Learn how to get more views on your YouTube videos by following these digital video marketing practices and taking advantage of YouTube’s platform and optimization features.
YouTube is now the second largest search engine, second only to Google. It has roughly 22 billion monthly visits and is used to promote, entertain, and educate audiences making it an ideal tool for business owners and marketers.
Try some of the below tactics out if you are looking for ways to get more people to find and see your videos:
- First, as we all know now, getting people to engage with the video will get more visibility on YouTube based on how the algorithm works so that’s why it’s critical to keep focusing on the quality of the production and the content itself. You have to create content people actually want to watch, not just that promotes us. They will be more receptive to it. This can help get more people Subscribe. When they subscribe, they will get notifications on their phones which can dramatically increase views. But it starts with Content (no surprise, right?)
- You have to optimize every video with the proper Title, Description, Tags and a TRANSCRIPTION to help get it found. Your Title should have a Keyword in it that you want to rank for BUT only if it is directly relevant to your Video. Relevance matters, don’t spam! Your video also needs a DESCRIPTIVE filename. E.g. not MOV14.mov. A filename like medicaid-fraud-attorney-nyc-explains-why-you-received-hra-letter.mp4 is totally fine and can actually help your video rank better.
- Upload new videos in a consistent way on a schedule. Why? First, you’ll commit. Second, OVER TIME, people will start to get the idea that you are putting them up regularly and this can lead to more Subscribers which will get you more views. They may even come to expect that video and see that you are active and engaged as a content producer. You will be taken more seriously if you are Consistent.
- Obviously promote them on Social Media – IF and only IF you could define an EXACT demographic you would want to reach, then you MIGHT be able to put some $$ behind it and promote it on Facebook. Again, you have to understand and define the exact Audience you want to go after to see if it’s feasible to reach them. If you have an opt-in or customer email list, that’s an easy way to reach out to people who know you by serving ads to them on Facebook or even Google.
- Find people talking about the subject of your Video on Instagram and Twitter and tweet or respond to them and mention the video IF you think it’s helpful to them (via Instagram hashtag searched and tweet searches). YES, this takes a serious commitment of time and energy. That’s what it takes to be successful. Are you willing to put the time in to go become part of Conversations?
- This one does not work for everyone BUT if you are willing to find any Facebook groups where you can participate and become a valued member first (and NOT spam the heck out of people and become a loser) then you might be able to share content to audiences you would not reach otherwise, but only in the context of Conversations and ONLY if the Group Admins advocate this type of sharing. Totally depends.
- You would have to research if there are other YouTubers who are talking about this subject and who are NON Competing and then reach out to them offline (or on social) and see if they would be willing to add your video onto their own channel’s PLAYLIST as a resource, or even on their site etc. This usually means you first have to establish a relationship. Again, this why you have to balance educational with promo videos. Because no one is going to just promote your promo video for you. You have to be RELEVANT to their audience.
- See what words people use to find your channel in Traffic Sources in YouTube Analytics. Consider incorporating the most relevant search terms for each of your new videos. You can add them as titles and descriptions — as long as they’re accurate (and not excessive). *
- Embed the YouTube videos on your website. If you drive traffic to your website, the views you get on your YouTube videos that are embedded will be counted toward your channel views automatically.
- Write robust descriptions up to 1-2 paragraphs long, if relevant.
- Consider implementing YouTube’s Translation tools to reach an international audience.
- Brainstorm new video ideas by looking at search results for popular and less competitive queries. Identify opportunities to serve an audience that isn’t already well-served.
- Remember to check the ‘trending’ tab for topics that appeal to you or may be specific to your niche.
- Add clickable links to other videos within the video, via Add Card.
- Add your channel to your business card, email signature and other places from which you might drive views.
- Create or add an Intro video for new and returning YouTube channel visitors.
- YouTube Ads: This is a huge space to play in and can’t be summed up in one sentence. Suffice it to say you can run ads on YouTube against audiences you want to reach. You can even run sequenced video campaigns in an order you want to move Users down a funnel. This is of course paid so it’s not always an option for everyone.
- Build a personal brand around Video. If you build a name for yourself using video and are able to curate an email list, you are building equity. People will remember your name. They may then go to YouTube and search your name. So, creating that demand comes from building a personal brand. People will then seek out your videos through name search.
So, there you have it: 18 ways you can increase the number of views your YouTube videos get, most of which are organic SEO tactics.
*Items 9-12 sourced from YouTube Creator Academy (https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery?cid=get-discovered&hl=en#strategies-zippy-link-2)