How to Market You Tube Videos and Gain More Subscribers in 1 Month

Imagine your You Tube videos being viewed by hundreds of thousands of people weekly. Now imagine that everyday you log into your You Tube account, you receive hundreds of new subscribers. By the time you’ve completed this article, that scenario will be your reality.

Marketing is a topic that is discussed often, but few people understand how marketing works. Marketing becomes unsuccessful when misunderstood and underestimated; this especially applies to marketing You Tube videos. A large percentage of the time, people find You Tube videos by chance or old-fashioned word of mouth. Waiting for either of those options is not conducive to a thriving You Tube channel.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

The importance of social media is evident. Don’t waste time debating on which sites you should use for marketing. Use as many sites as you can handle to market yourself. If you are working alone, it is best to be realistic about how many social networks you can operate. If you are working with a team, assign social media sites evenly. Sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter are the most beneficial for YouTubers. If you expect to have a large following, sign up for a domain at sites such as WordPress. Consider purchasing premium templates or working with a web-designer; this is more beneficial if you are selling products that relate to your channel. Check out The Zen of Social Media Marketing, by Shama Hyder Kabani, for more information on Facebook and Twitter networking.

OLD-FASHIONED MARKETING

Contrary to popular belief, marketing offline is not obsolete. Marketing online is meant to target the people you can’t reach. Don’t disregard the audience you can reach. Tell your friends, family and associates about your new channel. Talk about your channel to anyone who is willing to listen to you. Depending on the content of your channel, make flyers to post in laundromats, on college campuses, and other places in your area that allow solicitation. Search for companies in your area that relate to your niche. Depending on the company and niche, you could negotiate an arrangement. For example, the host of a fashion channel should offer publicity to local boutiques if they mention their channel. The stylist would create looks on their channel, mentioning the boutique. The boutique can give the stylist’s business card or flyer to their customers. Both parties will benefit greatly.

SHOW THE VALUE

How is your channel beneficial to the viewer? What will they receive from the time spent watching you? It is important to enforce the value of your channel to potential viewers. For example, if you are an interior designer targeting middle-class families, market your channel by focusing on ways to save money, make the most of living space, and get contemporary looks on shoe string budget. You don’t make videos for yourself – – videos are to benefit your audience. If your goal is to entertain your viewer with comedy, the same rules apply. Who is your target audience? Once you’ve answered that question it is easier to set boundaries for your comedy channel.

REMIND THEM TO FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE

Most of the time, once the value is shown, people will subscribe instantly. But for a number of reasons they may not. At the end of each video encourage your audience to interact with you in some kind of way. For example, the interior designer channel could ask viewers to post pictures of their designs on her Facebook Wall. This drives traffic directly to one of her social media sites. The interior designer could also ask her viewers to leave comments about their favorite space-saving tips and remind them to subscribe. You should never sound like you are begging or forcing a viewer to subscribe. Instead, use the same tone and body language as you would when saying “I’m having a party and I’d love for you to come over.”

MAKE FRIENDS WITH “COMPETITORS”

Don’t let competition isolate you. If you have a channel that is related to other channels, then reach out to them. Make friends. Support other channels in your niche by leaving comments, liking videos, or mentioning them in a video. If resources allow, collaborate with other channels with the same niche. Never troll (a term used to describe people who leave negative commentary) other channels. Don’t compare your channel to other channels either – especially in a negative way. The internet has more than enough room for everyone.

BE APPROACHABLE

In real life a person lets you know they are friendly with a smile; online you have to work harder. Stay upbeat, treat your subscribers like friends, and let them know that you value their input. Never portray yourself as a person who is too proud to take tips. Show people that you are interested in them by frequently replying to their comments and asking them questions.

GIVEAWAYS

Have a giveaway featuring items that relate to your channel. Always require the participant to promote your giveaway via a social networking site and subscribe to your channel.  For example, participants can tweet the contest to be eligible. Make sure the prize is something you would want to win (even if it isn’t expensive). Giveaways are great for gaining a large following in a short period of time. Be wary of people who will unsubscribe after the contest is over. Some will be disappointed they didn’t win and some don’t have a real interest in your channel. To avoid losing new subscribers, mention that you will have more contests in the future.

Follow these guidelines and your channel will have a steady increase of traffic in no time. If you have any tips on You Tube marketing, please comment below.