The Importance of Subscribers on YouTube

YouTube can be an excellent resource for your business, if you aren't big on blogging but have something to say and you aren't too shy about recording yourself.   You can edit your vlog and upload it.  You can also share vlog links across your other social media assets to encourage views.

YouTube can be an excellent resource for your business, if you aren't big on blogging but have something to say and you aren't too shy about recording yourself.   You can edit your vlog and upload it.  You can also share vlog links across your other social media assets to encourage views.

For any YouTuber, subscribers are the key.  Subscribers get notification of your videos being uploaded.  They are the first to view your videos and therefore help you get those all important views and video rankings.  The number of subscribers you have also affects a couple of things - like your ability to get a custom URL for your channel (you need at least 100 subscribers), and the possibility of using it to generate sales and sponsorship.

So it's safe to say, you should be aiming for channel growth. The first thing you should do is watch some YouTubers.  Watch people in your industry as well as people who aren't.  In order to stand out on YouTube, your channel has to offer something a little different to your peers.  However, you can also learn a lot from other channels and how to present yourself. 

• When they are talking what do they do with their bodies, how do they engage the viewer?
• When they are wrapping up their video, how do they encourage you to subscribe or like the video?
• What is their gimmick? What will yours be? 
• Do they have a channel thumbnail, cover art and custom video thumbnails in place?

Over at canva.com you can create all your channel images.  There are even custom templates for your thumbnails.  Having a custom thumbnail uploaded for each video allows you to carry your branding through.  Consistent branding makes your videos stand out from the crowd.

Another thing I noticed other vloggers doing, was custom subscribe buttons.  These seemed like an easy Call to Action to put in place.  Plus you only have to upload the image once for them to appear on all your videos.  Magic!

You can set up your own custom button fairly easily.  I made one for a channel I look after.  I used canva.com and created this one which I saved as a png file:

Then over at YouTube I went to My Channel in the top left hand menu:

I clicked on the Video Manager link that is over the Channel's cover art:

Then I clicked on Channel in the left hand side menu.  The next Click was to Branding - this is where you upload your custom image as a Branding 'watermark':

The next thing for us to work on, is BOLDLY asking for people to like, share and subscribe to the vlog channel.  This is another way to give your Call to Action, and it should be delivered with confidence.  After all, you have something to say and it's worth the watch!

Kmedia Ltd is headed by Kym Moore, a writer and Social Media Enthusiast. Visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information. Follow us over at https://www.facebook.com/kmedialtdnz