Video content is taking the world by storm no matter where it is being posted – a website, social media, or YouTube. And why not, it’s a visually appealing format that makes it easy to grasp information without having to read text.

And when it comes to sharing and promoting video content, YouTube is an obvious choice. It is the second largest search engine that has 1.9 billion monthly active users. According to TechCrunch report, online users watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube videos on a daily basis. Today whether you want to get entertained or learn something, YouTube is the go-to platform to watch videos.

Since YouTube has been a source of useful video content, it’s also making its place as a crucial marketing tool for digital marketers. As per a 2018 report published by The State of Inbound, 48% of marketers are planning to incorporate YouTube marketing into their marketing strategy in the next 12 months.

And as per Wyzowl statistics, over 63% of businesses use video content marketing today. And 82% of online businesses consider video marketing as an important strategy to get more business and increase ROI. This clearly indicates YouTube has a lot of potential to drive traffic and boost ROI of a business.

Having said that, YouTube is bombarded with millions of videos. And where half of the YouTube users are busy binge watching cat videos, how can you steal their attention to get more views on your own videos?

The fact is, you can spend hours creating engaging videos, but if nobody watches it, it’s useless. You want people to click on your videos, watch, share and like them. This is the only way to reap the benefits of video marketing and get more conversions.

Without further ado, let’s see how you can make your YouTube videos spread like wildfire:

1. Create high quality content (Obviously)

It goes without saying that you need to create high-quality and compelling content. No matter how many hacks you use to get more views, if your videos aren’t good, it’s of no use. The videos you create should be either useful or entertaining. There’s no in-between. Just think about all the videos you watch on a daily basis and why you watch them. Is it because you laughed your head off while watching a political parody? Or is it because you learned how to boil eggs perfectly every time?

The most viewed and engaging content on YouTube tend to be entertaining or “how to” guides. Learn about what your audience is looking for. You don’t want to shoot arrows in the dark. You want to be certain that your audience will find your content interesting and engaging.

Remember – providing value to your audience should be your primary goal.

However, if you don’t know about your customers, it’s time to build a customer persona.

Graham Cochrane, a popular YouTuber, received 34 million YouTube views by creating and publishing how-to guides. He is upfront and bluntly asks his viewers what they’d like to watch. And you’d surprised to know that most of his video ideas are received from his viewers in the comments section.

It’s a great way to get involved with your audience and get ideas directly from your potential viewers. This way you don’t have to scratch your head hard to have new ideas for videos. Plus you wouldn’t have to worry how well it would do.

2. Use branding watermark

A branding watermark is a great feature provided by YouTube. It enables you to add a logo or branded image to all of your videos on your YouTube channel. A viewer can click on this watermark and directly subscribe to your channel while continue watching the video.

It’s an amazing little hack that can increase your subscribers.

Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko, added a subscribe watermark to all his videos and got 70% more subscribers.

Amazing, right?

Similarly, you can increase your subscribers by adding a watermark to all your videos if you haven’t already done so.

3. Optimize your channel

It’s extremely crucial to optimize your channel to get more views and improve your brand image. And there are tons of ways to that.

Let’s see what you should do to optimize your channel:

Build a consistent, strong brand aesthetic:

Make sure your brand image is consistent with your business site and social media platforms. Use the same color theme, images and logo.

YouTube allows you to have a profile picture which must be 800 X 800 pixels. And the banner size must be 2560 X 1440 pixels. Moreover, YouTube creator academy gives you a template to design your banner. This makes things a lot easier for people who are not technically sound.

Optimize your channel description

This is yet another way to improve your brand image. You can see channel description in your ABOUT tab. You only have 1,000 characters, so make them count.

Wondering what you should write in your channel description?

Well, start with describing about your brand and how it will help your viewers.

Then explain your users why they should watch your videos and subscribe to your channel.

The trick is to entice viewers.

4. Be ruthless about promotion

If you are just getting started with YouTube videos, don’t shy away from promoting your videos. As I mentioned earlier, you can spend hours creating and editing engaging content, but it’s useless if nobody watches them.

Remember just because you are creating YouTube videos doesn’t mean you can’t make use of other channels to promote it.

YouTube videos work like any other type of content.

Do you post a 2,000 words of content on your blog and wait for people to read it?

Of course not!

You share it across and promote it on other channels to generate traffic on the blog. Similarly, videos are no exception. You have got to promote it to get more views and subscribers. Share it on social media channels, and your blog. Create a newsletter and add a link to your video.

Don’t just create a compelling video and wait for people to find out. Reach out to your audience by promoting it.

5. Use giveaways to get traction

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Everybody does! Especially when we win it. It’s a human psychology and you can use it to get more views on your videos.

Provide your viewers something in return for their views, likes and subscribes. A giveaway will help you earn the loyalty of your current subscribers and engage new viewers.

You can giveaway your own products or something that your viewers are interested in. For example offering a new tech gadget, a printed t-shirt, branded shoes, or probably a hosting subscription.

Options are endless!

Whatever it is, your viewers will love to win something for free without having to do a lot. Moreover, you can ask your followers to subscribe your channel or even follow you on all social media channels.

This way you get more followers and your viewers get free stuff. It’s a win-win situation.

6. Collaborate with fellow YouTubers

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” –Michael Jordan

Collaborating with fellow YouTubers can help you generate more views by luring in their viewers.

Collaboration benefits everyone. It’s great for your channel, your fellow YouTubers as well as for the audience.

Creating videos is a creative process, and loathing fellow YouTubers’ success will only obstruct your progress. Connect with fellow creators in the field, and get a chance to work together on something interesting.

7. Rank higher with YouTube meta tags

Like Google, YouTube is also a search engine and allows you to add meta tags to rank higher. Adding relevant keywords to your videos help users find you easily on this search engine. Ranking on the first page of YouTube gets you more views and subscribers. Use the same keyword you are targeting on your company website or blog to improve your business visibility.

Keep exploring and experimenting

If something does not work for you, don’t be discouraged and give up. Keep exploring and experimenting with your videos.

But make sure you track and measure everything. You should know what’s working for you and what’s not.

Do you know any other strategies that help generate more views on YouTube videos? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.