Is there a better way to learn how to take advantage of a platform than right from the source’s mouth? YouTube recently released a video featuring Rachel Alves that gives five tips on how to grow your YouTube audience as a small channel. Rachel Alves is currently a Product Manager for Recommendations at YouTube, which makes her an excellent resource for tips on growing your channel. Here are the key takeaways from the information she shared:
Build your channel around an audience
If done right, creating a brand around your audience’s needs can set you far apart from your competition. In addition, having a consistent brand can help you attract new viewers while catering to the subscribers and viewers you already have. Think about your channel’s audience, what they’re interested in, and how those interests are likely to change in both the short and long term. It’s not wrong to follow trends, but you must ensure that it aligns with your brand values and audience’s interests.
Find your niche
In the past few years, marketers have thrown the word “niche” around a lot. Mainly because the world has more content than ever, just waiting to be consumed, and the struggle to stand out gets more challenging every day. Rachel provided a good example of finding your niche:
For example, let’s say that I wanted to start a cooking channel. I could go with a) a niche market or b) find a gap in the market. An example of a niche market might be making regular recipe videos; maybe all of my recipes are salad recipes. A gap in the market could be something that, let’s say, I’ve identified that there are not many videos out there for budget-conscious students, so maybe my entire channel is dedicated to recipes under $10.
It would help if you thought about the unique perspective you have and use that to find an audience that cares about your content.
Watch a lot of videos
Consuming great content begets greater content creation. Start by watching content in your niche and then analyze your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to see how you can make your content more appealing.
Create and establish your brand
What mark do you want to have on your viewers and subscribers? Alves says,
Having strong branding, by maintaining consistency between thumbnails, titles, colors, graphics, and fonts, will help your channel stand out when your videos are shown to viewers within recommendations.
With clear and consistent branding elements, you create a place for your brand at the front of your audience’s mind.
Be consistent
As they say, be there or be square! Show up for your audience when they need you and continuously remind them that you are there. Rachel says,
To build repeat viewership, you need to post consistently to become a part of their routine.
Consistently being at the top of your audience’s mind will help them share their experience with friends and family and grow your audience.
It is important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to growing your audience; however, these five tips will help you begin that process. As long as you create great content for your niche, you will set yourself up for success. The hardest part is creating great content. There is more content than ever on the internet, making it a million times harder to stand out, but with the right level of innovation and creativity, you can establish your brand within your niche.