The truth is, no platform can come close to replacing YouTube and its long-form video content – be it in 2023 or the foreseeable future. And whether you’re an aspiring YouTuber or an entrepreneur who wants to reap the benefits of SME YouTube advertising, it’ll never be too late (or any less rewarding) to start and grow a YouTube channel.

Before exploring the ‘hows’ of doing it, let’s have a look at some of the ‘whys.’ According to Hootsuite:

• YouTube is the second-most visited website in the world, after Google.
• YouTube has 1.7 billion unique monthly visitors and 14.3 billion monthly visits in total.
• Visitors spend an average of 19 minutes a day on YouTube.
• 81% of Internet users have used YouTube.
• India is YouTube’s largest advertising audience.

Drooling already? Then read on.

Here are the 10 best practices for YouTube success in 2023:

 

• Make content that’s evergreen

 

Hopping onto hot trends could give you spurts of virality. But the demand for those videos would die out pretty soon, and you’d be missing out on the biggest benefit of YouTube videos – their long (almost infinite) shelf life. A video you post today could get flooded by views even a decade later, provided its content isn’t just useful or relevant for a short span of time.

You don’t get that benefit on Instagram and other social media platforms, because new posts eventually and inevitably drown out the old ones.

 

• Closed caption your videos

 

Your content on YouTube has the potential to surpass all kinds of boundaries and be accessible to everyone, including viewers who speak other languages and those with disabilities.

 

Source: Malay Mail

 

According to WHO, about 20% of the world’s population experiences a degree of hearing impairment. And over 5% of the world’s population has a disabling hearing loss. Such barriers could greatly limit the corporate YouTube presence of a business, and closed captioning helps you easily break them.

It’s best to supply your own written transcripts. But in this age, you can also choose to be lazy and let YouTube caption your videos with automated speech recognition. It’s still way better than not having any closed captions.

 

• Add chapters/timestamps to videos

 

Chapters or timestamps are clickable links that allow viewers to skip to different segments of a video. The reason to include them, especially in videos longer than 5 minutes, is that viewers may leave if they can’t quickly find what they’re looking for. Because a long video without timestamps is like a book without a table of contents.

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

 

Source: Tasty Edits

 

In 2023, this feature is even cooler! Because now we can see the chapters even in the video’s progress bar.

 

• Don’t underestimate YouTube Shorts

 

YouTube Shorts are vertical-format videos of durations not longer than 60 seconds, designed mainly for the platform’s mobile app. They’re like YouTube’s own version of TikToks and Instagram Reels. And they’ve been just as successful in catering to our shortening attention spans.

According to EarthWeb, more than 70% of YouTube watch time is through mobile, and YouTube Shorts get 15 billion views on a daily basis. Your YouTube channel, and subsequently your brand, could legit get discovered by a lot of viewers solely through your YouTube Shorts.

So don’t commit the sin of not posting them!

 

• Create playlists

 

Source: Skillshare

 

You can (and should) group your videos by topic to create playlists on your YouTube channel. They, of course, do make it simpler for viewers to see all your videos on a topic they’re interested in. But they also help your videos rank higher in search results – simply because users are more likely to watch the next video in the playlist and not exit YouTube. And it really boosts your overall views and watch time. Try it to believe it.

 

• Post consistently

 

Having a consistent posting schedule is the key to success on any social media platform. For YouTube channel growth, frequency doesn’t matter as much as consistency. You could be posting weekly or monthly – your audience wouldn’t mind. They just need to know when to expect a video from your channel to make the move of subscribing to it. And FYI: an additional advantage of consistent posting is YouTube channel monetization! (We know you want it.)

Too pressured by the need to keep churning out good content? Pop Communications to the rescue! We’re a 360° marketing agency. And making content banks for a consistent posting schedule is one of the many services we provide. Connect with us to disconnect with your worries.

 

• Have catchy thumbnails & titles

 

A YouTube video’s thumbnail is what primarily hooks people because it’s visual. So make it a point to keep it visually catchy and uncluttered by text. The text you include should be minimal and more readable than the video title.

And since it doesn’t carry the title’s burden of conveying your video’s topic, you can focus on making it extra-hooking.

Like this:

Source: Pinterest

 

But if the content in your video is more informative than dramatic, it’s best to convey the essence of the title in fewer words.

Like this:

Source: Pinterest

 

Writing YouTube video titles ain’t as straightforward as writing headlines. They not only need to be as intriguing as a headline, but also need to include the most relevant and searchable keywords to score higher in the search results page. Achieve both, and you’re golden!

 

• Cross-promote and collaborate

 

One of the most effective YouTube marketing tips is to tap into your existing follower base on social media.

It’s quite likely that your potential viewers, subscribers and customers are also active on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. So it only makes sense to promote your YouTube channel and even individual videos on those platforms as well.

Don’t hold back. Share teasers of your videos on Instagram. Add your Youtube channel link in all your bios. Embed your YouTube videos on your website or blog. Send out emails. Make some noise!

Secondly, collaborate with creators of the same niche as yours to increase YouTube subscribers and make your content richer. It’s a win-win strategy for creators as well as viewers. Everyone loves collabs!

 

• Interact with your audience

 

Source: YouTube

 

In your videos and descriptions, speak like you’re speaking to people. Well, because you are. Make them feel like they’re a part of your community to boost YouTube engagement. How? It’s easy. Respond to the top and most value-adding comments on your videos. Value their feedback and even ask for it. Create polls and quizzes to engage them. YouTube has the potential to be very interactive, so tap into it. Even if you’re marketing a big brand.

 

• Win the search results race

 

Just like its parent company Google, YouTube is a huge search engine. The second biggest, after Google. So SEO & SEM are necessary evils or ‘rewarding goods’, as we like to call them. You just can’t turn a blind eye towards them.

Research and create a list of keywords for every video you post, and include those keywords in your video titles, descriptions and tags. YouTube analytics and metrics can give you a good idea of what’s working and what’s not.

Remember: good writing is important to grow YouTube views, but it only matters if your video shows up in the search results!

 

Don’t be overwhelmed. Building a robust entrepreneur YouTube strategy isn’t all that hard. You just need to know what you’re doing – or get your work done from someone who does. Like us.

Feel free to ask for help.

 

Email: [email protected] | Call: +91 98203 54646

Happy YouTubing!