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How to Optimize YouTube Videos for Higher Visibility and Brand Growth

It's important to understand how to optimize YouTube videos as a part of your brand growth and digital marketing strategy.

Videos can be fun! That’s why people watch them. That’s why people take them.

But look beyond the lights, camera, and action, and you’ll see that videos are about much more than something pretty to watch. Videos are an integral part of building your brand, so it’s important to know how to optimize YouTube videos properly to ensure they get seen by the people you want to see them.

While there are many more video platforms out there, such as Vimeo or the social networking site TikTok, YouTube remains the giant. Almost 5 billion YouTube videos are watched every day.

Billion! Not million, not thousand: Billion!

That means if you’re not cashing in on every opportunity to tout your brand on YouTube, you’re missing out on the opportunity to increase your social media followers and possibly capture new leads.

How to Optimize YouTube Videos

Video content needs to be an integral part of content strategy.

Mobile video consumption rises by a staggering 100% every year, and by 2022, online videos are expected to make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic, according to Cisco. HubSpot reports that 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day.

What does this all mean for your brand? Well, three things:

  1. You should be doing video.
  2. You’ll have competition. A lot of it.
  3. So you should optimize those videos.

What elements do you need to optimize YouTube videos? What’s the secret?

Truly, doing so isn’t much of a secret at all. Most digital marketers know the methods for optimizing content. Videos are no different, so you would optimize videos like you would anything else. In addition to the basic content optimization principles, video posts should include several other features.

  1. Your video should be based on a certain theme, and that theme should be related to one of the main focuses of your business. In other words, your video should be based on a keyword that you’re targeting.
  2. Make sure the title of your video contains that keyword, and that the title is descriptive and enticing enough to capture attention from viewers.
  3. Include the same keyword in the name of the file itself.
  4. Include a video description. Use that keyword in the description at least once, but don’t overdo it. You can use supporting keywords as well.
  5. Include two or three hashtags that feature your target keywords and/or the subject of the video. Ideally, they should be one and the same.
  6. Choose a thumbnail image of the video wisely.
  7. Add subtitles and text in your video to make it easier to watch.
  8. Manually add closed captions to ensure they are grammatically correct.
  9. Include links to your other videos or to subscription options.
  10. Post links to your YouTube videos on social media, and make sure those social media posts include your target keyword as well.
  11. Unlike videos on social media, which should be about 30 to 45 seconds, YouTube videos can be a little more comprehensive.  Two-minute videos have a high engagement rate, but if you can keep your audience watching even longer than that, that’s great too. Just keep in mind that viewers are busy and typically want quick answers, so don’t overdo it. Be personable but succinct; in the video world, two minutes goes faster than you think.

Is Your Video Marketing Strategy Up to the Challenge?

Our marketing agency in Rochester has years of experience creating compelling videos that not only keep viewers engaged, but also help to raise awareness of your brand. To learn more about our video marketing strategies, give us a call. We’d love to help you see what’s possible with the right digital marketing techniques.

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