YouTube is the 2nd most popular search engine in the world.And still we have Indian brands not utilizing YouTube as a preferred marketing tool over Facebook or Twitter. From the odd TVC’s uploaded on Brand Channels, there is no real depth applied to most of the Indian brands we have come across.People are visual by nature, An image works better than a bundle of text. So logically, a platform where video and audio storyline combines is sure to grab a visitor’s attention than text written promises.
So how do you promote your YouTube Channel, once you have though through to go ahead with your video content? Here we share 5 ways you can start with to boost your YouTube presence
Choose your Video Keywords wisely
Keywords are to YouTube what hashtags are to Twitter. They are the key ingredient of the YouTube engine to provide a better search experience to the users. Your focus keywords should be at the first in your Title along with the video description. This also includes naming the file of your Video while uploading it to YouTube. So a video around Search Marketing can be named as ‘Search Engine Marketing Tips.avi’ rather than ‘Video 2.avi’. YouTube will give preference to videos with keyword related file names over others.
The tactics which are applicable to Blog titles are also applicable to YouTube videos. A good YouTube title relevant to the video content will always reward the publisher with a good click through ratio. You can use the YouTube Keyword Tool for research for building up on your keywords
Beware of a keyword stuffed Title which misdirects users to click to your video, YouTube does penalize publishers on negative tactics. As YouTube puts it in their Playbook edition:
Avoid titles that trick viewers into clicking the video. This will cause drop-offs in the first few seconds of your video and will negatively impact your video’s watch-time.
Enable YouTube Captioning
Transcript Files can also be a boon for your content’s discovery on YouTube. There has been a study on closed captioning impacting YouTube’s SEO and YouTube indexing the caption files on videos. It is a good practice to have your own transcript file placed on your video to have control over your video captions (rather than YouTube deciding it for you)
Steps to upload Transcript File on your YouTube Video:
- Go to your Video and click on ‘Edit’
- Go to the ‘Captions’ Tab
- Under ‘Add Captions’ you can select the option to upload the transcripts or Captions
Transcripts are the content of the video in the text format which YouTube processes with it’s advanced algorithms and decides where the content would be placed. Caption files on the other hand requires the text information along with the timings of the information to be placed. Transcripts are generally easier to produce and efficient. You can look up more on the info under the YouTube help section
Be consistent and post regular updates
You cannot expect to crack YouTube by not being regularly participating and uploading new videos. Learn a few lessons from notable YouTube influencers like MKBHD (Tech Reviews) and Boyce Avenue (Music) who are regular on their channel and participate and contribute to the community (sharing & commenting on other’s videos, engaging with their subscribers). Uploading a Good Video is just a good job half done, the real test comes promoting your channel consistently and being on the platform on a regular basis. I still see brands uploading some TVC’s 6 months ago and no activity after that. With the recent integration of YouTube comments with Google+ to curb spam, you can respond to your YouTube Comments (the genuine ones). Be Different, Be Conversational!
Use Playlists as a Retaining Weapon
Playlists can be a great feature added to your YouTube channel if utilised to full potential. So if you have an event divided in to a series of videos, now you can group them all within one playlist. The power of playlist lies with it’s Auto-play feature where the next video starts playing once the current video has ended. This leads to enhanced watch-time for the user which is a positive signal gained to your YouTube Channel. You can mix and market your content with other’s content related to your niche (something like ‘Top 10 Smartphones in 2013′ can work well during the end of the year). Make sure the title of your playlist is attractive (More keyword opportunity here!) to make it easier for people to find your playlist and videos in suggestions.
Cross Promote your Channel
You cannot expect to just create a channel and expect it to get noticed. If your Brand has a Facebook/Twitter brand page, Cross promote the YouTube content on your social channels (create a campaign around the same if extra budgets permit). Embed those videos on your website to gain visitor attention or blog posts. A welcome email can also be sent to your existing customer base announcing your YouTube Channel to them and asking them to spread the word.
Bonus Tip
You can only execute all of the above centered around your YouTube videos. So ensure you provide quality content to your viewers which is valuable and shareable with attractive and High quality images. A shady and badly edited video is the last thing a YouTube user wants to see ( unless it is something extremely humorous). So make sure you make it a point you do not waste your Viewer’s time and in turn enrich him with something more to look forward to.
What do you think works for YouTube Channels? Any more brand examples you can think of when it comes to YouTube marketing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
Image Courtesy: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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