Building an optimised channel for your brand can seem like a pretty big mountain to climb. Here, we break it down to show you that nailing your brand positioning to grow your YouTube channel doesn't have to be a tall order.
Perfect your brand image on YouTube to grow your subscribers.
If you saw our recent piece on optimising your Instagram page for growth, then you should know all about the power of a complete profile.
Ensuring you are using all the features offered on YouTube will help your brand stand out. Additionally, having a complete, well-designed profile can encourage existing subscribers to revisit and new viewers to subscribe!
Fundamentally, there are six elements to perfecting your brand’s channel on YouTube:
- Your description. Much like your social media bios, this short paragraph must explain who you are, what you do, and why people should care about it. Remember, YouTube performs just like a search engine, so ensure your description copy contains keywords and encourages further engagement.
- Links. Thinking about your brand positioning on YouTube as you do in search highlights the importance of signposting visitors to more content. Use the available links to help channel visitors learn more about you on other platforms.
- Icon. Your icon exists as a verification that your viewers are in the right place. Here, you could include a logo, brand ambassador, or recognisable illustration – whatever you choose, make sure your viewers will recognise it instantly.
- Graphics. Shooting some beautiful photography or creating engaging illustrations for your header can add impact and hook viewers into your channel.
- Trailer. Your trailer offers a brief window into the kind of content viewers can expect on your channel. Remember what they say about first impressions! Get your viewers excited about your brand and encourage further viewing by making this both engaging and informative.
- Playlists. Finally, by organising your YouTube content into playlists, you make it easy for viewers to navigate your channel. Arranging your content this way can help boost viewership and sets expectations around what people can expect from your brand’s channel.
Learn about your YouTube viewers, and create branded content they want to see.
Believe it or not, YouTube is the second most used social platform in the world. Here are some quick stats to get your head around.
YouTube has:
- Over 2 billion global users.
- 126 million unique monthly viewers.
- Average users watching just under 18 minutes of content daily.
- 70% of viewers watching on mobile devices.
That’s a pretty big pie to take a slice of. To nail your brand positioning on YouTube, though, you need to know who that viewer is, what they are interested in, and how to engage them.
If you have a YouTube for Business account, you will be able to access helpful channel analytics that tells you all about your viewers. These built-in tools help you understand viewership, read comments, and even pose poll questions. Finally, cross-reference your audiences across other platforms. If you have shared audiences, chances are they’ll be interested in content on similar topics.
Suss out your competitor’s channels – see what is and isn’t helping them to grow.
Conducting a competitor review is always good practice. Knowing what the other brands in your market are doing enables you to properly plan for your areas of strength and weakness. If you can do this successfully, you are much less likely to find yourself exposed or caught out when your competitor pivots strategies.
Also, as YouTube is a search platform, see who is competing for similar keywords in your industry. Creating a map of their content vs your own will highlight keyword opportunities that your brand can capitalise on, in addition to highlighting areas you are leaving your channel exposed.
The sooner you start thinking about your YouTube channel as a search property, the quicker you will begin to see it generate results for your brand.
Collaborate with YouTubers and other creators to grow your channel.
Creating engaging content on a schedule that keeps people interested in your brand’s channel requires a lot of effort. One route to bolstering your content on your channel is collaborating with other users on the platform.
Inviting other popular YouTubers or creators to work with you on a piece of content, or a whole series, can inspire new creative directions and help keep your content strategy fresh.
There is real power in choosing the right collaborator too. A recent study by Google highlighted that 60% of YouTube subscribers are likely to make a purchase based on the advice of their favourite creators – highlighting the power of relatable personalities.
Remember, when partnering with other creators, it is essential to ensure two things. Firstly, ensure there is a strong synergy between your brand and theirs. Secondly, when partnering with other creators, you are also partnering with their audiences. So give them the creative licence to tailor content as they see fit. Doing so will avoid content feeling forced or unauthentic.
Find a balance between organic and paid-for content.
Our final point reinforces the importance of thinking of YouTube as a search engine. By balancing your paid for and organic content on the platform, you will give your channel the best chance of growing faster.
After all, helping viewers find what they want to watch faster makes the overall YouTube experience better (good for Google). If you make the platform a better place to be, then YouTube will make it a better place for your brand 😉 – think of it as an ‘if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ kind of situation.
Your brand will have a much higher chance of growing quickly if you invest in ads alongside your organic content. YouTube is more likely to promote the content of its advertisers, so when you invest in ads you increase the chances of being found by people that are likely to be interested in the content on your channel.
Nailing your brand positioning on YouTube takes time, thought and a whole lot of great content.
Are you thinking about refining your brand’s strategy on the platform and feel like you might need some advice?
Get in touch with our team. We’re small screen specialists and experts in creating content that moves.
