The secret sauce to creating a successful YouTube channel

Digital Marketing / August 28, 2018

Others have created successful YouTube channels from the ground up, which means you can do it too. However, YouTubers who truly succeed in this space have figured out a few things — by applying some proven strategies, learning from trial and error, and doing a lot of hard work. Here’s how it’s done.

Of course you need to make compelling videos — this is where it all starts. But don’t forget you also need to understand how YouTube (and the YouTube community) works. Read on for our tips and tricks for setting up your very own YouTube channel.

Define your brand

Just like any media experience — online or offline — it’s important to to figure out your YouTube purpose and persona. Who is your intended audience and community? What are you offering your viewers? What is the look, feel and personality of your YouTube channel? How do you want to make people feel? Once you have defined your core brand personality, write it down — and review your brand fundamentals before you create. This will help you stay consistent over time with each video you produce.

Optimize your channel and videos for search

Did you know that YouTube SEO is its very own discipline in the search market? Optimizing your content so it can be found via Google and YouTube search is an ongoing task that, done right, will grow your traffic over time. Start out with a targeted list of relevant keywords. Then integrate those keywords into your titles, tags and descriptions without keyword stuffing. In other words, pepper your titles and descriptions with few, but carefully selected keywords that relate to your channel, and each individual topic.

Create a compelling trailer

Your trailer should quickly tell your audience what you’re about. Play up the value and benefits of your channel, and include some very quick snippets of content that entice and set expectations. It’s easier to make a compelling trailer when you already have a few videos under your belt. But if you’re just getting started, you can still make a trailer that quickly gives people a taste of your brand. Then, once you have some great content live, you can rework by mixing in some of your most popular moments. And of course, make sure your trailer asks viewers to subscribe — both in the video and annotations.

Choose or create a good thumbnail

Your video thumbnail gives viewers a quick snapshot of what they can expect when they watch your video. Don’t leave this key piece of content up to chance! Good thumbnails will dramatically increase your video clickthrough rates over time. To choose a thumbnail in your YouTube account, go to Creator Studio > Video Manager and click Edit. Then select the most relevant and enticing thumbnail. Once you have a verified YouTube account you will be able to create custom thumbnails, which are even more effective for driving clickthrough rates.

Recruit subscribers

Get ready to activate your social media channels in order to recruit YouTube subscribers from your social and professional circles. Depending on the type of content in your videos, you will want to get the word out in places where people are already engaging with you. People who already know and engage with you will be the most likely to subscribe and share your videos with their own social circles. In each social post, play up the key takeaway of your videos — will people learn, laugh, become better humans if they subscribe? SEO is important here too! Make sure you include your top relevant keywords in each of your social media posts.

Post shorter videos more often

Successful YouTubers post more than once a week — ideally three times per week. While this sounds like a real content production grind, there are some tips and tricks that make it easier for you to up your content production game. The key here: create a weekly production schedule. Plan your videos weeks in advance, and set aside one day per week for actually creating your videos. Rather than producing one longer video per week, you could create three shorter ones around the same topic — think frequency instead of depth. If you conceive of your videos as interconnected or part of a series you will be able to more easily bring your viewers along with you, drawing them from one video to the next.

Watch your analytics and optimize

Once you have a few videos live and people are starting to engage, keep a close eye on your YouTube analytics. The metrics in your YouTube account will teach you a lot about what’s working for you… and what isn’t. Here you will be able to see how long people watch your videos, your traffic sources, YouTube audience demographics and so much more. Knowing a lot about your YouTube metrics and adapting your content based on what you learn about your audience’s behaviour is key to succeeding in this space.

Work hard and be patient

As with all things digital, success comes with consistency. Don’t expect your YouTube channel to explode overnight (though if it does — kudos). Keep at it, week over week. Those who launch and manage a successful presence on YouTube have kept at it — sometimes for years. The key is to enjoy and believe in the content that you are creating. There will be a time when you will wonder if all the effort is worth it. Push past this and keep doing good work. If you produce strong, consistent content and optimize and promote it, you will get results. Despite the ephemeral nature of digital culture, perseverance remains the key to succeeding with all digital content projects.