YouTube is the world's leading video platform
and competition for attention is fierce on the platform. Despite this, it is
possible to increase views with simple hacks. That's what you'll learn in this
article!
Knowing how to gain views on YouTube
is among the main challenges for companies or people who want to expand their
business on the internet.
After all, there are more than a
billion users connected to the network, according to YouTube itself. That means
that a third of the internet is there.
In addition, more than a billion hours
of videos are watched on the platform every day.
Looking at this data, it seems crazy
that there are still brands ignoring the power of social media to evolve.
But, truth be told: getting the much
dreamed views on YouTube is not an easy task and it doesn't happen overnight.
It involves commitment, well-defined
strategies, a lot of dedication and a good dose of creativity.
That doesn't mean it's impossible
either.
It was with that in mind that I
created this tutorial with 19 infallible tips for you to get views on YouTube.
Come on?
If you have a YouTube channel, one of
the priorities in your strategy should be increasing views — and with good
reason.
Video views are the equivalent of
traffic generated by blog posts, and both are key to driving brand awareness
and, of course, conversions.
It's no secret that videos continue to
rise in popularity and are among the top ways to do digital marketing. But the
question still remains: how to increase views on YouTube?
One thing is for sure: if it was easy,
everyone would do it. But with the tips you are going to see now, your work
will be much more complete and your chances of boosting your channel will
increase significantly.
Get ready and check out the 15
practical hacks we're going to show you to make your videos more popular and
effective for your strategy!
1. Choose “OBGY” colors
for the Thumbnails
How much time do you spend preparing
the thumbnails for your videos? If you think that little presentation image is
not important, you are wrong.
YouTube has already revealed, through
Creator Academy, that the thumb is a critical factor in attracting users to
click on a video.
In fact, they're so important that 9
out of 10 of the most viewed videos on the net have custom thumbnails!
If you think about it, this makes
perfect sense. After all, YouTube is a visual platform, so people will use any
visual “cue” as a resource to decide what to watch (or not watch).
But how do you create thumbnails that
stand out? There are 4 good options, which we can call “LAVA” colors:
• orange;
• blue;
• green;
• yellow;
But why these colors? As the site is
white, black and red, thumbnails in any of these colors could make your video
“invisible”. Using one of the “LAVA” colors, which have contrast, tends to work
best.
2. Use an optimized
template to describe your videos
According
to YouTube itself, video descriptions allow the site to figure out what your
videos are about.
In
other words, if you put a lot of effort into your description, your chances of
reaching the right audience and increasing views on YouTube are greater. But
how to do it?
There
is an optimized template you can use. The following is:
•
strong introduction: 2 to 3 sentences. If possible, include your main keyword
in the first few sentences;
•
detailed description: do not put lists of keywords, as if they were tags. Just
describe the video naturally in 150 words (or more);
•
Relevant links: Links to your website or social media help increase engagement
and build rapport even off-platform. If possible, prioritize the link to your
email list.
Yes,
it's that simple. This description template will help engage your viewers and
make it easier for YouTube to rank your videos.
Picture
2
3. Create titles that make
a real impact on visitors
Just
like thumbnails and descriptions, good titles are essential to resonate with
your audience. Do you still doubt? So, here's this quote taken from YouTube's
own playbook for creators, in full:
“Well-written
titles can make the difference between a user watching and sharing your video,
or just skimming through it.”
And
how to create amazing titles? Here are some tips that seem meaningless, but
have been duly proven by studies:
•
use parentheses and square brackets at the end of headings;
•
keep your titles between 40 and 50 characters long.
Despite
this, never stop doing your own tests and see what works with your audience.
This is the best way to find out what will work for you.
4. Differentiate your
playlists with a simple trick
If
you have multiple playlists, there's a very simple trick to make them catch
more attention from those accessing your channel page.
The
only thing you need to do is switch playlist layouts. For example, if one of
them is in list format (vertical), put the next playlist in carousel format
(horizontal).
Why
does it make a difference? By simply creating greater visual contrast,
playlists will draw more attention.
5. Hack your competitors
to gain traffic from them
I
know you want to gain some of the traffic your competitors are fighting to get,
and honestly, there's nothing wrong with that.
YouTube
itself gives the tip on how to do this. But do you know the secret to “hacking”
your competitors' views?
Nothing
but using the same tags they use on their videos. The platform usually uses
tags as a criterion when showing suggested videos.
If
you don't remember what they are, they are those videos that YouTube recommends
that users watch after what they are currently watching.
But
is it worth it? Brian Dean's channel, one of the world's leading SEO specialists,
has 38.2% of its traffic coming from suggested videos, against 34.8% coming
from searches.
That
is, not only is it worth it, but it can bring more views than the searches
themselves within the platform.
