Despite the success of TikTok, YouTube is still king when it comes to online video, with 70% more active daily users as of 2022. According to research from the platform, more than two billion people log onto YouTube daily. This translates to countless views from a diverse user base and myriad opportunities to attract and engage viewers for your channel.
In fact, YouTube has helped millions of individuals and businesses stand out online and strengthen their brands. Some examples are BlendJet, whose YouTube strategy led to revenue growth of 413%, and Cider, which experienced a 46% increase in conversion rate after leveraging YouTube shorts for video action campaigns.
A strong YouTube presence is incredibly helpful for content creators and brands that want to achieve their business goals, whether to earn more through monetization or increase sales on their eCommerce platforms. However, you need to maximize your viewership to get to this point.
If you have a YouTube channel but you haven’t seen much success with it, you might just need to update your approach to YouTube channel promotion. Using the right combination of tactics, which we discuss below, you could get more views, more subscribers and more opportunities to cut through the noise.
In this article, we discuss:
• How To Grow Your YouTube Channel
• How To Gain Subscribers on YouTube
• Working With Thrive To Grow Your Channel
How To Grow Your YouTube Channel: Top Tips and Tactics
To get more people to watch your videos and perhaps subscribe to your channel, it’s critical to optimize your videos for both YouTube’s recommendation algorithm, as well as YouTube and Google search. Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a part in this.
Here are some methods and YouTube SEO tips to help ensure your videos rank well in both Google and YouTube search results:
Use Keyword Tools To Identify the Best Keywords for YouTube
Some examples of apps and websites you can use to find the best keywords for YouTube are Ahrefs and vidIQ Vision. You may also want to choose keywords that include “tutorial” and “how to.” The best keywords for YouTube indicate that their users’ intent is to find videos.
For instance, if a user searches for “best paint for concrete walls,” Google will likely provide web pages first. However, searching for the keyword “how to paint a concrete wall” is more likely to pull up videos as top links in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Use Keywords As the File Names for Your Videos
These keywords need to be relevant to the content of the videos. Renaming your videos with keywords helps YouTube and Google understand what they’re about and increases their chances of appearing in Google and YouTube search results.
Suppose you have a YouTube marketing channel, and you’re uploading a video on how to optimize YouTube videos. Instead of using a file name like “17481991_mov,” rename the video to “How to optimize YouTube videos” followed by the file name extension, such as MOV, MP4 and WMV.
Include a Keyword in the Title
This is one of the easiest YouTube SEO tips to follow, but sadly, some creators forego this crucial step. Including a keyword in the title tells both viewers and YouTube what your video is about.
When incorporating keyword phrases, do so in a way that seems natural. Use only one keyword per title; otherwise, it would look like keyword stuffing. Be sure to choose a keyword relevant to the video, and it helps if your title matches what your target viewer is searching for. Keep the title clear, concise and compelling.
Write an Optimized Description
Incorporate keywords naturally into your descriptions, as doing so helps your videos show up in the sidebar. You should also make the most of the first two lines of the 1,000-character maximum for descriptions by frontloading CTAs, website links and other essential pieces of information.
Use Tags Wisely
One of the easiest of our YouTube SEO tips to follow, and one of the most effective, is to tag your videos. YouTube suggests tagging videos to help it understand what they’re about and allow it to associate your videos with other clips.
For instance, if you have a YouTube marketing channel, and your video is about how to optimize YouTube videos, you can use tags like “how to optimize YouTube videos,” “how to get more YouTube views” or, to make it more timely, “how to optimize YouTube videos 2023.”
Doing so broadens your reach, improving the odds of users finding your videos. However, avoid using tags irrelevant to the content and context of your videos just to gain views; otherwise, YouTube could penalize you.
Social listening tools and even YouTube tag generators can also help inform your YouTube tagging strategy.
Use Custom Thumbnails
Thumbnails tell users what your video is about as they browse through recommendations or their feeds. Compelling thumbnails help your videos stand up and can influence users to click and watch. In fact, Google reports that 90% of the best-performing videos on YouTube all have custom thumbnails.
To help you create thumbnails, consider your target audiences, their preferences and their behaviors. For instance, an image with a shocked face generally appeals more to casual viewers looking for entertaining content.
