If you’re not marketing on YouTube yet, it’s time to get started. With more than 2 billion active users, there’s never been a better time to get your business on the world’s second-most popular social media platform and reach a new audience.
YouTube is also the world’s second-largest search engine, right after Google, which makes it fertile ground for free organic marketing.
This guide will walk you through every step to becoming a YouTube mastermind, from setting up your channel to running effective advertising campaigns.
If you’re hitting the play button on YouTube for the first time, start from the top of this guide. If you have some experience under your belt, scroll down to the relevant section to hone more advanced skills.
How YouTube benefits your business
Between Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and all the other social platforms, it’s hard to know where you should invest your time. While it’s never bad to be present on all platforms, setting up a YouTube channel for your business should be your top priority.
Why? Video dominates social media, and YouTube is the largest platform entirely dedicated to it.
The number of marketers and consumers already using the platform speaks to its power. Oberlo found that 8 out of 10 marketers consider YouTube to be the most effective video marketing platform.
Likewise, of its 2 billion users, Google found that 90% of people use YouTube to discover new products.
Surprisingly, YouTube is a relatively untapped platform for small businesses. Only 9% of small businesses have signed up for it, which suggests there’s still plenty of space left for your business.
That’s the why. Now let’s get into the how.
Setting up your YouTube channel
Sign up for YouTube
Like many popular marketing tools, signing up for YouTube starts with a Google account. Log in or sign up with the email address you want to be associated with your YouTube channel. Now you’re ready to go.
Profile picture, banner, and ‘About’ section essentials
After you’ve created your account, you need to set up your YouTube identity. This consists of your profile picture, banner, and ‘About’ section.
It’s important to set these up correctly so that your account looks legitimate and reflects your brand.
Your profile picture
We suggest using your logo as your profile picture to increase brand recognition. It’ll be seen below every video you upload, giving you increased brand awareness, even if searchers don’t watch your videos.
Your YouTube banner
Your banner is prime real estate for telling viewers what you’re about. Use this space to either pitch why viewers should subscribe or why they should use your business.
Once you’ve decided on an image, you’ll need to upload it in the right ratio. YouTube accepts a variety of ratios for banner uploads, but your banner will look most professional when you use 2560 x 1440 pixels, the YouTube standard.
Another way to leverage the banner space is to add links to your other social channels. You can add up to five links.
How to add links to your YouTube banner
- Select ‘Customize channel’
- Hover over the ‘Links’ section
- Select ‘Edit’
- Click the ‘+ Add’ button
- Add the URL of your social channels
- Click ‘Done’.
- Your YouTube ‘About’ section
After your profile picture and banner comes your ‘About’ section. This is where you tell viewers why your channel matters.
Be clear, direct, and personable. Imagine if you were describing the purpose of your channel to a friend. Keep it short and sweet — a little paragraph about who you are and what your business does is enough.
An easy approach is to set the stage by starting your description with a question.
For example, if you run a plumbing business, you could kick off your description with Dealing with your own plumbing but don’t know how to fix it?
Follow this opening line with an outline of your solution — This channel will teach you everything you need for DIY fixes, from blocked drains to pipe replacements.
End this with a CTA (Call to Action) to guide the viewer towards taking action — subscribe, turn on notifications, etc. You can drive viewers to your website and social channels too.
Your ‘About’ section shouldn’t be too long. Keep it around 50 words. That said, don’t overthink it. Whilst having a good YouTube description is important, your viewers are likely to spend more time browsing your video content than analyzing your description.
The ins-and-outs of producing videos for YouTube
You’ve got your channel set up with a strategic profile picture, banner, and description. Now comes the fun part — making video content and building your audience. But where do you start? With content ideas, of course.
Ideas for your YouTube channel videos
There’s nothing more exciting than having an empty YouTube channel with no idea what should go on it. We’re kidding. It’s terrifying.
Thankfully, there are some shortcuts to selecting topics. Check out our YouTube templates to make quality videos in minutes, or read on if you want to create your videos from scratch.
Here are 10 ideas that every YouTube channel can profit from. For 55 more, read our ultimate YouTube video megalist.4
Introduction
What’s your business and what do you do? Not only does this video tell your audience everything about who you are, but it’s also an essential piece of content for any YouTube channel — no matter how big or small.
This video also doubles as a perfect channel trailer (more on that below) if you don’t have one already. Watch the one we made for Biteable as inspiration.
When you’re making yours, keep it short and snappy, and don’t dive too deep into the specifics and intricacies of your business. This video is a brief introduction — save the details for another video (or ten).
Listicle
Everyone loves listicles. You know it, we know it, and that very active Facebook friend of yours knows it.
There’s nothing more simple and compelling than a numbered list, in either ascending or descending order. Spin yours however you want — 5 best ways to solve a problem, the 5 benefits of your business, a countdown of your business’ favorite tools of the trade. The list(icle) goes on.
Get started fast with a Biteable video listicle template.
Tutorial
Odds are that you’ve taken to YouTube at some point to pick up a new skill. Painting, syncing your new Bluetooth device, how to make tandoori curry…
Tutorials help the world go around, and they’ll help your business connect with your audience if you make them well.
Whether it’s a tutorial on how to use your product or some at-home solutions to a service you provide, tutorials are both shareable and informative.
Q&A
Q&A’s (question and answers) are a surefire way to increase engagement with your audience. They’re simple to make, too. If you want to increase the personality behind your brand, set up a camera with your face front and center, and answer some FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) about your business.
There’s potential to turn it into a weekly series as well. Simply ask your viewers to leave questions in the comments section and you’ll answer them in the next installment.
Unboxing video
This one might seem a bit left-of-field, but a quick search of ‘unboxing’ on YouTube will reveal how popular this phenomenon actually is. See, a lot of people don’t care about owning a product — they just get a huge kick out of seeing it unboxed.
Chances are your business isn’t short of products. When a brand-new item comes in, hit ‘record’ before you unbox it and you’ve got another YouTube video on your hands.
These five ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to creating content for your YouTube channel. Dig into our ultimate list of Youtube ideas for many, many more.
How to get subscribers for your channel
Start by looking at your YouTube analytics
You’ve got the ball rolling and you’re producing YouTube videos for your channel. Now you’ll want to figure out exactly what sort of content your audience is engaging with. YouTube Analytics is your best friend.
Log into your YouTube Studio and take a peek at the most popular videos on your channel. Chances are you’ll have some standout winners and losers. Try to figure out what made the winner a winner and replicate it in your next video.
Your analytics will provide you with valuable information about your audience and how they interact with your videos. Dive into our article on YouTube analytics to learn which metrics matter the most.
Don’t be disheartened if you look at your figures and find stats you’re unhappy with. Every YouTube channel starts somewhere, and experimenting with your content is the best way to make your channel thrive.
It can be tempting to cheat and buy subscribers or views for your videos. Don’t do it. Meaningful engagement is necessary for meaningful marketing. Everything else is just vanity.
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