YouTube Channel Optimizing
How we help you get the most out of Your YouTube channel
Are you looking to dive into video marketing? YouTube is where you need to be. With over 2.5 billion users, it’s the second most visited website globally and dominates the digital video market. Plus, people are watching more online videos than ever before. In fact, consumers watched an average of 19 hours of online video per week in 2022.
Don’t worry; you don’t need a huge ad budget to succeed on YouTube. By creating a quality channel with content that resonates with viewers, you can drive customer acquisition without breaking the bank.
Videos are the future of communication, but with so much content being uploaded every minute, it’s essential to make a strong first impression and optimize your tags and descriptions to attract your target audience. After all, what’s the point if your video falls in the forest and no one’s around to view it?
To help you succeed with your campaign, our team at Invite Them Home put together some YouTube marketing strategies to maximize your video’s potential. Some of these ideas you will be able to implement, and others may require specialized research tools and knowledge that we can provide. Interested? Contact us for a free Zoom call to learn more.
Here are 13 tips to make your YouTube content perform its very best.
Tip #1
Create compelling content
With billions of videos to choose from, how do you draw in your audience? YouTube’s smart algorithms prefer some videos over others, so you must ensure your videos come out on top.
Let your creative juices flow, and start producing impactful videos that will capture your audience’s attention. To make your videos stand out, it’s important to consistently create high-quality content that viewers will love and engage with. If you’re stuck on ideas, our team at ITH is happy to help you brainstorm!
To create captivating content, it’s essential to research your audience’s pain points, analyze trending keywords, and practice social listening for topic ideas. Additionally, investing in good quality equipment, crafting a powerful story, and focusing on editing and post-production will elevate the professionalism of your videos. Fortunaltly, today’s online editing and animation tools make this easier than ever. Or, partner with us, and we will work together to create your scripts and videos.
Discovering the types of videos that resonate with your target audience is essential. It’s not just about knowing who they are; you also need to understand what types of videos they prefer. YouTube offers various categories, like tutorials, reviews, and unboxings, these and many more help you choose themes for your content.
Put yourself in their shoes to create videos that appeal to your target audience. Consider their age, content preferences, reasons for watching videos, and what they hope to gain from them. Some may watch for entertainment, while others seek educational or how-to content.
Gain insight by observing other videos from your competitors on YouTube. Take note of the types of videos and topics they focus on. Look at viewer numbers to gauge popularity, but remember that building a loyal audience should be your focus, not just driving massive traffic.
While viral videos may be tempting, prioritize building a strong and dedicated following through your YouTube content marketing strategy.
Tip #2
Find your keywords and get to optimizing
Finding your niche on YouTube is crucial for success, but it’s not always easy. You don’t want to choose broad topics that make it hard to compete or go too niche and not attract enough viewers. So, how do you strike the right balance?
Start by understanding your target audience. Who do you want to create videos for, and what content do they want to see? The good news is that no matter your business, you have a target audience on YouTube – often the same audience as your website.
One effective way to determine your YouTube audience is by looking at the people who already visit your website and engage with you on social media.
Boost the visibility of your YouTube videos by strategically incorporating keywords in your headlines, descriptions, and tags. Don’t fret if you don’t want to run ads, you can access free tools like Google Keyword Planner from your Google Ads dashboard using just your Google account.
If using tools isn’t your cup of tea, type your video’s topic in the YouTube search bar and let the autosuggest feature guide you toward the ideal words and phrases to include in your content. To get the most out of your keywords, however, our team at Invite Them Home are experts at using our professional tools for top-notch keyword research.
Tip #3
Have an enticing title
Don’t overlook the importance of a clear and descriptive title for your YouTube videos. While it may seem tempting to get creative or use clickbait tactics, it’s crucial to match your video titles with the actual content of your videos.
Don’t forget to address the pain points of your audience. Create videos that help them achieve their goals and solve their challenges. Relevance is key to engaging your viewers.
