YouTube is the most widely used video-sharing platform on the internet. Each year, billions of searches are made on YouTube, making it the second most popular search engine (next to the website’s parent company, Google).
With over 2.68 billion users, YouTube is so popular among today’s internet users for two main reasons: anyone can find content related to their interests and success with their content on the platform. Channels can host standalone content or content that supplements another vein of income, such as a blog or eCommerce store. Finding success on YouTube is partially luck, but you can control several variables to increase your reach on the video-sharing platform.
As with all online marketing, YouTube’s success begins with your audience. Understanding your audience is the first step in creating a popular YouTube channel. Identify the demographic for which you are creating content, what your content will consist of, what you are trying to achieve with your content, and why you are trying to achieve it. Suppose you’re using YouTube to supplement your online store. In that case, your end goal is to attract more customers to your store and to increase conversion rates by highlighting products and giving your business a personality others can relate to.
Creating content to synergize with your store or blog begins with branding. As with any other online platform, branding on YouTube is critical to your success:
- Create a catchy name for your YouTube channel. Your channel’s name should resonate well with your audience. If your content is being used to supplement an already established brand, use a name that your customers and audience will easily recognize.
- Associate your YouTube channel with other social media platforms. Create a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn account affiliated with your YouTube channel. If you already have these accounts, post your YouTube content on them as you upload it to your channel.
- Create eye-catching channel art that synergies well with your brand. A professional profile photo and an informative YouTube channel banner are critical to establishing your YouTube audience.
After you’ve created your YouTube channel and branded it appropriately, you’re ready to begin uploading content. High-quality content succeeds on YouTube, and you must upload only professional-grade content.
- Use a professional camera to record your videos. Phone cameras don’t deliver the same quality as professional DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. Invest in a quality camera to create content that will succeed. Choosing the right camera for your needs may involve extensive research, so take your time.
- Always record with a tripod to prevent any shaking of the camera.
- Invest in studio lighting to give your videos a professional and clean-cut look. Studio lights can be purchased for a moderate price online and made from household items on a budget.
The quality of your content is only partially dependent on the equipment used to record it. Beautifully recorded content will fall by the wayside if its intended audience doesn’t find it interesting. Much like blog content, there are several ways you can improve the reach of your YouTube content while making it relevant to your viewers:
- Use keywords in your video tags and titles. Like blogs and other online content, YouTube uses keywords to rank search results. Climb to the top of the results page using the right keywords in your titles and tags.
- Create interesting titles. Your titles say everything about your content to your viewers. Give your videos’ titles that will instantly result in clicks and views.
- Collaborate with others. Collaboration videos are wildly popular on YouTube. The viewers enjoy watching two of their favorite YouTube personalities interacting and creatvideostent together, and the two channels collaborating get access to each other subscribers and viewers as a result. Find tracks in your niche with a similar following, and ask for a collab.
Quality content speaks for itself on YouTube. Viewers flock to channels that provide consistent, relevant content, so you must follow this formula for success. Post content regularly – creating a weekly schedule for your uploads can be an efficient way to build an audience.
Your YouTube channel is an essential extension of your brand. Success on YouTube largely relies on the quality of your content and the consistency of your channel, which gives you a clear target to aim for with your uploads. Whether you’re looking to become a professional YouTuber or supplement your brand with video content, YouTube is an excellent branding and marketing tool with many benefits to offer to content creators.
Summary
As the most utilized video-sharing platform and the second most popular search engine, YouTube offers significant branding and marketing opportunities. The success of a YouTube channel largely depends on understanding the target audience, aligning content with their interests, and supplementing other revenue streams, such as eCommerce or blogging. Crucial steps to creating a successful channel include solid branding, linking to other social media platforms, and creating appealing channel art.
Once a channel is set up, content quality is key. Professional-grade recording equipment, including DSLR or mirrorless cameras, tripods, and studio lighting, can significantly enhance video quality. However, the relevance and interest of the content to the target audience are just as vital. Techniques to achieve this include using keywords in video tags and titles, creating engaging titles, and collaborating with similar channels.
Consistency in posting and maintaining content quality is fundamental to attracting and retaining an audience. Thus, the formula for success on YouTube involves audience understanding, quality content, consistent uploads, and strong branding. Thus, YouTube can be a powerful tool for branding, marketing, and revenue generation for individual creators or businesses.
