Tag YouTube Videos Like a Boss

YouTube may be the second biggest search engine, but keep in mind that it’s really social media. Just like your website and other components of your digital marketing, the goal is to create engaging content, not just draw traffic that bounces after clicking.

A key factor in bringing the right viewers to your videos is metadata, all the information about the video including the title, description, tags, category, thumbnail, subtitles and closed captions. All of your metadata should include keywords that relate to your brand and the content of the video.

Start with a solid content strategy. Video can be a significant investment. Before investing time into a YouTube presence, consider how the videos will reflect your branding, messaging and match the tone and personality you expect from your brand. Not all videos are appropriate for YouTube. Some content might work better on Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook Live.

Put your keywords to work. The keywords should accurately reflect your content, and position them at the beginning of your video’s title, description and even the file name. Include your brand name and your industry.

Have consistency in the titles. If your content is meant to be viewed in seasons or episodes, use a consistent naming convention so YouTube’s systems know which video to suggest next.

Update keywords as needed. Over time the language related to your video may change. You can update your video’s title to include words that users are currently searching.

Check for misspellings. It’s a simple, easy mistake, so don’t ruin it for everybody with a typo.

Play the odds. Use Google’s Adword tool to choose keywords that give you the best odds. Avoid search terms with a popularity of more than 50,000. However, it’s most important that your metadata is relevant.

Don’t try to trick the system. You’re playing against robots smarter than any human, so it’s best to not try any tricks such as misleading descriptions or titles. That’s considered spam. Keep your metadata relevant to your video, and keyword it up with the search terms that apply to your content.

Create playlists. Sort your videos by topic to create playlists. This can help YouTube suggest your videos to viewers watching related content.

Add annotations. When you upload a video, find a couple of places where you can add annotations. Annotations are pop-up boxes and text that you can add to improve the user experience and help drive home the message of your video.

Provide a transcript. Type up everything that was said in the video into a plain text file (.txt), and upload the transcript to your video. A transcript can also help your video reach a larger audience of people who are hearing impaired or speak another language.

Include a thumbnail. This visual will help get users interested in watching your video. Make sure that it’s a high-res image, 640px X 360px.

Play it all the way. Hold off on calls to action until the end. YouTube gives brownie points to videos that are watched until the end. Only then do you want the viewer to click over to your website or other social media channels.

Video is one of the best ways to engage users and deliver your messages effectively. These tips will help your video reach the audience it was designed for. Posted by Aaron Green

Aaron Green an assistant video editor at LOOMIS, the country’s leading challenger brand advertising agency.