Doing YouTube marketing right: 5 things to consider

Even though YouTube marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to promote themselves online, for business owners new to the world of video marketing, it can also be overwhelming to know where to start.

With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, right after Google. That means that by creating a YouTube channel and uploading videos, businesses can tap into a massive audience actively searching for content.

In this article, we will go back to the basics of video marketing and provide five best practices for your YouTube marketing strategy.

To implement YouTube marketing into your online marketing strategy, you first need to understand the different types of video content and the essential elements of a successful video.

The most common one is the explainer video, which you can use to educate viewers about your product or service.

Other types include product demos and testimonials, but vlogs are also popular and beneficial for building a brand around your company.

There’s no successful video without a compelling story. But high-quality visuals and a clear call to action are also the elements you need to consider before creating a video.

Before we dive into the five things you should consider while implementing a YouTube marketing strategy, let’s first see why knowing your target audience is essential in video marketing, just like in all other types of marketing.

You can create content that resonates with your target audience, but only if you understand their needs and pain points. Otherwise, creating an effective YouTube marketing strategy is a long shot.

There are a few ways to identify your target audience on YouTube:

Use YouTube Analytics: YouTube Analytics provides a wealth of data on your viewers, including their demographics, location, and interests.

Research your competitors: Look at the channels of businesses similar to yours and see what kind of content they are creating and who their audience is.

Use Surveys and Polls: Don’t guess. Ask them directly. People like surveys and polls. It can help you understand their preferences and interests and create content that appeals to them.

Once you find out whom you’re addressing, you can create content that appeals to your viewers.

Now that you know the basics and the importance of knowing your target audience, we can dive into five effective strategies for YouTube marketing:

Optimizing your videos for SEO is a must if you want to reach a larger audience and drive more traffic to your website. Including relevant keywords in your video title, description, and tags are a core practice you need to have in doing YouTube SEO.

When choosing keywords, brainstorm the terms viewers might use when searching for content related to your business. Make sure to include these keywords in the video title, as this is one of the first things viewers will see when searching for videos on YouTube.

Define how often you will post videos, what types of videos you will create, and what topics you will cover. By experimenting with different sorts of videos, you can find out what resonates with your target audience and create content they will enjoy watching.

After posting videos to YouTube, consider sharing them on other platforms such as your website, social media channels, and email list.

One of the ways you can build a community on YouTube is to encourage engagement by responding to comments and addressing any questions or concerns viewers may have. That can help build trust and create a personal connection with your audience.

You can also create a sense of community by making videos that ask for viewer feedback, hosting giveaways or contests, livestreams, and featuring viewer-generated content.

Use the Community tab to stay engaged with your viewers. IMG/Alisa Markovic, ContentGrip

Additionally, there’s the community tab on your YouTube channel. You can use it to create polls, Q&A, and engage in direct communication with your audience.

YouTube provides a wealth of data on your viewers and their engagement with your videos, including metrics such as views, watch time, click-through rate, audience retention, and more.

You can use Google Analytics to track traffic from youtube. IMG/Alisa Markovic, ContentGrip

Additionally, you can use Google Analytics to track the traffic driven to your website from your YouTube videos.

Both subtitles and closed captions allow viewers to understand the content of the video even if they can't hear the audio.

YouTube has a built-in automatic captioning feature, but we recommend proofreading and editing the captions for accuracy.

YouTube also allows you to upload captions and subtitles in different languages to reach a wider audience.