With the steep rise in video consumption of global audiences, Youtube Channels are a critical element of digital marketing. YouTube marketing is not just the go-to platform for digital marketing agencies in New York, but also for marketers across the world. In fact, since 2015, marketers have been placing their bets heavily on YouTube Marketing for digital success. Latest studies show that 62% of businesses use YouTube to target the platform’s 2.3 billion active users.

But, with 720,000 hours of new content being published on YouTube per day—how do brands position themselves to make it to the top? How do digital marketing agencies in New York and elsewhere carve out a niche for their clients and grab the lion’s share of YouTube viewership which consists of users watching billions of hours on the video-sharing platform?

Well, the key to growth in YouTube Marketing is increasing followers, also known as ‘subscribers’ in YouTube terminology. And at the heart of growing your subscriber base is to market your YouTube Channel right – which is what this blog is all about! Let’s get started.

Why is Channel Growth More Preferable to Skyrocketing Views on a Single Video on YouTube?

While viewers come and go, subscribers are the loyal ones who get hooked to your content and keep coming back for more. They also become unofficial brand ambassadors for your video content if they take a strong liking to what you post. Hence, subscribers are the real jackpot, and marketing your YouTube Channel right is the only way to make it happen!

But here’s the catch – for a one-time viewer to become a loyal subscriber, several things have to work in your favor. Viewers, no matter how much they love their content, are unlikely to hit the subscribe button on their own. As marketers, we have to make it happen. 

To do this, we first need to understand the video consumption logic of YouTube and then build our marketing strategy around it.

Consumption Logic of YouTube Videos

1. Search and Discovery: The first thing to remember is that viewers don’t just “stumble upon” your video. There are digital marketing algorithms in place on search engines, social media, and most importantly, on YouTube itself which makes it happen. They either search for it (read: SEO marketing) or they discover it (read: videos popping up through social media sharing, recommendation engine by Youtube, and viral videos).

2. Design: Once they do come across your video, they take only a few seconds to decide whether to click on it to view the content or not. The most important factor affecting this decision is design and teaser content. As one of the leading digital marketing agencies in New York, we can tell you that design is not just about having a catchy thumbnail – though that does help too! We will throw more light on the design aspect of YouTube marketing shortly.

3. Content: You got them to click and open your video on YouTube. But then what? How do you make sure that they stay? Well, they don’t say ‘content is king’ for no reason! As we will see, there are several things to keep in mind while creating video content to make sure that it is relevant, inspiring, valuable to your audience, and above all, enticing enough to keep them coming back for more (i.e. subscribe to your YouTube channel).

4. Call to action (CTAs): No matter how engaging and well-developed your content is, first-time viewers rarely decide to subscribe on their own. Carefully planted CTAs across the content, description, and social media teasers are the way to go. Digital marketing agencies in New York even drive it up a notch by providing incentives to potential subscribers! (More on this shortly.)

5. New Content: Sadly, your job is not over once they have subscribed. Dormant subscribers won’t get you anywhere. You have to keep whetting their appetite with a steady stream of new and relevant content to make growth real and monetizable for your YouTube Channel.

There you go – now that we have a clear picture of video consumption logic on YouTube, let’s head straight to the real stuff – the ways and means to grow your YouTube Channel effortlessly!

#1 SEO, SEO, SEO – Because Search Still Rules!

Video marketing is often considered to be the fancier counterpart to pure text-based content marketing. But that doesn’t mean that SEO is any less important here. If anything, it is more so!

So, how do you ramp up your SEO strategy for YouTube Channel Growth?

1. Populate the Basic Fields: The first thing to remember is that YouTube, like Google, is basically a search engine – though it is one that is dedicated to videos. Start by populating your target keywords in your channel profile, video titles, and descriptions. 

That said, don’t just go for blind keyword-stuffing – focus on the user search intent for each video to carefully choose keywords that resonate with your audiences. Take a cue from your competitors who are doing well, but apply your own logic to it too! After a period of hit and trial, you will know which keywords are showing results and which aren’t.

2. Use a Keyword Research Tool: Tools like SEMRush and Keyword Tool are indispensable to zero in on keywords with high search volume and low difficulty index. As a next step, tools like TubeBuddy can help you to delve deeper into the competition scenario around the keywords. Ideally, keywords with high search volume and low competition are the low-hanging fruits. 

Don’t shy away from adding an important keyword to your YouTube Channel name. For example, having a channel named “Digital Marketing Hotspot” rather than “Nick’s Channel” is more effective on any given day – for SEO and otherwise.

The first 48 characters of your “About” content are extremely crucial since these get shown in YouTube search results. Over and above its search value, your profile page should be easy to understand and relate to your content niche within just a few seconds – and keywords are a great way to do just that.

