How Brands Can Get More YouTube Views Organically
Video is one of the key ways your brand can tell its story, but creating a video that only your marketing team and C-suite see certainly doesn’t help “move the needle.” So how do you make a video that represents your brand but that also gets seen by your target audience? Luckily, the answer doesn’t necessarily include hiring a Coppola. Incorporate these five things and watch that view counter start creeping into Charlie Bit My Finger territory…or at least Despacito.
1. Consider how organic video search works
Like all search engines, YouTube prioritizes videos that people click on in relation to the terms with which they are tagged. For example, if someone searches “best white wines” and you tagged your video with “white wine,” the more people who click your video, the higher it will appear in the next search. Pretty simple.
2. So, think in search terms
People don’t care about your company/brand/product/cause, they care about how it affects their lives. Unfortunately, that is the cold reality to keep in mind while storyboarding your next video. Your audience is not going to watch a video because it perfectly defines your mission statement or lays out the differentiators between you and your competitors. They will watch it because it tells them something that will serve them — that will provide them with social currency.
Keep in mind that YouTube is one of the top search engines in the world. Tag your video with terms that you think people will search for — not the language you (or other marketers) use. You also want to include targeted key phrases into the video file name and other keywords in the video description that are common search terms.
To that end, what you name your video matters a lot. Resist the very natural urge to include your brand name in the title. People are not looking for your brand. They are looking for solutions, information or entertainment. So, remember, less, “BRAND NAME blah, blah, blah” and more “How to, Best XYZ, Easiest ABC” for the win.
Be sure to use the YouTube native Closed Caption function in all your videos, as well. Google indexes the keywords mentioned within the video but if you use text overlays in video production they are not indexed by search.
3. Teach a skill with your brand, not about your brand
The best way to show off your brand is to really show it off. As noted above, if you want people to find and watch your video, it must be a form of social currency. What can viewers do with the information you’re providing them? If you make widgets, show people how to install widgets easily. If you make do-dads, show viewers the five best ways to apply do-dads. Even better, use someone your audience knows and trusts to show them (i.e., an influencer). Avoid the trap of the self-serving list of product benefits. No one will watch it except for the people under your own roof…and maybe your mom. The YouTube algorithm favors content that generates longer session watch times, so creating videos that need to be watched all the way through is key.
Engagement such as likes and comments are also weighted in the algorithm, so don’t forget to remind folks to engage in the video itself.
4. Market/cross promote your video
Don’t leave it all to the YouTube gods to get your video viewed. Promote it on all of your own channels. If you are using talent, make sure the contract mandates that they promote the video — anywhere and everywhere. People can’t watch it if they don’t know it’s there.
5. Use apps that make life easier
Not every video has to be produced by MGM. There are lots of apps like JumpRope out there designed to make your videos look like champagne even if you’re on a beer budget.
All-in-all, getting a lot of views on your YouTube videos boils down to one thing — don’t be self-serving. Create videos that will help or entertain. Then cross your fingers and hope to be the next viral sensation.
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