Behind only a Netflix video starring comedian Dave Chapelle, YouTuber Mark Rober's tutorial on how to build a squirrel-proof birdfeeder was the second-most watched trending video of 2020. Rober's video has received 75.1 million views since it was published in May 2020.
Former NASA and Apple engineer Rober has 18.8 million followers and more than 2 billion total views on his science and engineering-focused channel.
It's certainly not bad for a single channel, even though it's still a long way from the Baby Shark Dance video, which has received 8.6 billion views and is the most-watched YouTube video of all time.
Even though it's unlikely that your company will generate millions of video views, there are still a few easy (and cost-free!) ways you may advertise your YouTube channel to promote your YouTube Channel. In this article, we'll discuss:
- A quick refresh on why YouTube is a powerful tool for businesses.
- 16 free ways to promote your YouTube channel.
- Easy tips to get started making your business YouTube famous.
The power of YouTube
According to YouTube's calculations, the 2 billion monthly users who are signed in represent one-third of all internet users. Additionally, according to YouTube, its users watch more than one billion hours of video each day.
Consider these additional YouTube stats:
- 74% of US adults use YouTube.
- YouTube is the world’s second-most visited website (behind its parent company, Google).
- People watch more than one billion hours of YouTube videos every day!
- 70% of people made a purchase from a business after seeing them on YouTube.
- 90% of people say they find new brands or businesses through YouTube.
YouTube is a tempting medium for businesses to contact customers because of this. But with an estimated 30+ million channels, it can be challenging for a single business to break through the clutter and connect with the customers who are most interested in its content, goods, or services. But it is totally possible to achieve that goal and perhaps even become famous on YouTube with a few simple, free techniques.
How to promote your YouTube channel for free
Of course, you'll need quality material to start. That entails giving viewers real value rather than just producing videos for the sake of having video material.
16 other strategies for promoting your YouTube channels and videos are listed below:
1. Stick to a schedule
Make the frequency of your uploads clear and post videos on a regular basis to help customers know when to expect new content. According to SEO and video marketing analyst Itamar Blauer, this is because YouTube users “can readily abide to an uploading schedule.”
In addition to keeping to a specialisation, he said that maintaining a regular routine is his best advice for promoting your YouTube channel.
The author said, “It's challenging to establish a YouTube channel that tries to cover too many topics and is inconsistent with the scheduling of their posts.
A consistent release schedule is “essential,” according to James Costa, producer and head of the videography and editing company Jim Costa Films.
You must imagine the content of your channel as your preferred television programme, he advised. Every week, it airs at the same hour on the same channel. Releases on your YouTube channel ought to follow suit. It encourages users to check for new information on a frequent basis and increases your subscriber base.
For firms aiming to expand their audience, Joel Almazar, administrative assistant at the digital marketing firm Upgrow, advises producing at least one video every week.
2. Optimize your YouTube videos for search channels
Additionally, since YouTube has been owned by Google since 2006, you'll need to spend a lot of time optimising for search on both YouTube AND Google. According to statistics provided by Olivia Tan, co-founder of the online fax provider CocoFax, YouTube videos make up 70% of the top 100 Google search results, and they frequently show before links on page one.
David Lynch, the head of content for the tech-focused publisher Payette Forward, believes that this is the most effective strategy for generating free traffic to YouTube. Additionally, that is how he increased his subscriber base to 527,000.
We started making films with the potential to go viral once we got an audience, he said. “With this strategy, we were successful since one of our videos, 7 iPhone Settings You Need To Turn Off Now, became a viral hit and attracted more than 13 million views. Currently, nine of our videos have amassed over a million views, and several more are on the verge of doing so.
But there are several factors to take into account, including tags, titles, descriptions, and keywords.
3. Identify the best keywords
Let's start with one of the fundamentals of SEO: selecting the appropriate keywords.
According to review website co-founder Alex Perkins In addition to aiding in the creation of SEO-friendly titles (more on that to come), All the Stuff keywords can also serve as an inspiration for new video concept ideas.
Affordably priced strategies to enhance visibility include using Google-friendly terms, according to Charles McMillan, publisher of the LLC resource site Stand With Main Street.
However, Ashleigh Saunders, an outreach specialist at the link-building firm Art of War SEO, pointed out that YouTube SEO differs slightly from SEO for websites.
Prior to optimising for YouTube, brands must determine which keywords are appropriate for a particular video. They can accomplish this by using the YouTube search feature to focus on specific words and phrases, or by taking note of terms in well-liked (relevant) videos and/or in videos produced by rivals. The head of software developer ISBX, Arthur Iinuma, advised looking at Traffic Sources in YouTube Analytics as an additional method of determining what users are looking for.
The best keyword must then be selected from the list, according to Saunders.
