Video content is the future, and this can be proven by the fact that it makes 79% of the consumer traffic on the Internet. So, there’s no doubt about the benefits of videos for your business or personal growth.
When it comes to choosing the platform for video posting, YouTube takes the crown since it gets millions of visitors every day. However, building an audience on YouTube isn’t exactly a walk in the park because you need to hold the viewers’ attention for a considerable period.
In this guide, we dive into the practices that help you get exposure on YouTube and increase your subscriber and viewer count.
How To Grow Your YouTube Channel?
From finding the right keywords to promoting your video, a lot goes into getting exposure for your channel. Here are some tips that will guarantee success on the platform.
Find The Right Keywords
Doing keyword research for your YouTube videos is extremely important. If you choose the right keywords, your content will shoot up to the highest search results rankings.
But if you’re using the wrong keywords, your video – no matter how good it is – will get lost in the heaps of other videos on the same topic.
The first step in finding the right keywords is listing the Seed Keywords. These terms describe broad topics. For instance, if you have a fitness account, the seed keywords would be:
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Fat loss
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Keto diet
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Paleo diet
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HIIT Workout
These are the topics you’re going to make videos about. However, you cannot use these keywords because they are way too competitive, and in most cases, it will be impossible for you to reach the top.
But it’s important to list these keywords because they’ll help you find the terms that you’re going to optimize. Simply put these keywords in the YouTube search.
For example, if you type HIIT workout in the search bar, you’ll find a list of long-tail keywords, such as:
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HIIT workout for beginners
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20 minute HIIT workout
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HIIT workout at home
You can also use the Keyword Tool, and it will search up hundreds of keywords related to your broader topic.
Consider giving your channel or video an extra boost with our YouTube services.
Now, it’s time to find the selective keywords that you’ll optimize for your videos. The criteria here is to find keywords that get many searches but aren’t highly competitive. You can find these keywords by downloading the Chrome extension named TubeBuddy.
The extension shows you the statistics for each keyword, giving you an idea of how competitive a term is. Using these stats, you can decide which keywords you want to use in your videos.
Optimize Videos For Watch Time
Like any other platform, YouTube’s main aim is to keep people on the platform. The longer a viewer spends watching videos, the more ads they’ll watch, and the more money YouTube makes.
Owing to this, the YouTube algorithm emphasizes Watch Time. It refers to the total time that has been spent on viewing the video since it was made live. Of course, a longer video will garner more watch time than a shorter video.
That’s why YouTube particularly loves longer videos and has even said that videos with higher watch time are more likely to show up higher in search results. But how do you create videos that people watch?
The first tip is to make longer videos. Some people might argue that the viewers lose interest after a certain while. However, that only happens if you’re making poor or unrelatable content.
Longer videos generally tend to do better than shorter videos, according to a survey that studies 1.3 YouTube videos.
Secondly, focus on your intros. Remove the fluff as people are likely to get bored at this point and leave the video altogether. Instead, YouTube suggests you do this:
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Start with something that grabs the viewer’s attention. You can do so by showing a beautiful visual or saying something interesting.
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Tell them clearly what the video is about so that they are not confused later.
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Tease your video so that the viewer is intrigued to watch it till the end.
If you’re making a makeup tutorial, stick to it. While you can surely discuss the products you’ll be using in the intro; there’s no need to share a story from your vacation.
Add ‘Pattern Interrupts’ In The Videos
When someone is watching a long video, it can get pretty boring if you’re just rambling about a topic. That’s why you should add Pattern Interrupts in the content.
Pattern Interrupts refer to video elements that are different from the rest of the video. Simply put, they literally interrupt your video’s pattern. Some examples include:
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Different camera angles
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Animations
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On-screen graphics
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Bulleted lists
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Sound effects
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B rolls
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New backgrounds
If your video does not have any Pattern Interrupts, it will seem very static, especially if you’re sitting in front of a background and talking to the camera. On the contrary, Pattern Interrupts break up the monotony and make the video more engaging.
Script Your Videos
While someone like Trevor Noah might be able to come up with a punchline or intelligent-sounding analogy in every sentence, not all of us have this gift. So, it’s better to script your videos rather than simply firing up the camera and talking.
Having a script for informative or descriptive videos is even more crucial because you’re relaying something to the audience. If you start talking without any guidelines in mind, you might miss out on certain points.
Plus, you may lose track or stutter – which adds a ton of post-production work – while being unable to convey your idea properly.
On the other hand, if you’re following a script, you’ll have a better flow and richer information.
Conclusion
While most other YouTube guides cover pretty much everything from optimization to community-building, we discussed the nitty-gritty tips in this article. Often, you’re doing the SEO right, but it’s the way you present your videos that’s pushing the audience away.
Therefore, you must focus on everything – enabling people to find your videos easily, getting them to click, making them watch your content till the end, consider giving your channel or video an extra boost with our YouTube services, and finally engaging with the video through likes, subscriptions, and comments.