13 Powerful Tips To Improve Your YouTube Channel It is 2020 and the world is under siege by an invisible and unprecedented adversary. Our ways of working, shopping, socializing have all been radically disrupted, with no end in sight. Change has indeed been the only constant this year. What hasn’t changed, though, is the ever-present need for brands to engage with their customers. With people spending almost all of their time on the internet due to the imposed lockdown restrictions the world over, it’s more important than ever to have a rock-solid marketing strategy for your brand. And when it comes to marketing, there’s one place no one can afford to ignore- YouTube. YouTube is the second most visited site in the world ( ) Alexa Topsites Over 2 billion logged-in users visit the site each month ( ) HubSpot 1 billion hours of video are watched every day  ( ) HubSpot Video being the most engaging type of visual content, and YouTube being the video , it’s a no-brainer to have in place an . Whether you already have one or not, you can never rely on stagnant insights to shape your actions. It’s always a good idea to reassess your goals for a dynamic audience. Once you know exactly what you want to achieve through your strategy, the next step is to distil all your requirements into an actionable . Your plan will decide what kind of videos you’ll want to post on your channel, what kind of campaigns you’ll run, who you’ll partner with and how you’ll spread the word. It’ll also decide how you’ll measure the performance of your content and what actions you’ll take based on the insights you’ll gather. platform of choice for 83% of consumers globally effective YouTube Marketing Strategy YouTube Marketing Plan Here we outline you need to keep in mind, to create a killer brand. 13 indispensable tips and tricks categorized into four stages Define Your Strategy 1. You won’t get the desired results unless you know what you want to achieve Do you want your brand to debut on YouTube? Do you want to revive your dormant channel? Or are you in the process of taking the next leap in your ? Brainstorm for a while before diving headfirst into creating videos left, right and center. YouTube growth journey Get in place in order to have a clear view of where you want to take your YouTube presence. Establish a along the way and start working towards smaller, tactical goals, which will eventually add towards your major strategic brand and content goals. specific, measurable and achievable goals target timeline with milestones 2. Narrow down the metrics you’ll use to measure your marketing goals Subscribers, views, likes/dislikes, comments, shares, watch time, clicks; There’s a plethora of metrics you can choose to measure. But what makes sense at this point in your brand journey? Does your product cater to a or interest, like a motorcycle decals service or does it have a mass appeal like a food delivery service? niche problem Your , plus the goals you have set for your brand, will together decide whether metrics like subscribers and views are as important to you as, say, the ratio of your views to your subscribers. Metrics like these help you gauge . market size and your brand lifecycle stage how many of your subscribers are actually engaging with your content 3. Establish a strategic schedule to post videos on your channel The frequency with which you churn out content conveys your brand intent to the viewer. You should commit to a of posting videos on your channel, in addition to the . realistic schedule right day and time to post Research indicates that the , specifically between 2 pm and 4 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and between 12 pm and 3 pm on Thursday and Friday. Coming to the best days to post, here, as viewers tend to flock to the site by the end of the work week, and posting one or two days before the weekend gives enough time for YouTube to index your videos. best time of the day to post your videos tends to be around evening Thursdays and Fridays take the cake in many parts of the world and people working from home, you may find viewers deviating a bit from these figures, but by and large, you can safely trust and base your strategy on them. With lockdowns still in force If you find yourself strapped for time and resources, you can always on board a trusted YouTube Marketing Company or a freelancer offering YouTube Marketing Services, and hash it out with them. With these three tips, you are armed with all you need to put in place the broad makings of your strategy. What you need to do next is, leverage YouTube’s various tools and techniques to distil your strategy into a tactical YouTube Marketing Plan. ‘Brand’ Your YouTube Identity 4. Your YouTube channel should be in sync with your brand’s message Remember that your YouTube channel is an advocate of your brand and reflects on your brand perception. Hence, you can never be too careful about your conveyed through your content. channel name, color scheme, and the overall voice Being professional is paramount when maintaining a brand’s YouTube channel and you also need to appear warm and receptive to your