Every one of us has used YouTube one time or the other from ‘Just fun’ to Informational to Business Use. I don’t think a single day passes by when I have not seen 2-3 YouTube videos in a day for some or the other reason. YouTube gets more than 2 Billion Visitors a Day, with average person spending around 15 minutes on it every day. (Whoa! - Big numbers for marketers)
Needless to say, today YouTube has thus gained an iconic status where it has created overnight Sensations in the world through its phenomenal Viral Effect – I am sure you’ve heard of Susan Boyle or the Gillette Guy. Not to forget the ever so popular Justin Bieber is said to have started his journey here.
What’s so great about YouTube?
- It’s the best way to generate a massive viral affect. (I am not saying it, see the results)
- People have started preferring Audio visual aids then written word. It’s the shifting trend.
- It’s extremely search engine friendly.
- A video is far more credible to establish brand identity & recall. (Many have become celebrities of their field)
Bottom line – It would be highly unwise to not include YouTube in your Social Media & Viral marketing strategy.
So how can you drive traffic from YouTube to your site?
YouTube marketing has a simple theory. More Number of Views = More Traffic to Your Site.
Therefore the Key is to strive for high amount of views on your video, rest all will fall into place.
Just like a website or a blog post – you need to take care of the on page + off page optimization and marketing of YouTube video (or channel). Poorly constructed profiles and descriptions are a kick in your own butt. It’s not too much work, but does require diligence.
Pull It! (Helps you with improved search rankings & pulling traffic)
- Tags - of extreme importance on YouTube, the Search results ranking from YouTube or search engine is much dependent on these. Use proper Tags (Just like Keywords) and utilize the word limit to max. Long Tail Tags are also fine.
- Description – a thorough yet useful description of the video is a must. You can try adding few keywords too. Please don’t forget to add the ‘Hyperlink URL’ in your description area. If it isn’t linked, there are far less chances of user going to your website. Also fill the website field in profile details.
- Thumbnail – It’s really important to have an eye-catching thumbnail. YouTube suggests thumbnails and you should select one that is most appealing. The graphic stimulus is very strong while selecting which video to click of from all the results.
- Title – Just like selecting the title of a blog post, it’s important to select a keyword rich but relevant title for your YouTube video. Try not to keep it same as 10 other videos on the site (do some research). Instead follow the Keywords + Catchy Formula
Push It! (for the viral effect and marketing)
- Direct Videos on Site - Have your videos run on the home page or other relevant pages of your blog/website. Not only a treat to your visitors but will increase the number of video views and thus improve the overall video rankings on YouTube.
- Watermarks & Links - In the video itself, you need to add a static link of your website in a prominent way – possibly multiple times to reinstate it in the viewers mind. Preferably have a 3-5 second long Website Credit in the start and end page. You can alternatively use Watermark throughout the video.
- LinkedTube - YouTube does not allow linking the video in any way on the site, however the embedded player can be enhanced with the use of tools like LINKEDTUBE which lets you add an active link to your website. It’s a fantastic add on and will improve the traffic to your website.
- Activity Sharing - Under the settings panel on your YouTube account, you’ll find ACTIVITY SHARING which automatically connect your video to number of social networking sites. USE IT.
- Optimize Visibility - Use your YouTube video / channel link in your email signatures, site and other collaterals. The more distributed -> more viral affect -> more reverse traffic to site.
- Bookmarking & Sharing - Add & share the Videos to your Facebook Pages and Profiles. Bookmark them in essential sites like Digg, Reddit, and stumbleupon. (It’s all about cross- marketing).
- YouTube Networking – Start commenting on other relevant videos and encouraging comments on your own videos. You need to Network with other YouTuber’s to start building a community leading to consistent traffic.
Also, some people must be wondering why I haven’t mentioned FEATURED videos – Frankly, if you dwelling too much on it then you are wasting valuable time which can be used to focus on sure shot methods. Leave that to chance or in case you have lots of money.
P.S – None of this will really work if you are making crappy & boring videos. Content Rules.
This was originally a guest post by me for a dear friend and excellent online marketer on his blog. (themarketingweekly)
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteYoutube plays a significant role in Online Marketing, using this to target more traffic is certainly a wise idea as you said!! The tips you mentioned are really amazing! Thank You.........
Very Helpful
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you so much! These stats are very little known in the industry. You are awesome, thanks again..
ReplyDeleteGet Youtube Views
Really useful article again - you've got some good tips that I haven't tried before, our YouTube channel is relatively new and a little under utilised so thank you for showing how we may make better use of it.
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