Eight seconds. That’s not a whole lot of time at all. But that’s the average attention span of the typical internet user (fun fact - it’s one second less than a goldfish’s). What does that mean for us marketers? We now have even less time to engage our target audience before they scroll down their timelines and forget the messages we’ve invested countless hours on crafting. Now is the time to spend time grabbing your prospective client’s attention both visually AND audibly through your YouTube channel.
YouTube has become the second largest search engine (Google being the first), so it’s vital to spend time optimizing your videos to reach as many of your buyer personas as possible. If you do, the likelihood of your video reaching the first page of search results pages (SERPs) increases by 53 times. Here are a few tips to help you get found quicker and increase traffic to your website through your videos.
1. Entertain, don’t sell
Think about it - Would YOU watch a video that started off with “Hey, buy my product”? Probably not. Your customers don’t want to sit through a sales presentation either. So, just as you would with your content strategy, seek to inform and entertain your audience first, provide solutions to their pain points, build the trust with them, and open up lines of communication for them to come to you.
2. Complete the description box
Because YouTube is second only to Google for online searches, it’s super important to create a video description that is keyword relevant, using terms and phrases that your buyer personas are looking for. Adding these keywords will improve the likelihood that a prospective client will find your videos at the top of their results when doing a Google search.
3. Give them somewhere to go!
You’ve spent all this time creating amazing content. Now it’s time to direct your viewer to your website! It’s a best practice to always include your company’s website in your video descriptions along with a call to action, like “For more information, click here” or “Want to learn more? Contact us.” This will get your viewer started on the path to becoming a client.
4. Help local users find you
Always include your company’s contact information. Why? Because if you’re a local business, adding your address, city, state and phone number, coupled with your description will help your ideal local customer, who is Googling for your services in their city, pick up the phone and call you or walk through your doors.
I go back to those eight seconds. The average YouTube video is 4 minutes and 20 seconds long. That’s 32.5 times longer than a person’s average attention span. So when a person is watching your video, they’re hooked, already engaged with you and your brand. Take these extra steps to make sure that engaged viewer becomes an enthused client.