Organic YouTube content marketing is the strategic process of creating and sharing valuable video content on the YouTube platform to attract, engage, and retain an audience without paid promotion. Engaging video content is crucial in most social media marketing campaigns today. Whether your company is doing Social Media for B2B or B2C, video content is a permanent and growing fixture. As YouTube is the largest video-sharing platform, mastering organic growth for your brand's channel is essential.
Following are ten tips on how to best grow a YouTube channel from a content creation perspective to spread your brand, attract more social media followers, and create a more personable brand identity. This guide also includes tips to help with the YouTube algorithm for better SEO.
1. Content is King.
The Best SEO can't save a lousy video.
This tip is repeated so much it's more cliché than Shakespeare, but for a good reason. More than 500 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, meaning for your videos to stand above the rest, you must create content that your audience finds valuable. According to Google Marketing Strategies, six out of 10 people prefer watching online videos to live TV, so experiment with popular and widely valued genres. Consider creating content such as:
- Informative videos like How-To guides or tutorials.
- Narrative-driven content that tells a compelling story.
- Entertaining videos that capture audience interest.
Bonus points if you can combine these elements.
2. Short Form Content is Essential.
TikToks are inescapable.
Short-form content is a vital component of any organic YouTube content marketing strategy, whether as a primary focus or a supplement to longer videos. With the overwhelming popularity of TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, creating high-quality, vertical, short-form content is one of the best ways to spread brand awareness. Often, when starting out, this content can be highly effective due to its potential for higher impressions.
Since launching in 2016, TikTok has achieved 3 billion downloads (including 672 million downloads in 2022 alone) and 50 million daily active users.
The good news is that unlike regular videos where YouTube is entirely dominant, there are many more platforms to upload shorts to. This means you can re-upload across platforms to increase viewership. All the more reason why shorts are necessary for your organic YouTube content marketing. YouTube has even added a feature where you can link to other videos in a short; that way, interested viewers can funnel straight into your other content. Love it or hate it, short-form content has taken over, and your brand needs to embrace it with open arms.
3. Find Your Niche.
You can't be everything to everyone.
As previously mentioned, over 500 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, meaning not only does your content have to be valuable but also specialized. What does your brand do that is rarely seen or talked about? Give insider insights, document the development process of your product in a captivating way, or if you're funny, be funny. Chasing trends isn't always a bad idea, but finding your niche is always a good idea.
This is not only good from a content creator's perspective to develop a unique style associated with your brand, but YouTube is also better at recommending videos to your target audience once you fill a niche. The algorithm drives most views, so find your niche and grow your base.
4. Be Consistent.
Consistency is key.
If content is king, then consistency is queen. Before you even hit upload on your first video, you should have a content calendar detailing what kind of content you're going to produce and when it’s being uploaded. The almighty YouTube algorithm rewards consistency even if the frequency is low. Consistent content is crucial for organic growth, and the benefits are compounding.
Remember, just like any other social media platform, attention is YouTube's primary commodity, so if it believes your channel will continue uploading regularly, it will push both old and new content as it tries to hook your audience to keep watching. It's not a perfect system that will naturally take time, but a consistent content stream is paramount to consistent growth.
5. Adapt and Take Risks.
Don't Be Too Risk-Averse.
Perhaps the riskiest thing of all is never to take any risks. YouTube and the greater social media landscape are constantly changing, sometimes subtly and drastically, so you have to be able to adapt to it. That means killing off what's not working and replicating what is, while taking risks. Don't be afraid to venture into new content subjects, styles, or formats; eventually, the risk may pay off.
The best part of taking risks with your content is that YouTube judges videos individually. If you take a risk and it's a dud, it won't forever crater your channel. However, if you change too quickly and drastically, you risk alienating any audience you've already built, so try to evolve your content slowly. It helps acclimate old viewers to new formats while doing something different enough to gain new viewers. Ultimately, YouTube should be treated like any other product class. If you fail to evolve, you will eventually be left behind.
6. Caption Videos.
Accessibility is Always a Win.
Adding captions to your content, especially for shorts, offers numerous benefits for your organic YouTube content marketing efforts:
- Accessibility: Captions are a crucial accessibility feature, allowing individuals with hearing impairments to consume your content.
- Wider Reach on Other Platforms: Since 85% of Facebook and 80% of LinkedIn users watch videos without sound, captions ensure your message is received effectively.
- Improved YouTube SEO: Captions can improve SEO, helping your videos rank higher and potentially contributing to a boost in views.
- Increased Retention on Shorts: For YouTube Shorts, dynamic captions displaying a few words at a time have been shown to increase viewer retention and engagement.
Without captions, you may be severely limiting your target audience and the overall performance of your videos.
7. Optimize for Engagement.
Like, Comment & Engage.
High engagement is one of the critical metrics YouTube looks for when determining if it will continue recommending your content. This means getting people to like (or even dislike, all publicity is good publicity, after all) and commenting on your videos is essential. While a simple call to action can help, more effective ways to boost engagement include:
- Asking Questions: Prompt your audience for their opinions or ask direct questions to encourage comments. People enjoy sharing their thoughts when invited.
- Hosting Giveaways: Community giveaways, such as choosing a winner from the comments, are excellent for gaining subscribers and increasing video engagement.
- Engaging with Comments: Always respond to comments to build community and present a more personable brand identity, rather than appearing as a soulless corporation.
8. Fast Pace Editing.
The Mr.Beast-ification of YouTube.
If you've read this far, congratulations, you have an above-average attention span. 😉
The average attention span has been rapidly decreasing, meaning you have roughly 10 seconds before someone decides to stay and watch or move on. You need to have not only a compelling thumbnail and enticing title to get clicks but also a hook and editing that captures attention immediately. This usually means fast-paced, somewhat in-your-face editing, dubbed the 'Mr.Beast-ification' of YouTube.
If you're unaware, Mr. Beast is both the first most-subscribed individual and second most-subscribed channel overall, with more than 185 million subscribers, and he owes much of that success to his editing style. When you click on one of his videos, you’re immediately hit with fast-paced editing and a hook that instantly reels viewers in. You don't have to copy that style exactly, but perhaps try something like a cold open, where you begin by showing the most exciting part of the video first to hook viewers to watch the rest.
9. Leave the Formalities at the Office.
YouTube: Broadcast Yourself.
This is especially important if your company is B2C, but don't be too formal. Aside from LinkedIn, hardly any social media platforms are used primarily for business. So, if your content feels like an overproduced commercial, people will tell, and your channel will suffer. YouTube's original slogan was “Broadcast Yourself,” and much of that identity is still ingrained in the platform today. YouTube is for the people, and people want authenticity.
Great examples of companies using social media more informally are the infamous Wendy's X account (formerly known as Twitter) and the Scrub Daddy Official YouTube channel. Both companies have dropped the conventional corporate PR speak for more relatable content, and that's why they do well. You don't have to try and be edgy or belligerent, but having a level of 'realness' goes a long way on social media, especially for business.
10. Don't Expect to Go Viral.
The Curse of Virality.
It may sound incredibly appealing to go viral with millions of views, subscribers, and new potential customers, but that is a fantasy, my friend. Going viral is challenging and is not a reasonably attainable goal. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race, and that's true for your organic YouTube content marketing.
Create content your target audience wants instead of trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator for a viral hit. Odds are a viral video won't even produce the results you're searching for, at least in the long term. You don't want to be a 'One Hit Wonder,' leaving everything you do after to fade into obscurity. If you go viral with content made for your target audience, great, but don’t expect that or dedicate your channel to creating the next viral hit.&
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