Just like with your video content, keyword research is essential for your titles. Find keywords that people are searching for and incorporate them into your title. This helps viewers find your video and signals to YouTube’s algorithm what your content is about.
Including the current year in your title and thumbnail can also boost clicks. Many users prefer up-to-date videos, and including the year signals that your content is current.
Make sure to include your primary keyword at the beginning of your title. Viewers should immediately see your video without having to search for it. Don’t bury the keyword!
Avoid the trap of being overly cute or clever with your titles. YouTube users value relevance more than anything. Promise that your video has the solutions they need, and they’ll be more likely to click.
Remember to write your titles for humans, not robots. Use SEO naturally and avoid spammy tactics. And don’t forget to optimize your video descriptions too!
Tip #4
Promote your channel on social media
Maximize your content’s reach by promoting it on multiple social media platforms. Even if you have top-notch content, eye-catching thumbnails, and relevant keywords, you’re missing out on a potentially massive audience without social media promotion.
One effective way to cross-promote your videos is by creating shorter teaser versions for different platforms. These teasers should be tailored to the specific video format of each platform and be enticing enough to leave viewers wanting more.
While it can be challenging to channel viewers away from the platform they’re already on, leveraging your other social platforms can help drive more views to your channel.
Utilize social media to connect with fellow content creators, influential figures, and key individuals in your industry. You can discover online communities that align with your company’s products or services and expose your channel to the right audience.
Tip #5
Create playlists for your YouTube videos
Creating playlists can be a great way to organize your YouTube content for your audience.
When uploading a video, you can choose to create a new playlist. It’s easy – go to the “Details” step in the video publishing process, click on the “Playlists” drop-down, and select “New Playlist.” Give it a title, click “Create”, and your video will automatically appear on your channel’s playlists tab.
If you prefer, you can also start a playlist directly from YouTube Studio. Just click on the “Create” button, select “New Playlist”, enter a title, and click “Create.” You can then edit the playlist by clicking on the pencil icon and adding videos to it.
But how should you structure your playlists? One option is to consider the buying funnel stages or search intent of your viewers. If you have a lot of content on a single topic, you can organize it by funnel stage, such as introductory content in one playlist for top-of-funnel viewers and advanced content in another playlist for bottom-of-funnel viewers. This way, you can optimize each playlist for relevant search intent and provide valuable information to your viewers.
Another option is to create guides or courses. You can organize your content into basic overviews of narrow topics or comprehensive guides to broader themes. This allows you to give viewers quick introductions to key topics or invite them to learn everything they need to know.
Remember, you can add videos to multiple playlists, so feel free to use both approaches to cater to your channel and target viewers. Let your creativity guide you!
Tip #6
Make it live
Why do audiences prefer live video? Extensive research from Livestream.com and New York Magazine reveals that 80% of viewers prefer live video over written blog content, while a staggering 82% prefer it over traditional social posts. Engaging video content compels your target audience to take action. According to Livestream’s research, nearly 40% of executives reach out to vendors after watching a video.
Even after your live stream is over, the recorded video can be repurposed as fresh content for your website. Harness the power of video strategically placed on landing pages to increase conversions.
While it may be intimidating, livestream marketing is a great way to reach your audience, expand your brand, and ultimately drive more sales.
Tip #7
It’s all about your viewers
Discovering your niche on YouTube is crucial for success, but finding the right balance can be a challenge. If you choose broad topics like manufacturing, you’ll struggle to compete with larger channels. On the other hand, if you go too niche, like abstract seashell painting, you may not attract enough viewers to make your videos worthwhile.
Getting started on finding a niche involves understanding your target audience. Who do you want to create great videos for, and what type of content do they want to see? The good news is that no matter what your business is about, you can find a target audience on YouTube. Often, it will be the same audience as your website.
One effective way to determine your target audience on YouTube is by examining the people who already visit your website and engage with you on social media. Use my guide on leveraging Google Analytics to shape your marketing strategy to gain insights into your website’s target market and determine if they align with your YouTube account.
