Chapter 5 – Strategies for Building an Audience
Getting noticed on YouTube is getting more difficult because of the perpetually expanding library of videos. If you are trying to gain new subscribers and broaden your exposure, then you have to do more than merely upload a video. No matter how great your videos are, you have to do more if you want them to garner the attention they deserve.
Unfortunately, there is no secret trick to boost your subscriber base magically. If you're going to gain adequate exposure, then you have to put in the time and effort to reach your target audience and gain more subscribers. You will need to utilize a variety of marketing strategies if you want to get the word out about your channel and draw people in. While it will take some time, your audience will gradually increase.
For maximum exposure, you'll need to promote your channel through as many methods as possible so that you can establish a powerful online presence. This can be challenging, but with the following strategies you can build your audience and grow your business channel on YouTube.
This isn't to say that you should be spamming other YouTube channels with self-promoting comments. Instead, you want to try to leave comments of value or insightful feedback on favorite videos that are relevant to your business. Leaving comments on videos that are in the same niche as yours will open your channel up to new viewers that may be more inclined to see what your channel has to offer. When your top comment is one of the first that viewers see, it can provide you with great exposure for your channel and may induce others to explore and perhaps even subscribe to your channel. If you are well known enough, some of your fans may stumble across your comment and reply back. This happens more often than you might think and small channels usually take advantage of this on popular competitors' videos to gain more exposure.
If you haven't already set up your accounts for your YouTube channel through the other major social media networks, you need to do this immediately. There is not a single successful channel on YouTube that doesn't integrate at least one of their social media accounts with their channel.
Social media is essential for reaching a broader audience and marketing your videos. It is one of the only ways that you can establish your online presence and advertise your channel. There is a broad base of potential subscribers just waiting to be reached in the major social networks, so immersing yourself in these platforms is an effective way to reach those users that may not have found your channel otherwise. As your social media accounts grow, so will your marketing power. As your marketing power grows your ability to drive potential subscribers to your channel dramatically increases.
If you are struggling to gain more subscribers, you might want to consider establishing yourself as a respected member of a forum in your industry. This is a productive way for new YouTube channels to expose themselves to a broader audience. You want to try to find forums in your niche and work at becoming a contributing member. You must demonstrate your expertise and value to the discussion because any kind of promotion is viewed suspiciously when you aren't reputable. Posting like a spammer to the forum will only result in you being treated like a spammer, so it is essential that you post content of value and create a captivating signature that advertises your YouTube channel. Include a link to your channel and perhaps the best video in your signature.
Many favorite YouTube channels make it a habit to collaborate with similar channels for additional exposure. Look for someone in your niche with a similar subscriber base who you think might potentially cooperate with you on video production. Then reach out to them and determine what the collaborative video will be about. For example, if you are in the fitness niche and live in the same state as someone else who runs a fitness channel and consider meeting up and producing a compelling video that showcases you both working out together. This is an excellent way to gain new fans.
Growing your subscribers don't have to be difficult. All it takes is spending some time to promote your videos and channels outside of YouTube. The more time and effort you put into marketing your YouTube channel, the more you can grow your audience and create a successful YouTube channel for your business.