These days, people rely on the internet for everything, from their dose of the freshest news down to tidbits of entertainment throughout the day.
The internet is where people are spending more and more of their time, and brands are following suit. Platforms like YouTube are starting to become primary marketing channels, especially for brands with limited resources.
YouTube boasts of having over a billion users worldwide which translates to two billion eyeballs ready and waiting to see what you’ve got. There are plenty of people on the platform, and the barrier to entry is very low — all it takes is a smartphone to start a channel.
With such massive viewership served up on a silver platter, why is that brands are still failing to maximize their YouTube channel?
Becoming a booming digital brand in this competitive day and age doesn’t come easy for most people — or companies — but with the right tips, rising to the top can definitely become more attainable.
Find Your Tribe
These days, coming up with unique and interesting content can be a challenge given how saturated platforms like YouTube are. To stand out, you need to create videos that resonate with your unique audience — you need to know who your tribe is.
Before drafting content ideas for your channel, sit down and understand your demographic. Understand the who, what, when and where of your ideal viewership.
- WHO: Who are you talking to on the other side of the screen?
- WHAT: What type of content do they watch and consume online?
- WHEN: When are they most active on YouTube?
- WHERE: Where do they spend most of their free time both online and offline?
The answers to these questions will determine the course of your YouTube content strategy.
Nintendo, an acclaimed video game company, is a brand that knows its audience well. Currently, Nintendo has over three million YouTube subscribers.
On their channel, Nintendo has several playlists containing videos for specific video games. These ultra-specific videos keep their audience engaged and entertained based on which games they love playing. Nintendo obviously has a large and loyal customer base to work with, but you can use the same principles in your videos.
Chat With Your Most Loyal Viewers
If you want to gain more viewers on YouTube, you should invest your energy in nurturing the strong relationships you’ve already made with current viewers.
Your most loyal viewers can be your biggest brand evangelists – if you play your cards right. Do you see anyone commenting on almost all of your videos, or do you notice likes and shares from specific people? Those are the kind of people you should get to know better.
Reply to their comments, mention them in videos (perhaps anonymously), and take their requests and concerns seriously.
If you manage to build and strengthen your relationship with your most loyal fans, they can be a crucial part of your marketing mechanism. They will share your videos, talk to other viewers, and be your best brand advocates on the internet — so be sure to pay attention to them and do everything you can to get to know them.
It’s All About The Volume
Brands who do well on YouTube are those who post videos frequently and consistently. If you’re serious about growing your viewership on YouTube, you should try to start uploading more videos on a consistent basis.
Now, this doesn’t mean you should just upload a bunch of crap content for the sake of uploading more videos. You have to find the perfect intersection between producing valuable content and a regular uploading schedule. Many channels that are moderately or very successful post every day, or almost every day.
The more videos you post, the more visible you become on YouTube. YouTube viewers are creatures of habit, that means they’re most likely to keep tabs on channels that give them fresh content on the reg.
If you’re not updating as much as other channels that they subscribe to, they could unsubscribe to make room for more active creators.
If you check out their channel, you can see that they regularly post videos at a rate of at least once a week. By creating at least one video every week, they’re able to showcase their products in creative ways – which adds value to their products while keeping them on everyone’s radar.
Image credit: Colourpop on YouTube
You can also increase your visibility by buying a few thousand YouTube Views from a reputable provider. A good repository of videos and a seemingly large fan base can make you appear more credible in the eyes of your target audience, and bought Views are a great way to attract more people to your videos.
Be Driven By Data
YouTube has some of the most in-depth analytics sources among all the other social media channels out there, second only to Google.
It would be a shame if you don’t use YouTube’s big data to your advantage when growing your channel. Data can help you understand your viewers, re-focus your strategy, and give you better insight into viewer behavior.
Image credit: Digital Marketer
YouTube Analytics can tell you a lot about your viewers — from where they’re from to how old they are and everything in between. You can take what you learn from YouTube Analytics to create more compelling content, a stronger CTA, and a better brand persona overall. Find what works, and focus on creating more of that.
Create Content That Is Always Relevant
When you’re competing against billions of creators on a busy platform like YouTube, it’s tempting to jump on the most talked about topics to get people’s attention.
While talking about the hottest topics on your channel may give you an impressive initial traction, it isn’t necessarily sustainable in the long run. When the hype dies down, so does your video – and that’s just a complete waste of energy and resources, isn’t it?
You can pick up a few trending topics here and there but you should also direct your energy toward creating evergreen videos. Informative videos that answer people’s most pressing questions are the type of videos that will get you far on YouTube.
When you produce evergreen videos, you turn yourself into a thought leader in your chosen niche. Viewers, both old and new, will go to your channel to seek answers they can’t get anywhere else.
Take Google’s official YouTube channel, which has over five million subscribers. A majority of their videos are designed to answer people’s questions about their products and services, or to stir up excitement for upcoming new releases. Some of their most popular videos don’t even have any information, they’re just hype, but it’s exactly what their viewers want:
By publishing both engaging videos alongside more informative videos, they’re able to achieve consistent traffic on their channel for years. You can use the same strategies to captivate your audience.
Brand It, Brand It Real Good
YouTube is a cutthroat platform where only the persistent can make it.
If you want your brand to stand out in this digital age, you have to put a lot of thought into your strategy. Stand out from the competition by producing videos that serve your audience — their questions, their thirst for entertainment, and everything in between.
The success of your brand will depend on how viewers will perceive you to be. If you want to improve everyone’s perception of you, consider purchasing a few thousand YouTube Views from a reputable provider. These social signals will help you appear more credible and buzz-worthy in the eyes of the people you want to attract to your channel.
After buying an impressive number of YouTube Views, focus the rest of your energy and resources in finding out as much as you can about the new viewers you’ll attract.
By getting to know the people on the other side of the screen, you’re giving yourself an opportunity to find out what it is they look for — and need — from a brand on YouTube.
Image credit: Critical Financial