Learn YouTube Marketing in 10 Easy Steps

Not many know that YouTube is the second largest search engine and therefore, it is an important platform for marketers because it has a lot of potential. Most of your target audience is most probably using the platform and this is what makes youtube marketing such a great online marketing asset.

Most of us have spent endless hours hopping from video to the next, in the endless sea of content available on YouTube. The platform has something for everybody, from music to drama to educational videos, it has all forms of content.

What is YouTube Marketing?

The term is self-explanatory and just refers to making the optimal use of the platform to market any products or services. Using videos and ads, you increase your reach by spreading awareness about your products.

When it comes to video marketing there is no platform better than YouTube due to its huge user base (over a billion users) and the platform doesn’t even have any competitors. This is why over the past few years, companies have been investing a lot in digital video advertising.

It is not expensive to run a youtube channel and youtube marketing using the platform. As long as you churn out good content and actively engage with your audience, you should do well. To help you in understanding ‘how to do youtube marketing’ better, we have explained it in detail in the next section.

10 Steps to Follow to do YouTube Marketing

YouTube marketing can be broken down into ten easy steps which have been listed below:

Set up a YouTube Channel

Create a channel for your business on the platform using a brand account. If you use a regular YouTube account, only you’ll be able to access it but a brand account multiple users who have been authorized to access the channel can use it.

Further, a brand channel can also be used to run multiple youtube channels so that as your business grows, you can be prepared beforehand.

Get to Know Your Audience

If you want to know how to market your youtube channel you must know your audience. Marketing is all about the consumer and therefore, this is a pivotal step. All the content which you’ll be creating will be based on your research. Make use of YouTube Demographics that will supply you with quantitative data.

This data includes information such as where do the majority of users live, what age-groups most frequently use the platform, what are their preferences, and so on. Collect this data and make use of it when creating content.

Whatever you put out there, should resonate with your target and for this, you need to learn as much about them as possible. If you already have an active YouTube channel, you can use the Analytics feature on the platform to determine how your content is being received by the audience.

You should also go over the comments that the users leave as well as make note of what kind of content gets the most likes and what doesn’t.

Study Your Competitors

If you aren’t able to figure out who your competitors are, you can easily look up which other companies are ranking for the keywords being used by your brand. List three to five competitors and analyze their work.

Do your research based on the SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) of your competitors. By learning about what exactly is working or not working for them, you get to learn a lot which helps you to market your youtube channel.

In this manner, you will get to know the dos and don’ts of running a channel, and keep them in mind when planning your strategy.

Go Over Your Favorite Channels

Browse your watch history as well as subscriptions and spend time on video. Figure out what elements you liked or disliked about those videos, and what are the things that keep you coming back for more.

Always keep a close eye on the trending videos section of YouTube, even if they don’t necessarily display anything relevant to your niche. You can always learn about the kind of content being actively consumed by the audience and also observe how companies are using youtube for marketing

Do the same with the established names in your industry and go over their content to get some inspiration and learn new techniques.

Ensure That Your Videos Optimized

Since YouTube is also a search engine, it has a ranking system based on keywords, titles, descriptions, etc. Optimizing is, therefore, important for youtube marketing and it can be done in the following ways:

Your titles should be SEO-friendly but don’t use clickbait as it can be very off-putting.
Create interesting thumbnails which immediately catch the eye of the users, make sure to customize them according to your content.
The description that you write should be rich in keywords, and try to use them in the first 300 characters of your description since all these many are visible above the ‘show more’ option.
Remind your users to like, share and subscribe to your channel.

Be Very Particular About Your Posting Schedule

Consistency is key when it comes to marketing your youtube channel. For the younger audience, YouTube has replaced TV. Since they are no longer consuming content on TV and using the platform instead, they need new content to be released according to some schedule.

Therefore, be very careful about how you plan your schedule because just churning out content on time isn’t enough, the quality is equally important. You can even use tools such as Hootsuite, and take the help of scheduling tools to stick to your schedule.

Optimize Your Channel to Get More Followers

Optimizing your youtube channel can be done in the following ways:

Make sure that your profile is complete and has all the information
The channel description should be written using keywords to increase visibility
The channel icon should be a high-resolution picture of your logo
Include the links to your social media platforms on your YouTube banner
Create a stunning channel trailer to attract users
Segregate your content into playlists to make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for

Test out YouTube Advertising

According to a report, people are three times more likely to pay attention to an ad displayed online as compared to those on TV. Make use of YouTube ads to market your youtube channel and get to know your target audience where they can effectively spread awareness about your products, services, or upcoming events.

YouTube ads have been divided into four types:

Ads that are displayed mid-stream and can be skipped
Those which can’t be skipped
Non-video ads
Video discovery ads

Collaborate With Influencers

Partnering with the right influencers can improve your brand awareness and ultimately sales which eventually promotes your youtube channel as it has been observed that people are 60% more likely to buy products if they’re suggested by their favorite creators.

Research the influencers in your niche and approach those who have the same audience as yours and convince them to work with you. Have them post product reviews, do giveaways, etc. to increase your reach.

Monitor Your Content

Track your channel’s progress using YouTube Analytics and see how your videos are performing. Whenever you release a new video, keep an eye on:

The changes in your subscriber count
The changes, if any, in the audience demographics
Where is the traffic coming from and from where (locations)
On which devices is the video being played (Laptop, TVs, mobiles, etc.)

Conclusion

YouTube marketing is not easy as many users are starting their own youtube channel and youtube is not just a hub for funny videos anymore but so much more. Start working on your content from today itself and make sure that whatever you put out there is worth the time your users put into watching it. However, don’t put too much pressure on yourself but enjoy the process and it’ll automatically be reflected in your work.