Over 1 billion hours of video are viewed on YouTube every day, which exceeds the hours of streaming on Netflix and Facebook Video combined.
But here’s the best part… 62% of companies use Youtube to post their videos, which is crazy!
Crazy for you, because when used effectively, YouTube is an extremely powerful business tool. But to boost your sales, you need to get as many YouTube views as possible.
In this article, you’ll discover 16 ways to get more YouTube views, build your brand, and boost your sales.
YouTube views: how to make a video
- Plan your video
Before you start making a YouTube video, you need to plan what you want to produce. Create a storyboard that outlines each scene or section of the video. Think about the messages you want to convey to your audience and plan where to include the calls to action in the video. This is important because you will need people to want to do something after watching the video.
- Write your script
Based on your idea, start writing the script. Try to keep the language simple and interesting for your audience. If the video is a beginner’s guide, don’t use too many technical terms. If you’re making an in-depth video, be sure to include industry-specific terms to build trust with your viewers.
- Set up the scene
Will your video be animated, live or in real time? What kind of props will you need to make your video so that your YouTube followers feel engaged throughout its duration? These are questions that are important to answer as they will help make your video look more professional. Invest in branding to add a background image to videos and thumbnails to present a higher quality video.
- Prepare well
Whether you are the protagonist or the director of the video, it is important to be prepared and practice so that the shooting goes smoothly. Details are very important, so practicing will help you predict everything that could go wrong during filming.
- Edit your video
After taking several takes of each scene, the magic begins: you will start editing your video to eliminate small errors or elements that do not fit the scenes. Take the time to ask yourself if each line feels natural and eliminate lines that don’t fit into the video.
- Upload the video to YouTube
Upload the video to YouTube with a title, tags and description. This data will help your audience find your video. If you plan to create more than one video on a certain topic, you can create a playlist and add the video to it. You can also add captions to help your followers navigate your channel.
- [Extra tip] Go live
Upload the video to YouTube with a title, tags and description. This data will help your audience find your video. If you plan to create more than one video on a certain topic, you can create a playlist and add the video to it.
How to get more YouTube views
How do YouTube views work?
It is now clear that YouTube and views are an essential combination. Now let’s see in detail how to increase views on YouTube.
1. Create engaging content
How to get YouTube views? It doesn’t matter how many tricks or advertisements you use if your videos aren’t good. So how can you create compelling content that will get more views on YouTube? Well, one of the best ways is to create video tutorials.
Just identify what your ideal customers australia business email list want to know and create videos that meet their needs. It works? You can bet. The youtuber Basic Gaia has accumulated over 200 thousand subscribers to her channel and more than 100 thousand Youtube views thanks to her video tutorials.
Just find a theme that interests your target market, and leverage that theme to create engaging content that keeps your followers glued to the screen.
2. Invite viewers to subscribe to the channel
Have you ever heard the saying, “The best new customers are your old customers”? In other words, retaining customers can be an effective way to grow your business. The same goes for YouTube views.
That’s why one of the simplest ways to increase YouTube views is to encourage your current viewers to subscribe to the channel. As your subscribers increase, the number of views on each new video you post will also increase. But how do you get viewers to sign up?
The best way is to simply ask for it, at the beginning and end of each video!
But don’t just ask viewers to subscribe to your YouTube channel. Also make sure you ask them to turn on notifications after clicking “Sign up”.
That way, once a viewer signs up, they’ll be notified every time you upload a new video. Growing your channel subscribers is key to getting more YouTube views for free, so start asking your viewers to subscribe now!
3. Create playlists to keep visitors glued to the screen
The same YouTube statistics show that “the best performing brands on YouTube create and promote double the playlists compared to 25% of the underperforming brands”.
Why do playlists work so well? Automatic playback.
It’s hard to take your attention away from the videos you like if they keep playing one after the other.
The question is no longer: “Do you want to watch another video so badly that you’re willing to click play?”. Now, the question is, “Do you want to stop watching so badly that you’re willing to click to exit?”
Additionally, playlists can help improve search rankings, as playlist titles are another opportunity to target keywords.
4. Promote other videos on end screens and tabs
Cards and end screens are tools you can use to promote your videos and get more YouTube views. First, you need to verify your YouTube account to access these features.
A final screen is a dedicated frame that you can place at the end of the videos to wrap it up and bring out the call to action.
Tabs are a tool that you can set to appear at any point in the video. You can set them to direct people to another video or playlist, or create a poll, which is a great way to ask viewers what they’d like to see.
5. Add a watermark to your videos
Watermarks allow you to receive more subscribers and to increase the view counter on YouTube, promoting your channel on all your videos. Basically, a watermark is simply an image that you can set to appear on all videos.
For example, Shopify’s YouTube channel chose a watermark with the “Subscribe” button, to invite viewers to subscribe to the channel.
Again, you need to verify your YouTube account in order to upload a watermark. It is worth mentioning that it is not possible to choose which videos show the watermark and which do not – you can choose to have the watermark appear on all of your videos, or none.
6. Make sure it is possible to embed your videos
You’ve spent ages making a great video, and now your viewers want to share it on their websites and blogs!
… But they can’t. Because you forgot to enable embedding.
Damn!
