Getting Subscribers On YouTube
Written by Courtney Raguso, Social Media Content Creator
Video consumption is only getting more popular as consumer behaviors evolve. YouTube’s ad revenue has been up nearly 50% in the past year, almost surpassing Netflix in performance. According to Google SVP’s Philipp Schindler, advertisers are using YouTube now to reach the audiences they can’t find anywhere else, and brands are seeing more incremental reach on YouTube compared to TV. While there are still older generations who watch television, an increasing number of people under the age of 49, accounting for millennials and gen z, are actually watching YouTube more than all linear TV combined. You might even notice that commercials are starting to become more aligned with older consumers because cable TV is now considered “old school” and is too traditional for the modern consumer today. This cultural shift will affect media buying and decision making for brands and creators for decades to come. Whether you are an influencer or have a business, YouTube is a great platform for branding and marketing. You’ll have the opportunity to reach more people, create an online community, and further build your brand by offering content that is valuable for your audience. Here are some tips on how you can gain subscribers.
Interact with your audience and build community:
Just like you would respond to comments on Facebook, Instagram or any other social media platform, YouTube is no different. Although we go to YouTube to watch videos for the most part, we also engage with each other in the comments. It’s important you respond and acknowledge your followers, whether it’s liking a comment or answering a question, because it helps foster a stronger connection with your audience. By ignoring your comments you are ignoring important feedback you could be getting on your channel. Remember, you have to listen to the audience and engage!
Create effective channel branding:
Channel branding is an important way to let viewers know who you are and what they can expect from your channel. Doing this also helps people start to recognize and know your brand. From the banner art to the thumbnails and the channel icon, you’ll want everything to feel cohesive and recognizable to your subscribers. Aim for consistent branding by using the same fonts and the same color palettes on your thumbnails. As for your YouTube icon, this will be your logo. The nature of your videos should all be relatively consistent with the same greeting, shooting style, and tonality. Also, viewers will see your channel as being more professional when it is organized and complete.
Collaborate with other creators and brands:
This brings us back to our first tip because this is part of building a community. When you collaborate with other creators, you’ll get the benefit of reaching their audience as well as yours. This works wonders because with each collaboration, you’ll be exposed to a new audience and they will be more likely to subscribe to your channel. Why? They already like and trust the content creator you’re working with, which builds social proof for your brand. This tactic only really works if you find the right person to collaborate with because you want to share similar passions with your brand so your video comes off as authentic.
Optimize your videos for visibility:
Did you know that YouTube videos show up in 70% of the top 100 Google search results? It’s true and is something that should drive you to focus on this aspect of YouTube. Just like people search in Google for answers, so they can do the same on YouTube. When we say optimization, we mean keywords, tags, descriptions and titles. It all matters. It helps to understand which keywords are related to your brand and subject matter that people are already searching. Think about what you’d search for and what phrases you’d use to find it if you were looking for content in your industry. Once you build a large enough following, you’ll be able to use YouTube Analytics to see which keywords work best for your channel.
Figure out what your audience wants:
You can find some of this information if you go and read through your comments because you might find content suggestions! Start by looking at what your competitors are doing, and see which videos get the most views and engagement. You can then have an idea of what users are watching and can take different elements from it, whether it’s the style of the video or a topic covered. YouTube analytics offers a lot of information you can use to apply to future content, such as demographics and engagement stats to help you see which videos perform better. Just keep in mind that you are making content for your customer, not to promote your brand.
YouTube subscribers can do a lot for your brand, and you don’t need a massive following for it to be successful. Subscribers help bump up your play counts, watch time, and engagement, which are all important signals to the YouTube algorithm. Also, regular viewers can really help you gain more organic reach and give you a consistent base level of views for when you post content. The more subscribers you get, the more benefits YouTube will offer. However, what matters more than awards, production aid, and earning ad revenue, is building a community around your brand that translates to brand awareness, reputation, and, of course, profit. With YouTube, you can gain a following through more affordable, targeted, and effective promotional campaigns. YouTube is the second most-visited site on the web, and knowing that we’re spending up to six hours per day consuming video, it’s pretty clear that video is here to stay. Don’t tackle these tips all at once, instead try implementing them over time for each new video you post. If you want to stand out on YouTube, you need to take advantage of as many promotional tactics as possible. If you are feeling overwhelmed, rest assured we are here to help!
At MSM DesignZ, we put in the time and energy needed for success, so you can ensure you are using every dollar for maximum return. With over 20 years in the business, we have watched marketing evolve from traditional to digital. Whether you need a website refresh, more attractive email, or a quality online presence, we can do it all. When we take on a client, we put in 110% and treat every brand as if it’s our own. We will always continue to place our clients’ needs at the heart of our operations. From web development to social media management, we’ll work directly with you to build a personalized strategy to not only retain but also gain business. We are assisting in all areas for our clients. Visit our contact page at https://www.msmdesignz.com/contact/, and we’ll work with you to devise a custom plan that will keep your brand alive and well. We look forward to working with you!
Sources:
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-get-free-youtube-subscribers/
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-to-promote-your-youtube-channel/