our YouTube Channel the graveyard of brand videos? How to revive your brand video //

Since I began working in and SEO I’ve been asked this question by businesses and brands of all sizes:

Why should I use Youtube? What can it do for my business? Why am I not on TikTok?

YouTube is a simple place for businesses to host videos. It’s nothing more or less. It’s a missed opportunity for video ROI, brand recognition, traffic, and audience growth.

The C-suite often hesitates to invest in video projects because of a lack of marketing and optimization efforts. They don’t understand the value.

YouTube is the final destination for most businesses’ videos. It doesn’t need to be this way. It’s not necessary for your YouTube channel to be a graveyard of brand videos.

Understanding the Problem

Businesses and brands often ignore YouTube as an effective and viable growth medium. Business leaders and marketers often make false assumptions about YouTube.

• YouTube is for Gen Z and kids.
• YouTube is all clickbait videos, music videos and pop culture.
• To be successful on YouTube, you need a large budget and high-quality production equipment.
• My business will not be of interest to anyone.

Business leaders are often not familiar enough with video, marketing, or audiences to create anything but dull corporate brand videos. These don’t work on YouTube, as you might have guessed.

We can now talk about the idea of a video graveyard. This happens when brands do not:

• Create content that is engaging and resonates with your audience. Without engaging content viewers will quickly lose interest in your channel and switch to another.
• Optimize your channel and upload videos. It’s not enough to call a video “Our Company Overview”.
• Cultivate an audience for growth by cultivating a community. Many comments and questions go unanswered, sometimes for years.

To avoid this fate brands must put time and effort:

• Understanding your audience
• Crafting compelling video ideas.
• Video optimization for maximum engagement and reach.

YouTube abandonment: What are the most common causes?

There are many reasons why a channel can become a graveyard for brand videos.

It can be due to a shortage of resources.

Sometimes, brands fail to engage their audiences because they do not create engaging content.

A change in the brand’s goals or strategy may also result in a lack or shift of focus from YouTube.

The importance of time is another important factor. It’s not necessary to have a large budget or expensive tech. But you will need the time needed to plan, research, upload, optimize, and promote.

The dangers of letting your YouTube channel go stale

You have a channel on YouTube that you and only your employees are subscribed to. It can’t possibly hurt, right?

Ask yourself the following questions.

• Does the brand appear to care about its public face?
• Are they professional and successful looking?
• Would you recognize the brand or company if you were to see them somewhere else?
• Do you think they are interested in educating, entertaining, or understanding their clients?

Answering all these questions when viewing a deserted YouTube page is undoubtedly no. Neglecting your YouTube channel means neglecting your audience and it will affect your other marketing efforts.

Today, marketing, sales and acquisition aren’t just as easy as creating a website and letting it go live.

Most successful companies use a multichannel strategy, appearing everywhere their audience is.

You should be on YouTube if your target audience is there. Be ready to answer questions, educate and convince them to buy, and promote, your product.

Marketers understand this message but they often deprioritize YouTube because of the assumptions that we have discussed previously.

A 2022 study conducted by SproutSocial revealed that there is a significant gap in the prioritization of consumers and marketers.

Instagram and TikTok were ranked higher by marketers in terms of usage expectations, but YouTube remains a very popular platform among consumers.

YouTube is not suitable for every business.

No one is interested in seeing how septic tank are emptied, or what a toilet paper holder does on a daily basis.

Most businesses will find an interesting niche or hook that’s visually appealing.

Why you should revive your YouTube channel from the brink

Why should brands care about YouTube? Why not leave a channel abandoned and pretend that it never existed?

Here are some reasons why investing your time and energy into your long-lost channel may be a wise move.

Have we met before?

YouTube isn’t just for businesses. Your audience will experience a consistent brand message if you integrate your YouTube videos with your online presence.

This integration will help drive traffic to your channel and encourage cross-platform engagement. It will also strengthen your brand’s presence online.

YouTube allows businesses to establish themselves as leaders in their industry by creating informative and educational videos.

Share valuable tutorials, industry updates, how-to guides and valuable insights to establish your brand as an authority in your niche.

Your viewers are more likely trust you and remember your brand if they see that it consistently delivers valuable content.

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YouTube is about engagement. Businesses can directly engage their audiences through comments and interactive features.

Asking your viewers to like and subscribe to your videos and having clear calls-to-action can help you gain more subscribers and keep them longer on your channel.

One of the most valuable investments you can make is to build a customer base that is loyal and engaged.

YouTube’s algorithm will eventually promote your content if you have enough subscribers, views, and interactions. Win, win!

Build it, and they will come.

YouTube has the power to influence B2B as well as B2C purchasing decisions. If your YouTube channel is unloved it may not reach key decision makers.

YouTube is an important and valuable component of your marketing mix.

• A Wyzowl study found that up to 89% people purchased a service or product after watching a video.
• Google reports that YouTube users are 3 times as likely to watch video tutorials online than to read instructions.
• According to Wyzowl, 91% businesses will be using video in their marketing strategies by 2023.

YouTube is no longer a mere afterthought. Your audience is waiting and you can find them here.

How to revitalize your YouTube channel.

We’ve now identified the pitfalls that can turn your YouTube channel into an abandoned video graveyard for brands. Let’s look at some strategies to bring it back to life and get more views.

These tips will help you revitalize your YouTube profile and turn it into a hub for all your brand’s videos.

