How To Get More Hits On Youtube

Categories: Industry Help by Marcus Howard 21 Comments

When youtube first jumped on the scene, there were millions of people flocking to it but relatively few people that posted. The result, those that had good content literally got millions of views overnight. Those days are long gone now as there are millions of people posting every day and even those that have GREAT content sometimes get overlooked.

Well lucky for you; I know some of the tactics the professionals use to help get more views on their youtube pages and I will share it with you here. Please understand, though, that there is no easy way to get the infamous 1 Million views on youtube and no matter how much marketing knowledge you have; it won’t help you if you don’t put out quality videos.

The name of the game with youtube is viral marketing. You have to give people a reason to 1) watch your videos and 2) share them with someone else. Below are a number of ways to help you do that…are you ready?

1-Keep them short: Although you may like the entire song; no one really wants to sit through 4.5 minutes of you singing a cover. Try to keep your video under 90 seconds if you want people to watch it and pass it on; trust me people pay attention to how long videos are before they even click on them.

2-Have a great title: Think about how many times you have seen “Me Singing: My Heart Will Go On” or “Cover: Hero by Mariah Carey”. My motto is if over 10 people are using the same title, then you shouldn’t use it also. Try using something like “My interpretation of” or “Awesome rendition of”…give people a reason to want to click on your videos when they are searching.

3-Respond to other people’s videos: Some people do it but most people don’t. If you see a video that is similar to yours it would probably be a smart choice to post your video as a response. That way whoever sees their video has the potential to see yours as well. Also try leaving a comment on their page letting others know you responded to their video.

4-Comment on other’s videos: The great thing about social networking is that you have the potential to reach so many people without actively doing that much work. Leaving a positive comment on someone else’s video as well as some friendly advice if necessary will EXPONENTIALLY increase the likelihood that they will look at your videos as well as others that see their video. You can post a link to your youtube channel at the end of the post so that people can click through and see who you are.

5-Be Funny: Of all of them, this is probably the hardest to do. There is really a difference between being funny and being over the top and/or cheesy. I would only attempt funny if you have used whatever you are trying to do in the video in real life and people have genuinely laughed at it. Funny works great…if you can do it right. Do it wrong and people won’t watch your videos anymore.

Good Funny!

Bad Funny!

6-Show your face: I have seen so many youtube videos where people hide their faces while singing. Most people don’t want to listen to an anonymous or faceless person, they want to see the person that is doing the rendition. They want to get a feel for your personality and why you want to sing the songs. If you show them these things they will be more likely to watch the entire video and show the video to their friends.

7-Don’t rely solely on youtube: Millions of people post their videos on youtube every day. This means it is getting harder and harder for your videos to show up in the standard youtube search. Posting your videos on other sites like music forums and even this website will help.

8: Pay Attention to Your Rating: People click on videos that have a rating of 4 stars or better. Make sure that your videos are quality enough to receive four stars minimum! Anything less and people will skip over your video and just go to the next one.

9: Have a great description: While you may believe that telling your life story in the description of the youtube video is important, most people (including youtube) don’t! Youtube farms the descriptions that you write for keywords that they can use to help people find you better. So if your description has very little to do with the video that you just posted, chances are it will be hard for the right people to find it.

10: Ask People to Subscribe: You will be surprised how many people don’t do this! I know you have heard the saying “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed”. Well this works the same on youtube. If you don’t ask people to subscribe, almost all the time they won’t…even if your video is good! But, if you do ask, they are a whopping 60% more likely to subscribe if you have good content. And once they do, every time you post a new video they will be notified. It’s just like having a fan club.

So there you have it; ten tips to help you get more views on youtube. I hope that these will serve you well as you move towards developing your Otaku. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to comment.

As a matter of fact, leave me a comment anyway on what you think just so that I know that you are alive!

Marcus