5 Secrets To Start a YouTube Channel to Grow Your Business

May 28

The power of video is in the numbers. Based on The WordStream blog, an online marketing software that provides advertising services as seen the following statistics for video marketing;

87% on online marketings use video content
⅓ of online activity is spent watching video
Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users

And an even more staggering statistic about video, by 2019 internet video traffic will account for all consumer internet traffic!

How can your business get a slice of the video marketing pie?

And with so many platforms using video which one is right for you?

Even though Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn continue to grow their video platforms there is still only one video platform out there that is the second largest search engine in the world and those videos can show up on Google search results….

YouTube!

For business owners, YouTube has been on the back burner while the focus on creating the perfect Instagram theme or create Facebook live shows. Meanwhile, YouTube video continues to grow and become more powerful.

With YouTube’s recent updates like YouTube Reels (similar to Instagram Stories) and the Community Tab (similar to Facebook posts), YouTube is in the social media game and can no longer be ignored by business owners in 2018.

But, with everything we decide to take on with our business, is the juice worth the squeeze? Meaning is the time you are going to put into YouTube going to give you the return to make it worth your effort?

While yes YouTube is a long game strategy, currently YouTube videos are the only video content that show up in Google search results! And since Google values video content and sees it as “top tier” content, when you embed your YouTube videos to your blog post, your blog post gets a boost in SEO!

Ok, now you are ready to get started and you want to make this process as painless as possible, because let’s get real, your to do list is already a mile long! Perfect! We are going to get these YouTube videos working for you as your 24/7 sales team doing the heavy lifting to grow your business and revenue!

Here are my 5 secrets to starting a YouTube channel to grow your business and revenue!

Secret 1

Don’t make videos just to make videos.

If you want to see a return on time invested in your YouTube videos it’s going to be essential to figure out exactly what your target audience is searching. For example if you are a social media manager you don’t want to start creating videos on growing your email list or how to launch a new program. To stand out to your audience you need to become the go-to expert in your niche.

This means creating videos on how to edit Instagram photos; 5 tips for captioning Instagram posts; Most effective Facebook posts.

Yes, there maybe some constant questions you hear from your audience so take those as a starting point. Then go to YouTube and see what other videos are out there. It’s ok if you idea for a video is already done. You can do it too! You have your own advice, style, techniques!

When making videos it’s important to do this additional YouTube research so your video can show up in front of the right people!

Secret 2

Don’t focus on the subscriber numbers.

Yes I know, we all are validated by these vanity numbers. Whether is email subscribers, Instagram followers or Facebook page likes. But if you get wrapped up in the amount of subscribers you have, you will constantly be disappointed.

Plus YouTube subscribers will not affect your channel and don’t really mean anything to YouTube. Having subscribers means they will be notified when you release a video, this doesn’t mean they will watch it. It’s going to be more important to you to focus on creating quality content and connecting with the audience you do have so they are excited the second your video goes live!

The more important number for YouTube is Watch Time. So this means the amount of time people watch your videos. This is why it’s more important for you to focus on creating quality content that keeps people watching than stressing about the subscriber number.

Secret 3

Link To Your Opt-In

YouTube can help you grow your email list. And this is the secret that will grow your business and revenue but you need to do it the right way.

YouTube wants people to stay on their platform. The more people watch videos, the more ads they are seen, the more money YouTube makes. So if you are sending people off the platform to sign up for you epic new opt in every single video, you are ending that viewers watch time session.

If YouTube starts to see every time someone watches your video, they leave the platform, Youtube won’t recommend your videos to people and basically bury you video in the millions of videos on YouTube.

So what’s the right way to do this?

Just have one opt in for YouTube (you do not need a new opt in for every single video), and use it strategically.

For example, you can link to your opt in in the description box. If you content was valuable and helpful to the viewer, they are more likely to check out the description box to learn more about you and see the link.

You can also can a call to action in your video to grab your opt in. Do not do this in every single video. I suggest doing it in about every 3 - 4 videos. Once they have that opt in they don’t have to leave YouTube again to grab.

Secret 4

Have a strategy

I just shared how YouTube loves people watching more video, accumulating more watch time minutes. Play nice with YouTube and create a Nexflix binge style video strategy!

Have you ever sat in front of Nexflix, started a series and realized 5 hours later you are still watching? That’s because Nexflix cues up the next video so you keep watching and you don’t have to do anything to watch the next video.

As you are going up with video ideas think about series of videos you could do like; Tips to Improve Your Instagram Growth. This is the title of of the “series” now think of the episodes you could create; “Best Captions to Grow Your Instagram”, “How To Take Instagram Photo’s that Grow Your Instagram”, “Tips for Using Stories to Grow Your Instagram”.

By creating multiple episodes for a “series” or playlist, you are promoting more watch time on your channel and your video. You are helping to create a Netflix style binge on your channel. As you accumulate more watch time, YouTube will promote your videos more in suggested videos because you are getting people to watch video after video, accumulating those watch time minutes!

Plus you can now share this playlist link everywhere! Create a pin for Pinterest that links to the playlist. Share it as your Instagram link. Add it in your LinkedIn profile. Where ever you can add links to promote your content, add a playlist link!

Secret 5

BE YOU - Let go of perfectionism

Here’s the thing, I know you have an image of what you want your video’s to look like. You want that cute background, you want a Diva Ring light that gives you the perfect lighting and you want that DSLR camera to make you videos look high quality.

OR you are thinking I just don’t have the personality to be on camera or want to be on camera.

In 2018 it’s time to become the face of your brand. If your business and brand does not have a leader for people to follow it’s not going to grow. People need someone to connect with. People need someone that feels like their friend. You have got to be on video if you want to grow your business these days.

Here’s the good news. You do not have to be perfect on camera. These people, your future tribe, are not going to connect with a “perfect robot”. They are going to connect with someone they can relate to. They are going to connect with someone who seem real and authentic on video.

I know first hand. When I started my YouTube channel I was so wrapped up on not making mistakes and being super professional. And my YouTube channel grew SLOWLY. The second I started to let my personality shine and be by “talk with my hands” self and not worry about stumbling over words, I started to connect with more people and my channel took off.

If you are waiting until everything is absolutely perfect, I hate to break your bubble, but that time will never come. While you are waiting for the perfect moment there are others jumping into the YouTube world letting go of their perfectionism and seeing their business sore!

If you are ready to get started with YouTube channel and want an easy to follow map on how you can do this step by step I create a YouTube Launch Roadmap just for you!

This roadmap walks you through the 10 easy steps you need to follow to set up your channel and craft a video strategy that will get you in front of your dream clients and the process won’t overwhelm or stress you out!