Unlike a decade ago, we live in a world dominated by video. Getting more views on YouTube is what every content marketer should be doing and should be at the top of your to-do list.
YouTube is constantly changing and evolving. Gone are the days when it was all about fun and funny videos. Today, it's a place to learn, a news source, and more, and it's also a place for marketers to promote their brands.
More than 1.2 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every day, which is more than Netflix and Facebook videos combined. What's even more amazing is that 65% of businesses use YouTube as a channel to publish video content, and that number is only growing.
That's because YouTube is a very powerful business tool when used effectively. But to increase sales, you need to get more YouTube views.
In this article, we're going to talk about different ways you can get more views on YouTube, build your brand, and increase your sales.
How are views counted on YouTube?
A view is the total number of times a video or channel has been watched. Each time a viewer starts playing a video and watches it for at least 30 seconds, it counts as one view.
If someone watches a video multiple times, meaning they watch the same video more than once, it still counts as a new view each time. This applies to all devices, whether they're watching on a smartphone or desktop PC.
The same applies to videos that are shared or embedded on Facebook, websites, and many other social media without the need to go to the YouTube site to watch them.
Regardless of the length of the video, the number of views is a good indicator that the video content provided is interesting and worth watching. The fact that certain videos are higher than others can be a guide to what kind of video content you should create and upload in the future.
Below is a guide that can dramatically increase the number of views for videos uploaded to YouTube. Read on to learn more.
1. Create good content that's hard to find on YouTube
This is the number one tip for getting more views on YouTube, and it should always be the foundation.
Create good content. You need content that is unique to you and hasn't been created by anyone else. Create content on unique topics, not videos that have already been uploaded a lot on YouTube.
This is the most important tip in principle. You can easily find all kinds of evil and false ways to get more views on YouTube or search engines. I trust you won't fall for them. The mindset you have when you first start out as a YouTube creator shouldn't change over time.
Think before you create YouTube content. Is the video you're about to make something that a lot of people will want to watch and will want to watch all the way through? It's all about value - content that isn't informative and helpful to your viewers isn't suitable for marketing at all, it's as simple as that.
If the content of your video isn't good, no one is going to watch it all the way through, and there's no point in using ads. Find out what's trending or what people are craving, in other words, ask them what they need and want, and then create it for them, and amazing things happen. People will think you've read their minds, and that's how you get loyal fans and get more views on YouTube.
2. Create a compelling and must-watch title
The title of your video not only catches the attention of many people, but also determines how well it performs in terms of views. Ask yourself this question. If someone uploaded a video with this title, would I click the play button? People are craving entertaining content and want to know what the video is about through the title.
Sometimes, some videos rely on words like "epic", "crazy", "opportunity", etc. The first time or two, people might click the play button out of curiosity, but within 30 seconds, they're more likely to click the stop or back button. Don't overuse these words.
A safe and good title should sound conversational while still sneaking in the keywords you want to get the word out, e.g. "best of", "how to", "about". The lesson here is that you need to spend a lot of time thinking about a compelling title that doesn't get stuck in your head and focus solely on keywords.
Many people say that the optimal YouTube video title length is around 70 characters. On the other hand, YouTube creator experts or researchers recommend 55 characters (in English).
3. Get the YouTube basics down pat
Go through and set up all the things you need to have as a default on YouTube. The basics are a no-brainer: your channel icon and image, your channel description and profile.
Be sure to fill out your up-to-date contact and website addresses as well. Think about how you want to organize your categories when you create and upload content.
Also, take your time to think about what videos you want to automatically play when someone who hasn't subscribed to your channel visits, and what videos you want to play for those who have already subscribed.
You need to walk first, then run.
4. Think in terms of series as playlists, not individual videos
Many YouTube creators organize their videos into playlists. Why?
Because when a viewer clicks on a particular video in a playlist to play it, the next video automatically starts as soon as the current video ends. This allows viewers to watch multiple related videos without lifting a finger. Some viewers will play a video and not even watch it, but the video is still playing. This makes you happy because it leads to more ad revenue.
It goes without saying that creating a giant playlist of unrelated videos together will result in a poor user experience. Instead, we recommend organizing your YouTube content in terms of series rather than individual videos. This way, when you create more content over time, you can easily organize your videos into logical playlists.Your viewers will have a smooth and enjoyable experience, and you will benefit from increased views.
5. Encourage viewers to subscribe
It's been said that "the best customers are the ones you already have, not the new ones." In other words, retaining customers can be a powerful way to grow your business. The same goes for YouTube views.
One of the easiest ways to increase your YouTube views is to get your current viewers to subscribe, because once you have subscribers, you'll get more views when you upload new videos. How can you get them to subscribe?
The best way is to ask for subscriptions at the beginning and end of each video. Ask your viewers to activate the unsubscribe notification bell icon. This way, they'll be notified whenever you upload a new video. This is basic for YouTubers.
6. Familiarize yourself with YouTube SEO
YouTube is a search engine. Like other search engines, YouTube uses several ranking signals to organize its search results. To get more views on YouTube, it's important to understand the main ranking signals - YouTube SEO - and how to work around them.
