Key Tips to Growing Your YouTube Channel
In this guide to growing a successful YouTube channel, you’ll be learning:
- Smart and simple strategies for YouTube growth
- Some SEO tips for YouTube
- How to learn the skills you need to become a YouTube content creator
There are more than 2 billion users on YouTube, and every day, people spend more than a billion hours watching videos on the popular platform. And the impressive stats don’t stop there: for content creators, YouTube can be a medium that’s as lucrative as i is creative. According to YouTube, the number of YouTube channels earning a six-figure annual salary has grown more than 40% year over year. If you’re interested in a career where you get paid extremely well to create video content, then becoming a professional YouTuber might just be your dream job.
Though there are always a handful of stories about channels that went viral in a flash, most other YouTubers have invested a considerable amount of time and energy into nurturing their channels. It’s one thing to make great YouTube videos, but it’s an entirely different challenge to actually attract an audience and grow your YouTube channel and its subscriber base.
Even the most engaging, high-quality videos aren’t going to gain an audience if YouTube users can’t find them. For you as a content creator, that means that having a plan to attract users, get views, and secure subscribers is key.
How to Grow Your YouTube Channel
When you browse the top-performing videos on YouTube, there’s not much commonality between their topics, styles, or even their creators. But what they most likely do have in common is that they are on a channel that has been strategically grown, using effective strategies that attract viewers and turn them into subscribers.
And even though there might not be a secret that can make you an instant YouTube star, there are some excellent ways to build up your channel and achieve results at a faster pace.
1. Create content that engages viewers and attracts subscribers at the same time.
Some suggested videos for bringing new subscribers to your channel include:
- Giveaways: Consider hosting a giveaway on YouTube for a quick and easy way to boost subscriber numbers. The giveaway will depend on your niche. For example, a beauty vlogger might give away a selection of their favorite cosmetics, while a fitness YouTuber might offer a free consultation as a prize.
- Video series: Just like popular streaming series, series of videos on YouTube can turn a one-time viewer into a long-term subscriber. When you create videos for the series, make sure the topic is relevant to your channel – and that one video is engaging enough to prompt viewers to watch other videos in the series. If you don’t want to create an entire series, you can also create playlists that feature similar videos.
- Video collaborations: Pair up with a fellow YouTuber in your niche to “co-host” a video so that you can both gain new subscribers from the other’s fan base. You can even collaborate with several other creators or set up a series of videos.
2. Use your other social media platforms to do cross-promotion.
Cross-promotion is a valuable method to grow your YouTube channel, and it requires very little time and effort. Simply use your other social channels to promote your YouTube channel, and you’ll be presenting a more professional, uniformed brand while simultaneously building a bigger audience.
Cross-promotion can include sharing video teasers, alerts for new videos, and other relevant content on a social media channel(s) where you have a solid following. It’s also useful to upload your YouTube videos to Facebook, as well as embed them on your blog or website.
3. Post videos on a consistent basis.
Any time you’re trying to build a social media presence – with videos or otherwise – consistency is key. The most successful videos and channels tend to belong to creators that regularly upload new content. By providing a steady flow of content, you can make sure that subscribers are less likely to lose interest.
4. Make sure your video thumbnails are designed to capture users’ interest.
Making interesting thumbnail images isn’t the same thing as designing clickbait. In fact, those clickbait-style thumbnails are one of the fastest ways to lose subscribers. Instead, take the opportunity to design and post great thumbnails that interest your target audience while also telling them what the video will be about.
5. Use SEO on YouTube for channel growth.
Beyond your approach to creating, posting, and sharing actual video content, there’s also work you can do behind the scenes to help grow your YouTube channel fast. SEO, otherwise known as search engine optimization, will drive online traffic to your videos. And best of all, using SEO on YouTube takes only a minimal amount of effort – so why not take advantage of it?
Here are our top tips for YouTube SEO:
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- Base your video titles on specific, relevant keywords and phrases. Ideally, a user should be able to read the video title and immediately know what it’s about – which makes it easy for the right viewers to find the videos that suit their interests.
- Incorporate keywords into the video file name. For example, your original video file might be something like “June_Video.mp4.” However, if you change the file name to something that uses keywords related to the topic (such as “Tour_of_Disneyland_Paris.mp4”), then Google can use that information to push your video closer to the top of relevant search engine results pages.
- Include links and backlinks in the video description. This is another way to tell Google what the video is about so that it can help your video rise in the ranks of Youtube Search and Google.
- Limit the titles of your YouTube videos to 50 characters or less. When users search on YouTube, they only see 50 characters of each video’s title in the results. So, the longer your video title, the less they will actually be able to see (unless they click to watch it).
- Put long-tail keywords in video titles. A long-tail keyword is exactly what it sounds like: a longer (and more specific) keyword phrase. Using these to create detailed titles and video descriptions can help guide the best-fit users to your content.
Gain a Competitive Edge as a Future YouTuber
In our modern, tech-driven world, pursuing an education in media just makes sense – after all, as media continues to evolve, your career opportunities will keep on growing. Whether you’re interested in a career in front of or behind the camera, attending the right media school is your key to opening doors within the industry. Odds are, you already know that getting a job in media can be competitive, so why not give yourself all of the advantages you possibly can?
At the Beonair Network of Media Schools with campuses located in Miami, Chicago, Colorado, and Ohio, we provide our students with a broad range of programs and courses to help them build valuable skills and experiences for a future career. Our programs are designed in such a way that they deliver both in-classroom learning and immersive, hands-on experiences. In fact, we even have our own studios where you can start creating content of your own!
Here, you can tap into your passion for media creation and put yourself on the path to your dream career. Get more information about how we can teach you how to succeed on YouTube by contacting us today!
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