So to get you up to speed we’ve now spent this past month covering the ins and outs of optimization on YouTube, and we’re not finished yet. If you’ve been following along, we’ve already covered Content Quality and optimizing your Keyword Tags and Title.
Remember, it’s really about discovering and leveraging your metadata, a.k.a. what makes you searchable. Now it’s time to expand on your title and uncover how to get across what your video and channel are really all about.
How would you describe your…
Self? Your channel? Your video specifically? All of this is relevant to filling out your description.
You know how it’s always good to lead with your best foot forward? Same rule applies here. You need your best stuff up front because only the first few sentences of a video description are visible in search results and above the fold on a watch page. Get your words across and accurately describe your video in 1-3 sentences tops! Short, snappy with a sprinkle of pizazz to get ‘em watching and sharing your stuff. Make sure you include relevant keywords; again it’s all about searchability and your description helps audiences and YouTube search tools understand your content.
Branding your description
So once you’ve covered your video, now it’s time to talk about you. I know, I know, FINALLY a topic you can totally relate to. A great tip is to create a consistent boilerplate that you add to all your videos. This essentially boils down (pun intended) to a quick, effective bio on you and your channel. Also add your social media info and the subscriber button to your description. This will help with SEO, inform your viewers what the video is about, and tell them where they can find more of your awesome content. This has the potential to turn first-time viewers into loyal subscribers and get people totally plugged into your brand as you direct them to your playlists, other YouTube channels, website and social media channels. What if you don’t have any? While it might be hard to check off all the boxes here, you’ve got to remember the importance of promoting yourself across platforms in maximizing your success.
When you ask your viewers to share your video, try to make it easy for them to share via social media. Twitter and Facebook are the clearest choices here, but there are options aplenty!
The Takeaway
Do: Brand it up and get social! This is a great way to maximize visibility and get people onto your networks and subscribing to your channel and future uploads.
Don’t: Violate YouTube’s Terms of Service by using misleading metadata and blocks of keywords in your description field.
Remember, there are several ways to optimize your content, and VISO Catalyst is a tool designed to ensure you cover each one. Optimization is a big way to get the most out of your content, so stay tuned next week for tips on executing this in your video thumbnail.
