YouTube Marketing Basics For Your Next Strategy

Explore how you can go about integrating YouTube marketing to your digital marketing plan and the best practices to follow to promote your channel.

It is the internet’s second-largest search engine after Google. And, there are way too many other YouTube stats that marketers cannot ignore. 

In this light, let’s explore YouTube marketing today!

1. Defining YouTube Marketing 
2. How YouTube Marketing Differs from Video Marketing on other Social Platforms
3. Most Popular Types of YouTube Videos
4. Introduction to YouTube SEO
5. YouTube Marketing Best Practices

Defining YouTube Marketing 

YouTube marketing is one of the most powerful means to promote a product or service through video content. 

Marketers leverage YouTube SEO and the platform’s own web analytics tool to promote their brand’s YouTube channel. Likewise, there are YouTube algorithms that content creators consider. 

Must Read – How To Download Youtube Videos in 2023 For Free?

How YouTube Marketing Differs from Video Marketing on other Social Platforms

Unlike other social media marketing channels including Instagram and TikTok, YouTube can carry more weight in terms of purpose and style. You can create long-form, valuable content as educational or informational blogs, but as videos.  

Related: What is Content Marketing?

On YouTube, the experience is more about viewing than tagging. Content creators on the platform also do not have to consider time limits for videos. The maximum length of one YouTube video can go up to 12 hours in length. Even, YouTube stories last for a week, while Instagram Stories last for a day. 

Also, platforms such as Instagram are more geared toward visually striking images, and short-form video content drives more engagement. Do refer to how to increase Instagram followers. 

But, YouTube’s videos are created to stay for a long time. And they are meant to be searched by anyone at any time.

Along with that, you have the 60-second YouTube Shorts. These are of the Insta Reel format, and they have recently become monetisable. 

What is the Role of YouTube in Digital Marketing?

YouTube can play a major role in a company's digital marketing strategy. 

1. Video Content Marketing: YouTube provides a platform to publish engaging video content that can help brands build awareness, engage with customers, explain products/services, etc. Videos allow brands to show rather than just tell. Red Bull is a great content marketing example for videos. It creates adventurous, extreme sports videos that appeal to its target demographics. 

2. Influencer Marketing: Partnering with YouTube influencers and content creators allows brands to tap into their follower base and credibility to promote products. Influencer marketing on YouTube can generate significant interest and sales. One example is Nike, who partners with athletes and creators like Tyler Nolan to showcase new product launches and campaigns.

3. Video Ads: YouTube provides various ad formats like skippable video ads, non-skippable ads, bumper ads, etc. that can help drive different marketing objectives from views and engagement to conversions and sales. Targeted YouTube ads can provide great ROI. For instance, you can look at Coca Cola. It frequently runs ads before or during videos using formats like bumper ads and skippable video ads, often focused on the theme of bringing joy. You can further go check on the Coca-Cola digital marketing strategy. 

4. SEO Value: Quality YouTube videos can rank highly in Google search results so they allow brands to improve discoverability and SEO. Optimizing videos with keywords and ensuring high engagement signals like shares, comments etc. boosts rankings. 

Most Popular Types of YouTube Videos

According to Think With Google, the following are the top content categories that perform well on the channel. 

1. Comedy
2. Music
3. Entertainment/pop culture
4. How to

But content creators are not limited to these categories. Some are

1. Unboxing – They are similar to product reviews and have been popular since 2014. Topics, where such videos are highly watched, are on electronic devices, food, beauty, and fashion. According to the Google Consumer Survey, 62% of people who watch these videos are researching a product before purchasing. 

2. Vlogs – These videos are like diary entries in the video format. They are more candid than professionally edited videos and hardly require high-quality audiovisual equipment. 

3. Live Streaming – This format on YouTube is highly effective. And the platform comes next to Twitch (a dedicated live-streaming platform) according to Hootsuite. Another useful feature of live-streaming on YouTube is that the videos can be paused in between.  

Introduction to YouTube SEO

YouTube SEO is similar to the principles of on-page SEO. When you have created a video on the platform, you have to ensure it is indexed. Only then will your video show up on YouTube search results. 

Have a look at some main elements of YouTube SEO and how you can optimise your videos. 

