Should you drive traffic to your YouTube channel?
On the face of it, that’s seems like an easy question. Of course! Especially since video is increasingly becoming a platform and outlet that wields influence and increasingly reaches the people you want to.
The long road to video
We’ve been thinking about video for quite a while at BritMums. Several years ago we rounded up a bunch of bloggers for a day and urged them to start vlogging. We always feature video experts at BritMums Live (including Greg Brand from Travizeo, who in 2014 ran a special session on YouTube) and we know from conversations with friends like Crumbs that gaining subscribers is a key element of a successful channel. Loads of parent bloggers are seriously taking the plunge into video and we couldn’t be happier about it.
Is driving traffic to YouTube itself the best option?
A few conversations this past week at the TBEX conference (for travel bloggers) in Athens yielded an interesting take on the difference between promoting your YouTube versus promoting your site with embedded videos: While a massive channel is good (OK, great), if you focus purely on driving traffic to YouTube, you could be missing out on opportunities on your personally-owned-by-you-alone site.
That’s because when readers come to your site, you can invite them to click through a bunch of other content from visual and written. You can get them to sign up for your newsletter. You can sell or give them other things that strengthen your brand like ebooks, T-shirts or large boxes of chocolate (#justsayin).
Alternatively, when you promote your YouTube channel directly, you can drive people to other videos (good!). However, anecdotally we hear, people are less likely to click away from the site to see all the great stuff you have on your blog.
Understanding where YouTube fits in
It’s important to remember that YouTube has its own plans (most recently those plans include adding a subscription streaming service and taking down videos of smaller indie music producers who don’t sign with them). Its plans make dovetail with yours, in which case, cool. They may diverge, in which case, it’s good to have a plan and go into the relationship eyes open.
Personally, we love YouTube and use it for our main source of online video watching. That’s where we host the www.youtube.com/BritMumsTV channel. (Please do subscribe.) It’s a valuable platform for any blogger who wants to get into the video world big-time.
In truth, there’s no such thing as a definitive YouTube strategy. What’s important is to inform yourself and come up with the perfect strategy for you.
Are you building your YouTube channel? How are you doing it? Leave a comment and tell us your plan!
Image: PiXXart / Shutterstock.com
About
BritMums is the UK’s original collective of lifestyle bloggers and digital influencers, fueling the country’s most influential social content. We lead the online conversation with members who are parent social influencers creating content on topics ranging from food, parenting, travel, politics, style and more.
Sarah (@tamingtwins)
Friday 16th of January 2015
This is interesting but a very business-like view. As most blogs aren't a business, I think weight has to be given to what you enjoy doing too. I love making videos and learning to improve them. I have my own little channel and present for MumTalkTV too. After a year of blogging (I know, still a blogging baby) it's reinspired me to be creative and learn something new.
If no one watches? That's okay as I'm still learning and enjoying it. After all, that's why most of us started blogging isn't it?!
Helen | cocomamastyle
Monday 3rd of November 2014
This is really interesting! I recently launched my YouTube channel and have wondered whether it's best to share links to my video directly on YouTube or through my blog so this article has helped. I've found a couple of vlog linkys to help build up my subscribers and get more people viewing and commenting which is great for my confidence as such a newbie. Also I'm embedding videos into my related blog posts and including those posts in relevant style (my blog is focused on style) and blog linkys which I totally underestimated the power of until recently! And I've found so many other fab blogs through using linkys too.
More tips for vloggers please! And inclusion of us newbies in round ups too ;-)
JuggleMum, Nadine Hill (@Businessmum)
Wednesday 12th of November 2014
Hey Helen Glad you are finding success with using linkys to promote your vlogs and find new vloggers. I'm the Video Round-up Editor for BritMums and I compile their monthly video round-up, so I wanted to get in touch after reading your last comment. I'd love to include you and any other newbies in the video round-up, so to get featured, all you need to do is send me your posts!! For the BritMums round-up, I feature blog posts that have video embedded in, rather than linking directly to YouTube channels, as this is a blogging network, so I link to blogs! But each month I'm always looking for new and older vloggers to promote! I'm on Twitter as @Businessmum where I always tweet out each month when I'm working on the round-up so if you follow me you won't miss the prompts! All the best and I can't wait to see what you send me! Nadine
Over a Cuppa
Monday 27th of October 2014
I am planning to get my act together with a YouTube channel, it does feel a bit overwhelming as part of me wants it to look great straight away (!) the other part of me wants to just get stuck in and let it evolve!
We will see :-)
Jennifer Howze
Tuesday 28th of October 2014
I think it's all about slow and steady. Better to put together an ongoing plan that means you're building up your channel, interacting with other YouTubers and taking part in the community. Just remember that by jumping in now, you are still at the forefront of what's going on. Keep us updated!