YouTube isn’t just for cat videos. It can be one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal and with the right approach, it has the potential to transform your business. In 2019, the streaming giant is more popular than ever and is still the go to resource for esoteric online video content. Marketing through YouTube takes careful planning and attention to detail, plus an in depth understanding of the customers you are trying to target. This is our guide on how to use YouTube for Marketing in 2019:
1. Create A Brand or Business Channel
A channel that features your band logos, images and other defining aesthetics will send the right message to users and even if you’re only just starting out, this professional approach creates a good impression. Make sure you fill in all the descriptions properly, checking for clumsy spelling or grammar errors. Though you don’t always need a lot of text, you will need to make sure you write a concise description that explains who you are and what you’re about. Sign up for a business or brand channel, rather than trying to use a personal account. This means you can allow multiple users to upload content and manage the channel, it also means you can confidently promote your products without succumbing to any penalties or sanctions.
2. Pick Up Tips from Other Youtubers
Research is key and paying attention to what other people in your industry are doing on YouTube is a smart way of learning from the competition. As a relatively new platform, there are very few hard and fast rules to working with this style of content, but you can pick up a lot of the essentials by paying attention to how other people have filmed and structured their videos. Start with the basics such as the light levels, sound and image quality, then consider things such as running time, structure and tone of voice. Try to select a handful of other youtubers that you think are good at what they do. It could be their chemistry on camera, their approach to branding or even something as simple as their fastidious approach to replying to user comments, there will generally be a good reason they appeal to you. Ultimately, you should try and take as many positive influences from established content creators as you can.
3. Use SEO in Your Descriptions
Views matter and in order to get people to watch your content, you need to make sure they can find it easily. You don’t necessarily need to spend a huge amount of time on this, but it is important to check the basics. Your hash tags must be relevant to your industry and should be popular enough to bring people in. Similarly, your keywords need to be carefully researched so that they represent what your potential customers are searching for. Metadescriptions need to be concise, keyword driven but also organic enough for them to make sense. Never “stuff” for the sake of it and try to mention any particularly important keywords at the start of your description if possible. This makes them easier to find for users and helps the search bots identify them, too. Titles are also an extremely important consideration. Avoid cringey clickbait style writing if you can, but also be aware that this style of writing is very popular in certain industries. Titles should include keywords and be catchy enough to intrigue curious users.
4. Consider Going Live
Live streaming is undergoing something of a revolution now and as a preferred choice of content for a growing number of users, this style of broadcasting can be extremely effective for marketers. There are risks with livestreaming, drops in connection, fluffed lines or other unexpected problems can severely affect the quality of your finished product, especially if its being recorded, but the immediacy and potential for real time user engagement mean it can be worth it. Once you have a few recorded videos on your channel and you have started to gather some subscribers, look at the data on your channel. When are people watching? How long are they staying on your channel? What are they commenting on? Use this information to create a live stream that is likely to attract plenty of attention. Remember to speak to your audience, too. Thanking people in person for tuning in is a way of letting your customers know you appreciate them; it also provides a level of connection you don’t usually get from a recorded video.
5. Ask People to Subscribe Directly
This is probably the most obvious but frequently missed piece of advice when it comes to YouTube. Even if you think it sounds a little desperate ending each video with “don’t forget to subscribe” the fact is, it is this call to action that makes the difference to the most successful channels. Put this message in as many places as you can, without making it seem over the top. Thanking users for subscribing in person while live streaming often drives engagement very well, as does responding to comments directly. It can also help to put this message in the description of any videos. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in capital letters or bold font, but a clear and direct request for users to subscribe is generally very effective.
6. Make Sure Your Still Image is of a High Quality
The thumbnail users see before they click on your video is critical. It needs to be appealing. Try to include an image that encapsulates the content and ideally, include some of your branding, too. Contrary to popular belief, the image doesn’t have to be a still frame from the video itself. Providing it isn’t misleading or inaccurate, you can use anything you like. The key is to give users just the right amount of information but hinting at what the contains, but not giving away so much they don’t feel as if they need to watch it. Ideally, images should be well lit, clear and vivid enough to attract attention.
