1. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Keywords

If you want to bring people to your channel organically, keyword-rich titles and descriptions are vital. Consider using a keyword research tool, such as Moz, to find relevant, high-volume keywords that are likely to garner you more clicks. Keywords should be used in titles and video descriptions and should always be relevant to the content you’re posting. YouTube and Google’s search algorithm use keywords to identify the subject of your video and also rank your video when someone searches for particular keywords.

2. Tag, Tag, Tag!

While keywords help your content appear in organic searches, tags help YouTube’s algorithms better understand what types of videos users enjoy watching. In most cases, the platform will recommend videos with similar tags to what users have watched previously, so it’s important to ensure you’re choosing tags that other creators are most likely to use. For example, a simple tag such as “sales tips” is likely to garner more common content than “sales tips from Jim.” Taking advantage of this functionality means that users who’ve watched similar content may find your content in their recommended videos after watching those with similar tags.

The best technique for choosing tags for your videos is to view similar trending content and content creators that you aspire to build a similar following with and use some of the same tags on your own videos. Of course, just as with Instagram, it’s wise to mix up the tags you use on your videos to increase your chances of engagement among a wider audience.

3. Optimize Your Thumbnails

We’re not talking about manicures here. Your thumbnail is that little photo that appears next to your video title in YouTube’s menu and it’s the first thing that’s going to draw YouTube users to your content. Incorporate text, use appealing fonts and attract your potential viewers with relevant images and bright colors. Many YouTubers prefer to include the face of whichever person is featured in the video, as well, as these thumbnails tend to get the most clicks.

Make sure to use the optimal dimensions: 1280 pixels wide and 720 pixels tall. The thumbnail should have a minimum width of 640 pixels and follow an aspect ratio of 16:9.

4. Add Your Best Video As A “Featured Video”

On your channel page, YouTube automatically uses your most recent video as the “Featured Video”. Your most recent video might not always be your “best” video, so if you don’t want to use your most recent video, you can simply switch it out for a different video or playlist under “Featured Content” in the “Creator Studio”.

5. Always Include A Call-To-Action (CTA)

A call-to-action tells your viewers what action you want them to take. It can be to subscribe to your channel, view more videos, click on a link, like a video, share a video, leave a comment, visit a website, etc. Formerly known as YouTube “Annotations”, it has since been replaced by “End Screens” due to mobile compatibility.

6. Shameless Self Promotion, Oh Yes!

Make sure to promote your videos across the entire digital gamut. Take it to your social media, blog, email newsletter, and website. You can even send it to influencers who can share it with their network on their channels.

Once you’ve distributed your content to the masses, analyze your traffic metrics and find out which channel is driving the most traffic & engagement. This will help you understand where your target audience lives online and where you should focus your marketing. AND, analyze which content performs the best. If you have a really high-performing video, throw some ad dollars at it to reach a wider audience and potential new subscribers.

7. Pay Attention to Viral Trends

Depending on your channel’s niche, this may or may not be an easy feat. If your channel is known for having a bit of fun, taking part in viral trends is a great way to drum up some extra views. This might include commenting on current events, taking part in the latest internet challenge or spending some time weighing in on the latest and greatest internet debates.

8. Emulate Your Peers

Take a look at some of the best content creators in your industry. Follow their content, see what does well on their channel and emulate their content. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should copy what they create verbatim but it does mean you should consider creating similar content and of course, aim to create content that surpasses your competition.

By following the tips listed above, and by dedicating yourself to creating and posting interesting, entertaining content on a regular basis, you can have your YouTube channel gaining views, subscribers and comments steadily.

If you need help building a video strategy, growing your YouTube audience, or have questions about video platforms, we can certainly lend a hand. Feel free to contact us anytime!

The post How to Drive Traffic to Your YouTube Channel appeared first on Upward Commerce.

Why Are These Stats Important?

They’re important because research has also found that shoppers who view videos are 1.81 X more likely to make a purchase than those who don’t view videos. What does this mean for the world of marketing?

This means all marketers need to focus on developing a successful video marketing strategy. Since the people who view videos have a higher propensity to purchase than the non-viewers, it only makes sense to begin marketing those video viewers more heavily than the non-viewers. By creating engaging videos that interest viewers, you just might be able to increase your sales.

SEO Benefits

Videos can help in optimizing your website to rank higher in the search engines. Search engines tend to favor those websites that generate fresh, new content on a regular basis, and all that content doesn’t have to be text content.

As long as you’re providing your readers with valuable content, the search engines will count that content valuable. It doesn’t always take as much time to create a video as it does to write out a text article, so videos could be a quicker and more effective way to get your point across to your audience.

Virality

Never underestimate the power of going viral. In today’s day and age, videos are what tend to go viral more than anything else. All it takes is the right people and the right amount of people to like your video and share it with others before the whole world seems to be talking about it.

Interactive videos have eye-popping call-to-actions (CTAs) that have high interaction rates. Including buttons, links, email captures, and web addresses right within the video that viewers can click on can increase leads, website visits, and shares. Try to include a CTA front and center such as subscribe now, click here, buy now, or visit.  See example below.

Facebook Ads

Social networking is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today. Facebook is filled with ad opportunities where you can advertise your product, and Facebook now boasts 2 billion active users worldwide. Bring your marketing message to life by utilizing Facebook video ads with engaging visuals. Show behind-the-scenes footage, customer stories, or product launches to connect with your customers. Use apps such as Piclab, Quik, Vidlab, or Videoshop to create fun videos where you can add effects, text, overlays, and sound. Video ads are cheaper than the typical ads too, costing only pennies per view! Today, Facebook receives over 4 billion video views per day.

According to Digital Marketer “A recent study by Nielson showing cumulative brand impact on Ad Recall increases 74% after just 15 seconds of a video ad, and Purchase Intent increases 72% after just 10 seconds of viewing!” This just proves how powerful video marketing is to brands.

Also, don’t forget to upload videos to your business’s Facebook page where users can like and share them. Plus, Facebook has plenty of marketing options to help you boost the number of people who see a particular post, and sometimes those options are worth investing in.

Below is an example of a 15-second GIF video ad which is another ad format that Facebook accepts.

Engagement

Another great aspect about videos is that they receive higher engagement rates. People tend to remember videos more than text, and they’ll especially remember ones that grabbed their attention.

To increase video engagement be sure to do the following:

1. Keep it short.

2. Get straight to the point, no beating around the bush.

3. Say the important stuff in the beginning of your video.

4. Make it personal to the viewer (ie. “You”)

Optimizing Video Marketing

If you want to take your video marketing to the next level, first and foremost, you should make sure that you create videos with your goal in mind. Consider the personas of your target market, and create videos that will appeal to them.

Of course, it’s also extremely important to make sure that you use the appropriate keywords and descriptions with your videos. Choose keywords and phrases that aptly describe your content and that people are likely to search for.

Finally, track your video’s activities and responses, and analyze your performance so that you can plan for future videos accordingly. Find out what works and what doesn’t, and modify your videos based on that.

The post How to Build a Successful Video Marketing Strategy appeared first on Upward Commerce.