Video content is one of the most powerful tools a business can deploy to connect with and educate its audiences. Long-form videos offer a great way to introduce and inform viewers about a brand, product, or service, while short-form videos can showcase a brand’s personality in a fun and engaging way. Research indicates that video content improves users' understanding of products or services, and helps drive website traffic.

As the second most visited website globally, behind Google. YouTube has 2.5 billion users a month and stands out as the premier platform for businesses across all sectors to share their video content. To make the most of this opportunity, it's crucial to know a few strategies that will help your videos stand out and engage your audience when creating or starting a YouTube channel.

1. The YouTube Algorithm

YouTube uses an algorithm to help influence what content users are exposed to. Understanding the 4 factors behind it can make your videos more successful. You can optimize your content to align with these priorities.

Relevance: The more closely your content aligns with what users search for, the better your chances of being recommended. YouTube matches the content of your video, such as the title, tags, and description, to user search queries.

Engagement: The algorithm tracks signals like watch time, watch percentage, likes, comments, and shares. Videos that hold viewers' attention and generate interaction are more likely to be promoted.

Quality: YouTube evaluates the authority and trustworthiness of your channel on a given topic. Channels that consistently produce high-quality content on specific subjects are favored by the algorithm.

User Search and Watch History: The algorithm also considers a user’s past behavior, recommending content similar to what they’ve previously watched and enjoyed.

2. Keyword Targeting

YouTube can play a part in overall Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Focusing your videos around a specific topic or keyword is one of the most effective ways to grow your YouTube audience.  Once you've identified keywords, use them in your videos and other content throughout your marketing channels, such as blogs, websites, and social media. These focused keywords should be in your YouTube titles, tags, and descriptions as well.

3. Be Consistent

This may sound intimidating at first, but to grow your audience, you need to post a video a week. Maybe that's a little much if you're just starting, but we want to emphasize consistency. Strive for consistency and getting it done even if it's not perfect and not posted every week. There are a lot of video tools available to help you create content on a budget. But remember, quality comes at a cost. And it will cost you if you consistently post poor-quality videos. Be consistent and get it done but do not sacrifice quality.

4. Reuse or Repurpose Content

The best way to grow your audience is to produce original, quality content. But that doesn't always have to be produced from scratch. Maybe you already have some content previously produced that you can incorporate. The most popular types of videos on YouTube are product demos, product reviews, educational content, and video tutorials. Any content that solves problems for your audience is a great place to start when looking to repurpose content.

5. Length Does Matter

Long-form video is useful for providing educational and/or detailed information on a product or service. But there is a point where long is too long for the type of information being presented. Remember the audience and their attention span. The most common lengths for the most popular videos on YouTube were around 3 minutes, followed by the 2nd most at 5 to 30 minutes. 

6. Engagement With Your Audience

YouTube likes channels with engagement, the more of it, the better. Watch time, video likes vs dislikes, time spent on the channel, and comments. You can encourage viewers watching the video to engage with you via graphics or simply ask the audience to like, subscribe, or comment on the content you're posting. More is better in this case.

7. Thumbnail Impact

Thumbnails have an important impact on your videos. You want your thumbnails to stand out. You're competing with other videos and advertising so you have to capture those eyeballs at first glance. Good thumbnails can help improve your click-through rate. What's going to make them say..."OMG, I have to watch that!"

8. Brand

If you want your audience to take you seriously, subscribe to you, and/or engage with you, your brand needs to be on par and look professional. Your branding, consistent across all channels (website, social media) should immediately help users identify your channel and video content. You probably already have a logo or identity, therefore it makes sense to carry this over to your YouTube channel.

9. Cross Promote

Promote your YouTube content across other social media platforms to expand your brand and reach a broader audience. Many YouTube users are also active on channels like Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram, so take advantage of these platforms to share your content. You can repost your full videos or create shorter clips from longer videos for sharing. This strategy can help you gain more views, likes, and subscribers.

10. To Personalize or Not?

If you're creating on YouTube as part of a small business, equipment distributor, or service business, personalizing your content by appearing in your videos can make a big difference. When you put a face to your brand, it helps your audience connect with you on a more personal level, building credibility, rapport, and trust. While not every video needs to feature you, appearing regularly can strengthen this connection.  This approach sets you apart from faceless channels and builds a more relatable, human presence.