Conduct a channel audit

This audit may not require much work, but it will allow you to take stock of your current situation, identify what is missing, and determine what the next step should be.

Start a spreadsheet to track your audit. You can download a list of your uploaded files by visiting Analytics > content > Advanced Mode, and then exporting.

Analytics

If you’ve got a decent amount of data then YouTube analytics will give you valuable insight into how your viewers discover and watch your content. This is a good place to begin.

There are two main types of analytics.

• Channel Analytics.
• Video analytics.

This is the best option if your video has a good number of views.

You can see how much time viewers spend watching the video and what percentage they watch. A retention graph will show you where people stop watching, move forward, or rewatch.

Tip : Watch out for sharp drops in audience retention when you start your video.

It could be a sign that the title is misleading or the thumbnail. This could indicate that the fancy animated brand ident is turning people away.

Take it out and go straight to the content

Content Types and Categorization

You should have at least a few videos on your YouTube channel.

Make sure you include all titles, descriptions, and URLs in your spreadsheet. Then try to organize them by categories. Here are a few to get you going:

• Blog Video: Answers or explains the topic.
• Brand/company Video: Your brand overview, company advert.
• Testimonial Video: Clients saying how great you are.
• Demonstration or How-to Video: Explaining what your product or service is or how you can use it.
• Roundtable, Discussion, or Interview: Your guests and you discussing a business-related topic.
• Feature video: Promote features of a service, product or destination.

Idealistically, you should keep your brand videos at a minimum. You can use them in the featured video section of your channel to welcome subscribers.

Blogs, demos and feature videos will be your bread and butter. This is the type of content that people are looking for. These videos will entertain, engage and educate.

Get involved in your community

YouTube is not just a platform for one-way communications.

Engage your audience in a conversation to foster a community-like feeling. Answer questions and comments. Encourage discussion.

This interaction increases engagement and strengthens your bond with your viewers. Incorporate their suggestions into your future videos to show that you appreciate their feedback.

Reply to comments that aren’t overdue! Post your comments on each video. Pin them to the top.

You can ask viewers for their opinions and if they have any questions. It is extremely valuable to be able contact consumers directly.

Feedback is important.

You can easily hide and block potential critics.

If you use your YouTube community to connect, learn and improve, it will help to build brand loyalty, trust and affinity.

• Acknowledge feedback Whether it is positive or not, it is important to acknowledge the feedback.
• Show your appreciation to the person who provided the feedback. This will help you build a good relationship with your audience.
• Respond promptly : Responding quickly shows you value feedback and are committed towards improving.
• Be open minded: You should be open to feedback and willing to accept different perspectives.
• Take Action: Use feedback to improve your site and demonstrate that you care about meeting the needs of the audience.

Video optimization is a great way to enhance your videos

It is the easiest but most difficult task to revive a YouTube channel.

It is important to optimize your videos for YouTube in order to increase their discoverability.

The more you optimize your video, the greater the chances of attracting organic traffic.

What exactly is meant by optimization?

YouTube optimization is similar to SEO for websites. The principles are similar.

• Keyword Research : Discover what topics people in your niche are searching for. Look at the content that your competitors are producing. What do your clients ask you, both at a support and sales level?
• Metadata Is your title clear, accurate, keyword-optimized, and informative? Do you include a link on your description to a resource relevant to your website? You can go as in-depth as you want with your video descriptions. All of it helps. The first few lines may be all that viewers read before clicking the “show more” link, so make sure the first paragraph is well summarized and makes sense.
• 
  CTR Optimization
  
  Is your thumbnail a true reflection of the video content? Does it look professional and eye-catching, but still be engaging?
  • Tip Try to include human faces in your thumbnail whenever possible. These tend to get more clicks than just text-based thumbnails.
• Tags – Do not spam them. Video tags are specific to each video. Channel tags, on the other hand, should be general and related to the niche and seed topics.

Check out this article on YouTube SE 101 for more information on YouTube optimization.

Consistency is the key

Uploading new content consistently is essential to building a loyal following.

Create a calendar of content and set up a regular uploading routine that is in line with the expectations of your audience. Consistency is key to building trust with your audience and keeping them engaged.

It doesn’t matter if you release videos every week, biweekly or monthly. The key is to stick to realistic goals.

Collaboration with others

Collaboration with other YouTubers can expand your audience and help you attract new viewers. Look for opportunities to cross-promote or make guest appearances on another channel.

You can increase your channel’s visibility by tapping into their subscriber base.

Set it and forget about it

YouTube success doesn’t happen after a single optimization or publication session. Many brand channels have stagnated because they take a “set it and forget it” approach.

The marketer, or the founder, came, did everything, uploaded a few videos, and then… tumbleweed.

Iteration, consistency and engagement are key to a successful YouTube performance. If you leave a gap of too much time between SEO or uploads, your performance will suffer.

Set a regular goal for uploads and check-ins. Assign a task to someone who is interested and has the time to do it. Your audience deserves it.

Your YouTube channel can thrive

To revive your YouTube channel, you need to be dedicated, have a strategic plan, and produce high-quality content.

Implementing these tips, and remaining consistent, will transform your channel into a vibrant hub of activity that attracts views and drives your brand’s expansion.

Do not let your YouTube channel waste away. Revitalize your YouTube channel and enjoy the benefits of a vibrant and engaged audience.

The post Is Your YouTube Channel a Brand Video Graveyard? How to revive your YouTube channel appeared first on Search Engine Land.