on Google's first result, a YouTube video with a long title would result in the complete title being shortened and you will only see ellipses or three dots.
Not only do you want your videos to be under 100 characters, but the videos should also convince the viewer to watch your video. There's a reason why many YouTube videos are direct to the point. Titles are direct so viewers would be intrigued right away.
Recommended: SEO for YouTube: How to Optimise YouTube videos
Think about the video title like an advertisement for your product. You want to be direct to the point and tell your viewers what to expect. As the owner of a small business, always feature your brand name on the title and a short title of your video. You will be able to remind your audience about your brand and remind the viewer of your presence.
An additional tip that I recommend is to place your channel's on the title of every video. That way, when your channel is searched, the first thing that users will see is your channel.
For example, I own a Denver SEO company called C1 Partners. When the phrase "C1 Partners" is included in the title of a video, the results on YouTube would show the videos that contain the name of our company first.
2. Detailed Video Descriptions
Another part of a YouTube video that can help you earn more viewers is by having a detailed video description. Giving viewers a detailed description is one way for the channel owner to provide further context for the video.
Search engines can get a better view of what your video is all about when it reads your description because it does not read the content of the video. All YouTube would see is that there's a video from the website and nothing more.
Providing a detailed description would help Google understand what the video is all about. This is how Google reads websites. They simply take a look at the content and take them for what they are. Here's a video. That's it.
However, filling in a description can help Google organize your video and align it for the proper search result. You can also add relevant links on the description such as a link to your business' website, your social media accounts and more.
3. High-Quality Thumbnails
During YouTube's early years, using a screenshot from your video was enough to warrant as a thumbnail. The uploader can have a random screenshot of their cat playing in the garden and it could still potentially garner hundreds of thousands of views.
Today, YouTube viewers want to click on videos with thumbnails that catch the eye. Many creators would take a screenshot from their video and manipulate the image them with colorful backgrounds so that viewers would be convinced to click. Other creators have professionally-made thumbnails because they are backed by big organizations.
Observe the image above. The Canadian Sports channel Sportsnet displays two images showing an enormous difference in thumbnail quality. When you take a look at the thumbnail for highlights of a Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks professional hockey game and a highlight of a Colorado Avalanche player making a mistake in a game.
There is a stark difference between the thumbnails because the first image is designed to be used for different platforms while the second image is a screenshot from the game so the quality of the image is bound to be different due to the thumbnail being a screenshot of a hockey play.
When you're a small-time creator, you can create high-quality thumbnails to possibly gain more views. The ideal size is 1280x720 pixels. An image's size is measured that large because you want the image to look good even in a small thumbnail.
Your thumbnails will be seen on multiple platforms that adapt to different screen sizes. The thumbnail will be universal on the television, mobile phone, tablet, and desktop computer. You want to make sure the image is clear for all screens.
Pro tip: Add a cool YouTube channel logo to build long-term resonance with your viewers
4. Organize Playlists
Examples of a YouTube Playlist organized by theme. In this case, music used in the2016-2017 Season of the Colorado Avalanche.
Place similar topics together in a playlist. Say for example you have your own small business venture. One playlist can feature your physical store and the upgrades that you put in over the years. Another playlist can feature the products you sell in-store and the new products that arrive every week. The third playlist can profile the employees of the company. Divide the videos into different categories so that viewers can gain different perspectives of your business.
Viewers can gain a better understanding of what you are trying to show by dividing videos into categories. Many users don't want to scroll through an endless number of videos to find the one video they're looking for. Organizing playlists helps your viewers find the video they want easily with the help of one playlist showing similar videos in one go.
5. Know Your Audience
One of the best ways to succeed in YouTube is to reach the right audience. There are YouTubers who may not have the largest number of viewers but, their viewers are consistent and part of the audience they are looking for. One of the popular examples is Benny The Comicstorian. His niche is focused on comic books and a majority of his content is laser-focused on discussing the topic of comic books.
Content Creators who show passion and expertise on a subject tend to be more attractive to the audience because the creator is creating content that appeals to the users. The Comicstorian does not average a million views in all of his videos but, a short scroll down to the comments section will display a large number of interaction on the Comicstorian's videos.
Like and Subscribe!
After all these years, YouTube is still a powerful source that people use to pass the time or even learn a thing or two about their math lesson and more. YouTube has become a platform for creators to reach audiences beyond their area.
Websites such as YouTube connect users with fans from all around the world and the same can be applied for businesses. Content creators can share their thoughts on a movie if it's worth watching or not. Other users can also use their channels to give viewers an opportunity to view behind the scenes content of a movie or teach users a math lesson and more.
Creators can establish an online easily with catchy titles, proper descriptions and reach the right audience and more. All it takes is a few taps on the keyboard.
Dan Smink is the founder of C1 Partners , a Denver SEO company that helps small to medium enterprises with their digital marketing strategy. Dan comes from a background of 20 years in business leadership and has a track record of helping businesses achieve million dollar revenue values. He is an active community leader and a contributor to the Forbes.com's Agency Council spreading the word on how digital strategies can make a positive impact on today’s businesses.
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