14 Ways to Grow Your YouTube Channel
One of the most effective ways for digital marketers to connect with their audience is through video content. Long-form videos are perfect for introducing and informing people about a brand, product, or service, while short-form videos showcase a brand’s personality in a fun and engaging way.
According to Wyzowl research, 88% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service, and 86% believe it has boosted web traffic. With 2.5 billion monthly users and 100 million subscribers, YouTube stands as the second most visited website (after Google), making it an excellent platform for businesses across various sectors to promote their video content.
YouTube can help people find your content quickly and drive engagement if you know a few tricks and understand how to create videos that inform, engage, and convert users.
In this blog, we’ll reveal 14 tips to grow your YouTube channel:
- Understand YouTube’s algorithm
- Build videos around a keyword or topic
- Reuse or repurpose content
- Think about video length
- Engage with your audience
- Rank in Google Video search
- Get branded
- Promote YouTube videos on other social channels
- Show up and stand out
- Post great thumbnails and leverage YouTube Cards
- Push for subscriptions
- Decide on your metrics
- Upload to YouTube more frequently
- Become a social video and YouTube expert!
1. Understand YouTube’s Algorithm
YouTube’s recommendation algorithm influences 70% of what people watch on the platform, according to Mozilla research. With such a significant impact, it’s crucial to understand how it works.
Although YouTube’s algorithm has evolved over time, it currently prioritizes the following factors:
- Relevance: The algorithm matches factors like title, tags, content, and description to a search query.
- Engagement: This is determined by signals such as watch time, watch percentage, likes, comments, and shares.
- Quality: The algorithm evaluates the channel’s authority and trustworthiness on a specific topic.
- User Search and Watch History: The content users have viewed or enjoyed in the past influences the recommendations, aiming to provide helpful content.
2. Build Videos Around a Single Keyword or Topic
Marketers who overlook Search Engine Optimization (SEO) risk missing the chance to rank their videos higher. Using SEO effectively is crucial to maximize viewership.
The best way to drive traffic and grow your YouTube audience is to build your video around a single topic or keyword. The challenge lies in finding the right keywords to include.
There are several excellent free keyword research tools available to help you find keywords relevant to your brand and audience. Once you’ve identified these keywords, use an SEO keyword research toolkit to transform your findings into content for your marketing channels, such as blogs, websites, or social media networks.
Ensure you include your keywords naturally throughout the content so YouTube can pick them up when closed captions are added. Always optimize your title and descriptions as well.
Top Tip: Check out the videos that currently rank for your chosen topic to ensure you’re aligning with the right intent.
3. Reuse or Repurpose Content
Creating and distributing great video content is key to growing your YouTube channel. However, this content doesn’t always need to be made from scratch. Some of your best videos can be repurposed from engaging, valuable, and actionable content you already have.
Before diving into your existing content, it’s helpful to know which types of videos perform well on YouTube. According to Databox research, the five most popular types are educational videos, explainer videos, product demos, product reviews, and tutorials.
Creating content that solves problems for your audience is an effective way to drive traffic. Conduct a content audit to identify high-performing blogs, guides, and other materials you already have. Think about how you can repurpose these into relevant and engaging videos.
Also, consider any interviews or Q&A sessions you could edit and reuse. If you host webinars or podcasts, explore how you can repurpose these into YouTube videos.
4. Think About Video Length
The length of a video is an important factor to consider when creating content.
According to Wistia’s State of Video 2024 Report, the most common video lengths are under three minutes (47%), followed by videos between 5-30 minutes (25%).
YouTube Shorts are very popular for grabbing attention and driving engagement, especially for tips or product reviews. However, they aren’t the best for generating income.
In contrast, long-form content is valuable for providing detailed information. These videos can also include mid-roll ads (around 8 minutes in), which is why many YouTube videos are 10 minutes or longer.
If you already have videos performing well on YouTube, analyze their length to see if there are any patterns or insights. If not, experiment with both short and long-form content, then analyze the results over time to gauge performance.
Ultimately, it’s about matching your message to the optimal video length.
5. Engage with your audience
It’s important not to overlook the fact that YouTube is a social media channel, and therefore demands social interaction. If you’re just posting videos without encouraging comments and discussion, you’re missing a trick.
