In a very short period of time YouTube has progressed from an entertainment platform teeming with funny pet videos to the second biggest video search engine in the world. In that period YouTube harnessed its popularity to become a social marketing video platform as advertisers and viewers transitioned from television to online avenues.
Soon, YouTube was no longer the platform for film nerds or funny video enthusiasts. The network boasted of 2 billion views monetized every week, thus providing a marketing avenue for several commercial businesses. Today the platform has only continued to grow more rapidly with the entire entertainment industry going digital. If you as a creator are not effectively leveraging the platform's many tools, you are missing out on the viral content bandwagon. However success on YouTube cannot be obtained overnight, just as the case is with life. Success on YouTube requires preparation and sustained efforts.
The following tips are a good place to start.
1. What is "success" to you?
What is it that you are trying to achieve on YouTube? This will be the most vital question you ask yourself. The answer to this question will give you a clue as to the type of audience you cater to. And also it will influence the type of content that you ultimately produce for the social marketing video platform.
- More video views - Are you only concerned with more and more people watching your content?
- Call To Action - Is your channel merely a promotional platform for your other commercial ventures?
- More followers – Is your channel looking to create a wide fan base that you can then harness to effectively establish yourself as a niche expert or consultation expert?
Once you are able to narrow down on what you want from your channel's audience, meaningful success becomes imminent. Now your strategy can be customized exactly according to the expected results. Every step will be measured to take you closer to your version of YouTube success more effectively and faster.
2. Use more keywords for your social marketing video descriptions
Just as you are mindful of SEO while creating blog post content or articles, you should use keywords for getting discovered on the world's second biggest search engine as well. You have to understand what people look for in your niche. The Keyword Tool on YouTube helps find relevant keyword searches within your domain. Optimizing your YouTube videos for keyword search is important just as much as it is for all your online written content. You need to do research, be strategic, as well as understand who you are trying to target. Google involves YouTube searches in its results, therefore cross-checking your Google SEO search with YouTube can be important in planning your strategy.
3. Understand your competition.
Search YouTube for videos similar to yours but those that rank better for same keywords. Compare your content to theirs to overcome their channel's standing. This will also help you further in improving your subsequent keyword research and incorporation. Utilize the lessons learnt from your research to delve into similar opportunities which your YouTube peers may be taking an advantage of. Are there keywords which get immense traffic and help land a better ranking instead of the ones that you are currently using? Are there long-tail keywords which you should be targeting so that they cater to specific concerns of your viewer?
4. Create amazing social marketing video content.
Viral content cannot be created overnight, at the swish of a magic wand. Viral content goes viral either by chance, or is strategically thought-out and planned! Sharable content happens to be naturally amusing, not intentionally. While this might sound limiting, but the secret is that you should stick true to your message. In that vein, you must design online digital content which holds meaning for your audience.
YouTube has definitely emerged as an incredibly influential platform particularly with the OTT platforms taking over the entertainment industry. So now a YouTube channel holds almost the same worth as even TV channel giants. However, that depends totally on whether you can harness the power of your YouTube channel with the right strategies and the right content. Make sure to find your niche audience and your content styles soon in your YouTube journey. Remember consistency can help establish your brand of content more effectively particularly when you are competing with a wide range of influencers who are in the same niche as yours.