Mix YouTube Trends With Evergreen Content
As any social media marketing expert will tell you, a good YouTube video marketing strategy includes a balanced mix of YouTube trends and evergreen content.
Videos on YouTube trends tend to gather many views initially, but these will gradually decrease when the trends fizzle out. Meanwhile, evergreen content might get a few views in the beginning, but you can expect your view count to increase as the days pass. Of course, this holds true if your evergreen content is high quality and delivers value.
A social media marketing expert will help you determine the best topics and the right ratio of trending vs. evergreen content. You can use tools like the YouTube Trending dashboard to discover the latest trends and inspiration for future videos. However, a social media marketing expert will help you identify the trends relevant to your brand and determine whether a video on these trends will help your overall video marketing strategy.
Deliver Value
Last on our list of YouTube SEO tips, value is the most important factor for viewers to determine whether your video is a must-see or a should-skip. High-value, entertaining content not only lengthens watch time and keeps viewers engaged. They also help you rank better in YouTube search results.
When coming up with a concept for a video, instead of just asking yourself how to grow your YouTube channel or how to get more views, think about what’s in it for your viewers. Will your video help them with a problem or challenge? Is it entertaining? Does it add value to their lives?
It’s also crucial to ensure that your content meets YouTube community guidelines. YouTube community guidelines are a set of rules that outline what is and isn’t allowed on the platform.
These include policies on deceptive practices, sensitive content, regulated goods, misinformation and dangerous content. Before video marketing production, ensure your content and script adhere to YouTube community guidelines; otherwise, your channel will get a strike, and your content may get removed.
How To Gain Subscribers
Subscribing to a YouTube marketing channel offers quite a few benefits to users. Subscribers are served more of the content they like; they’re updated every time the channel has new content, and it’s easier to connect with other users with the same interests.
Brands and content creators also benefit from having a large number of subscribers. For instance, subscribers to a YouTube channel are more likely to engage in its content than casual viewers. This is because they have already shown interest in the brand or creator by subscribing.
High engagement and view counts may also help increase the chances of having your videos recommended by YouTube’s algorithm and boost your channel promotion efforts.
The following are some other advantages of having a solid subscriber base:
Increased Visibility
As mentioned, users get notifications whenever a YouTube channel they’ve subscribed to uploads new content. So, the more subscribers you have, the more chances of getting views on your videos.
Brand Authority and Credibility
To users, a high number of subscribers can indicate that a business or content creator is reputable and trustworthy. This perception of credibility and authority can be further bolstered by creating videos that add value.
Additional Income Source
YouTube allows content creators to monetize their videos once they reach 1,000 subscribers and have at least 4,000 watch hours on their channels. Monetization can be done through the YouTube Partners Program.
Now that you know how important it is to grow your YouTube following, here’s how to gain subscribers on YouTube:
Ask Viewers To Subscribe
It might seem simple, but you’d be surprised how some brands and content creators shy away from outright asking their viewers to subscribe because they’re afraid it sounds too sales-y.
The trick to not coming off as too sales-y is to provide value to your viewers first before you ask them to subscribe. Giving a quick reminder at the end of a video is a simple and effective method to get more YouTube views on your other content.
Interact With Your Viewers
Engaging with your viewers by replying to or even just liking their comments is an easy way to start growing your YouTube community and getting viewers to subscribe. You can also start conversations in the comments section to boost engagement further.
Of course, it’s crucial to maintain your brand voice when responding to comments. Also, avoid reacting negatively to criticism or complaints. The goal is for your audience to retain their positive perception of your brand.
Turn the Spotlight on Your YouTube Channel With Thrive
To summarize, effectively promoting your YouTube channel requires time, research and knowledge of optimization, content writing, video production and advertising. Let Thrive take the wheel.
Thrive is a digital and YouTube marketing agency specializing in helping brands grow their audience on YouTube and other platforms critical to online success. When you opt for our YouTube marketing services, we will leverage our knowledge of how to gain subscribers on YouTube to its fullest potential so you can achieve your goals. So whether it’s to build a loyal following for your channel or to leverage your channel as a marketing and branding tool, we’ve got you covered.
Our YouTube marketing agency offers end-to-end solutions for YouTube promotion, from video marketing strategy creation to video marketing production and beyond. For more information about our YouTube marketing services and how to get more YouTube views, please get in touch.
