It is estimated that about 60 hours’ worth of video is added to YouTube every single minute. This means that effectively, nobody can possibly watch every single YouTube video, even if they could watch for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Thus you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd and get your customers to notice your videos and actually pay attention to them. Here are five strategies to make that happen:
Make Sure Your Descriptions Are Good
Many people are not aware of this, but descriptions, keywords and other metadata actually matter a great deal on YouTube. Most people do a terrible job on setting these up so this is one way you can really stand out from the crowd. The issue is that people are used to SEO and in SEO, metadata is a relatively minor issue because the search engines ignore keywords. However, when it comes to a search on YouTube, they don’t do so. They actually do pay attention to what you put there. You should also make sure to include a URL back to your main site where more information about the video can be found. This will help ensure that you get the maximum benefit from your video.
Create Playlists
Another thing you rarely see people on YouTube doing is creating playlists. These are basically lists of videos which you create and which people can use to find information on a particular topic. One of the best tactics here is to mix it up and don’t create playlists which include only your own videos. Throw some videos in from your competitors or related websites so that there is real value to people and your playlists are that much more likely to get clicked. Also, it is important to ensure that you properly make use of the metadata in your playlists. Without this extra feature, you’ll find that you don’t get the maximum benefit from them because again, Google can find this but cannot search what the actual videos say.
Use Annotations
Ever notice when you’re watching a YouTube video how it has those pop up notes which show up periodically? Those are called annotations. In essence, they’re a way to help you keep your viewers more engaged with your video. They will also help to keep your viewers from clicking away and will make it more likely that they’ll like your video and even comment on them. Plus, you can add a link to the annotations meaning that again you get more bang for your buck.
Customize Your Channel
You should also customize your YouTube channel. Include graphics and all kinds of extras. Check out some of the more popular YouTube channels such as Apple, Inc. and see what they’ve done with their own channels. You don’t need to spend that kind of money of course, but you should include something eye catching.
Do Cross Promotions
Finally, don’t forget to do cross promotions where you both add a link to other videos that you think viewers will like and you ask people with related videos if they would add a link for you. Even if you have to pay for such links to be added, they are worth it because you can get lots of views from someone else’s popular video.