YouTube is by far the easiest video-sharing site on the internet, but it can still be difficult to pinpoint who you want to see your video. If you don’t optimize your video for the right views, posting a video to YouTube is like shooting an arrow at an invisible target. There’s a very slim chance that you’ll hit the bullseye-or even come close to the target. If you do optimize your video for the right views, though, you will most likely see an awesome response. YouTube has over 1 billion active users which means that your target customer is more than likely actively watching videos. So how can you optimize your video for the right views?
- Think About Keywords.
- Figure out the main idea of your video. Pick out one or two main keywords that describe your video and put these into the title of your video. Search engines like Google, and the search tool on YouTube read from keywords. Titles are assigned a higher value than the description of the video, so your title should be broad, but explain what the video is about.
- Create A Description.
- Just like titles, descriptions tell search engines what your video is about. Descriptions allow you to get more in-depth about your video and what the viewer will learn from watching it. Create a full description that will give Google and YouTube enough info so they can categorize it correctly.
- Use Tags.
- Tags are a great tool on YouTube. They are pretty much YouTube’s equivalent to hashtags, so they help link to similar videos and categorize your video in the right place. Just tag words that explain what the video is about. It will do the same thing as titles and descriptions, and it helps to have all these different categorization tools.
- Caption Your Video.
- Captions increased video views by 12% compared with uncaptioned videos. In addition to the increased views, captioning can help with your SEO (Search engine Optimization). Captions are added to the video via a text file which can be read by search engines. This is yet another way for the video to show up on search engines, and it helps the viewer. Most videos are automatically played muted, so having captions can be very effective in keeping the viewer’s attention.
YouTube can be a very effective marketing tool for your small business if you use it correctly. If you have a presence on different channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat), it’s important to share content across different channels. Sharing a YouTube video to Facebook and Twitter will help boost the views organically and help create consistency on your social media outlets.
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!