Videos are a marketing tool that have been around for a long time now. Marketers have leveraged this medium with TV commercials and video advertisements in movie theatres. More recently, with the evolution of digital mediums, videos as a medium of Brand Communication have grown exponentially. While nearly all social media platforms have different video capabilities and are still building more offerings; there is one platform that stands out when it comes to videos. Yes, we are referring to YouTube!
Developed as a platform dedicated solely to videos, YouTube has a first-mover advantage. According to certain estimates, the users of the platform spend nearly one billion hours every day watching videos. It’s not a surprise then that brands are focusing a lot more on creating videos for YouTube. That kind of reach offered by YouTube is unparalleled today. The efforts are not just due to the reach, though. The platform is the second-largest search engine, after Google. With a wide variety of videos covering different topics, it is the natural place for viewers to search for information. These two are reason enough for brands to ensure that YouTube is a part of their overall marketing strategy.
Grow your YouTube Channel Easily
If you are a brand beginning to create videos for YouTube or looking to grow your existing YouTube channel, here are a few pointers that will help you grow your audience with ease.
Define your Brand Positioning
When you are new to the concept of running a YouTube channel, the natural instinct is to start with making videos for YouTube. While that is a very important part of the whole process, it is important to first define what your videos will be about. You do not want viewers to come to your channel, become confused with what you are trying to say, and simply leave!
Like any good marketing communication, this medium also requires planning before you embark on the journey of creating attention-grabbing videos for YouTube. Brainstorm with your team to identify what your brand stands for. Who is your target audience, and what questions are you answering for them? Having a clear Brand Positioning and knowing your customers’ needs well helps in two ways. First, it sends out a clear message to the audience. Second, and more importantly, your potential customers search your brand when they are looking for information in that specific area. This helps in increasing your organic reach manifold.
Identify the relevant keywords
Once you have identified the general direction your brand will be taking, the next important thing is to find what are people looking for in that particular domain. This helps you identify the keywords people use while searching, as well as the most common information they are looking for. The first will help you optimise your SEO, by identifying the right keywords, and embedding them when you are making videos for YouTube. The latter helps you identify the concepts on which you can create videos. This is the information your audience is looking for, and your brand can help them with that information.
As we mentioned earlier, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Identifying and using the right keywords can help your target audience to find your content more easily. The more people find your videos, and the more satisfied they are with your information, the higher your Brand Awareness goes. An important point to remember at this point is, the keywords that you are using are relevant for videos. Embedding video search keywords in your videos for YouTube will help further optimise your SEO.
Create the Videos
Armed with all the research results, this is the time you should start creating your videos for YouTube. You have already identified the concepts: now build them into full-fledged scripts. Shoot the videos and edit them to make a compelling story. If you are a brand with a big budget, you can use one of the expensive video editing programs available on the market. However, if you are a newly established brand, go for one of the online video editing platforms like InVideo that give you nearly all the features required to create a video for YouTube.
A few things to keep in mind, especially when editing your video are listed below.
- YouTube rewards “Watch Time”, i.e., the time spent by users in watching your video. Thus, when creating your videos for YouTube, do not keep the length very short, as that will take a lot of time to reach higher watch time. On the flip side, a very long video may make the user lose interest and move on. So, try to keep an optimum length, which is approximately 10 minutes.
- The viewers can quickly move on to the next video if you are not able to pique their interest with your introduction. The first 15 to 30 seconds of any video are crucial to capture the interest of the viewer, which makes them continue watching your video. This is especially crucial when making videos for YouTube, as the viewers have a lot of alternative videos to move on to. So ensure that the hook of your video is so interesting that the audience carries on watching till the end.
Be Consistent
A very important factor, not just for YouTube, but for all the social media channels is consistency. If you are creating a video once in a while, your audience may not come back to your channel. But if they know a fixed time to expect the latest content from your channel, they are more likely to come back repetitively. Thus, when making videos for YouTube, it is extremely important to identify themes that you can use to create multiple videos, releasing on a fixed day of the week. This helps in Customer Retention and Engagement.
Experiment Fearlessly
With all the research, do not be bogged down by the urge to nail down the last details of your videos. Instead, experiment with the duration, structure, and components of your video. Ask your viewers to subscribe to your channel, share the content with friends, and even be open to audience suggestions on what they would like to see on the channel.
Following these simple and logical steps, combined with a consistent routine, goes a long way in growing your YouTube channel easily.