6. Follow a basic
structure when applying your tags
From
the previous tip, you already realized how relevant tags are in your ability to
increase views on YouTube — but it doesn't stop there.
When
analyzing 1.3 million videos in search of the relationship between tag
structure and search rankings, the blog Backlinko observed something
interesting: there is a structure to apply your tags that will make you even
more successful.
The
basic structure is:
•
main keyword: the first or second tag should be your main keyword for the
video;
•
variations: then you include some variations of the main keyword, which can
also be used to search the theme;
•
category: Finally, apply some tags that show YouTube what general category your
video falls into.
7. Use cards to transfer
views between videos
This
is a really good trick to use on old videos where your engagement didn't hold
up to the end or the quality of the content left something to be desired.
Analyze
the exact moment people tend to leave the video. Then, include a card
suggesting another video a second or two before they click away.
Ready.
Instead of looking for something else, they'll see another video of yours, but
this time, a more interesting video that you've already managed to prove
retention.
8. Taste your own poison
What
is your biggest wish for a video once it airs? Chances are you want the
audience to engage a lot by commenting, liking, and sharing what they saw.
But
for that to happen, you're the first to engage, and the best way to do that is
by sharing each new video on as many relevant channels as possible.
That
includes:
•
social networks: it is worth publishing short clips (teasers) both in the feed
and in groups in which you participate in the main social networks;
•
forums: Quora is a qualified traffic channel that can be useful;
•
mailing list: if you already have a mailing list, you need to share new
productions with your subscribers.
When
it comes to promoting your videos on social media, don't limit yourself to
organic posts. Advertise to reach a wider audience and accelerate your growth.
9. Promote your videos on
your blog
There
are many ways to share your videos on your blog and there are good reasons to
do so.
The
first way is by including the videos in relevant blog articles on similar
topics. This can make readers feel attracted to subscribe to your channel.
10. Get your videos
promoted on YouTube home page
How
would you like to have your videos promoted on the first page of the platform?
Besides being perfectly possible, know that you don't have to pay for this to
happen.
Keep
in mind that YouTube's home page is customized to what each user tends to watch
(of course we're talking about people with an active login).
So
all you need to show up on the homepage is to promote new videos as much as
possible in the first 48 hours. Just that? It seems little, but it is not.
The
platform favors new and popular videos to appear on the homepage. So this tip
is only possible if you've already followed the others and managed to make a
new video stand out.
11. Rankeie seus vídeos na
página de busca do Google
You
may have already read that videos are the future of marketing and one of the
consequences of this is that Google searches are increasingly favoring content
in this format.
So,
you can't even think about leaving the search engine out of your traffic
acquisition strategy.
But
do you need to rank first on YouTube to be featured on Google? A study by
Perficient Digital showed no.
In
fact, 55.2% of the videos that rank #1 on Google don't rank the same as
YouTube. So, what to do to conquer the first positions in the search engine?
First,
say your keyword out loud, if possible, more than once in the video.
Then
upload a transcript of the video to YouTube so that Google understands all of
your content (and your keyword).
12. Create engagement the
easiest way there is
Instead
of thinking of miraculous ways to increase your engagement, how about starting
with the easiest way to get likes and comments there is?
There
is no more practical and faster solution than asking viewers to interact with
your videos. Explain why their interactions are important. This may be more
than enough to make them feel motivated to participate.
If
you think that's not enough, take a look at YouTube's top content producers.
See how they ask people all the time to subscribe to the channel and interact
with the content.
13. Put preview hooks at
the end of videos
If
you're successful, you'll get most of the people who click on the video to make
it to the end of it. But is that all? What can you do to keep people consuming
your content?
One
of the best alternatives is to place hooks for other videos at the end of each
production. YouTube has cards that serve this purpose.
The
secret is to include content that makes sense and relates to what the person
just saw.
14. Don't ignore the
“Community” tab
The
“Community” tab is a channel offered by YouTube for you to interact with your
subscribers in a more direct and personal way.
Use
this space to create polls, promote short clips of content you've yet to
publish, and generally get a feel for what your subscribers want to see.
The
more active you are, the more relevant information you'll be able to gather to
produce content people want to see. And no hack replaces a good relationship
with your audience.
15. Partner with other
content producers
Last
but not least, partnering with other producers is a cheap and simple way to
spread your content to a new audience and promote your content smartly.
Use
the same co-marketing principles for blogs and partner with people who have a
similar personality to you.
YouTube
is the world's leading video platform for a reason: the company does a great
job of balancing the needs of content producers and consumers.
With
these sure-fire hacks, you're ready to increase views on YouTube and make your
channel take off.
Now
that you know the hacks to increase views, you need to learn how to use that
traffic in a larger marketing strategy.
