Video marketing is only getting more popular. More brands and businesses are realizing this and hopping onto YouTube. While other social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are places to reach your target audience, YouTube is the best attention grabber of the bunch. People collectively spend more than 1 billion hours every day watching videos on YouTube. Known as the “second largest search engine”, YouTube has been a goldmine when it comes to getting in front of the eyes of just about anyone who knows how to use a computer.

How do we use this magical thing called YouTube? There’s more to growing a YouTube channel than making a video and uploading it. We have several posts on how to get more views on your channel and such, but this article is going to dive directly into how to grow your YouTube channel.

5 Tips on How to Grow your YouTube Channel

1.  YouTube SEO Optimization

Every video you make should be YouTube SEO optimized.

How to Find Good Keywords

A part of optimizing is finding the best keywords to target.

1. You should first find the general topic keywords related to your video. For example, if you’re making a knitting tutorial, then you can target words like “knitting tutorial”, “how to knit”, etc.
2. Next, you take those keywords and type them into the YouTube search bar.
3. Go through the list of suggestions that appear.
4. If you have a keyword analysis tool, then pop them in and check on the different keyword difficulties, the competition, etc. Ideally you want a keyword that gets a lot of searches and has low competition. Suggested tools to help you out with this step include TubeBuddy and VidIQ.

Optimize Each Video for 1 Keyword/Topic

Once you choose your keyword, you need to optimize!

How to Optimize

• Try to include the keyword in the title. This isn’t as important as it used to be, but if you can squeeze your keyword in the title, then you should definitely do it.
• Use a title that is “catchy” and will get clicks. If your title is too generic, people will read over it. At the same time, be honest about the video content so you get a good audience retention.
• Pack your descriptions with tons of text! YouTube will know where to suggest your video if you cleverly include relevant keywords in an in-depth description.
• Video tags are very important when it comes to YouTube SEO. Make sure you find all possible tags that include your specified target keyword. All relevant keywords will be beneficial here as well. For instance, if you’re making a video targeting “keto diet”, then other keywords you should include are “keto diet foods”, “ketogenic diet”, and “weight loss”.
• Thumbnails, thumbnails, thumbnails! Every video needs a custom thumbnail that will help it stand out from the competition. Use bright colors, easy to read text, and try to express the content of the video clearly in your thumbnail. A great tip to keep in mind is to use colors that are different from the white, red, & black used on the YouTube website. This way, your videos will stand out even more.

2.  Develop a Brand

Branding your YouTube channel helps to make your content more recognizable. Viewers will be more likely to take your channel seriously as well. Great content paired with branding is a great way to add a professional touch to your channel. A simple way to create a brand is to get a professional logo made. You can go to a site like Fiverr to get this done for a very affordable rate.

3.  Create an Upload Schedule

New YouTube channels are at a disadvantage because they don’t have as many videos uploaded as other channels. Think about it, the more videos you have uploaded, the more drip views you’ll get. One of the most impactful things you can do to help grow your YouTube channel is create an upload schedule where you upload at least once a week. Perhaps every Tuesday and Thursday works for you. Whatever it is, consistency is key here.

If you make an upload schedule, you’ll be more likely to stick to it. Make it realistic, too. When your viewers expect you, be there. Don’t plan to upload every day if you’re just going to end up overwhelmed with all the work you need to do. You’ll be more likely to throw in the towel if you’re feeling overworked. Other channels, such as Philip Defranco, can upload a high volume of videos consistently because an entire team is dedicated to editing, thumbnail designs, and so on.

4.  Check Out the Big Fish in Your Niche

It may seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning that you should keep up to date with the other channels in your niche, especially the most successful ones. You can learn from these channels and take inspiration from them to help improve your future content. A great way to gain more views on your videos is by curating content identical to a big content creator in your niche (keep it original, of course), and optimizing it to show up in the suggested feed.

The way this method works is by using the same metadata as the video you’re trying to show up in the suggested feed for. You will be getting in front of people who are already interested in the topic you are covering, meaning the viewers you receive through this method are going to be engaged and will be more likely to provide your video more watch time.

5.  Optimize for Watch Time

Watch time is one of the biggest factors that affect the YouTube algorithm. The most watch time you get, the better the algorithm will treat you. Easy, right? That’s why it’s so important to optimize your video to get the most watchtime possible. So how do you do that? Here are some tips:

• Make an intro for your video. You don’t need insane graphics to have a good intro. In fact, flashy graphics and music that aren’t relevant to the video’s topic can be counterintuitive and drive people away from your video.Your intro is best used to make it clear what your video is about. It can be as simple as you explaining, “Hi, I’m ___! Welcome to my channel. In this video, I’m going to show you my secrets on how to _______.” Your intro should be short, concise, and no longer than 15 seconds. This part is so important because you want to make a good first impression. |
• Utilize “pattern interrupts”. Pattern interrupts are elements that add a bit more “pizzazz” to your video. Things like animations, camera angle changes, graphics, text, sound effects, lists, and more are examples of pattern interrupts that have been shown to help increase audience retention.
• Unless you’re amazing at holding a conversation with the camera, it’s best to create a script to follow. By planning out what you’re going to talk about and how you’ll be explaining things, your viewers will have an easier time following along. The easier they can understand what you’re saying, the better. Keep explanations as simple as possible and don’t feel the need to deliver everything in one take. Cuts are very common and are a basic form of pattern interruption as well!

Conclusion

These 5 tips are great ways to help increase your YouTube channel’s growth. If you want to get the most out of YouTube, then make sure to check out our other posts explaining how to get more views and covering the current trends. Staying up to date with YouTube trends and SEO tips is key to ensuring your are informed on how to keep growing your channel.