According to YouTube's Creator Academy, the first few sentences of your video description carry more weight in the algorithm and search, so you should take the time to write a clear, keyword-filled intro.
The first few lines are the preview that users will see when your video shows up in search, so you need to make it interesting to humans as well as Google bots. This is your chance to make a sale and get your brand noticed.
It's a good idea to go beyond the first few lines and elaborate on the nitty-gritty of what users can learn from your video. Aim for 125-175 words, if possible. (Include a variety of keywords in your paragraphs - you already know the trick!)
If you don't have enough to say about the actual video itself, this is also a great place to remind viewers what your channel is about and link to your website or social accounts.
When entering the link URL in the video description, use Vivoldi to shorten it.
You can view visitor counts and statistics to see how many people watched your video and clicked on the link on your intro page.
Create different shortened links for each video's intro page, even if they have the same final destination URL. This way, you can see how many people clicked on the link for each video.
Get started now
7. Increase views with custom thumbnail images
When viewers are in browsing mode, skimming through search results and suggested videos, the thumbnail image is an important part of the decision to watch, along with the title.
In fact, YouTube reports that 90% of the most viewed videos on the platform use custom thumbnails.
Your thumbnail, or thumbnail image, should be clear and descriptive of your video. It's a good idea to choose a bright color that catches people's attention and makes it stand out.
We recommend using a professional editing program like Photoshop or Illustrator whenever possible, but if you can't, you may want to look online for an image auto-editing tool that can help you create eye-catching images with a few clicks of a button.
Image editing is fundamental if you want to continue creating content for YouTube.
8. Collaborate with other content creators
Just because you're targeting the same audience as another content creator doesn't mean your relationship has to be adversarial. Rather, it's a good idea to build a symbiotic relationship - one that benefits both of you. Remember, the ultimate goal of YouTube content marketing is to create value for your viewers and expand your audience, and your ability to accomplish these goals is not diminished by the presence of competitors.
So how can you get more YouTube views while building a symbiotic relationship with other content creators targeting the same audience?
It's simple. You can create content together. For example, if you guest star in a competitor's video, you'll benefit from exposure to a group of users who may not have encountered your brand before. At the same time, your competitor will benefit from the extra traffic that comes from promoting your video. Through it all, YouTubers benefit from your great content. In this scenario, everyone wins!
9. Add a watermark to your videos
Watermarks allow you to promote your channel on all your videos, helping you gain more subscribers and get more YouTube views. Basically, a watermark is an image that you can set to appear on every video, most brands use a logo. When viewers hover over the watermark, they're prompted to subscribe.
To upload a watermark, you need to verify your YouTube account. It's important to note that you can't choose which videos show the watermark and which don't, and all videos may or may not show the watermark.
To add a watermark to your video, go to Creator Studio and click "Branding." Then click "Add watermark" and upload an image.
To summarize, you can use this simple tool to promote your brand on your YouTube channel.
Tip: Design your watermark to be square, transparent, and at least 50×50 pixels in size. YouTube shrinks watermarks when they appear in the corner of a video, so creating a larger watermark will help ensure your brand is visible to your target audience.
10. Create a YouTube trailer that showcases your best content
A YouTube trailer is a short video that is shown to new visitors to your channel. It's a fantastic opportunity to show viewers what you've created.
- You can show viewers what kind of content you create.
- You can emphasize the benefits your channel offers.
- You can encourage them to subscribe.
- There's no specific rule about the maximum length of a trailer, but most YouTubers keep it between 25 and 30 seconds.
How do you make a great YouTube trailer? It's a great short video that tells a story, ambition, and vision. So when you're thinking of ideas for your trailer, ask yourself, "What is my background?" "What am I trying to accomplish?" and "What inspired me to create a YouTube channel?"
Save your most interesting stories for the first few seconds, but try to infuse your personality throughout the trailer, just like Peter Sage, a world-renowned serial entrepreneur.
To create a trailer, go to your channel homepage and click "Customize your channel." This will take you to a page where you can upload your trailer video. When you're done, write a description, enter your SEO tags, and click "Publish".
After publishing, go back to your channel homepage and click the Customize channel button again. Your trailer should now appear in your video library. Click the "For new visitors" tab and set it to a YouTube trailer.
That's it. Your channel trailer is ready to make an impact. Make sure it impresses everyone who decides to check out your channel.
11. Post your video at the optimal time
The best time to post a video is when your target audience is watching it. Luckily, this is no longer a mystery, as YouTube tracks the times and days that viewers are on YouTube. By digging into your "When viewers are on YouTube" report, you can identify the peak times when your audience is watching the most videos and post your content an hour or two before those peak times. By posting earlier, you'll get more views because viewers will have time to discover your new video.
To access the report, go to your channel homepage, click Customize channel, select Analytics from the left tab under your channel profile picture, and click the Audience tab. You will now see an option to generate the "When viewers are on YouTube" report. If you don't have enough daily views to generate this report, you can try posting during the best times to post on social media.
Finally, as a reminder, be sure to use Vivoldi to shorten your URL link and enter this shortened link in your video description, or content, to your website or social media page. This will allow you to combine YouTube's analytics with Vivoldi's click-through statistics for powerful and flexible marketing.