Discovering the videos that resonate with your target audience is essential. It’s not enough to know who they are; you also need to understand what other YouTube channels and types of videos they enjoy watching. YouTube offers various video categories such as tutorials, reviews, unboxings, and more.
To create videos that appeal to your ideal audience, put yourself in their shoes. Consider factors like age, content preferences, reasons for watching videos, and what they hope to gain from them. Some may watch for entertainment and escapism, while others are seeking educational content.
An effective way to gain insight is by observing other videos within your niche on YouTube. Take note of the types of videos being created and the topics they focus on. Look at viewer numbers to gauge popularity, but remember that your focus should be on building a loyal audience rather than driving massive traffic.
While viral videos may be tempting to emulate, prioritize building a strong and dedicated following through your YouTube marketing strategy.
Tip #8
Build and engage with your YouTube community
In order to cultivate an online community for your YouTube channel, it is important to actively engage with your viewers.
Here are a few effective ways to interact with them:
- Take the time to review and respond to comments.
- Conduct polls to gauge what type of content your viewers want to see the most.
- Ask for their input on the posting schedule, including days and times when they are most active.
Just as you would interact with followers on any other social network, engagement on YouTube is equally important. By actively engaging with your audience, you humanize your brand and demonstrate your dedication to creating content that resonates with them.
Utilize the comments section of your videos as a valuable source of information.
Pay attention to the topics or video types that your audience is most interested in and make an effort to give credit to the users who inspired your new videos. This takes the interaction to the next level.
Engaging with your viewers on YouTube is highly valued by the platform. By interacting with your subscribers, you can establish a stronger bond with your audience. Simple actions like liking comments or pinning a top comment can make a major difference.
Tip #9
Customize your thumbnails
YouTube thumbnails attract viewers and get them to click on your videos. In fact, they are equally as important as the video’s title. These clickable snapshots provide a sneak peek of your video and entice viewers to watch it.
No one will be interested in watching your content if you have a boring or low-quality thumbnail. YouTube may even consider it irrelevant and not rank it in search results or recommend it to users. Since the click-through rate of a video is a key factor in YouTube’s search algorithm, especially in the first hour of upload, having an attention-grabbing thumbnail can make all the difference between ranking number one for a search and not ranking at all.
Creating vibrant and visually appealing YouTube video thumbnails instantly captures people’s attention and stands out from the crowd.
Tip #10
Release new videos on a regular schedule
Mastering the art of social media marketing requires careful planning and organization. It’s not just about gaining followers, but about creating impactful YouTube videos that actually generate sales. And to achieve this, you need a well-structured content calendar.
Without a content calendar, you’ll quickly be overwhelmed and unsure about what you should focus on. By implementing a content calendar, you’ll have a clear roadmap for the month ahead, enabling you to promote your offers effectively. This will be a game-changer in your quest for more sales, not just followers.
Now, when scheduling your YouTube content, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It all depends on your industry and your team. Some industries require daily posting to keep up with competition and demand.
On the other hand, if you’re a manufacturer, you can get away with one amazing video per week, or even consider releasing a series of videos when you have a new product or update.
Of course, if you’re up for the challenge, you could even push it to multiple times a week, if you have meaningful information to share, do so as often as possible.
However, you also need to consider your team. If you’re a one-person show, be realistic about what you can handle. Shooting, editing, and uploading three videos a week might be too much for you. But if you have the resources, you can definitely aim for a three times a week schedule.
Ultimately, finding a schedule that aligns with your industry and your team’s capabilities is important. Once you’ve decided on the frequency, choose the days your videos will go live. It could be every Tuesday or Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Whatever works best for your audience and your schedule, stick to it
Tip #11
Check up on your stats
Once you’re up and running, you need to see if you’re running in the right direction!
Here’s how to get started with YouTube analytics:
- Organize your channel content: Group your videos into categories based on format, series, style, or intended audience. This will help you identify patterns and trends in your data, leading to smarter content creation decisions.
