We talked about making interesting and fun YouTube videos in a previous article, and now we're going to look at how to promote those videos! First, if you're not on YouTube you should be. Video viewing online grew by 35 percent this year, which is amazing. Meanwhile there are 35 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, so if you're going to get seen, YouTube is where you want to be.
Make your video searchable: With so many videos getting uploaded to YouTube each day, it's more important than ever to ensure that your audience can find your video on the site. How do you do this? First, make sure you have a compelling title. Use your keywords and make a strong emphasis on the benefits of the video. People don't want to be surprised, and the minute you make them figure out something, you'll lose them to a more focused and succinct video title.
Next is your video description. I see a lot of videos on this site without descriptions and that's a big mistake. Why? Because if you capture your audience with the video title, you really want to keep their attention with a compelling description. Remember, solve their problem, offer solutions, and entertain them. Whatever it is you're doing, tell them clearly in a keyword rich description.
Make them short: Don't push long videos to this site. Short is key, and studies have shown that viewer interest starts to decline as you inch towards that two-minute mark. If you have a long video you want to upload, consider editing it down into shorter segments. Also, while the two-minute mark is key, I find that education videos can sometimes be longer. We run short seminar excerpts up to seven minutes and they do fine.
Page Layout: When you're setting up your YouTube channel, be sure and use the "Player View." I don't recommend using a grid view which is also an option. Additionally, set your video to play automatically. When you've done that, create playlists of your most popular videos. You're going to keep updating this as viewer preferences change. The dashboard on YouTube gives you a lot of options, use them!
Get a custom channel: Make sure your YouTube channel is branded to you, your book, or your business. A custom channel will help represent your message better and makes your entire video series look more professional.
Annotating your Channel: Have you ever watched a YouTube video and see words or a call to action pop up during the video? These are called Annotations and anyone uploading a video to YouTube can use them, they're fantastic! You can use Annotations to drive people to a sale, get them to another video or video link on your site. Almost whatever you want. If you want to learn how to do Annotations, here's a great article on it.
Promote your channel: Be sure to push your channel out through social media channels. Promote it on Facebook, Twitter, your own website and even in your signature line. Every time you upload a video you should promote it on these sites, and every once in a while, push a random video to your list to keep reminding them you have a fantastic YouTube channel!
Finally, YouTube got a real boost from Google+. Now you can load a video into the "Hangouts" section of Google+ and watch a video together with others in your Hangout. (Don't know what a Google+ Hangout is? Click here) It's a great way to share and comment on videos and you should be encouraging your readers to try this. In fact, why not invite your followers to join you in a Google+ Hangout to watch a video and get their instant feedback? You could gather great data!
The importance of YouTube can't be overstated. It's a fantastic platform and, if used properly, can really help ignite interest to your book. Don't burn out on it; getting on YouTube can be fun, lots of fun. But sometimes (like with any social media) if you aren't staying with it, you might burn out or lose interest. Check out my ideas for creating YouTube content to keep your channel going. Be a star on YouTube, you'll be glad you did!
Want to see our YouTube Channel? Click here!