As a business owner working with business owners inside my YouTube production agency, I see a common theme when a potential client isn’t getting the results they want from their YouTube channel:

Outdated information!

Many people tend to make the mistake of thinking that YouTube tips and tricks from two to three years ago are enough to get them by, but YouTube has changed so much, and using best practices from 2020 or earlier isn't going to cut it anymore.

When it comes to using YouTube for your business, there's a bit more you gotta do to make sure what you're doing is working for YouTube right now in 2022.

Set Up Your Channel for Success

The first step in creating a channel that converts? Make sure it's set up for success — the right way. A lot of people think that slapping their videos up on their channel and calling it a day is enough to make a channel great. Wrong.

If you're just starting out or needing to give your channel some TLC, some specific things need to be created on the back-end first.

Channel Banner

This will be the first thing people see when they land on your channel. It's your first opportunity to make a lasting impression. To make it count, include a photo of yourself, your value proposition (aka what you do and who you serve), and post a schedule in smaller print. Give them the chance to see what your channel is about, right away.

Here’s mine:

About Section

This is your chance to let people know who you are. Keep it to a few sentences and highlight those brand values.

Homepage

Your homepage can be one of the most valuable channel assets. You don't have to add sections about generic topics (i.e., "branding," "social media," "website"). Spice it up! You can see what I mean below. Make the sections enticing enough for people to click— especially new eyes.

Description Boxes

Please don't just throw up your video and not include a description. It's valuable real estate that can help drive leads to your website. YouTube doesn't like it when you direct people away from their platform (aka onto an external site like your sales page or website), so including a brief description about the video and copy that directs people to a lead magnet or sales page is the way to go.

Optimize Your Videos

Are your videos optimized for success on YouTube? Now more than ever, it's crucial that we're strategic with the content we post because YouTube has changed so much. It may not be the same fight you get with posting content to other social media channels, but YouTube still has an algorithm, and you need to make it happy to be successful.

A few pointers from someone who may or may not have made these mistakes in her videos…,

Keep it to one CTA at a time in each video (your description box is another beast entirely). Throwing out a ton of links is going to get confusing. If you want to include more, save it for the description box.
Your title and thumbnail are the primary pieces of advertising you have for your video, so make them count! Plan them out before you record your video to stay on track and have a hook that matches.
Tags — don't overthink this.
A solid end screen can make or break a video. Keep up a viewer's attention in the last 20 seconds of the video, and you're more likely to convert — whether you want them to head over to your sales page or go watch another video.
Caption. Your. Videos! This makes your content more accessible to a wider audience. People are watching on the go. Busy moms may be trying to watch your content when they're rocking their babies to sleep. There are people who are hard of hearing. Don't make it hard to access your content.
Encourage comments past "Comment below." Ask people questions in your video, and tell them to respond. When you build a dialogue in your comments and respond to others, you're building a community.

Know Your Audience

What do you want your channel to be known for? Don't be too general. You'll create confusion for people and won't really be able to land on a solid audience base. They won't know what to expect from you, and if they can't be sure, why would they subscribe?

It also creates confusion for the YouTube algorithm (I know, I know) because it won't know where to categorize your content and who to show your videos to.

Niche around your target audience. Research who is creating similar content to yours, and note their most successful videos and recent topics. It also helps to know what your audience wants from videos (including what they want to learn, what they want to take action on, and so on).

Market Research > Keyword Research

I want you to know your market before you worry about knowing your keywords.

Don't get me wrong, keyword research is still an important part of your YouTube strategy (but I talk about why it’s not the biggest thing here). But making it your focus is no way to build a solid channel. Instead, pay more attention to researching and understanding your ideal customer.

What content are they watching? What content are they responding to and sharing online? Get clear about who your video is for. This research phase will take some time, but it'll make the algorithm happy and ultimately make YOU happy…ya know because people will actually be seeing your content.

Offer a Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is a freebie people can download from you, full of useful information or things like templates. They're a way to generate interest in what you're offering while building a following and an email list.

For example, my lead magnet is a guide that teaches you how to drive organic traffic to your YouTube channel. I have this in my banner, linked in my descriptions, and sometimes I’ll even promote it inside the videos themselves.

You can check it out here!

I create my entire opt-in sequence with FG Funnels, and once people have signed up for my lead magnet, it takes them to my tripwire or SLO (self-liquidating offer) page for an offer. Think of it like a sales page with a "Thanks for subscribing. Check your inbox!" message at the top.

This is THE best way to grow your email list — and to get people to take simple action after watching your YouTube videos.

Want More ROI From Your YouTube Strategy? Pay Attention

I’ll just be honest: In 2022 (and on), the name of the YouTube game is going to be analytics.

The word "analytics" can cause panic, but really it isn't as scary as it sounds. You don't have to be a strategist or number-savvy to check on the growth of your YouTube channel. YouTube has a page dedicated to analytics for your account and videos that generate the numbers for you — no math required!

Still, it's a little overwhelming to think about, but the truth is that your analytics will hand you all the info you need to see what's working and what isn't.

That’s why, in this video, I give you a YouTube analytics tutorial for beginners and show you which numbers are key to note for channel growth. Plus, you'll get some of my favorite analytics tips that you can start using in your business ASAP! Watch the video here.

Your YouTube Strategy is Outdated. Here’s What to Do.