The fact that YouTube is great for marketing is backed up by a wealth of exciting usage statistics.
These are some that really stand out:
- 500 hours of videos uploaded to YouTube every minute.
- YouTube is the second most popular social networking site with over 2 billion monthly users.That is one third the Internet!
- audience is 4 times more likely Use YouTube and other platforms to discover information about a brand, product or service – which means your content has a ready audience.
- Millennials also spend a lot of time on YouTube. Among millennials, YouTube reaches more 18-34 year olds than any TV network.
How to make the most of YouTube?
It starts with a great video. Check out these 13 key components of a successful YouTube video.
1. Brand introduction video
The importance of branding in marketing cannot be overemphasized. Branding helps build loyalty.
Including brand intro shots helps your loyal audience instantly recognize your work so they stick with it and keep watching.
Additionally, such branding is important to ensure viewers remember the video, which is especially handy when they need to recommend someone.
Even though they may forget the actual content and name of the video, remember your brand lens Will help direct viewers to your channel.
2. A compelling introduction
do you know 20% of people leave after the first 10 seconds of your YouTube video?
Worse yet, they might give you a thumbs up.
So what would you do?
It’s all about the introduction.
Convince your audience to keep watching after including your brand intro shots. Explain clearly what they are going to see and how it will benefit them.
If you show them how to fix the problem, personalize it so they feel like you’re affected too. This builds trust and makes the solution feel valuable.
3. Keep titles and opening lines short
As mentioned above, our attention spans are very short. There is nothing worse than a broad start to a video that has lost interest.
To make matters worse, a long opener can discourage overeating. Who wants to watch the same long opener over and over again?
More than half of YouTube viewers watch the entire video in under a minute.
Instead, aim for a 5-second opener that is powerful and straightforward.
4. Build trending topics into your video content
Use trending topics is a proven method for successful link building and can also be applied to your video content.
Think seasonal, newsworthy, local, unique, movies, games, music, even surprising topics, etc. These are great fodder for trending topics to incorporate into your videos.
Not sure where to start?give YouTube Trends (country specific) or popular on YouTube (Global) Give it a try.
Google Trends and even twitter trends It’s also a great resource for discovering trending topics related to your video content.
5. Background music
Should you include background music? After all, people are only interested in what you say.
However, we are bored because of technology. quickly.
Nothing is more boring than a boring YouTube video.
include Background music Not only does it immediately grab attention, but it also sets the mood for watching a meeting and builds an emotional connection.
Plus, the music drives the rhythm of the video, and a great soundtrack just gives viewers more reasons to share the video.
However, be aware of two things:
- Music evokes the emotion and aura people want.
- You are legally allowed to use music in your videos.
6. Clear and audible
Unfortunately, a great intro and nice background music won’t help you if you can’t hear well.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to let your audience understand what you have to say. If your video is just a graphic illustration, loud background music will suffice.
On the other hand, if your video includes a spoken presentation, make sure you can hear your voice over the background music.
7. Concise
Well, maybe not That short. Still, the video has more than 11 million views.
YouTube allows users to search for videos based on duration, as well as other filters, and we obviously can’t ignore the importance of video length in YouTube.
8. Customize the experience
Mining micro-moments. These are times when people need to know, go, do or buy something and turn to the nearest device to help them make it happen.
Use data to give people what they want, when they want it.
This can take many forms. Consider making connections between events on TV or the excitement of big moments in pop culture, politics, sports, technology, and more.
Another option is to leverage data to deliver personalized video content.
To start this process:
- Visit Google Trends to help validate growing needs or topics.
- Understand what people are searching for and tailor your videos to fit existing conversations.One Keyword Research Tools Can help you narrow down the right keyword targets.
- next this Free Chrome plugin from vidIQ Will give you valuable competitive data on current popular ads, including hashtags, social shares, average watch time, speed, and more.
- Finally, after creating a video, use YouTube analytics to answer “who is watching” and “what they’re really interested in.”
9. A call to action
As mentioned earlier, YouTube viewers are short-lived. After all, there is a lot to watch in one day. They have jobs and lives (presumably).
Therefore, you need to know how to include your call to action Because your audience will disappear more and more as your video plays.
Engagement has dropped significantly two or three minutes. This means you shouldn’t put your CTA at the end, especially for longer videos.
Instead, consider adding clickable annotations in the first few seconds of your video.
Bonus Tip: If you wish to grow your YouTube subscriber base, add the following parameters to your URL: ?sub_confirmation=1.
Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/user/jonleeclark?sub_confirmation=1. You will get a nice little popup prompting the user to subscribe.
Screenshot by author, May 202110: Add an end screen to promote your video, channel or website
While end screens can only be added to the last 20 seconds of a video, these helpful graphics can be used to link to website URLs, YouTube channels, everything in a video playlist (such as another video in a series), or to prompt viewers to subscribe .
When creating a video, make sure to leave room at the end of the video to add an end screen.
How to Learn SEO Quickly and Effectively, Ahrefs, May 202111. Design video thumbnails that YouTube users want to click
Of all the items in this list, Thumbnail Most likely to make or break your YouTube success.
the reason is simple.
Promoted videos tend to be the main source of organic traffic on YouTube. In a sense, YouTube acts as a “spokesperson” for your content, recommending it as something that viewers might also like.
Thumbnails that drive clicks are more likely to inform the algorithm, leading to more clicks, etc.
Here are three simple best practices to keep in mind:
Don’t deceive users.
Make sure the thumbnail is relevant and provide the title of the video. If not, you may face lower watch times, which will negatively affect the algorithm – the opposite of what we want.
Design thumbnails for small screens.
YouTube recommendation 1280×720; however, most video consumption happens on smaller screens.
Make sure your image still stands out by playing with color saturation, cropping to a smaller area, or using the edges of your image.
Bonus Tip: Can’t decide on a thumbnail? Consider using a simple Adwords test to test some thumbnail options. A small investment of $10 to $20 per day will provide some insight into which thumbnails generate the strongest VTR (view rate).
Maintain a consistent style, look and feel.
I realize this is open ended, but some considerations for consistency include logos, common colors, shapes, consistent faces, fonts, etc.
Over time, this consistency will improve video recognition during skimming; and, if they like your content, they’ll be more likely to click.people over there keywordtool.io Do this well.
How to Find YouTube Trends (Tips for Growing Your Channel), Keyword Tool, May 202112: Create a “Guest Slot” for other YouTubers
Perhaps the most common example of a “guest seat” is an interview.
But no matter your structure, partnering with creators who already have an audience is a great way to build yourself because it allows them to reach audiences who may never hear about you.
Find creators already in your niche or serving audiences with similar interests. social blade is a tool that can help you find channels serving similar demographics and channel sizes.
Be sure to present your guests in a positive and prominent way so they are more likely to cross-promote the video.
13. Give the audience a chance to participate
It might seem odd if you’re not streaming, but inviting your audience to participate has its advantages.
For example, asking questions directly to your audience can give you the opportunity to generate and provide responses to comments — further driving engagement algorithms.
Audience feedback can also provide ideas for future content and an opportunity to build content around the response through “fan clips” or idea shoutouts.
the way forward
To improve YouTube performance, drive more traffic to your website, and generate more revenue for your business, apply these best practices in your video creation process.
These tried-and-true YouTube video elements are sure to contribute to your own video marketing success!
More resources:
Featured image: Alina Rosanova/Shutterstock
All screenshots taken by author, May 2021