YouTube rewards channels with great engagement, including overall time spent on channel, watch time, likes and dislikes, and most importantly, comments. So try to respond to every comment you receive (if possible!) and encourage users to engage with audio/visual prompts.
You can also take the time to visit other channels and engage, this could be a brand similar to your own, a competitor or one you admire.
Don’t always wait for the audience to take the initiative either. Drive engagement by asking questions relevant to the content or just ask what content they like to see on your channel or want to see more of.
If people do engage, make sure to thank people for sharing on Youtube and other channels.
Think about using a social content distribution and engagement dashboard to help you keep track of key engagement metrics on YouTube.
6. Rank in Google video search
As the biggest search engine, Google holds a lot of sway over who sees your content. That’s why it’s important to think about how to get your video ranked in Google search.
So, what’s one of the best ways to rank your videos in Google? Use SEO to target keywords and optimize your video content, titles and descriptions to rank in Google’s Search Engine Results Pages.
Basically it’s about providing videos that people want based on search intent and video intent. You can uncover relevant and popular topics using a keyword tool, Google Trends or AnswerthePublic.
Let’s say you’re an agency that creates content for clients. Here’s what comes up by typing in ‘How to use ChatGPT for content’ in the video section.
Google sometimes shows timestamps as “key moments” under videos displayed in search results so it may be worth adding them to some top performing videos to see the impact.
You could also look to include your YouTube videos on web pages or blogs to get backlinks as Google uses these as a trust signal which may help ranking.
7.Get Branded
While having great content is essential, the visual appeal of your YouTube channel is equally important. To attract serious viewers and gain subscribers, your channel needs to look professional.
Enhancing your organization’s social branding helps users instantly recognize your content. If you already have a blog or website, you likely have a unique look and feel that sets you apart from others. Applying a consistent and professional brand identity to your YouTube channel will reinforce your brand and make it more memorable to your audience.
8.Promote YouTube Videos on Other Social Channels
One of the great advantages of social media is the ability to cross-promote content across different platforms. Sharing your YouTube videos on your other social channels is a simple and effective way to expand your audience.
According to the Digital 2024: Global Overview Report, there is a notable overlap in users across social media platforms, with individuals using an average of 6.7 platforms each month.
The majority of YouTube users (between 70% – 86%) are active on other social networks. This highlights the importance of leveraging other social channels to boost engagement and extend your reach.
Consider which channels you are already active on—Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and more. Each platform offers unique opportunities for promoting your YouTube content.
If you prefer posting videos directly on a particular channel, consider creating a teaser for the full-length video on YouTube to drive optimal engagement across all platforms.
Additionally, don’t overlook your blog as a place to share your videos. If you have a podcast or webinar, repurposing that content for your YouTube channel can also be highly beneficial.
9.Show Up & Stand Out
If you’re managing a YouTube channel on your own or as part of a small organization, adding a personal touch by appearing in your videos can be very effective.
When you put a face to your brand, it helps your audience connect with you on a more personal level. This is particularly crucial for content creators, fitness coaches, life coaches, business coaches, and solopreneurs.
While not every video needs to feature your face, appearing regularly helps keep your audience engaged. Also, if you fall into this category of YouTubers, consider using a photo of yourself as your channel’s profile picture.
Don’t hesitate to get creative with your video content. You might be surprised by what resonates with and delights your audience.
10.Post Great Thumbnails & Leverage YouTube Cards
Thumbnails might seem like a minor detail, but they can significantly impact your video’s success. YouTube uses thumbnails to advertise other videos in its sidebar, so it’s crucial to make yours stand out.
This also applies to YouTube search results. Videos with catchy titles and appealing thumbnails tend to rank higher because they achieve a higher click-through rate (CTR), even if the content itself isn’t as valuable.
To boost your CTR, consider using tactics like highlighted areas, arrows, large text, and unexpected or eye-catching images in your thumbnails.
These are the techniques we use on DMI’s YouTube channel to drive engagement and capture viewers’ attention.
