12 proven strategies for promoting your business YouTube channel

So, you’ve set up a YouTube account for your business and uploaded some videos. They are nicely shot and cut, and show your product in all its glory. But only your colleagues and friends seem to watch them. In this case, you might be wondering how to promote your YouTube channel. Well, you have to find a way to inspire people to like and share your videos, leave comments, and subscribe to the channel. It seems like a lot to ask, but it’s all possible.

Of course, it has a lot to do with the quality of your content, but also with your promotion skills. YouTube marketing is an art itself. And this is something we can help you with.

But first and foremost, does your business need a YouTube channel? 

Let’s look at some general YT statistics:

• YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users from 100+ countries
• People watch over 1 billion hours of YT videos daily
• 70% of people have bought a product after seeing it in a YouTube ad

Your potential customers and future loyal fans are somewhere among those billions. Maybe they’re not buying your products now because they haven’t seen them on YouTube before. Use your YouTube videos to show all the product’s selling points, get new high-value leads, and sell directly to the customer. 

How to kickstart a YouTube channel, drive traffic, and get more views, likes, and sales? Sure, you can always hire a YouTube channel promoter. However, there are many free promo options the platform has to offer. We recommend trying these 12 strategies proven by successful YouTubers!

#1 — Optimize SEO for each video

Sorry for jumping right into the “technical” side, but SEO is key when it comes to your growth on YouTube. This platform is the second-largest search engine after Google, and people often use it for product reviews or tips on how to fix a kitchen tap. To help users find exactly what they are looking for, optimize your content in terms of keywords, categories, tags, etc. 

This is how to get YouTube to promote your videos using SEO techniques:

• Title and description: When naming a video and filling in the details, use target keywords. Try this tool for keyword ideas. 
• Say keywords in your video: Because Google and YouTube can listen to your videos, the keywords you say must match the ones you use in the title and description. Otherwise, the platforms won’t rank you for any of those keywords, so make sure you’re consistent with them.
• Engagement: YouTube determines where to rank you in its search results based on audience engagement (likes, comments, views). That’s why YouTubers ask their followers to like a video and leave a comment all the time — they know it works!
• Categories: There are 15 categories on YouTube where you can add your video. This helps the platform to target videos more precisely.
• Tags: Tags give YouTube more context about your videos and help narrow down your audience. The amount of tags is unlimited, but use them wisely so that they don’t distract viewers from important info in the description.

#2 — Create a well-thought-out video description 

A description is not just about SEO, viewers do read it; therefore, it should be catchy and informative. Hootsuite has a cool guide to writing effective YouTube descriptions and here are key points from their blogpost:

• Front-load your keywords in the description and title;
• Don’t exceed the 5000-character limit;
• Include the most important information in the first 100 to 150 words so it is shown above the “Show more” button;
• Create a “contents page” with timestamps to help viewers find what they’re looking for;
• Add links to relevant playlists to encourage people to explore your channel;

Include a few relevant hashtags according to YouTube’s hashtagging rules.

#3 — Cross-promote your channel 

Okay, you have top-notch video content on your channel, but don’t know where to promote a YouTube video on the internet. We recommend building up your presence on all social media and interconnecting all the channels to get more coverage. Also, incorporate videos into your blog, email newsletter, and website.

Cross-promotion is not about pushing yourself to create a new video for every platform. There are many ways to repurpose content so that the same video can work for different social media and web pages. Just a few tips on how to cross-promote YouTube videos:

• Make a short version of the video for TikTok, Instagram posts, and stories.
• Turn your videos into GIFs and add links to the original video in the post. Works for Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. 
• Embed videos in your blog posts and add searchable transcription to boost both video and page views.
• Regularly share new videos in your email newsletter to keep subscribers engaged. Make them eager to follow your YouTube channel for more content! 

Also, mention your YouTube channel in your email signature among other socials. But don’t post long, unflattering URLs; opt for a YouTube icon instead. Keep it nice and simple.

#4 — Create custom thumbnails

MIT neuroscientists have found that the human brain can identify images in just 13 milliseconds. This means that users can process your video thumbnail in the blink of an eye, and decide if they’d like to watch it or scroll further. No need to remind you that YouTube has more than 800 million videos, so you have to fight for attention!

Now, how do you get noticed on YouTube?

There’s a hack to getting viewers interested all at once — make an eye-catching thumbnail, i.e., a cover picture that appears in the search and on the list of YouTube videos. The platform can offer you some options based on frames from the video. However, we recommend creating a custom thumbnail with catchy text and bold graphics on top. Keep the same style for all your video covers to boost brand recognition. 

Browse our 500+ thumbnail templates to create a perfect thumbnail design for your channel.

