It takes a lot of work to create high-quality YouTube videos, yet it can take even more work to build a YouTube audience. For ecommerce entrepreneurs, the effort may be well worth it because you can leverage a strong YouTube presence into online store traffic and retail sales.
There are a few ways to build a YouTube audience. You can buy Google ads to gain YouTube subscribers or you can organically boost content by using YouTube SEO strategies.
Here are some effective ways to promote your YouTube channel and boost your brand’s visibility in the process.
How to promote your YouTube channel: 17 effective tips to get more views
Post high-quality videos
Create descriptive video titles
Use trending keywords in your video title
Try a YouTube title generator tool
Create custom YouTube thumbnails
Write accurate YouTube video descriptions
Write an accurate YouTube channel description
Promote YouTube videos on other social media platforms
Collaborate with other YouTube creators
Offer a mix of live and pre-recorded videos
Use YouTube Analytics
Create playlists to group existing videos
Create thematic YouTube Shorts
Embed videos on other websites
Promote your entire channel
Create interactive content via the YouTube community tab
Follow YouTube trends
YouTube marketing takes skill, dedicated effort, and a little luck. Use these YouTube strategy tips to get more eyes on your videos and increase awareness of your brand:
1. Post high-quality videos
Many factors inspire a person to check out a new YouTube video, but quality is often at the top of the list. YouTube browsers bring their unique sets of interests to the platform, and they want relevant videos to indulge those interests. Respect your viewers’ time and provide them with high-quality content. This can win you long-term loyalty and engagement whenever you post a new video.
2. Create descriptive video titles
YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet, following its sibling, Google. Writing strong YouTube titles can help you rise to the top of search engine results pages (SERP). It also helps to be specific. For instance, a title like “The Best Fashion Tips” is broad and may not capture a user’s specific search intent. “The Best Fashion Tips for a Foggy Day” is more focused. It may attract a smaller audience, but it will be tailored to that audience’s interests.
3. Use trending keywords in your video title
You can make your video stand out on a YouTube search engine results page by peppering your title and video description with trending keywords. Try Google’s free keyword planner tool to discover trending keywords that are relevant to your channel and content. Or, find trending keywords in the YouTube search bar by typing a few words and letting YouTube’s autocomplete feature populate the rest of the search term.
Use the title YouTube suggests to inspire a title of your own. Strike a balance between search engine optimization (SEO) and accurately representing your content. Avoid using trending keywords to imply content that doesn’t match your video. This can lead your viewers to believe you don’t follow through on your promises and dissuade them from watching more of your video content.
Google Keyword Planner can help you see trending keywords to include in your YouTube video titles.
4. Try a YouTube title generator tool
The internet is filled with AI-powered YouTube title generators tailored to search engine optimization. They’re offered by platforms like TubeRanker and CoSchedule. You don’t have to use their titles verbatim, but you can use them as guidance for capturing more clicks.
5. Create custom YouTube thumbnails
Video thumbnails can grab a user’s attention and inspire them to click on your video. You’ll upload these when creating a video within your YouTube Studio content creation page. You can pull a thumbnail image from your video or you can upload a separate image from your computer. No matter what image you use, adhere to the following specs:
16:9 aspect ratio (for instance, 1280 x 720 pixels)
JPG, GIF, or PNG format
No larger than 2 MB
6. Write accurate YouTube video descriptions
Video descriptions influence your placement on YouTube search results pages. The best YouTube video descriptions are short and to the point (although YouTube lets you use up to 5,000 characters). Mention keywords that turn up in your SEO research. Above all, make sure your description reflects the content of your YouTube video.
Glossier features many keywords in its YouTube video description, plus details about what viewers can expect to see in this video, including the name of the beauty and skin products used.
7. Write an accurate YouTube channel description
Much like individual videos, YouTube channels get their own descriptions, and these can also influence search results. As with video descriptions, focus on related keywords and accuracy in your YouTube channel description to help attract eyeballs.
8. Promote YouTube videos on other social media platforms
YouTube’s API (application programming interface) lets you embed videos on websites programmed in HTML5. You can post videos on other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, which may entice your followers to find you on those platforms. On Facebook, set your videos to public view to let others share them on their own site timelines.
