Easy (and Free) Ways to Get More Views & Likes on YouTube in 2018 | SMMSUMO
Long gone are the days dominated by funny cat videos and dogs on skateboards. Today YouTube is also a place for marketers.
Over 1 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube daily — that’s more than Netflix and Facebook video combined.
But, here’s the kicker…
Only 9% of U.S small businesses use Youtube — which is crazy.
Crazy-awesome for you that is — because when used effectively, YouTube is an extremely powerful business tool.
But in order to boost your sales, you’ve got to get more YouTube views.
In this article, you’ll learn 12 ways to get more views on YouTube, build your brand, and boost your dropshipping sales.
Let’s jump straight in.
1. Create Compelling Content
It won’t matter how many hacks or ads you use if your videos aren’t good.
So how can you create compelling content that will get more views on YouTube? Well, one of the best ways is to create ‘how to’ videos:
Simply identify what your ideal customers most want to know, and then create videos that meet their needs.
Does this work? You bet.
YouTube creator Graham Cochrane racked up 34 million YouTube views by focusing on how-to content.
Cochrane finds video ideas in the comments of his social channels. If that doesn’t work, he asks his community what they’d like him to make videos about.
Simple, right?
Cochrane said, “An amazing thing happens when you ask people what they need and want, and then you go and make it for them — they think you read their mind!”
Bottom-line: Consistently create content that solves your ideal customer’s problems or meets their needs. It’s the way to develop a loyal community of fans and get more views on YouTube.
2. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe
Have you ever heard the saying, “Your best new customers are your old customers”? In other words, retaining customers can be a powerful way to grow your business.
Well, the same holds true for YouTube views.
Which is why one of the easiest ways to get more views on YouTube is to encourage your current viewers to subscribe because gaining subscribers will increase the number of views on each new video that you release.
How do you get viewers to subscribe?
The best way is simply to ask at the beginning and end of each video!
But don’t just ask viewers to subscribe to your YouTube channel. Make sure that you also prompt them to turn on the notification bell after they’ve clicked ‘Subscribe.’
This way, once a viewer subscribes, they’ll be notified every time you upload a new video.
Growing your subscribers is vital to getting more YouTube views, so start asking your viewers to subscribe now!
3. Create Playlists to Keep People Watching
YouTube’s own statistics show that “top-performing brands on YouTube build and promote twice as many playlists as the bottom 25%.”
Why do playlists work so well? Auto-play.
It takes effort to pull your attention away from videos you’re enjoying when they just keep playing.
In fact, there’s a cognitive bias at work called ‘loss aversion.’
Loss aversion states that the pain of losing something is twice as bad as the pleasure received from gaining something equivalent.
For example, loss aversion suggests that people will work twice as hard to keep $100, as they will to gain $100.
Auto-play uses loss aversion to reframe the situation.
The question is no longer, “Do you want to watch another video enough to actively click play?” Now, the question is, “Do you want to stop watching enough to actively click away?”
It’s subtle but powerful, and if your content is good, viewers will often keep watching. Also, playlists can help improve search rankings, as playlist titles are another opportunity to target keywords.
The easiest way to create a YouTube playlist is to navigate to each video you’d like to add and click the ‘+’ icon underneath the video.
Then you can create a new playlist or add it to an existing playlist.
To get more views on YouTube, create a playlist of your best content and start promoting it today!
4. Promote Other Videos with End Screens and Cards
Cards and end screens are tools that you can use to promote your videos to get more views on YouTube.
First, you’ll need to verify your YouTube account to access these features.
To do this click on your profile picture in the top right, and then click ‘Creator Studio’. Next click on the ‘Status and features’ tab:
On this page, you’re able to view extra YouTube channel features and set them up.
Now let’s take a closer look at end screens and cards.
An end screen is a dedicated frame that you can place at the end of your videos to wrap things up, and highlight calls-to-actions.
Cards are a tool that you can set to pop-up anytime in the video.
You can set these to direct people to another video or playlist, or you can create a poll card which is a great way to ask viewers what they’d like to see more of (remember tip number 1?).
To add end screens and cards to your videos go to the Creator Studio and click ‘Video Manager,’ then click ‘Videos.’
Find the video that you want to add the end screen card to and click ‘Edit.’
Once you’re on the video editor page, you can add end screens and cards by clicking the menu items at the top of the page:
End screens and cards are powerful tools, so make sure you use them to present calls-to-action in your YouTube videos.