#5 — Q&A videos as the best free YouTube promotion trick

Question and answer content is one of the most effective ways to build a community on any social media. And YouTube Q&As are especially entertaining thanks to the video format. Ask your audience to leave their questions in comments or DMs, and create a video where you or a company representative answers all the burning ones.

Such videos make followers fall in love with your brand, as they see a real person speaking directly to them and showing respect to customers. Create a Q&A video to analyze how it increases watch time and boosts views and engagement.

#6 — Make your YouTube channel popular fast by running giveaways and contests

Contests and giveaways are another effective way to promote your videos and channel because the audience gets excited and heavily involved. You’ll see views, likes, and comments going through the roof and bringing you loads of new followers. 

When going for giveaways and contests, first, define your final goal and choose a prize worth competing for. Then, make a video that complies with YouTube’s contest rules, and mention the award in both the intro and outro. To draw more attention to your content, use all social media pages of your brand.

And, of course, don’t forget to create a cool, eye-catching design for your giveaway announcement video!

#7 — Become consistent by creating a series

One of the best tips on how to promote your YouTube channel is to be consistent. Viewers don’t want to see your videos from time to time; they expect regular updates from their favorite YouTubers. We recommend posting videos on a schedule and making a series on the most demanded topic. This way, your followers will be looking forward to your videos and engaging more with their comments. 

Series require a custom thumbnail and a common name that will distinguish the video from other content on your channel. Here are the most popular ideas for YouTube series: morning/evening routines, day in the life, behind the scenes, how-to, DIY, hacks, and 2022 trends. Think about how you can incorporate your product in different ways, and put this idea to the test!

#8 — Add a call to action to promoted videos

You may think that viewers already know what you want —  for them to like your video and subscribe to the channel, of course. But the truth is, they’d like to hear the call to action directly from you. Surely, YouTube offers lots of interactive CTA features for video ads, but you can always create a compelling one for free. 

Include a written or verbal call to action in your video. Ask users to like and share your content, click on the link in the description, visit your website, etc. Vocalize whatever you want followers to do and add animated text on top of the video. Make your message short, clear, and action-oriented.

#9 — Know what your audience wants and give them more of that

Analyze YouTube statistics to see what topics work best for your followers, their average age, nationality, occupation, etc. Deep dive into all this data so you can create videos that match their taste and needs. For instance, mom YouTubers post cleaning videos, parenting tips, and meal preps because they know that this is the content their audience, other moms, crave. Study your customers and tailor content until you’re satisfied with the new statistics.

#10 — Post YouTube teasers on your TikTok

It’s good to know how to grow your YouTube channel using TikTok. The major difference is that TikTok allows posting 3-minute maximum videos, while YouTube offers verified users to upload up to 12 hours of content. We say, make use of both platforms and you will see that TikTok is the best way to promote YouTube videos. Here’s how you can benefit from both platforms and interconnect them.

Cut your original video into fun 15 or 60-sec teasers and post them on TikTok. Add music, text, fun emojis, and the link to the original YoutTube video. Make the teaser intriguing and entertaining enough, and your followers will get excited to see the full version. Also, post the link to your YouTube in your TikTok bio.

#11 — Participate in YouTube trends and challenges

Do your research on what is popular on YouTube right now to create trendy content. Of course, choose topics you know your audience is interested in.

VistaCreate Pro Tip: If you don’t know where to start, make a video review on trending topics in your field. Explain what is behind these trends and how customers can benefit from them.

Also, there’s always a new YouTube challenge you can join. Even if it seems to be silly, add your personality and create unique content. Brainstorm some of the craziest ideas to make a viral video that is worth sharing. 

#12 — Get inspired by your favorite YouTubers

Everyone was once a YouTube viewer; even the top vloggers you look up to. How did they turn into business people, and can you get there, too? Pick some successful YouTubers from your industry and explore their creative and marketing approach to video content. Study their journey and take notes.

By being attentive, you can spot some hacks they use for YouTube video promotion. Try them for your business and monitor statistics to see if they work for you. Also, google former YouTuber methods to learn all the subtleties and pitfalls of the industry. “Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes”, says Austin Kleon in his iconic book. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with following someone’s steps and taking inspiration from their work.

And finally…

The question of how to build a following on YouTube is deep and needs practical research. Our goal with this article was to inspire you to try free tools and creative approaches before paying for ads (which, sometimes, don’t give you expected results). Growing on YouTube is all test and trial, but never give up!

Draw inspiration from successful YouTubers, put their marketing approaches to the test, and monitor your statistics. Most importantly, study your target audience to see what type of content they consume, and react to their feedback with genuine respect and new videos. 

Once you arm yourself with the best YouTube editing software and amazing ideas, it’s time to experiment with different content ideas.

After you’ve found your place on the YouTube market and built a small, but loyal audience, ask us how to advertise your YouTube channel, and we’ll bring you the best tips on that!