Title

Just like a blog heading that immediately captures interest and makes the user read the rest of the blog, YouTube video titles work the same way. 

For writing amazing headlines, refer to How to Write Blogs that Rank Well on Google, or check how you can use ChatGPT for SEO, especially for title idea generation. 

The title has to contain the keyword. You can do keyword research using SEO tools. Or you can use YouTube and Google’s search suggest feature to gather keyword ideas. 

Experts suggest that a title with 60-70 characters with spaces works best. 

Description

Both the title and description of a YouTube video provide context. The description can be longer, around 250 words, with the keyword appearing on the first 20 to 30 words. You can even add hashtags to your titles and descriptions, and they can help people find your videos easily. 

Some video descriptions even have video transcripts as part of the description. Other than that, the description can contain time stamps, allowing the user to click on the tags and watch a specific section of the video. 

Thumbnail

YouTube thumbnails are also like headings, but visual. If it is not attractive, the user may not click on the video. 

It also should represent what the video is about. According to Quick Sprout, apt thumbnails can increase engagement by 154%. 

Also, it is recommended to use custom thumbnails, as 90% of the best video productions on the platform have them (YouTube Creator Academy). You can add video text on the thumbnail, choose high-resolution images of 1280×720 and so on. 

If you are to create images on your own, you can use digital marketing tools such as Canva. 

Here is an example of an informative thumbnail. 

YouTube Marketing Best Practices

Now that you have an idea to optimise your videos on the platform, do follow these steps to improve your YouTube presence and get more people to subscribe to your channel. Before that, you may want to check out on how to create a YouTube channel.

Customise Your Channel Layout

The YouTube channel layout consists of customisable elements such as video trailers, featured video, playlists, etc. You can go to YouTube Studio and go to the Channel Customization section. 

Don’t Ignore CTA’s

Ignoring CTA’s is one of the biggest digital marketing mistakes. Thoughtful yet simple calls-to-action work wonders when you put in the beginning or end of the video. Some pro YouTubers also use CTA’s in the middle of their videos. 

There are many types of CTA’s that you can use as well. 

1. Asking your viewers to follow you on your social media channels through links below the video or prompting them to share your video with their followers on social networks
2. Using multiple CTAs at the end of the video, taking your viewers to your popular or related videos and your website or merchandise store
3. Asking your viewers to subscribe to your channel if they found useful information by watching the video
4. Encouraging your viewers to comment on your video to start conversations or to find out what they are expecting from your videos

Make Use of Featured Channels

One of the best ways to show support for the community or the industry you are in is to add some featured channels to your homepage. These YouTube channels are of content creators in the same industry. This way you will gain a considerable subscriber base. 

Join the YouTube Partner Program

If you are thinking of monetising your channel from ads that show up on your videos, it is best to be a part of the YouTube Partner Program. But there are some eligibility requirements such as 

1. Compliance with the monetisation policies of YouTube
2. No strikes on Community Guidelines
3. 4000+ public watch hours in one year
4. 1000+ subscribers
5. One Google AdSense account linked
6. Active with posts for 6 months or more after joining YPP

Even if you are not part of it, it is essential to create videos consistently. One video per week is recommended by experts. 

Always Respond to Comments

Another way to gain community trust and maintain relationship with your viewers is to reply to comments directed to you. As a content creator, you can also pin your favourite comment and bring it up on the top so that anyone can read when they first find your video. 

Responding to comments and feedback applies to brands doing social media marketing as well. (See how Domino’s does it so well, in our blog on Domino’s digital marketing strategy.) 

Fill Out the About Tab

This section is often overlooked, as many assume that nobody reads. In fact, this section essentially gives a quick overview to new viewers of what the channel is. Also, it helps the YouTube Channel crawlers to distinguish your channel from the millions.  

One aspect to consider is that this section allows only 1000 characters with spaces. You can cover the topics you create, for instance. 

Further you may want to check out how to grow YouTube channel

Parting Thoughts

These are some fundamentals of YouTube marketing. Hopefully, you can use them to create an effective YouTube strategy and grow your efforts with digital marketing. 

You can also learn more about YouTube marketing from industry experts when you choose digital marketing courses. Some short courses to check out are Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube Marketing on Coursera and YouTube Certified Program from Google.