viewers. and the perception you need to propagate through your channel. You can then align each of the major facets of your channel in line with this brand message. Tackling this fine balance becomes easier when you are crystal clear about your ‘brand message’ 5. Fully customize every element of your YouTube channel Don’t leave your channel’s Banner and Bio at the mercy of generic images and a soulless copy. on YouTube and it needs to reflect everything your brand stands for. You can have a funky, artistic banner or a slick, professional banner but whatever you choose, make sure it sits in line with your brand identity. Your YouTube channel is your brand’s home Even your Bio is much more than a descriptor for your channel or your brand. It’s an opportunity to , to intimately convey what you feel about your channel and what you want the viewer to feel in turn. This is your chance to be creative, even informal and casual, and leave a lasting impression. connect with the viewer on a deeper level So you have your Strategy in place and your YouTube channel ready to rock. What next? It’s time to get into the crux of the matter - your YouTube Marketing Plan and how to make content that sticks! Leverage the Entire Social Media Ecosystem 6. Explore and experiment with various video types ‘How To’ videos still rank at the top with with a problem they have. But that doesn’t mean you need to ignore all other types of useful and engaging content. 70% of viewers searching for help Viewers today want to watch content that answers a query they have and is entertaining at the same time. You can communicate why your product should rank at the top of their priority list by using videos or . You can make a highly-engaging video pitting your offering against the competition. product showcase tutorials listicle Viewers also respond positively to or videos which highlight your product or service in a positive light by showcasing a successful real-world implementation. So invest in research and be on the lookout for to woo potential customers. customer testimonials client case study new and engaging content types 7. Let your community work for you You have a treasure trove of content hidden inside your most ardent followers, who would love to take part in your brand journey. Don’t forget to leverage them to the fullest. Humans as a species yearn to be part of something bigger than themselves. Perhaps this innate desire is reflected, more than anything else, in social communities. Your subscribers and followers love your brand. You’ve managed to woo them and make them care about what you want to say. Now what? Now you need to offer them a chance to be a part of your family. based around latest trends in your industry or around the which your community cares about the most. Let them create and share videos with catchy hashtags. Reward the most innovative and popular videos and hard work. Run creative contests core tenets of your brand show genuine admiration for your community’s 8. Grow laterally with Partnerships and Influencer Marketing You don't always need to compete with fellow YouTubers in your field. There exist in a mutually beneficial relationship and grow the reach of your channel. Plus, you can also promote your brand and products through who can help you gain access to a larger audience. brands whom you can partner with like-minded influencers Growing by your own is all good, but when you leverage the power of the YouTube ecosystem of Partnerships and Influencers, you stand to grow exponentially. Keep in mind, though, with your established brand image or it could severely backfire. any brand or YouTuber partnership should not be at odds Recent years have seen a spurt in by YouTubers. You cannot afford to lose out on this opportunity if you have a product or service that is consumer-focused and is competing in a crowded market. viewers placing their trust in product reviews 9. Spread the Word outside the platform Just as you stand to gain through other YouTubers, you when your competitors are out there reaping benefits of every other platform Social Media has to offer. cannot afford to be present in a YouTube silo Your viewers are scrolling on every major social media platform imaginable in a 24/7 high-speed sprint on the cyberspace highway. Jumping constantly between and or finding themselves on or even chatting all-day-long on , their eyes are peeled for your content. And you need to deliver. Facebook, Instagram Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp will do the trick here. Snapshots of your YouTube videos on Facebook and Twitter through your page and handle respectively, will keep alive in viewers’ minds. Specifically-curated content for each different platform top-of-the-mind recall Sponsored content on LinkedIn, which links back to your YouTube channel or website also contributes to increased traffic. Lastly, your WhatsApp business account is a personal, unhindered window into the mindspace of your potential customers. You can respond to proactive queries through links to the respective video on your channel. 