People love online videos.

YouTube is now the second-largest search engine,  and more people turn to the platform for answers as they face new daily decisions, questions, and challenges.

Let’s look at the numbers:

• YouTube has over 1 billion users  — almost one-third of all people on the Internet. 
• 4 billion videos are watched with billions of views generated daily
• More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices
• On mobile, the average viewing session is now more than 40 minutes
• YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any U.S. cable network

Source: YouTube Statistics

As an enterprising brand, you can exploit this opportunity by providing useful content when people are looking for solutions.

Here are 10 ways to get started on YouTube.

1. Know your target audience

Mold your video to your client base.

What are their pain points?
What are their values and needs?
What messaging resonates?

Talk to your audience!

2. Talk to one person

Don’t think of this as posting mass communication to “people on Youtube.”

Think of one person whose problem you are solving.

3. Find your hook

Lead with one compelling point so your target audience will stick around past the first few seconds. Think of this as the most important point. Or the one-liner that you think everyone will want to tweet.

Be concise and compelling. Your hook can also serve as an organizing principle that keeps you from rambling. Your hook will snag both you and your viewer into the video. Make your message meaningful, memorable, relevant, relatable, and tailored to your target audience.

4. Use the right keywords

Keyword relevancy is a key factor that contributes to the SEO ranking of a YouTube video.

Search for the best keyword on YouTube. Simply type a relevant keyword in the YouTube search and see suggested keywords.

You can also get the VidIQ Chrome extension to see which keywords will get your video the most visibility.

For best results:

• Ensure the file name and the thumbnail are aligned with the keyword of the video
• Include at least one keyword in the video title (close to the front)
• Include the keyword in the first 1-3 lines and the first 3 hashtags of the description

Utilize tags fully with relevant keywords to optimize search results. While tags are not visible on the platform uploads, using consistent tags across similar videos will improve the likelihood of them referring to each other in ‘Suggested videos’. You can also use multiple-word tags that specifically relate to the video to help users find the video e.g. YouTube Marketing Strategy.

Track the performance consistently and remove ineffective Tags.

5. Customize your YouTube thumbnail

Thumbnails are crucial in ensuring your content stands out quickly in search results.

They act like billboards to help viewers decide to click on your content.

90% of the best-performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails.

Use custom thumbnails rather than automatically generated ones. Well-designed thumbnails attract fans to your channel and help make sure they know what to expect of your content.

Here are some Dos and Don’ts.

Do:

• Add graphics
• Apply the rule of thirds: objects should be placed closer to the central grid for focus
• Overlay with branding/ descriptive text
• Use consistent layout and colors
• Ensure your thumbnail works on desktop and mobile
• Use a color scheme that stands out
• Use high contrast
• Experiment with text
• Check and track thumbnail performance

Don’t:

• Use tiny, illegible text
• Incorporate too much text
• Be boring or use dull colors
• Use unclear confusing imagery
• Use irrelevant, misleading, or sensational imagery

6. Choose your title wisely

You want to attract human readers with your title, but you also want to attract search engines. Otherwise, readers might never find your post. You want a compelling promise that turns a browser into a reader and relevant keyword phrases in your titles to attract search engines. Use a compelling title with less than 70 characters to be fully shown on the search result.

7. Include hashtags in your description

You can be wordy in the description (and insert hashtags) because this supports search engine optimization. Use relevant keywords that suit your business and connect with your target audience.  The first 3 hashtags in your description appear as hyperlinks above the title. However, you should be careful about over-tagging. If a video has more than 15, all the hashtags will be ignored.

8. Be creative and consistent

More is better. Don’t just make one video. Post creative videos consistently. You should have at least a couple of videos on your YouTube channel. This is beneficial for your ranking in search.

9. Setup autoplay

Set the main video to play automatically when someone clicks on your channel. This gets the ball rolling fast and captures the viewer’s attention. You can create your own playlists.  You could also record 4 short “To Get More, Go Here” videos.  This is known as “the bumper.” At the end of each video, tell people where to go for the entire 20-video series.

10. Brand your YouTube channel

Use your logo and company colors. Leverage all your other social media handles. Post your video link to Facebook, Twitter, Google plus, etc. All these social signals still matter in search.

Given that most people are likely to search for videos about a certain product before making a purchase, YouTube is definitely the perfect platform to market your business. Your audience is facing a seemingly endless number of new questions and adventures every day. YouTube video moments are great opportunities for you to lend a hand, show empathy, entertain, inspire, start a conversation — in short, to be a life sidekick that will keep people coming back for more