Did you know that you can use the same SEO tactics applicable to websites to promote YouTube videos? Tactics such as choosing the right title and video description, adding relevant tags and even using Closed Captions to allow crawlers to understand the video more are very effective in making the videos more discoverable.
These SEO tactics are great for getting a large number of viewers from search engines and YouTube’s internal search function. However, getting a large number of viewers alone is not enough. What you really need to succeed is to build a strong audience. This article will talk about some of the ways you can do that easily.
Vary Your Content
There is a type of content for everyone. Some viewers love tutorials and how-to videos. Others prefer to follow storylines and enjoy beauty shots and great visuals. It is important to understand that these different types of viewers exist even within the same audience segment.
To start building a good audience base and develop an active YouTube channel, you can do one of two things. You can focus on an even more specific niche or segment or simply vary your content to cater to a wider range of audience. The latter is often the better way to go, especially if you’re a small business or brand.
Varying your content also has another positive impact. It is easier to maintain a high level of user engagement when you keep producing high quality content that everyone enjoys. There is no need to worry about being trapped in a cycle of repetitive videos and similar-looking content.
Personalise Your Channel
The last thing you want is to have a channel filled with product videos and bland tutorials. To build relationships with your audience, what you need is a personalised channel that can be easily set apart from competitors’.
Again, there are different approaches you can use to achieve this particular goal. For starters, you can develop your own style of YouTube videos. Casey Neistat did it with his vlogs. A lot of people are copying his style of making YouTube vlogs, but everyone knows that the style is his in the first place.
Another way to personalise your channel is to introduce characters that viewers can relate to. Sun Bingo is a good example to look into with characters like Jean Martyn and Rustie Lee. These characters are known because they do look like our aunts who love to play bingo, making them very easy to relate to and recognise.
Be Consistent
The most important – and effective – trick of them all, however, is consistency. Having a schedule that your audience can follow is simply a must. You don’t have to upload a video every day if you don’t have the resources to produce so many videos. In fact, you have complete control over what your YouTube schedule looks like.
What’s more important is staying consistent from the beginning. If you want to upload two videos a week, let the audience know when the videos are coming. If it’s one video a week or one every two weeks, stick to that pattern consistently. The audience will start knowing when a new video is to be expected. Without realising, they’re engaged and will be following your channel closely for more videos. Paired with high quality content, consistency is a very powerful tool.
Once you have reached this point, you have a strong audience base to act as a foundation to your channel. Continue to engage your audience, reply to their comments and build a strong, personal relationship with them. You’ll be surprised by how far your channel will go in a relatively short amount of time.