10. Invest in YouTube Ads Of course, you can’t miss advertising on YouTube itself. No matter how much organic traffic you might be seeing, you need to tap into paid traffic by . investing in various Ad formats offered by YouTube , but the fact of the matter is that they are still a very attractive tool to spread awareness about your brand and gain increased traffic from varied sources. YouTube offers a range of Ad formats for your every need. Ads can get annoying sometimes From and ads to or ads to which the users can skip and ads, you have the liberty to hedge your bets among all the available options. Sponsored Display Banner Overlay in-stream full-length ads 6 to 15 second unskippable Again, you always have the option to outsource all your YouTube Marketing Services needs to third-parties who are skilled and experienced at the job, provided you have budget to spare. A YouTube Marketing Company which happens to be a good fit with your own company’s values can be hard to find, but when you do get a trusted partner to work with, it can do wonders for your brand. So you have your video types, campaigns & partnerships and social media strategy locked in, can you sit back and relax? Not just yet. We’re almost there. Perfect Your Videos For Maximum Punch 11. Optimize every aspect to achieve SEO champions YouTube is the , only behind Google. Without realizing, people treat the site as a go-to place for all kinds of queries. Hence, your SEO strategy should be out of every video. Creating the perfect video for your channel goes beyond shooting a great video. You need to to know how to rank videos at the coveted top spot of the search results. world’s second largest Search Engine optimized for squeezing the maximum juice take into account latest performance statistics Right from your video every aspect should be geared towards optimizing the video for YouTube’s SEO algorithm. Your title and description should answer the core query users might be searching for, while being and prefer using . Title, Duration, Description and Thumbnail to the Language of choice, smart Calls-to-Actions and Tags, suited for viewers who use voice search short, highly-specific keywords tend to perform better. Your video tags should be relevant and comprehensive. YouTube is a global playground and while translating every video may not be apt considering the theme of your channel, you can always . Thumbnails with human portraits use subtitles to break the language barrier need to be smartly integrated to like subscribing, sharing, liking or clicking on related videos or playlists. Calls-to-Actions or CTAs urge your viewers to perform certain actions 12. Don’t forget to utilize YouTube’s native features There are old tools and there are new as well, together to transform your channel from just another brand channel into a professional, dedicated space where your viewers love to spend time. offering highly useful functionality Traditional YouTube features like and offer rich benefits, both to you and your viewers. They go a long way to direct your viewers to more of your related content and are also instrumental in increasing your SEO ranking. Playlists, Transcripts, Cards & Annotations End Screens Newer features like better and offer highly-engaging and in-vogue tools to connect with your ever-demanding viewers. Make it a point to utilize all these features to rank ahead of the competition. 360-degree videos, Subscriber notifications, Live streams, Stories 13. Keep track of what’s working and who’s watching A crucial step in your YouTube Marketing Strategy is your Analytics - to track what kind of content is performing well and to know the viewer mix that is engaging with that content. itself offers a wide variety of metrics and channel reports to gauge the performance of your channel. Keeping in mind the metrics you had decided to track, you can see the subscriber and view count, and . YouTube Studio watch time and average % viewed, impressions, unique viewers, like/dislikes count You also have a view of specific reports for your . YouTube studio also provides , where you can see the your viewers belong to, they choose, their and what they are watching your videos. Cards, End Screens and Playlists performance Audience Analytics Top Countries Top Subtitles/Languages Gender and Age Time of Day To summarize, you need to... 1. Clearly define or relook at your Goals 2. Have a Channel that is in Sync with your Brand 3. Experiment with various content types and leverage the entire social media ecosystem for maximum reach 4. And Optimize your videos & Track desired Analytics to feedback into your Strategy in a continuous loop. So now you know what to do! Regardless of whether you do it in-house or contract outside help, there’s no time like the present to get cracking on your YouTube Marketing Strategy 2020. Further reads? 1. 2. 3. How to Optimize Videos for Youtube's Machine Learning Algorithms 15 Ways to Increase YouTube Subscribers Organically in 2020 15 Creative Ways To Boost Brand Image Through YouTube

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How To Create A Winning YouTube Marketing Strategy

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