Did you catch-up on your daily does of YouTube streaming? YouTube has carved its unique path since it was launched in 2005 making it the third most visited platform only after Google and Facebook. Today, a mammoth 300 hours of videos are uploaded on YouTube every single minute and the monthly user base stands at one billion. This friendly platform allows users to upload videos, view them, rate and share videos, add their most liked video to favorites, write comments and subscribe to channels.
The versatility and popularity of this platform makes YouTube a hit for both B2B and B2C businesses. There is no second thought about the ardent fan following and subscription base FMCG, Fashion, Technology and Automobile brands receive on YouTube. On the other it is also totally viable for B2B businesses to make use of YouTube, especially when research by Forbes suggests than 52% of senior business executives watch YouTube for work purpose weekly.
Merely uploading a video on your YouTube channel serves only half the purpose for marketers. Getting to the front page of YouTube is possible only if you optimize your videos carefully. Here are some tips that can make your video easily searchable and rank higher on this platform.
1. Offer your audience, only as much as they want to see
Mostly people tend to watch YouTube videos during their work break or while travelling or when they want to unwind from a hectic day. Therefore it is important to get the attention of the users in the least possible span. Marketers should refrain from making videos that are over 3 minutes. Statistics prove that after 2.5 minutes users often quit watching the same video. Videos should be short, crisp and creative to grab the user’s attention and make it work in favor of the brand.
2. Meaningful video content is the key
Users mostly do their research online and are often looking for answers they can’t find otherwise from other sources. Marketers need to make the users precious time worthwhile. What would you prefer watching- a sales pitch or a meaningful video which has a message and teaches you something? The answer is obvious. Educational and how-to videos are among the best type of videos to be shared on social media, also making it more attractive to YouTube’s search algorithm.
3. Quality matters
It is advisable to hire a good video production agency that can deliver high quality videos with creative storytelling to promote your brand, product or service offerings. People detest poorly made videos and they may put off a buying decision solely based on what they see. On the other hand good quality content and video graphics can make a big difference, where viewers will patiently watch the entire video without jumping to the next one and in the bargain increase your chances of ranking higher on YouTube.
4. Make your headline catchy and short
The headline of your video should be catchy and give a gist about the message you’re trying to deliver. Marketers should restrict the length of the headline to 70 characters, instead of using-up the entire 100 character space limit allowed by YouTube to optimize their video ranking.
5. Use appropriate keywords
Use the YouTube Keyword tool to do a research on the performance of keywords before adding them to your video. Keywords basically help YouTube determine whether your content is relevant to what the audience is searching for. Also include keywords in your title, video description and tags for best results. One more tip is to include long tail keywords instead of the exact match words. For example: your video talks about clothing for men, include ‘top men’s clothing brand’ in your keywords to get the closest possible search result to your video and not be too generic by using only the word ‘clothing’.
6. Write accurate descriptions
YouTube allows marketers to write a synopsis or short description of the video. Writing a proper description is as important as choosing the keywords and writing the headline. Be accurate while writing your description and keep it as short as possible. Marketers can also include a landing page url in the description to make it easier for viewers.