11.Leverage YouTube Cards
YouTube rewards channels that keep viewers engaged for longer periods. Increased average watch times indicate that people are connecting with your content. You can track how long viewers stay on your videos using YouTube Analytics.
Adding YouTube info cards is an effective way to enhance engagement. These cards allow you to link to other videos or relevant content precisely at the point where viewers tend to drop off.
You can add up to 5 info cards per video, which appear as rectangular boxes or teasers in the right-hand corner. Include an optional message and teaser text to further drive engagement.
Info cards can be used to link to:
- Video: Direct viewers to another public YouTube video.
- Playlist: Link to a public YouTube playlist.
- Channel: Recommend another YouTube channel or thank a channel that helped with your video.
- Link: If you’re in the YouTube Partner Program, link to an external website and add end screens to your videos.
Utilizing these features can help retain viewers and increase overall engagement on your channel.
12. Push for Subscriptions
A clear indicator of viewer engagement is when they choose to subscribe to your channel to stay updated with new content.
Encourage viewers to subscribe at the end of each video you upload, and make an effort to engage with your existing subscribers. You can track and manage your subscriber list through YouTube Analytics.
Encourage viewers to subscribe at the end of each video you upload, and make an effort to engage with your existing subscribers. You can track and manage your subscriber list through YouTube Analytics. Never pay for subscribers, as this will lower your engagement and damage the authenticity of your channel over time. By simply asking viewers to subscribe, you can significantly boost your follower count, which in turn can increase your watch time and Audience Retention (the average percentage of a video that viewers watch).
13. Decide on Your Metrics
The success of your video content on YouTube hinges on the metrics you choose to track.
Just like with other digital channels, the metrics you prioritize depend on your goals. Whether you’re aiming to increase brand awareness, boost customer engagement, or drive leads and sales, selecting the right metrics is crucial.
Here are key metrics to consider:
- Unique Viewers: The number of distinct individuals who watch your videos.
- Demographics: Provides insights into your audience’s characteristics, allowing you to tailor your content more effectively.
- Watch Time: The total duration your video is watched, indicating viewer engagement.
- Average View Duration: The typical amount of a video that viewers watch, which can help determine optimal video length.
- Audience Retention: The percentage of viewers who continue watching your video at each moment, an important factor for YouTube’s ranking algorithm.
- Re-watches: The frequency with which your video is watched again, reflecting its value and relevance to your audience.
- Engagement: Interactions such as comments, shares, likes, and dislikes, which indicate how viewers are responding to your content.
- Impressions Click-Through Rate: Measures how often people click to watch your video after seeing it in their feed, showing what content captures interest.
- Subscriber Growth: Tracks the increase in subscribers over time, highlighting the channel’s appeal and success.
- Traffic Sources: Identifies where your viewers are coming from, helping you understand which channels are driving traffic (e.g., social media or other websites).
- Views Evolution: Shows which content has been successful in enhancing your brand’s visibility over time.
All these metrics are available in YouTube Analytics, making it easy to monitor performance and refine your video strategy.
14. Become a Social Video & YouTube Expert
Video content continues to thrive, with 91% of businesses using video as a marketing tool and 88% considering it a crucial part of their overall strategy, according to Wyzowl. This underscores the effectiveness of video as a content format.
To leverage video effectively, integrate it into your content marketing strategy and utilize YouTube’s platform to enhance visibility. By optimizing your content for YouTube’s search engine, you can drive traffic and generate leads.
It’s also essential to understand how video fits within your broader content mix across various platforms. Building a robust online audience and using advertising and analytics are key to executing successful visual campaigns.
How Long Does It Take to Grow a YouTube Channel?
The timeline for growing a YouTube channel varies widely and depends on several factors. For instance, if your brand already has a strong social media presence, you can leverage that audience to promote your videos, potentially accelerating your growth.
Having a substantial library of existing video content can also help you post frequently and attract viewers faster. In some cases, a video might go viral or rank high on Google search, resulting in a surge of views.
The most important factor is consistently creating high-quality content that resonates with your target audience. Aim to capture the attention of potential customers by focusing on relevant and engaging material.
For additional insights from YouTube creators, consider exploring the ‘Creator Advice’ channel for expert tips and strategies.
