8 Ways to Get More YouTube Views

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a dozen times: when it comes to internet marketing, content is king.

All too often, people interpret “content” as “blog posts” or even website copy. But content isn’t only the written word. It can also refer to visual assets like infographics, statistics and increasingly, video.

Believe it or not, Video is expected to account for an astonishing 80% of all internet traffic by 2019!  Haven’t yet established your YouTube channel? 

Now is the time.

Even if you’ve had a presence on the video-sharing site for years, you can never have too many YouTube views. Here’s how to get those views rolling in.

1. Organize Your Videos into Playlists

One of the simplest ways to get more YouTube views is to organize content into playlists. Playlists make it easier for your audience to find relevant videos.

Your playlists help your viewers narrow down what you offer on your channel. Playlists can also encourage your viewers to watch more of your videos if autoplay is on.

One great idea is to make playlists using other channels’ videos. They can keep the audience on your channel. Curating content in this way is a valuable service you can provide for your viewers.

The more they watch, the longer they stay, the better the relationship you build with your viewers.

2. Remember the Importance of Metadata

So what’s metadata anyway?

Metadata is the information about your video. It includes the title, subtitles, description, tags, category, and closed captions. 

Adding this information to your video does not directly increase the clicks you get from viewers. But YouTube does take it into account when ranking your video in Google.

Sending the right signals to YouTube (and Google), improve the chances of your video popping up in search results. (More on the importance of SEO to YouTube views later.)

Thumbnails: 

The small still picture that gives your viewers a preview of the video are important. Check out the guidelines for thumbnails. It includes things like: size, aspect ratio, and other parameters and be sure to follow them when creating the thumbnail for your videos.

3. Use Annotations

Remember the VH1 show “Pop-Up Video”? You’ve also seen pop-up dialogue boxes and “calls to action” on YouTube videos. In YouTube, they’re called annotations.

They are an excellent way to increase engagement with your channel. And ultimately to get more YouTube views.

Annotations can serve several purposes. They can encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel, your email list or your offer.

YouTube Playlists can be used to suggest other videos that your viewers might enjoy. You can use them to provide your website or “Contact Us” page.

The key to using annotations is to keep them small and as unobtrusive as possible. Annotations shouldn’t block your content or make it annoying to watch. If that happens, you risk loosing your viewer.

Data provided by Cisco

4. Ask for Subscribers

Don’t be afraid to ask people to subscribe to your channel. A call to action is an effective driver of conversion in all aspects of digital marketing. YouTube subscriptions are no exception to that rule. 

Convey a sense of urgency and provide a clear reason for the viewer to take action. 

Use action sentences like: 

• “Don’t forget to subscribe!” 
• “For more videos on this topic, subscribe now!” 
• “Subscribe now to be notified about new videos as soon as they’re posted!” 

Subscribers to your channel will see your new videos on their YouTube homepage, and receive an email each time you upload something new. These are two more ways to put your content in front of folks who have already expressed interest.

5. Network

Like traditional face-to-face networking, this method can take a while to produce results, but it’s worth it. Introduce yourself to others in your niche or vertical, and take the time to engage with their videos (and blogs, and Facebook posts, and tweets…).

This kind of relationship building is handy for bolstering your YouTube views. Not only will it create reciprocity from the people you’re networking with. But it can boost your brand recognition by getting your name out there.

Not only will it create reciprocity from the people you’re networking with. But it can boost your brand recognition by getting your name out there.

6. Embed and Share

This isn’t “Field of Dreams.” You can’t just build a YouTube channel and “hope” that viewers will come. As with any content you develop for digital marketing; you have to share, share, and share some more.

Your blog and your social media profiles are two obvious places to post video content but don’t forget about email drip marketing. 

Email marketing is more than “popping” a link into that email; make sure to embed the video. Include the thumbnail in the email make it a simple one-click convenience.

This makes it easy for the reader to connect with your video and will help boost YouTube views. Another way to share content is to combine two of the strategies we’ve discussed. 

Ask your subscribers, social media followers, and any other influencers to share your content. This might sound too good to be true, but it works — and after all, the worst that can happen is that they’ll say no (or do nothing).

7. Optimize for Keywords

Many business owners forget that YouTube isn’t just an entertainment website. It’s also a search engine. 

In fact, with over three billion searches per month, YouTube is second only to its parent company, Google. That’s more searches than Yahoo, Bing, Ask and AOL combined.

So, you can . . . wait! You should absolutely use search engine optimization tactics to increase YouTube views. 

Keyword research will help you determine which search terms to target based on their volume. There are free research tools available.

But to compete on the Video SEO playing field, you’ll need to enlist the help of experienced pros. There are landmines to avoid in this field and doing it yourself can be expensive, so choose wisely.

8. Create Amazing Content

This might sound like a no-brainer but bear with us. You can put in place all the strategies we have here. Spend hours promoting and sharing your content, and researching keywords until the cows come home. But if your video isn’t any good, who will watch? 

It can keep you from those YouTube views you are aiming for. It’s as simple as that.

It is important to make sure that your videos look professional. There’s no bigger turn-off to a potential client than a mediocre attempt. 

Your video needs to be clear and most importantly, so does the audio. The viewer needs to clearly see you and hear you.

 A professional  Video Marketer who knows the ropes, and can write content that attracts the right audience may be worth every penny. 

They will ensure that your video offerings are clean, well-edited, and consistent across your channel and get it ranked in Google.

Your video content (your message and offer) must appeal to the audience you want to attract. If you provide information that entertains too — that will earn you bonus points! Be sure to steer clear of any language that smacks of a hard sell. We want to keep your viewers watching!

Your audience understands that you’re a business. So give them valuable information they can take and use today.

“Ready to Get Started?

We both know that creating amazing video content and putting it in front of your audience will bring business to your door. 

Video is a powerful way to attract customers.
Want to find out where it fits into your digital marketing strategy? Let’s get you started today!

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