- Dive into your data: Analyze the performance of each content group over a specific time period. Look for increases or decreases in performance and identify underperforming areas. Pay attention to the averages of each video or episode to ensure one popular video isn’t skewing the results.
- Identify key factors: Study the topics, thumbnail and title, length, and viewer retention of your videos. Determine if longer or shorter episodes perform better and look for any patterns that can help guide your future content creation.
- Understand your audience: Utilize demographic data such as age, gender, and geography, as well as subscriber vs. non-subscriber splits and audience interests. Tailor your content to your main audience and consider strategies to attract a new one.
- Balance passion with data: Use a mix of what you love and data-driven research to decide on your next content creation. Find the sweet spot between creating content you’re passionate about and content that has the potential for success and audience satisfaction.
Don’t get caught up in fleeting trends. Instead, focus on sustainable content that keeps your viewers engaged long-term. Develop a repeatable format that connects with your audience and maintains consistent viewership.
With YouTube Analytics as your guide, you’ll have the power to unlock your channel’s true potential and create content that resonates with your audience.
Tip #12
Check Up On Your Competition
As with any other marketing campaign, keeping up with your rivals with YouTube competitor analysis is crucial. By evaluating your content alongside your rivals’ YouTube channels, you gain valuable insights into their marketing activity and can make data-driven decisions to improve your own brand.
With YouTube competitor analysis, you gather key data on engagement, views, video types, posting schedules, and more. This allows you to generate meaningful reports that help grow your audience and enhance your brand value on YouTube.
Stay ahead of the competition by identifying who your competitors are. Use social listening to track conversations among your core audience and followers. This allows you to filter and identify strong competitors amidst a crowded field of brands.
Accurate YouTube analysis highlights which brands get the most attention, enabling you to plan your marketing approach to compete with them strategically. It lets you assess your current competitors and identify emerging brands.
In a saturated market, striving to outperform your competitors is key to reaching your target market. Benchmarking your performance against your competitors is essential for quantifiable marketing strategy improvements.
YouTube competitor analysis allows you to compare the quality and popularity of your content directly with your top competitors. This provides valuable insights into areas of improvement and helps establish your brand as consistent and trustworthy on YouTube.
Competitor analysis improves your marketing campaigns and guides enhancements to your products and services, aligning them with your audience’s demands. By joining trends that align with your brand image, you can reach a wider audience and showcase the potential of your offerings.
Learn from the success of top-performing brands on YouTube and understand what type of content resonates with your target market. By leveraging this knowledge, you can enhance your digital presence and never miss out on a chance to engage with your audience.
You may think you know your biggest rivals, but you might be wrong! Identify your competitors in the digital space by researching their channels, conducting keyword searches, utilizing hashtags, and exploring trending YouTube shorts.
Your competitors can be your greatest teachers in building a recognizable brand identity on YouTube. By observing how top brands’ video content goes viral and attracts new followers, you can adapt your content to meet the changing market needs and strive for a place among the leading brands on the platform.
Once you know who your competitors are, gather relevant data and analytics to understand what your audience truly wants. Use these insights to optimize your YouTube strategy and drive quality traffic to your website, establishing a successful customer acquisition funnel.
Tip #13
Include Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
A call to action is an important piece of any digital marketing effort. Boost your YouTube presence and drive viewers to your website and other social media accounts by utilizing powerful CTAs.
Here are a few types of YouTube call to action that will not only enhance your YouTube presence but also elevate your entire online presence:
- Gain brand trust and affinity by capturing your audience’s attention and keeping them dedicated to your videos, ask them to subscribe to your channel. This will increase your videos’ watch time and positively impact your YouTube ranking algorithm.
- Keep your audience engaged and encourage them to continue watching your videos by suggesting related content they are likelier to enjoy.
- Subscribers play a vital role in expanding your channel’s reach. YouTube will notify viewers who have asked for notifications, and YouTube will let them know about your new videos and feature your content on their homepage, leading to more views for your videos.
