Whether you’re a business on YouTube or individual creating videos for fun, in this post, we will discuss some of the best ways to give your YouTube channel more exposure. There are many marketing methods you can take advantage of for gaining exposure as a YouTube channel. Here are some of the most effective strategies:
Search Engine Optimization
You may have heard about this term before. It’s really important! SEO is a really effective way to get more exposure to your YouTube channel. It basically means to optimize your videos with keywords so they can show up on search engines and YouTube search results when people search for those keywords. There are many factors involved with SEO but these four are really important.
Video Title: The title of your YouTube video should include the keywords you are targeting.
Description: Your video description should also include your target keywords at an appropriate density.
Tags: Many people forget to utilize the power of tags. Having relevant tags can give your video more exposure because it helps you rank better and more accurately on search results.
File Name: The file name of the video you upload should contain your targeted keywords instead of the default numerical file name.
Optimizing these four SEO factors mentioned above can help bring more views and exposure to your YouTube videos.
Attending Events and Networking
Attending events gives you a great opportunity to market your channel. You should always try and make an effort to attend events and local meetups that are in the same or similar niche. By attending events and meeting other people, you have the chance to let others know about your YouTube channel through group or individual conversations.
Word of mouth is great when it comes to marketing.
Extra Tip: Sponsoring events can be a great way to give your YouTube channel more exposure as well. Everyone attending the event will know about your channel, and you may even be mentioned in the press covering the event.
Social Media
This may be obvious, but social media is a must! You should be active on different social media sites daily whether it’s to promote your newest video or to interact with your followers. Google plus, Facebook, and Twitter are no brainers. YouTube even allows you to connect these accounts to your channel.
It’s important to build a loyal following and a community around your channel on social media. By building a following around your YouTube channel, you have the reach to give your YouTube videos maximum exposure every time you make an upload. Every retweet, or share from your social media pages can help draw more viewers who may also become a part of your social community.
Extra Tip: Sometimes bookmarking sites can help make your YouTube channel or videos go viral so don’t be afraid to try out sites like Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon.
Start Blogging
A blog is a great way to keep your followers updated with the latest news about your YouTube channel through blog posts. You can use the embed feature by YouTube to add your newest videos to blog posts.
This can work out great because every time someone lands on your blogs through Google, there’s a high chance they will also view your YouTube videos as well. That means you can get exposure through YouTube and people searching for content on Google!
Google AdWords for Video
This method will require a marketing budget. AdWords for video is an advertising program offered by Google. This program allows you to create advertisements that will be placed on YouTube. Every time someone clicks on the ads, they are directed to your YouTube channel. The reach and exposure from this program depends on how much you are willing to spend.
The great thing about this program is that you can target who will see your ads. This means that you can target a specific audience to be directed to your channel. By setting up effective campaigns on AdWords for video, you can give your channel well targeted marketing results.
Extra Tip: If you want to try a marketing tool that gives you promotion for free, you can try out YouTube’s self-funded program called Fan Finder. You can get more information on this tool by checking out a post written earlier on the Social Blade blog about YouTube’s Fan Finder.
Email Marketing
Having an email list with people interested in your YouTube channel is something that is very valuable. It’s an outlet you can use at any given time to give your channel promotion. Build an email list of your YouTube followers and send them emails periodically with your important announcements and popular videos. Encourage your recipients to forward your emails to others who may also be interested in your channel. This is a really great way to expand your reach!
Branded Merchandise
Wearing branded merchandise is a great to promote your YouTube channel without even trying! You can give away branded items or t-shirts to your friends and family to wear. More people walking around with your branded t-shirts leads to more exposure.
In order to make this method work, you should have your YouTube channel name on the t-shirts in a clearly visible area. Feel free to even include a tagline that represents what your channel is about.
Here are some more ideas on different things you can use for branded merchandise:
- Branded Jackets / Hoodies
- Coffee Mugs, Water Bottles, Bags
- Baseball Caps, Necklaces, IPhone Cases
- Stickers, Bookmarks and much more!
You can turn everyday accessories into effective marketing tools for your channel!
Extra Tip: You can even give away branded merchandise to your subscribers on YouTube. When people use your branded merchandise, it leads to a bigger reach and exposure for your channel every time someone else sees your items.
Do Giveaways through Draws
A lot of people run contests as an effective marketing strategy. Contests can bring you great results if done right. You can start a draw that requires people to subscribe to your YouTube channel or follow you on social media to be entered.
You can then do giveaways or give a prize to selected entrants. By gaining more followers, you are getting more exposure for your YouTube channel. Be sure to have a well-developed plan and outline for your draw before you start!
Use all these tips to help you bring a lot more exposure to your YouTube channel!
Author: Ron is part of the editorial team at Vlog Nation – an online guide that provides daily content to vloggers and video creators. You can also follow VlogNation on twitter @TeamVlogNation.
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