3. Ace Google Search Like a Pro: It’s so easy to lose sight of the big daddy – i.e. Google – while focusing on SEO for YouTube. As a trusted SEO Agency in New York, we urge you to avoid that trap by targeting keywords to help your video rank well on the Google search engine results page (SERP). Populate your Video File Name, Video Title, Video Description, Video Thumbnail, and Video Tags with these keywords. You can even piggyback on successful YouTubers by collaborating with them for higher reach and improved SEO!

#2 Go Social to Get Discovered

While SEO is pure logic and extremely competitive, going social is an incredible opportunity as you can leverage human emotions and the power of the digital community. Start by talking about your video on your social handles, but focus on getting people to talk about them, and most importantly to share them.

Remember – people share stuff that makes them look cool. So along with focusing on value creation through content (which is of course the primary responsibility of any content marketer), also focus on stepping up the “coolness” quotient.

Use catchy teasers and relevant hashtags, and get people to notice you better by posting in relevant groups as well as roping in the key influencers in your field. In the initial stages, engaging graciously and tirelessly with anyone who is kind enough to “like” or “comment” on your video content is key. This boosts their excitement to “talk” to your brand and spread the word. Never underestimate the power of a good gesture – even in the digital world!

When going social in the YouTube community itself don’t forget to launch videos in a series and harness the power of YouTube playlists. They go a long way in making homegrown YouTube audiences your brand’s best friends by leveraging Youtube’s very own recommendation engine.

Time your videos right on Social Media and avoid click-bait titles. Keep it fun and inviting without losing your authentic touch and the promise of excellent quality content!

#3 Invest in Design to Get it Right The First Time

Any digital marketing agency in New York will tell you this – first impressions matter. This means that getting sloppy with design, even in the early days, can hurt your brand.

As mentioned before, design is not just about that flashy thumbnail or that really cool font.

Make your thumbnail easy to understand, soothing for the eyes, and tempting to click on. Get it branded with your logo, brand colors, and fonts, and invest in getting custom images crafted for each thumbnail – thank us later! Take inspiration from other brands (not just competitors) and really get your design to speak for you. It’s the best investment you will ever make for your YouTube channel growth.

#4 Make High-Quality Content at a Consistent Pace

YouTubers upload 500 hours of video every minute to the platform—that’s the kind of competition we are talking about. So unless you are game for truly valuable content delivered in the most effective and engaging way possible, the battle is going to be steep.

While there are no hard and fast rules, keeping a few guidelines in mind can help to get you there faster by establishing your brand as a subject matter expert and thought leader in your field.

• Avoid fluff – Every second of your video content should be informative, enriching, and relevant.
• Stay updated – Stale content will do more harm than good. Create content that makes sense today and tomorrow, not yesterday.
• Hit the sweet spot – Videos that are too long or too short, too dull or too flashy, too factual or too emotional will score low on your audiences’ radar. Keep the balance at the center of everything you do.
• Consistency is key – Remember that friend we all have who emerges every few months only to vanish once again? Don’t let your brand be that guy. You don’t have to publish every single day, but be consistent and disciplined so that your audiences know what to expect.
• Relevance is the deciding factor – Stay up-to-date with the latest trends – not just in your field but also in what people are buzzing about in general. Try ingenious ways to weave it into your YouTube content. This will make every new piece of content you create more palatable and exciting such that your viewers can’t stop talking about your content.
• Go Live, Use YouTube Shorts and Do Pre-launch Promos – “Live” is the new sexy in digital marketing. So get ready to spend some real-time marketing effort in that direction by premiering high-value content for live audiences on YouTube. Since attention spans are on the decline, tap into the power of YouTube Shorts and go on a promotional spree pre- and post-launch. They are incredible tools in the hands of a strategic marketer.

#5 Get Clever with CTAs

Simply put, call-to-action elements (or CTAs) nudge your users to take some action in favor of your brand by offering them something in return. They are irrefutably important and critical for Youtube channel growth. If you do everything else right and skip this part, you will basically miss out on the sweet taste of ROI and burn a hole in your pocket instead.

Some examples of good CTAs for Youtube channel marketing include:

• Subscribe to our channel for more such exciting content
• Share this video with your friends
• Like this video / Comment on this video
• Download our app
• Join our email list
• Visit our website
• Follow us on Social Media

Last but not the least, don’t forget to use YouTube Analytics to track your progress on views, subscribers, and shares, and see for yourself which elements of your strategy are working and which are falling short.

We hope you found this article useful and are already on your way to upping the ante for your Youtube Channel Marketing! As one of the top Digital Marketing and SEO Agencies in New York, we are here to help you with your and your client’s digital marketing needs. Our professional expertise and years of experience with marketing success are on hire and up for grabs at highly competitive rates. Tell us what you need and we promise to have your back! To know more about us, visit www.agencycouch.com or write to us at [email protected]

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