Think of youtube from the point of view of the audience. How do you find new videos? On the homepage, the suggestion or direct searches? All of these videos revolve around your interests or past-searches.
The discoverability of youtube videos works on a merit-basis. The more merits your video has towards the search and suggestions algorithm, the more your video reaches people. This quality is called the ranking of your video.
Let’s look at some of the most prominent aspects that help you get better views and eventually build a vast subscriber base.
1. Consistent Posting
There is nothing more significant than consistent posting and compelling content. These two factors make up half of your youtube battle. The more often you post, the better your videos rank on suggestions and the home-screen.
When you post more content, you also build a strong subscriber base. In turn, these actions will enhance the number of views you get on each video you upload. Youtube also pushed videos that have monetization activated on them.
However, to activate monetization, you must have one thousand subscribers and four thousand hours of view time in over a year. Only better videos on your channel can trigger this achievement.
Keep in mind; in the process of chasing quantity, you should not lose out on quality. To help plan your posting, prepare a calendar of videos, and shoot and edit each video a few weeks ahead.
2. Cross Promotions.
Once you upload the video on youtube, unfortunately, the work does not end there. This step is the start of a new set of tasks we call cross-promotion. Cross promotions are a process where you leverage your other communication networks like mailing lists, social media, and messaging to promote this video.
While you will generate some organic growth from youtube, you need to acquire users who already follow you (or your work) on other channels. Post links on social media platforms and compose interactive messages to your friends and family.
You can also cut small trailers of this video using an online video editor without watermark to post them on social media. Post a short snippet from the video without giving away too many details. This practice will generate curiosity and direct people to your youtube channel.
3. Optimize Video Details
A well-made video could still rank lower on youtube’s algorithm because it is not technically updated. This means you will have to update and optimize the meta information like tags, descriptions, etc.
Video tags are used to categorize your video when people search for the appropriate content. Using the right tags will help your video appear on searches and suggestions.
Alternatively, not adding any tags will flag your video for inadequate practice and hamper your reach.
Take your time to write a detailed description of each video. Ensure this information is rich in keywords and share all the messages to the users. Also, use this space to add links to your social media, website, or products.
Pro Tip: If you have the script of your video, activate closed caption on youtube. Doing this will not just give better quality subtitles to your videos, but also improve your ranking.
4. Powerful Thumbnail
Your video thumbnail is more than just a pretty piece of art. It is an essential tool to drive traffic to your content—the thumbnail is your video’s first impression. Do not use a screen-grab that is auto-generated by youtube. Use a free online tool to make your custom image.
This thumbnail should be eye-catchy and provide insightful details of your video. Having a consistent design for all your youtube thumbnails will also help you build a uniform brand that people recognize over time.
5.Interact With The Community
Youtube is as much as a social media platform as it is a video content platform. Unlike Netflix and Hulu, this is a user-generated platform that demands engagements and interactions. Reply to the comments of your youtube video to help enhance this feeling of community.
Additionally, add valuable comments on other video creators in the same niche as yours. This comment will also help spread the word about your channel and redirect the right demographic of users.
The community tab on your youtube channel is also a powerful device. Think of this section as a Twitter page within the youtube channel. Use this feature to update posts about yourself, your channel, upcoming videos, or other promotions that add value to your subscribers.
6. Using the End-screen Features.
The end screen feature on youtube videos is a great way to keep users hooked to more of your content. Youtube lets you embed call to actions on your video in the form of annotation in the last twenty seconds of your video. This part of the video is also called an outro or an end-card.
Youtube allows you to post clickable elements on the screen like the link to another video, a playlist, a subscription button, or an external link. They also allow you to connect to another youtube channel’s link here.
Using these features will not just get you a critical call to action, but also rank your video higher. Using a free intro maker no watermark version, you can create these video sections and add them to each video’s end during the final edit.
7. Use all Youtube Call to Actions.
Elaborating on the point mentioned above, youtube is sprinkled with call to actions. As a content creator, you should proactively direct your users to click them. These could be the lin button, the comment sections, the subscribe button, the share button, etc.
These actions let the youtube algorithm know that users are aware of your content and help new users discover it. Many YouTubers ask people to click these buttons as part of the video. Others use animations or text-prompts to encourage this action.
Bonus Tip:
The title of your video will help you very significantly. A brief and precise title will direct the ideal users to your work. Before you title your video write down a few, at least ten options. Pick one sounds perfect and has the right keywords.
Another trick is to search for your video’s valid keywords on youtube to see what titles are yet to be used to avoid duplication and stand out from the clutter.
Final Thoughts,
Sadly, there is no formula to go viral on youtube, but these tips and tricks will help you find some direction. If you keep a check on all the above points, you will unquestionably see improved views in a matter of months.