Once you’ve created your YouTube channel and started uploading lots of new content on a regular basis, it can be a very frustrating feeling to find that no one is watching what you so lovingly put together. For that reason, you’re going to want to try and build up a big audience as quickly as possible and that’s why you need a plan to promote your content.
But promoting yourself on YouTube is somewhat different from promoting yourself on Google. Let’s take a look at some of the best methods you can employ and how they work…
SEO
While YouTube and Google are very different beasts, YouTube is still essentially a search engine. In fact, it is the second largest search engine in the world! And with that in mind, it only follows that you should be able to optimize your content for it to encourage it to be found more.
So how do you optimize a video for search?
One tip is to think hard about the title of your video. You need to ensure that your content uses terms that people are likely to search for and also that it uses terms that people are likely to want to click.
Also important is to choose the right keywords when YouTube asks you to enter them and to use the right description. Adding a lot of content to your description is generally recommended as this will help YouTube to identify what your video is about.
Sharing
There’s nothing to stop you from sharing your YouTube videos just like any other content you would create on a blog, in fact this is actually one of the very best ways to grow your audience and to get more views.
The best way to do this is to create a video that tackles a niche subject matter and then to share it in a community where that subject is discussed. For example, if you create a YouTube video about Arnold Schwarzenegger, then you can find his fan pages on Facebook, or his Reddit and then post it there to get a lot of hits instantly.
Cross Promotions and Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing means that you’re working with influencers – people who have a big audience and the ability to persuade that audience. If you can find another YouTuber that blogs on a similar subject matter to you, then you can appear in their videos in exchange for them appearing in yours. This way, you each get exposure to a broader audience and you each see an increase in your following as a result.
The key here is to make sure that you work with people at a similar level to you and in the same niche. This way, they will stand to gain something and you are more likely to get a response. At the same time, it means the audience will be relevant to your subject matter.
This is actually one of the key ways that YouTube channels grow – so try not to view other creators as competitors so much as colleagues and partners!