YouTube offers a wealth of opportunity for reaching and engaging your target audience. Learn tips for naming and describing organic video content and how to get the most out of advertising.
YouTube is an ever-growing marketing powerhouse. The platform has more than 2 billion monthly active users. More than half of these users prefer online video to live TV. And as popularity for the online video platform has grown, it’s risen to become the second-largest search engine.
Whether you’re looking to take advantage of gaining exposure organically or by placing ads on the platform, we’ll guide you through some important information you should know about YouTube.
People enjoy learning about a topic or how to do something through video content. That’s one of the big reasons why YouTube is so popular as a search engine.
Marketers and small business owners can take advantage of YouTube as a search engine by carefully considering video titles, descriptions and tags. Just like you would think about keywords for a new webpage or blog, you should consider how to drive users to your content on YouTube.
Use descriptive titles that explain what the video is all about. Avoid branded titles or industry jargon that a person wouldn’t use to search for your content. Think like the customer and not like a marketer when naming your YouTube videos.
By using non-branded terms, you’re also more likely to come up in video suggestions for users based on their previous watch history.
YouTube offers a variety of ad formats and options. Review the YouTube advertising formats available. These ad options include the following.
Each ad has different challenges and benefits associated with it. To find what works best for your product or service, you might need to test out different ad types. Watch your analytics closely to see what’s performing best.
Don’t get caught up in metrics that don’t matter. While you might look at the CPM (cost per 1,000 views), it’s better to focus on the value of visitors the ads bring to your site. If display ads are producing sales while video ads are not, consider putting more of your budget toward your display ads and revising your video ad content to try again.
Test out discovery ads for new videos that you aren’t yet ranking for. This can help you get your video into the mix when someone searches for a term related to your content. As you get more views on your video, you might be able to rise in the ranks and optimize the title and description once you know how people search for and find your content.
Target your audience very carefully. You can do so based on interests, topics or keywords. You can also make YouTube part of your remarketing after someone visits your website. This can serve as a reminder of your products and services in case the person didn’t place a purchase with you.
To succeed on YouTube, you need to create compelling content. It doesn’t matter if your focus is on organic or paid activities on the platform. With so much video content out there, mediocre content just won’t cut it.
If you’re looking for a video editing partner, New Light Digital can help. We have many years of experience helping marketers and small businesses create compelling content for their website, social media, YouTube and other video uses. Schedule a free consultation to learn more about our services and get a quote.