Allowing viewers to embed your video on their websites and blogs is an effective way to reach new audiences and get more YouTube views. If a video has embedding enabled, when a viewer clicks ‘Share’, YouTube will show them the ‘Embed’ option:
Once they click on Embed, the user will be able to copy the code to embed the video on their blog or website.
Bottom line: Always check that your videos are enabled for embedding to encourage viewers to share your content.
If you have followers on other social networks, let them know every time you upload a new video to YouTube. A good way to do this is with a short preview video.
To make things easier, you can try using a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Buffer . But don’t limit yourself to social media. You can also embed your YouTube videos in blog posts and pages on your website.
And don’t forget about email marketing . With an industry average open rate of 18% and a buy rate of 66%, email marketing is an incredible resource when it comes to sales conversions. And it doesn’t have to be too complicated either. best database provider
At Oberlo, we send a simple email to let our subscribers know when we post a new video.
(If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to learn more about starting your dropshipping business .)
YouTube is not a standalone social channel, so be sure to promote your videos through your other marketing channels as well .
8. Understand the importance of “screen time”
YouTube views: how are they counted? YouTube describes its algorithm as a “search and discovery system”. This algorithm determines which videos are shown:
- On the homepage
- As suggested videos
- In the search results
- Under the Subscriptions tab
- Through notifications created by viewers
Furthermore, the algorithm not only affects individual videos, but entire YouTube channels.
YouTube’s algorithm is complex, but the most important thing to understand is that it is heavily based on ” watch time “.
In fact, according to YouTube, “Watch time helps creators understand the quality of their videos and the ability to engage the audience of the different videos.”
Watch time is the time people actually spend watching your videos.
Bottom line: YouTube rewards quality. The better your videos are, the more time people spend watching them. This will increase your watch time minutes and YouTube will give your videos and channel more importance.
One more thing: your YouTube channel can also earn “watch time credits” for directing viewers to other videos. It is basically affiliate marketing .
Bottom line: Focus on keeping viewers on your channel for as long as possible, and don’t be afraid to promote other YouTube channels in your niche!
9. Cultivate a community
YouTube isn’t just a video search engine. It is also a social network. So, to have more YouTube views, you need to use it like other social networks. In other words, it’s not enough to share videos regularly, you also need to actively engage your audience.
How? The best way is to respond to comments, especially if someone asks a direct question. That way other viewers will be more likely to comment if they know they will get a response.
It only takes a second, and it can be done as you browse the comments for ideas for new videos. You should also be an active member of your community. Subscribe to other channels in your niche, leave comments on their videos, and share the ones your audience might like. In other words, give before you receive.
If you engage generously and authentically, viewers will notice and it will be much easier to establish your brand in an enthusiast niche. And remember that promoting other videos will earn you credits which will help boost your channel in the YouTube algorithm.
Finally, you can also directly engage viewers.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to organize a contest or sweepstakes . For example, you could ask viewers to share your video on Facebook and leave a comment to be entered in a draw and try to win one of your products. Growing a loyal and active community is a surefire way to get more views on YouTube.
10. Optimize your video titles
YouTube is a search engine. Which means that search engine optimization (SEO) is important.
YouTube’s algorithm takes multiple elements into account when selecting videos for search results. And the platform offers a number of opportunities to optimize your channel and videos – including video names, titles, descriptions and tags.
So, include as much information as possible. It is vital that you know what keywords you want your videos and channel to rank for.
You can also use free keyword tools like Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Planner.
But beware… YouTube will penalize you if you include keywords that are not relevant to your video. Also, make sure that the length of your titles is between 60 and 70 characters. This gives you the most room to create a compelling title, while making sure it doesn’t get cut off from the search results. Finally, don’t forget the humans!
Sure, you need to use keywords to help your videos rank in search results, but to get more YouTube views for free, you also need to use your video titles and descriptions to attract viewers. In general, try to find a balance between accuracy, information and attention grabbing.
As famous copywriter David Ogilvy once wrote : “When you wrote your title, you spent eighty cents of your dollar.” So whatever you do, pay close attention to your video titles.
11. Optimize your channel
Optimizing your channel is key to strengthening your brand and increasing free YouTube views. What’s more, you can also make a profit from YouTube views .
YouTube offers many ways to optimize your channel.
Here is an example of a channel optimized by the Barilla YouTube channel :
Create a strong and consistent brand aesthetic.
Make sure your YouTube branding is consistent with your website and other social channels. This means using the same logo, the same images and the same colors. Your profile photo should be 800 x 800 pixels. It should also look good when viewed in a smaller format. Your cover image should be at least 2560 x 1440 pixels.
Optimize your YouTube channel description.
This is shown in your channel’s ‘Info’ tab. You only have 1000 characters, so make it punchy. What should you write in your YouTube channel description? Start with a quick description of your brand and the benefits of your products.
Then you could introduce your subscribers to the type of video they will find on your channel. Just like with video titles, be sure to include the relevant keywords in the description as well.
Add your social channels, links to your website and a way to contact you.
In other words, make it easier for viewers to discover your brand.
Add your channel keywords.
Once you have researched and chosen the keywords for which you want your channel to rank in the search results, click on “Channel” and then on “Advanced”. From here you can enter the keywords related to your channel in the appropriate box.