- Increase watch time and improve your video rankings by accumulating more subscribers. YouTube prioritizes videos with higher subscriber counts and features them in search results and the related section.
- Reap the benefits of a dedicated YouTube audience by converting them into engaged social media followers. Include buttons in your videos to seamlessly connect with your subscribers with your other social media platforms.
- Leverage your top-performing lead generation content by attaching them to your YouTube videos. Generate leads and educate viewers on relevant subjects or provide previews to entice them to explore further.
- Guide your loyal and engaged YouTube audience to your product page to turn them into loyal customers. Their love for your brand will drive their willingness to support you.
- Utilize the description section of your videos to prompt viewers to take desired actions. Engage your audience and encourage them to take action by strategically placing CTAs in your video’s description.
Avoid using CTAs in the first 15 seconds of your videos to maximize their effectiveness. Including CTAs too early can annoy viewers and result in a loss of traffic.
Also, don’t overwhelm your audience with too many CTAs. Find a balance that doesn’t confuse or hinder their enjoyment of your videos. Look through your viewers’ eyes when optimizing your videos and placing CTAs. Look for natural placements that viewers expect, and you’ll be on the right track.
Run a paid campaign with YouTube ads
While we employ many strategies to optimize your videos organically, running a YouTube ad campaign can be the icing on the marketing cake. When you use paid advertising to promote your brand on YouTube, you gain numerous benefits: increased brand awareness, influence over buyer decisions, boosted sales, and enhanced brand loyalty. However, the cost may be a point of concern for some businesses.
Here’s where video ads on YouTube come in handy: they enable users to search for information and seek entertainment. In other words, it’s a platform driven by intent.
YouTube considers various factors when determining which ads to display, such as the viewer’s Google search history, previously watched related videos, Google Ad settings, and even web history, age, and location if the viewer is logged into their account. By leveraging this information, YouTube strategically targets users based on their interests, ensuring that your ad reaches the right person at the right time.
There are five different types of video ads on YouTube-
- ZIn-Feed Video Ads: These ads appear on the YouTube homepage, search results pages, and related videos. Maximize your impact by utilizing companion banner ads on the video page.
- ZSkippable In-Stream Ads: The standard ad type on YouTube. Pay only when users watch for at least 30 seconds or take action. Customize CTAs and overlay text to engage viewers.
- ZNon-Skippable In-Stream Ads: Make your message unskippable before, during, or after videos. Optimize attention with a strong CTA and showcase your brand in 15 to 20 seconds.
- ZBumper Ads: Capture attention with a quick six-second ad that plays before a viewer’s chosen video. Great for complementing larger campaigns and leaving a lasting impact.
- ZOverlay Ads: Reach your target audience with non-intrusive banner ads that hover at the bottom of the video. Perfect for supplementing other in-stream video campaigns.
Make sure your video quality is competitive
YouTube viewers do not expect you to be Fox News or Disney, but they do expect to be able to clearly hear what you have to say, be able to read any text you are using and feel that you have put in the effort to connect and respect them as your audience.
Are you looking to record high-quality videos indoors? If so, consider investing in a green screen or painting a wall with special paint. This will allow you to easily replace your background with any image or supporting content during editing.
To ensure optimal lighting, have moderate white light positioned above and in front of you. We recommend using at least three point sources to eliminate shadows on your face.
If you struggle with memorizing scripts or maintaining a consistent pace, consider using teleprompter software on your iPad, Android tablet, or smartphone. This will help you stay on track, remember essential points, and confidently deliver your script. Plus, it saves time on retakes and editing.
For efficient video editing and adding engaging effects, we recommend purchasing a software package like CyberLink Power Director.
If you’re dissatisfied with your results or find that video production takes up too much of your time, it may be worth considering the assistance of a professional. Look up “YouTube video production near me” on Google or explore freelancers on Upwork or Fiverr.