9. Collaborate with other YouTube creators
It’s not hard to find YouTube content creators eager to cross-promote each others’ channels in exchange for more exposure. You can make videos together or link to each other’s videos and websites. You can extend the partnership beyond YouTube by promoting each other’s videos across your social media accounts. Ideally, you’ll each gain a segment of the other’s audience.
10. Offer a mix of live and pre-recorded videos
YouTube is among the most popular livestreaming platforms worldwide, and its users have come to expect live videos in addition to pre-recorded ones. Even if you specialize in pre-recorded, carefully edited content, consider adding a few videos that you shoot live—such as reaction videos to other YouTube content.
11. Use YouTube Analytics
YouTube Analytics lets you monitor your own videos for user engagement. Some metrics include the number of views, watch time, and number of new subscribers. If you’re part of the YouTube partner program, it also tracks the amount of money you’re making from ads. YouTube Analytics uses the same powerful technology that powers Google Analytics. It can reveal which of your videos perform the best, which can give you clues about what content to make going forward.
12. Create playlists to group existing videos
Collect videos that share a common theme or subject matter—like how-to videos or review videos—and place them in a playlist on your YouTube channel. This can help you capture views from people who discovered your videos via search or embedded in a blog post or webpage. If they like the subject matter and execution, they may choose to watch more videos from your playlist.
13. Create thematic YouTube Shorts
For a content series that would lend itself well to short, thematically related videos—like hot takes on topical issues in your industry—consider making YouTube Shorts. This format option is available for videos less than 60 seconds long. Here’s an example of a YouTube short from the Learn with Shopify YouTube channel.
14. Embed videos on other websites
Use YouTube’s embed code to add your videos to outside websites, including your company’s own website. Every time someone streams a video on an outside site, it counts toward your overall YouTube view count. This can boost your ranking on YouTube’s recommendation algorithm.
15. Promote your entire channel
YouTube is arguably the one video-sharing platform where creator channels can carry as much caché as an individual video. You can promote your channel by encouraging people to subscribe after watching a video. When posting links on outside websites, consider linking to your YouTube channel’s landing page rather than a single video.
16. Create interactive content via the YouTube Community tab
YouTube Community posts can be interactive and reminiscent of the content you see on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. These posts may feature polls, quizzes, GIFs, text, and still images in addition to video. Use them to engage directly with your audience and keep them updated on your company.
You can find the YouTube Community tab among the advanced features in the YouTube Studio content creation portal.
Pizza oven brand Ooni uses polls in its YouTube Community channel to engage with followers.
17. Follow YouTube trends
Stay active on YouTube and keep track of what videos are performing well. Look for content trends, like explainer videos or music videos, or format trends, like YouTube Shorts. Find ways to join in on popular trends without sacrificing your personal brand.
Why are views important on YouTube?
YouTube uses a proprietary algorithm to suggest new videos to its users, and view count plays a critical role. The more people watch your video, the more likely the YouTube algorithm is to recommend it to viewers.
If you have high views, YouTube could highlight your video on a landing page or automatically tee it up as the next video in a user’s queue. This algorithm-assisted boost can exponentially expand your YouTube audience, thus exposing your brand to many potential customers.
Find influencers to promote your products with Shopify Collabs
Install the Shopify Collabs app today to partner with creators, promote your products, reach new customers, grow your sales, and track affiliate campaign performance all from Shopify admin.
Install the Shopify Collabs app
How to promote your YouTube channel FAQ
How do I promote my entire YouTube channel?
Promote your entire channel by encouraging viewers to hit the Subscribe button below a video next to your creator name. You can also post links to the channel’s landing page rather than to individual video pages.
How can I promote my YouTube channel for free?
Promote your YouTube channel for free by using SEO keywords in your titles and descriptions. Cross-promote with other YouTube creators who may also want some free marketing.
How do you get 1,000 subscribers on YouTube?
While it takes time to build a successful YouTube channel, the best way to gain subscribers is to create a channel identity based on a theme or subject matter and post great content that aligns with that identity. Link to your videos on outside websites, place SEO keywords in your titles and descriptions, post videos consistently, and give your audience time to grow.
Where can I promote my small YouTube channel?
Consider promoting your YouTube channel on your social media accounts and company website.
What counts as a view on YouTube?
When someone plays a video and watches it for at least 30 seconds, YouTube counts that as a view. YouTube tracks things like browser cookies and IP addresses to make sure each user only counts for one unique view.
0 Comments