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YouTube has quickly become the 2nd most viewed site in the entire world. Over 1.9 billion people use the platform every month and for a good reason. There are countless hours of content available on every topic you can imagine. In other words, there’s something for everybody.
It’s no wonder that business owners are turning to YouTube marketing to grow their brand. When implemented correctly, an optimized YouTube channel can help you generate sales, leads, website traffic, and much more.
You can safely assume that your target audience resides somewhere on YouTube, but it’s up to you to find them. Today we are going to talk about marketing your brand on YouTube, and specifically, what you can do to get the most value from your channel and go viral.
Let’s get started!
Create Content with Intent
Did you know that 500 hours of video gets uploaded to YouTube every minute? If not, you’re probably shocked and wondering how you will create content specifically for your target audience.
The truth is, despite the number of videos added daily, it is possible to create great content that not just reaches but also resonates with your audience. Before you even start filming your video, you have to think about your intent.
What do you hope to accomplish when this video goes live?
Some business owners want to educate customers by showing them how to use their product, others create content with the hope of driving new people to their lead magnet. Your intent is going to play a massive role in the success of your videos.
Once you figure out why you want to make a video, it’s time to start planning your content. Think about what you can add to the current industry conversations that will make your video stand out. The key to going viral is creating original but helpful content. Including your thoughts, opinions, and personal preferences help give your video some originality. However, you need to always make sure that your intent is crystal clear to new visitors.
Partner Up with Other Channels
Now that we know that YouTube is an extremely popular place and that intent matters let’s talk about partnering with other channels. Due to the sheer volume of users, you’ll have no problem finding channels and creators in your industry.
You can partner up with these other brands by sending them an email, commenting on their video, or by messaging them on social media. Let them know who you are, what business you’re promoting, and that you’re interested in working out a YouTube marketing partnership.
Of course, not everyone is going to say yes. But that gives you the incentive to broaden your horizon and find brands that mesh well with your own.
There are plenty of great partnership deals you can work out. Some brands create videos together and display the content to both audiences. The result is a cross-pollination of sorts where your audience discovers the partner brand, and their followers come to your channel.
Alternatively, you can simply mention the other brand in a video and include a link in the description, and vice versa. How you navigate these deals is up to you, but there’s no doubt that partnerships can help you grow your channel.
Include a Transcript
Transcripts are extremely valuable for your YouTube marketing strategy. You can include a transcript in the text below the video, or add your own subtitles to the actual video. There are two significant benefits of adding this extra text to your post.
First, you’ll do a big favor for users with accessibility issues. If someone is hard of hearing, they are going to have a difficult time following along with YouTube’s somewhat unreliable transcript feature.
When you add your own text, you can make sure that the right message is getting to potential customers. The added feature will ensure that your content is readily available and easy to understand.
As a bonus, your transcript will help you rank in YouTube’s SEO algorithm. The AI that YouTube uses to classify videos tries to look at intent. Like most machine-learning-based software, data is the key to results. If you have more relevant text on your videos, the algorithm has an easier time figuring out your intent and showing your channel when users type in the keywords you’re targeting.
Cross-Promote Using Email
Email marketing is an effective way to increase your sales, but growing your YouTube channel is vital for continued growth. If you’re not promoting your videos through email, you’re missing out on a massive marketing opportunity.
When you look at research on email marketing, you’ll find that the average return on investment is a staggering 4,400%. Email subscribers have already decided that they like your brand enough to give you their email address, so there’s a good chance that they will follow your YouTube channel too.
We suggest sending out a weekly or monthly digest containing all of your latest videos. You don’t want to overwhelm your subscribers by sending them emails every other day, but you don’t want them to forget that you exist. Weekly or monthly updates will ensure that users are seeing your latest content without seeming annoying.
Engage with Your Subscribers
Finally, let’s talk about customer engagement. How likely would you be to go back to a brand YouTube channel if you posted a question on a previous video, and no one responded? The answer is probably not likely at all.
Now let’s say the brand did respond and gave you a crisp, clear answer. Would this make you more likely to watch their next video upload? You likely would because we value people that engage with us. This statement is especially true if your goal is to get the viewer to do something for you, like subscribe to your email list or share your video.
Spend some time each day responding to comments and interacting with your audience. Believe it or not, many people will look at the comments on your videos, but not say anything. They want to see what other people think of your company and whether you are worth their time. In a way, the comments act as an impromptu review.
Consider that 97% percent of people look at reviews before buying something, and it’s easy to see how engaging with your followers can help you improve sales and traffic.
Back to You
YouTube marketing is one of the most essential strategies you can add to your business in 2024. Every brand is a little different, so feel free to experiment with some of the tips we mentioned here today to grow your brand.
You’ll find that the more time you spend on social media, the more you’ll begin to understand your target audience and the intent of other big names in your industry. It’s up to you to take this information and use it to your advantage.
