Hi there we all know the obvious strengths of YouTube, but today I want to just go over some less obvious opportunities for utilising it for your marketing opportunities, so here goes ……

YouTube is an excellent source of traffic. While most marketers focus on trying to create killer videos that’ll go viral, that’s not all there is to it. In addition to producing videos that are helpful, interesting and entertaining, there are some other things you need to do in order to increase your subscribers.

Network and Socialize

The main thing most people don’t realize is that Youtube is actually a social media site, just like  Facebook or Twitter. It’s not just a place to watch videos. So many people think that all they have to do is slap up a few videos and wait for people to find them through searches. What you have to do is network a little.

Networking on Youtube is incredibly easy. Just find a channel that you like, preferably related to your niche, and become their subscriber. Sometimes that’s enough, and they’ll check out your channel to see what you’ve got. Sometimes they’ll subscribe automatically when they get your subscription.

Just like all social media sites, your Youtube networking will work best if you’re real about it. That’s why I recommend choosing channels that are related to your niche and/or actually interesting to you. It’s not so important that the niche is the same, but I wouldn’t just randomly subscribe to anybody’s channel.

Network with the goal of making friends. Comment on other folks’ videos or send them messages telling them you enjoyed them. You don’t have to push it, saying something like, ‘I like your video… check out mine!’ If they’re using Youtube for networking, they’ll naturally check yours out to see what you’re offering. If you want to tell them about your videos, be subtle about it so it doesn’t seem obvious.

Keep Pumping out Videos

Another way to get subscribers is to keep making high-quality videos. The whole point of subscribing is to see the new videos that are coming out. If you’re not producing any, there’s no point.

Get into a regular schedule of creating and publishing videos. For example, make one a week. Decide how much time you’d like to spend on it so that it doesn’t take up all of your time. Most folks find that making videos is fun, once they get over the initial awkwardness of talking to their computer. But if it’s a total drag or it takes you too long, you can also outsource it.

Whenever you post a new video, be sure to let everybody know about it. Update your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections and embed it on your site. You might also want to put your videos on video directory sites where they’ll get seen by even more people.

Give the People What They Want

Put yourself in your subscribers’ shoes. What would they like to see? Read the comments and any messages you get carefully. If you pay attention, they’ll tell you exactly what they want. Identify their problems, pain and questions, and make videos solving them. If you do this, you’ll never have to think up your own ideas.

By staying consistent, offering helpful information, and making some friends on Youtube, you’ll see your number of subscribers booming. And once it starts, it has a kind of snowball effect as your subscribers tell their friends about your channel.

Tony