5 Youtube growth hacks from an ex-Youtuber
Have you just made a YouTube Channel or struggling to grow? I’m a former YouTuber and also your saviour!
Youtube is a powerful video sharing platform which is actually the second largest search engine with over 3 billion searches a month and 100 hours of video uploaded every minute. It’s bigger than Bing, Yahoo!, Ask and AOL combined! Okay, it isn't like a proper search engine where you'd commit to micro-moments like needing a coffee, asking a general question or wanting to find a discount. But, nevertheless, the numbers that Youtube rack up are colossal.
Many businesses and creative young minds want to grow on this crazy platform, so I've got 5 brilliant ways to do so. Let's get started!
5) Personalise everything to you
My first point is an inevitable part of creating your Youtube Channel, you've got to structure it in the way a user wants to see the content. Make it easy to access videos, it's pretty simple but many get it horribly wrong.
Firstly, do you see that little settings cog on your channel page? It's near the subscribe button. That cog opens up the main channel settings, one of which being the ability to customise in the first place. Turn it on if you haven't already, or your channel page structure will be unbearable for the user across each device. Especially on mobile.
Hit ‘Customise Channel’ to start making edits.
Other points I'd like to mention are to ensure you have a detailed video description on every video, with specific call-to-actions (like a subscribe button link, learn how to get yours here) and relevant video/social links. Additionally, having a unique "about" page is always a refreshing area for the user.
4) Your name says it all
If your Youtube channel name is unique then keeping users nearby won't be as tricky. In most scenarios the person watching your video will remember your name if they don't click the subscribe button. However, if I take the same scenario but your username isn't great then unless that user decides to hit subscribe, you're going to have to put the work in to maintain their attention and remember you.
It has been known, with various popular channels, that a unique name isn't always a way of building a community. Your content plays a huge role within this process. If your username isn't unique but your videos are weIl-made then users will be coming back and remembering you for your content. Then, eventually they'll remember your channel name. It is recommended to have a unique name though, as it makes it easier to identify you as a brand/figure on the platform.
Here's a bonus tip: A lot of users spread their favourite channels by word-of-mouth and if your name is horrendous to find, you have just lost a potential subscriber.
3) Consistency is good, but so is quality
I believe there are two upload approaches to Youtube. One where the content creator decides to upload lots of content on a frequent basis and the other not so much. Both of these plans work just fine but in order to rank higher on Youtube's search, more videos is a much better organic way of doing so. As videos generally lead to views and views generate into new subscribers. I've seen creators grow with just one video per week and have uncovered that consistency isn't always needed.
2) Start networking
Youtube is a community and it has been since the very early days. Building connections with other content creators, businesses and brands is a great way to grow. Collaborations tend to increase views and exposure, Youtube Creators explains in more detail with their video tutorials.
Partnerships are an awesome way of networking on Youtube and they offer some great benefits along the way. There's an incredible variety to choose from, but make sure you go for the one that suits your channel best! I recommend something like FullScreen, but there thousands to go for. Partnerships are mainly for channels with over 100 subscribers which is something to bear in mind before considering.
Important Partnerships Tip: Make sure you read over the terms and conditions before signing a contract with a partnership network and also weigh up how it will impact growth.
1) Enjoy it
Making videos on Youtube, business or individual, is about enjoying the experience. If you enjoy making the awesome content that you release then it will shine through each and every piece of work uploaded. A user can tell if time and dedication has gone into something, I don't have evidence for this but come on, it's just human nature!
Statistics from Fortune Lords show that on average 20% of the people who start watching your video will leave after the first 10 seconds. So, making a good impression and showing your passion is always an excellent way of catching their attention.
Summary
Youtube is an exceptional platform for video sharing and with predictions showing that by 2025 half of the viewers under 32 will not subscribe to a pay-TV service, it just shows that this online site will become even more popular. But also saturated with content. So, if you're planning on getting yourself on Youtube, do it quick. As you may know, I used to produce content on YouTube, so if these tips were helpful then make sure to share the post!