She stated that “ideally, this keyword would have little competition and sufficient search volumes.”
She also advises using the term while watching the video.
Saunders continued, “This is helpful since YouTube can transcribe videos, allowing you to exploit this and improve your SEO.
According to Andriy Bogdanov, CEO of the document preparation firm Online Divorce, this ultimately helps videos rank higher in YouTube's search results.
Furthermore, according to Matt Bigach, co-founder of the real estate marketing agency Reibar Marketing, films should use “some of the most well-known terms on the internet.”
When you start frequently publishing videos with high-quality material, he said, these keywords “will help you receive floating traffic initially.”
4. Tease videos with titles
The secret to optimising videos, according to Krista Neher, CEO of digital marketing training company Boot Camp Digital, is to select a frequently searched word or question—and include it in the title.
Boot Camp Digital achieved it in 2013 with their “What Is a Hashtag?” video. Eight years later, according to Neher, it has nearly 400,000 views and is the top result for a Google search on the subject.
Even though the video was made in 2013, it still receives thousands of views per month thanks to Google's consistent traffic flow, she continued.
Along with using keywords, McMillan pointed out that understanding your target market may help marketers create catchy titles that will “entice people to go and view your films.”
Tan concurred that titles “make or break your video's performance.” She emphasised that drawing attention without using clickbait is crucial.
In her words, “Ask yourself: Are you presenting your material as'must-see' or'meh'?
Keeping titles succinct is another suggestion, according to Almazar.
5. Include accurate descriptions for your videos
In video descriptions, keywords should also appear—but only if they accurately represent the content.
People will swiftly click away from your title and description if they don't adequately describe what the video is about, according to Costa. Because it reduces your overall viewing duration and retention, this is detrimental to you in a number of ways.
The CEO of the video app Bonjoro, Matt Barnett, concurred that including keywords in the description raises the visibility of videos in search.
6. Add tags to help YouTube understand content
This keyword technique also applies to the tags on YouTube.
In a language you know the YouTube algorithm will understand, tags are your way of communicating, according to Solomon Thimothy, co-founder of agency platform ClickX. “Tags are the internal advertising technique that you should pay a lot of attention to,” says the author, “since they play a significant role in putting your movie up in the search results for the keywords you've input.”
7. Utilize timestamps
You think the keywords are finished? Don't believe it? Timestamps with brief descriptions are a different method to include keywords, improve YouTube SEO, and raise your chances of being found.
According to Greg Birch, senior SEO consultant at Store Space Self Storage, “They'll even show certain portions in Google Search results.” “Therefore, there's a good likelihood that a YouTube video will appear and start you on a timestamp that is similar or equal to that phrase if you search “how to tie on a fishing hook” on Google.”
8. Fill out every available field for your YouTube videos
In reality, Costa advised simply optimising everything.
Filling out the information that YouTube requests will help them properly categorise your video and make it easier to find later, he continued. “YouTube asks for a lot of information on every video [on the backend]. “You must complete all of this before making the video public,” she said.
9. Create playlists on your YouTube channel
Making playlists is another simple technique to advertise your YouTube channel and increase the number of viewers for your videos.
According to Andre Oentoro, creator of the explainer video firm Breadnbeyond, you may increase both viewing and subscriptions by grouping videos with similar content together and giving them distinctive titles.
In order for viewers to watch them back-to-back, he advised, “make sure they are in order.”
Additionally, YouTube will notice that “you're making fantastic videos that people want to watch,” according to Costa. “YouTube will promote your videos to other watchers if visitors fully watch one of your videos and then click to another video on your channel, which will increase your channel further.”
According to Costa, YouTube playlists also assist marketers in leveraging the success of a single viral video.Bonus advice: In addition to creating YouTube playlists, make a YouTube channel trailer using your playlist highlights!
10. Choose the right thumbnails
Text is supplemented by images, such as captivating thumbnails, to further encourage people to watch.
You know the proverb that says you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? Well, users on YouTube don't follow this rule, according to Kate MacDonnell, CMO of the coffee website Coffee Affection. “Your YouTube video's thumbnail is really important.”
Almazar even suggested that thumbnails can be more significant than titles.
This is the case, he continued, “because our brains are trained to perceive sights first.” “Thumbnails for YouTube videos are generated automatically, although they may be blurry or out of focus. For each video you share, create a captivating custom thumbnail to enhance views.
Petra Odak, CMO of online proposal software Better Proposals, pointed out that it only requires “a few minutes spent in a basic photo editing tool,” not a lot of labor-intensive work.
The CEO of the Scrabble website Word Finder, Bishal Biswas, also made the point that since the thumbnail is what is displayed on all platforms where you share links, you should choose a high-quality, personalised image to promote these films.
