YouTube is one of the most popular social media platforms currently. There are more than 1.9 billion active monthly users on this platform. Deeply understanding is essential for all digital marketers.
However, are you wondering how you can take advantage of this fast-growing platform? While advertising offers lots of paid ways to promote your channel, there are tons of other options for you to apply to your marketing strategy.
Here in this article, we will provide you with some ideas to promote your YouTube channel.
How to promote your YouTube channel: 23 ideas that work
1. Choose Google-friendly key phrases
Promoting your YouTube channel begins with great SEO. And great SEO begins with understanding what customers are trying to find.
It seems individuals don’t just search for videos on YouTube; they use Google too. Google now prioritizes video over other content for a lot of searches.
There’s no set rule for which keywords will help your YouTube video rank effectively. However a little bit of reverse-engineering can go a long way.
Here’s the way to discover a Google-friendly key phrase for any video:
- Identify potential keywords with a tool like the Google Advertisements Keyword Planner.
- Google one of your choices.
- Scan the Search Engine Outcomes Page (SERP) for every keyword. Are the top-ranking outcomes videos or written content?
- Tweak your key phrase and check out once more time. Try adding phrases like “How to” or “Tutorial” in case you’re having trouble getting video results.
- Choose a keyword that prioritizes video and fits your content.
For instance, Photoshop Tutorial” turns up far more video results than “Photoshop Tips”.
2. Use concise, descriptive titles
When the customer discovers your content, the first thing that attracts them is the title of your video. And if it isn’t punchy, it could be the last.
Here are some basic ideas for writing strong YouTube titles:
- Keep it short and sweet. The most popular YouTube videos are likely to have the shortest titles. Stick to 60 characters or less or some of your titles might get cut off when displayed.
- Include your key phrase(s) in the first half of the title to keep away from losing useful information. Many online readers just pay attention to the beginning of the sentences and ignore the rest.
- Engaging doesn’t mean clickbait. The most effective headlines provide an obvious benefit or create an emotional reaction. Clickbait is tempting, however, it can damage your channel’s reputation in the long term.
Still can’t come up with a title? YouTube’s autocompleted function is a good way to seek out popular key phrases. Start by looking for a particular theme or topic, and see what title YouTube suggests.
3. Create custom thumbnails
Thumbnails matter, maybe even more than titles. The reason why is that our brains tend to notice visuals first. We process them in less than 13 milliseconds, according to one MIT study.
YouTube produces automatic thumbnails for all videos, however, they are often blurry or out of focus. To boost views, create an eye-catching custom thumbnail for each video you publish.
We recommend these simple “rules of thumb” for greatest results:
- Resolution: 1280 x 720 px (however any 16:9 aspect ratio ought to work)
- Format: .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG
- Size: respect the 2MB limit
- Use high contrast images
- Add text and colors to encourage clicks
- Select a close-up image, in case you can
- Use a stock photo when in doubt
- Be consistent with another branding
Which of those two thumbnails are you more likely to choose? The blue graphic below more eye-catching, and in fact, it gets more clicks!
4. Fill out your profile
Many YouTubers skip the profile section and get straight to content creation. However, a compelling profile is one of the best ways to advertise your YouTube channel—and increase your SEO.
Here are some greatest practices for creating an effective YouTube profile to promote your YouTube channel
- Be consistent. Use the same color palette, writing style, and layout as you do on your website and other social channels.
- Optimize your YouTube channel description. This can be a great place to add keywords. YouTube penalizes “tag stuffing,” however including a couple of key phrases can go a long way.
- Keep viewers coming back for more. When and how usually will you publish new content? Let followers know your schedule—then ensure you keep on with it.
- Include contact information. You never know who may want to reach you. Make it easy for them and you can land some great partnerships.
5. Optimize your descriptions
We now have a complete guide to writing effective YouTube descriptions, which has suggestions for both individual video descriptions and channels. Here are a couple of the key takeaways:
- Front-load your keywords in the description and title
- Stick to the 5000-characters limit
- Create a “contents page” with timestamps that help viewers discover what they’re searching for
- Add links to related playlists
- Include some related hashtags. Make sure to follow YouTube’s hashtagging rules before you publish
You can even mention keywords in the video itself. However, just like with text, individuals lose attention quickly. Use a few key phrases throughout a brief intro for the greatest results.
Chillhop Music’s descriptions take advantage of timestamps. Cute emojis too!
6. Don’t forget about metadata
YouTube’s metadata guidelines emphasize two things in terms of using key phrases:
- Be honest.
- Choose quality over quantity.
These rules also apply to features like tags and categories. Only include tags in the “tags section” of your upload, not on the video description. Add one or two categories to help YouTube understand who to recommend your video to.
7. Provide real value
This may seem obvious, however, it’s still worth saying.
Great content is the best way to maintain viewers engaged—and the simplest way to rank well in search. The reason why is that YouTube’s ranking system prioritizes the viewer’s experience.
Before you publish any video, ask yourself:
- What drawback does this video solve?
- Is it entertaining?
- Will it gain more viewer’s lives in any way?
8. Create high-quality videos
Poor video quality can undermine even the perfect content. So ensure your content seems professional before you publish it. Use a good camera, do a soundcheck before recording, and learn some basic editing skills.
Of course, not everyone seems to be a natural filmmaker. Brush up on these best practices for social videos in case you’re a little rusty.
9. Interact with your followers
Real engagement doesn’t end at content creation. To promote the YouTube channel, the most successful YouTubers always monitor and interact with their followers.
Reply to viewers’ comments—even the negative ones—and “heart” your favorites. Post response videos. Use analytics to identify your top followers and show them some extra love.
Your viewers will appreciate it.
Gamer MattShea made a video to reply to his “biggest hater”. It received lots of attention: both for Mattshea and his cute nemesis.
10. Try a Q&A
Viewers Q&As are one of the most effective ways to build community. Ask your subscribers to send you questions through comments or email. Then create a video to address them.
By showing your followers that they matter, you’ll boost watch time, view counts, and engagement. Plus, Q&As could be lifesavers once you’re out of fresh content ideas.
This 13-year-old YouTuber did a Q&A to celebrate hitting 100,000 subscribers. She gets things started with a cute non-alcoholic toast.
11. Run contests
Contests are another great technique to get your viewers involved. With a single video, you can collect viewer information, encourage likes or comments, and gain subscribers.
Check this post here to run the best YouTube contests. However, some quick takeaways include:
- Begin with a clear purpose in mind
- Respect YouTube’s contest rules and restrictions
- Choose a prize your viewers will enjoy
- Maximize your reach with other social channels
Blendtec has known for its “Will it blend?” videos. They were one of the early adopters of the YouTube contest, with great outcomes.