If you’re a new business and don’t have a presence on Youtube, you’re missing out. Youtube has recently eclipsed Yahoo, to take the #2 spot for the website with the most traffic. Youtube videos are “liked” by search-engines, are often ranked higher than content websites. With that said – what are the best practices for getting noticed on Youtube? What are the ways to increase your video views?
Here are our top 5 tips:
1) Do Your Due Diligence
Just because your behind the 8-ball on Youtube, doesn’t mean your competition is. Find them, and have a look at what they are doing. Next search out the most popular videos for your keywords – look at the tags they used (you will likely want to use similar tags). You can use this research to get some ideas for potential videos you want make.
2) Fill in Title, Descriptions & Tags
Take the time to properly categorize your video, write a descriptive title, fill in a full and accurate description, and be sure to add tags. These content areas are your flag to search-engines, and the Youtube search – this is what they pick up and display in the search results. It’s also a best practice to add your website url in your description – ideally do it early, so it can be seen without users being forced to click “more” to read it.
3) Complete Your Profile/Channel
A complete, professional and personalized profile helps build credibility to you and your videos. Take the time to finish your profile, and invite people to subscribe.
4) Respond to Other Videos
If you find a popular video similar to your videos topic – you will want to post your video as a response to theirs – it’s a great way to piggy-back of their success. Be careful here though, don’t just spam your videos – use some discretion. If you feel your video adds something extra to the original video – add it. Commenting on other videos and being active in Youtube Groups is a great way to build a reputation, and credibility. Have a look to see if there is a group that would align well with you company. If so great – engage with them, if not, even better, build one.
5) Embed and Share Your Videos
Youtube doesn’t only exist at Youtube.com – it’s on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and on millions of blogs and websites worldwide. Be sure to take advantage of Youtube’s sharing tools; embed your videos whenever possible on your e-newsletters, websites and blogs. Share links on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere and everywhere else you can.