If you will use video animation rather than live recording, contact us for help. We have the tools and knowledge you need to create and post compelling animated videos. Video animations are often the best tool for communicating with your viewers. You can use a mixture of still images, text, and animations or live video clips to illustrate your message.
VidIQ: What it is and how we use it
We can discover the secrets to success behind your favorite YouTube videos with vidIQ Vision. This powerful suite of tools is essential for every content creator, digital-first publisher, and marketing manager who wants to grow their audience on YouTube.
With VidIQ, we learn what makes ‘Related Videos’ related, how videos get ranked in Search, where ‘Recommended Videos’ come from, what good YouTube SEO looks like, how social media plays a role in audience development, what’s truly trending on YouTube, what content your audience is searching for, and what content to focus on for more views.
VidIQ gives us unique optimization data that can significantly improve your video’s performance, engage more subscribers, and increase promotion opportunities. Its features include:
vidIQ Score
They rank every YouTube video using their own algorithm and assign it an optimization score to predict its chances of promotion in Related Videos, Search, Recommended Videos, and more.
Channel Audit
Get your very own Channel Audit available 24/7. This powerful tool shows you how your content performs, what’s working, and what needs attention.
Video Velocity
Understand which videos gain viral traction in real time by measuring Views Per Hour.
vidIQ Competitors Tool
Gain insights into your competitor’s strategies to rank highly and generate views and subscribers. Follow their lead and enhance your own YouTube strategy.
Average Watch Time
Get exact insights into the average viewing length for your videos and those you’re watching.
Social Media Likes/Shares/Comments
See the number of likes, shares, and comments your video receives on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.
This data gives us deeper insight that leads to a winning video strategy.
What we do to improve your YouTube success
Our tried-and-true video marketing strategy typically has five pieces:
- ZPerform an SEO and competitive analysis of your script. We will help you use keywords and phrases to attract and engage your audience.
- ZPerform an SEO analysis of the description of your video. Your YouTube video descriptions provide search engines and YouTube with the essence of your content. In addition, we will help with suggested edits that help you attract the right audience.
- ZPerform an analysis of your video tags. YouTube and other content presenters use tags to find related content and content delivered in searches. We have data on tag search volume and other critical data to use the correct tags.
- ZProvide reporting to help you see which content attracts the most views and visitor engagement. For example, you will see statistics such as views, viewer dropoff by view time, etc.
- ZProvide valuable insights and suggestions that will help you improve the quality and effectiveness of your video content and how best to market them.
Contact us and make your videos on YouTube work for you!
At ITH, we offer comprehensive digital marketing services specifically designed for YouTube. We handle everything from defining your target audience to developing a robust content strategy. But our expertise doesn’t stop there.
Our YouTube marketing services go beyond strategy. We provide video production, optimization, distribution, analytics, and even advertising. When it comes to YouTube marketing, there’s nothing we can’t handle.
Whether you’re looking to reach potential customers at every stage of the sales funnel or maximize your YouTube channel’s potential, we’ve got you covered. Our team of social media marketing experts focuses on optimizing your YouTube presence through tactics like curated playlists, keyword inclusion, cross-channel promotion, and engaging with subscribers.
We know that artificial intelligence and machine learning have revolutionized audio and video marketing. However, YouTube SEO and well-crafted video descriptions are still crucial for visibility in YouTube and Google searches. That’s why our social media strategists and content writers collaborate to create keyword-optimized video descriptions. We closely consider factors like description length, primary and secondary keywords, and link placement to increase your video’s ranking.
Want to boost your online presence further? We can create keyword-optimized landing pages that embed your YouTube content. This drives discoverability and increases overall video engagement, enhancing brand awareness, better lead generation, and higher conversions.
If you want to start or grow your YouTube channel, we’d be happy to give you a free consultation and run video analytics on any current content you may have.
Choose ITH to take your YouTube marketing to the next level. Contact us today for a comprehensive solution that drives real results.