5. Add a Watermark to Your Videos
Watermarks allow you to gain more subscribers and YouTube views by promoting your channel across all of your videos.
Essentially, a watermark is just an image that you can set to appear on all of your videos — most brands use their logo.
When a viewer hovers their mouse over a watermark, it prompts them to subscribe. Which is why the Shopify YouTube channel has chosen a watermark saying ‘subscribe’:
Once again, you need to verify your YouTube account to be able to upload a watermark.
It’s worth pointing out that you can’t pick and choose which videos display watermarks and which don’t — they either appear on all of your videos or none of them.
To add a watermark to your videos head to the Creator Studio and click ‘Branding.’
Then click ‘Add a Watermark’ and upload your image.
In summary, use this simple tool to promote your dropshipping brand on your YouTube channel.
6. Make Sure Your Videos Are Embedding Enabled
You’ve spent ages creating an awesome video and now your viewers want to share it on their websites and blogs!
…but they can’t. Because you forgot to enable embedding.
*Gulp*
Allowing viewers to embed your video on their websites and blogs is an effective way for your brand to reach new audiences and get more views on YouTube.
If a video has embedding enabled, when a viewer clicks ‘Share’ underneath the video window, YouTube will show them the ‘Embed’ option:
Once they click on this, they’ll be able to copy the video’s embedding code and paste it onto their blog or website.
To enable embedding, head to the Creator Studio and navigate to the video’s edit page.
Then click ‘Advanced Settings’ and scroll down to the “Distribution options” and make sure the “Allow Embedding” is ticked:
Bottom-line: Check your videos are embedding enabled to encourage viewers to share your content.
7. Promote Your Videos on Other Social Channels
If you have followers on other social channels, let them know each time you upload a new video to YouTube.
A good way to do this is with a short teaser video.
In the example below, we created a minute-long teaser for a new YouTube video, then we posted it on the Oberlo Facebook page with a link to the full video on the Oberlo YouTube channel.
But don’t just stick to social channels.
You can also embed your YouTube videos in relevant blog posts and pages on your website.
And don’t forget about email marketing. With an industry average open rate of 18 percent and a purchase rate of 66 percent, email marketing is a powerhouse when it comes to sales conversions.
It doesn’t need to be too complicated either.
Here at Oberlo, we send out a simple email letting our subscribers know when we release a new video.
(Psst! If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about how to build your dropshipping business.)
YouTube isn’t a standalone social channel, so make sure to cross-promote your videos through your other marketing channels.
8. Understand the Importance of ‘Watch Time’
YouTube describes their algorithm as a “search and discovery system.” This algorithm determines which videos are shown:
- On the homepage
- As suggested videos
- In search results
- Under the Subscriptions tab
- Through notifications that viewers have created
What’s more, the algorithm doesn’t just impact individual videos, but entire YouTube channels.
YouTube’s algorithm is complex, but the most important thing to understand is that it’s heavily based on ‘Watch Time.’
In fact, according to YouTube, “Each video uploaded — as well as every channel on YouTube — is ‘ranked’ by watch time.”
Watch Time is how much time people spend actually watching your videos:
Bottom-line: YouTube rewards quality.
The better your videos are, the more time people will spend watching them. This will increase your Watch Time minutes and so YouTube will favor your videos and channel.
One more thing: Your YouTube channel can also earn ‘watch time credits’ for referring viewers to other videos. It’s basically like affiliate marketing.
9. Nurture a Community
YouTube isn’t just a video search engine. It’s also a social network.
So to get more views on YouTube, you need to use it like other social networks. In other words, it isn’t enough to just regularly share videos, you also need to actively engage your audience.
How?
The best way is to simply respond to comments — especially if someone asks a direct question. Because other viewers will be more likely to comment themselves if they know they’ll receive a response.
As you can see below, we practice what we preach here at Oberlo!
It only takes a second, and you can do it while you’re browsing your comments for new video ideas (remember tip number 1?).
You should also be an active member of your niche community.
Subscribe to other channels in your niche, leave comments on their videos, and share any that your own audience might enjoy.
In other words, give before you get.
If you engage generously and authentically, viewers will notice and it will be much easier to establish your brand in a niche of passionate fans.
And remember, promoting other videos will score you Watch Time credits, which will help to boost your channel in YouTube’s algorithm.
Lastly, you can also involve viewers directly.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to hold a contest or prize draw. For example, you could ask viewers to share your video on Facebook and leave a comment to be entered into a draw to win one of your products.
Growing a loyal, active community is a surefire way to get more views on YouTube
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