Two Key YouTube Features to Use to Improve Audience Engagement

For years, YouTube has been one of the most popular social channels, but high popularity means high competition.

If you’re looking to improve your YouTube strategy and improve your relationship with your audience, you need to use some of the service’s special features to help you stay ahead of the game. Here are two important YouTube features you should use more often to improve audience engagement. 

YouTube search features

YouTube’s invested heavily in their search capabilities, and it shows—it’s now the world’s second-largest search engine, only bested by Google. Some of the search features that can help you reach your audience include:

·      Comments: Like on other social platforms, brands should make it a point to respond to comments. By going to the YouTube Studio analytics tab, you can search your comments to find ones you haven’t yet answered, as well as identify top-commenters and use FAQs to inform your content strategy.

·      Hashtag searches: Hashtags are searchable on YouTube, just like they are on Twitter, and they even have their own landing page. Searching hashtags is a great way to research what your competitors are doing—just type a hashtag in the search bar, then click the large hashtag icon on the results page to find all the videos grouped under that hashtag.

YouTube Studio features

YouTube Studio is a powerful tool that all brands refer to for important analytic information, but some of its best tools are often overlooked. Some of the YouTube Studio features that have the biggest impact on your content include:

·      Channel dashboard: The channel dashboard is the first thing you see when you enter YouTube Studio. You can check the performance of your videos and videos, as well as find helpful tips to improve your content performance.

·      Cards: You can add up to five cards in each YouTube video—it’s a great, unobtrusive way to promote another video or channel. Better yet, if you’re a member of the YouTube Partner Program, you can even add external links that promote your product or service. 

·      Captions: You can and should add captions to your videos in YouTube Studio. Providing captions ensures your content can be understood, even if it’s being viewed on mute. 

·      Video spotlight: Every channel can include a featured video that automatically plays as soon as a viewer comes to your page. It’s a great way to engage visitors right away, and it can even passively build your views as visitors scroll our channel. You can set two videos as your spotlight—channel trailers for non-subscribers and featured videos for subscribers. You can tailor your message to specific audiences, whether you’re boosting brand awareness among non-subscribers, or you’re building on the relationship you’ve made with subscribers.

Brands should use every tool YouTube has to offer. After all, there are so many features that can do everything from boosting brand awareness to inspiring a purchase. Looking to make the most of your YouTube strategy to push your brand further? Say hello to Spin Creative. We’re a branding partner and video marketing agency that’s ready to help you build your channel and your brand.

About Us

Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.