As promised in my Increase Video Views - Client Guide Part 1, here is a follow-up post with some actionable steps to increase Facebook and Youtube views. Video content is 50 times more likely to drive organic search traffic than plain text.
YouTube Tips to Increase Video Views:
1. Add keywords
Before deciding on a keyword for your video, check to see if there are video results on the first page. If so, that’s a keyword you should strongly consider because you can potentially get your video ranked in Google and YouTube.
Also, use Google keywords planner or word stream free keyword tool to help generate long-tail keywords. which as I mentioned before in my last post: “Long tail keywords are those three and four keyword phrases which are very, very specific to whatever you are selling.
You see, whenever a customer uses a highly specific search phrase, they tend to be looking for exactly what they are actually going to buy.”
2. Ask subscribers
Ask for subscribers in your video with a 3 part call to action. Tell them what to do, how to do it, and why. Ask people to like, comment, and subscribe to every single video. If people do this it automatically generates more organic views.
3. Add a Call-to-Action annotation
Add one of those “speech bubble“annotations under the Subscribe button to all of your old and existing videos. And Click-to-action annotation. When you mention your call to action, add an image, graphic, or “button“ to the video and overlay it with a “Spotlight“ annotation that links directly to your web page, landing page, or subscribe page. Viewers can subscribe by clicking an annotation inside your video.
This also helps if for some reason your viewer is watching the video with their audio turned down. It acts as a visual prompt and is bound to get you some response.
4. Partner with other Youtube content creators to increase Facebook and Youtube views
On the YouTube channel page, there is an option to add other “Featured Channels” of those “YouTubers” you like and recommend. When you get other channels that have a similar audience to feature you, you can get some new views. Just ask the content creators to feature you and offer to reciprocate.
5. Consistently interact positively
This is a job for your social media manager. YouTube is a community, not just a place to host your videos, you will begin to see far more results when you interact with the other members of this community. Do some hashtag searches in your industry and see if you can answer some people’s questions.
6. Create a payoff campaign to increase Facebook and Youtube views
It is your current subscriber count (e.g., 100 subscribers, maybe you’d like to hit that 200 subscriber mark. That’s your goal. Now do something fun, unique, or give something away once you hit your goal. ( giveaways, do the ice bucket challenge, give money to charity, streak the office).
Now share your goal and incentive. When you share your goals and the incentive behind them, people will join in to support and help you accomplish your goals. This is a fun way to spread your reach and interact positively with your audience. This will increase Facebook and Youtube views dramatically.
7. Use custom thumbnails
YouTube usually picks an image that is shit. Don’t let shit represent your video. Sure, you can usually choose from other stills in your video, but that still usually sucks, because not every second will be available.
A better way to do it is to use a custom thumbnail. This is the perfect time to include some branding and a nice title card.
Google recommends the following specs:
- Have a resolution of 1280X720 (minimum width of 640 pixels).
- Be uploaded in image formats such as. JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG.
- Remain under the 2MB limit.
- Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio.
8. Allow and encourage others to embed the video
This should go without saying, but some brands have their content on such an overwatch lockdown that they forget that the end goal is to get the video out to as many people as possible. Allow embedding, allow sharing, and encourage the heck out of it.
9. Leverage Adwords and Google Plus page to promote the video
Set up your Adwords to link to your Google Plus account. This will allow your accounts to be linked and it will connect your Google Plus page directly to your Adwords Ad at the bottom. So put your video on the top of your Google Plus page for additional views. Also, use Adwords for Video.
You’re able to advertise on three domains with this feature: as a pre-roll ad before the videos that people watch; as a banner ad when you’re browsing the web or as a promoted video when people search for similar videos on YouTube. -Update since Google Plus is long dead, just focus on the Adwords and replace Google Plus with Google My Business. I get more views on my videos and photos from Google My Business than just about anywhere else. It's a great way to get attention to your brand give you a better SEO boost.
10. Share your video in online communities
Use Quora, LinkedIn, and other relevant high-traffic forums. This hooks your video up with the quality high-retention views that will help your YouTube rank.
11. Transcribe your script and post it into the description
YouTube uses keywords in the description to rank you for super-long tail keywords. The added on-page text will:
- Bump up your exposure as more people know exactly what your content is without watching.
- Increase real viewership as people can figure out ahead of time if your video is a waste of time or not.
- Influence backlinks as people will copy-and-paste lines from your video script.
- Get more traffic to the video via search engines
12. Post your videos as a response
Another way to get more views is to post your video as a response to a popular video. Head over to the video you want to respond to. Next to the comment box, you can click on “Create a video response”. A list of your videos should come up, click one of the ones you’d like to you and you are good to go. This can be a great way to get some extra views.
13. Organize your video in a playlist
A keyword-rich playlist gives YouTube deeper info about your video and more text-based content will translate into more views. This is mostly beneficial for those that have multiple videos on their channel. Once you have 10 videos, put them into playlists.
14. Use hashtags
Use hashtags in your Youtube video descriptions, comments, and on your Google Plus page. As you know hashtags are searchable by almost every social media network, including YouTube and Google Plus.
They are also clickable on Google Plus but not YouTube. Use 3-5 per update to Google Plus, and 2-3 per update to YouTube. Hashtags influence search results so if you are not using them you are missing out on a boost.
This infographic by Tag SEO sums ranking factors quite nicely:
Facebook Tips to Increase Video Views:
1. Use the “boost this post” to start a campaign
Also, separately, start a video campaign with Facebook. It’s also best practice to host the video on Facebook rather than try to link your video to another service like Vimeo or YouTube. Changes to Facebook’s algorithms now position video above most other posts.
If you host your video on Facebook, there’s a good chance it’s going to appear in your audience’s feed. According to REEL SEO by hosting it separate on Facebook you’re going to get twice as many comments as posting a link from YouTube. It also has more of a viral reach and a bit more of an organic reach over YouTube.
2. Create a like and share payoff campaign
See #6. If you really care about getting the word out about your videos, this a great way to game the organic reach potential. For Facebook, you have 3 metrics on which you can base your goals. Likes, comments, and shares. Create a separate payoff game for each and see what performs better.
3. Share videos on other industry-related pages
Ask influencers to share your video. You should be asking a minimum of 10 industry influencers a week when your video first launches. For most people running a page, it’s easy content to post and they will gladly do it.
4. Interact with fans
See #5 on The You-Tube tips.
5. Always use a call to action
When the video is finished you have the option to click on the screen to learn more, shop now, or a variety of other call-to-actions. Use it to drive traffic to your site directly through the video.
6. Use a big high-quality engaging photo
If you use a nice photo that’s relevant from your video and then include a link to your video in the description, you'll get about twice as many comments, likes, and shares that way. That being said it's always better to use this method in addition to the ones outlined here.
7. Reshare your video on your page
Once the traffic and views have died down, reshare it on your personal page and to your fan page again. You'll never reach everyone on your FB page so you might as well reshare and comment on older things to bring them to the surface again.
8. Share at an optimal time when people are on Facebook
This varies for each timezone, but using Buffer I figured out that what works for me is a 10 am post and a 2:30 PM post.
9. Use custom high-quality thumbnails
This is different from the idea of the high-quality photo, see #7 in You-Tube Tips for more information.
Please feel free to comment below with any questions or concerns. Also, if you have any additional methods to increase Facebook and Youtube views that I may have missed, post them below! I'm always open to new ideas about getting the most out of a video.
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