11. Experiment with YouTube Shorts
In September 2020, YouTube introduced YouTube Shorts, or quick videos that users may make on their phones.
This presents a chance to put video content “in front of thousands of people who have never heard of you,” according to Birch.
He mentioned that the regulations for making Shorts are still “soft.”
For instance, YouTube seems to imply that videos should be 15 seconds long, but I haven't personally encountered this requirement, Birch continued. However, you should aim for fewer than 60 seconds.
The videos should also be vertical, however he acknowledged that landscape videos have also appeared in Shorts. Additionally, using #Shorts in the names and descriptions of your videos may encourage YouTube to promote them.
If your video seems like engaging, non-promotional content, you are also more likely to have it chosen up and displayed more frequently, Birch added. “This is a great opportunity because I have seen accounts with fewer than 10 subscribers show up in Shorts.”
12. Interact with other YouTubers
In addition to producing and optimising content, Peter Koch, the creator of the finance website Dollar Sanity, said that commenting on other YouTube videos can have “a huge impact on the number of views your films and profile receive.”
“Start by commenting on other videos in your field,” he continued.
And others will notice you.
13. Collaborate with other YouTubers
Similar to this, collaborating with other companies or creators might aid in channel promotion.
According to Amir Shahzeidi, SEO lead at video content monetization platform Uscreen, “One of the best methods to expand on YouTube is to use another established channel's audience.” “On YouTube, look for like-minded creators and companies with relevant audiences and work with them to create original content.”
Since SEMRush's YouTube channel has 80,000 followers, Deepak Shukla, the founder of B2B lead generating company Pearl Lemon Leads, offered to do a video with advice on B2B LinkedIn profiles.
14. Cross-promote your YouTube channel’s video content
Costa mentioned that in addition to his own weekly films, he also uploads links to all of his social media profiles.
The goal of the whole thing, according to him, is to attract more people to visit YouTube so that my channel can expand and introduce them to my company and its products.
Diversifying your social media marketing can really help material go viral, according to Alejandro Uriarte, a personal injury lawyer with the business 1-800-Injured.
Don't just sit back and wait for people to find you, he said. “Generate exposures across as many channels as you can. You can, for instance, talk about your videos on your Instagram Story or upload clips of them on Reels or TikTok in addition to talking about them on various social media channels.
This increases the likelihood that users will discover your YouTube channel.
People are significantly more likely to discover your YouTube channel and view your material if you mention it on every channel-relevant platform, said Uriarte.
When posting films on social media, Karthik Subramanian, senior content manager at graphic design software provider Picmaker, advises cutting them up into smaller segments and adding links to the complete recordings.
Don't forget about online forums either.
According to Tal Shelef, co-founder of the real estate website CondoWizard, “Since our business is about condos and real estate, we look up Facebook Groups and Subreddits that talk about our niche.” This is advantageous because it is free to post to these communities. Given that it's free, we have a good target audience.
15. Tap into online learning platforms
Online learning can assist companies in growing on YouTube, according to Lachezar Arabadzhiev, CEO of online learning platform Skild Labs, provided they offer instructional content on websites like Udemy and Skillshare and include calls to action (CTAs) to visit YouTube for more information. Exactly that has been accomplished by marketing platform Moz's SEO training programme.
16. Use email marketing to promote your YouTube channel
Costa claimed that instructional videos have assisted him in monetizing viewing in a similar way.
In exchange for email addresses, he provides free information that he can use to “sell directly to persons interested in my movies and my services.”
IntroCave creator Will Hankinson began incorporating a YouTube link in his monthly newsletter last year. He said that only from that little inclusion, he had gained 20–30 new members per month. Although it may not seem like much, it is sufficient to get the snowball rolling.
While delivering informative and practical material to your audience, promoting your YouTube channel or certain videos as part of your email marketing or newsletter plan will help you increase visits to your channel and views of your video.
Start promoting your YouTube channel today
When you know how to promote your YouTube channel, you can increase awareness for your business on this popular channel and reach more potential customers. Here are those 16 free ways to promote your YouTube channel:
- Stick to a schedule
- Optimize for search channels
- Identify the best keywords
- Tease videos with titles
- Include accurate descriptions
- Add tags to help YouTube understand content
- Utilize timestamps
- Fill out every available field
- Create playlists
- Choose the right thumbnails
- Experiment with YouTube Shorts
- Interact with other YouTubers
- Collaborate with other YouTubers
- Cross-promote video content
- Tap into online learning platforms
- Use email marketing to promote your channel
Conclusion
So now I think you get some value from this article. After reading this article, if you think about promoting your YouTube channel then you can choose to hire a video promotion company like Promozle, Video Boosters Club etc. So that you can go further in your YouTube journey and flurish more.
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