4 YouTube Optimization Tips For Musicians (2020)
YouTube is, by far, one of the best platforms to gain exposure through. However, many artists are unaware of some simple search engine optimization tweaks they should make to reap the platform's rewards.
In this article, we break down four top tips for expanding your reach on YouTube.
1: Add Song Lyrics To Your Descriptions:
Have you ever heard a song on the radio and instantly tried typing the lyrics into Google to find it? We've all been there. It's easy to forget (as an artist) that potential fans are doing this every day and that if you're not making your music easy for them to discover, you're throwing away potential fans and a ton of revenue (both short & long-term revenue).
To ensure that your music/lyric videos show up in searches, make sure that you paste your track lyrics into every video's descriptions. As mentioned above, when someone tries typing your song lyrics into Google, your video(s) will show up! Then, guess what? You just got yourself a new fan, all by making your music easily discoverable.
Every time you upload a new video, create a system so that your lyrics are always added to your descriptions. You can read more about creating systems here.
2: Use Eye-Catching Thumbnails
Thumbnails are one of the most important pieces of metadata (information) that people see when searching for videos. In fact, it's the first visual piece of metadata they see.
YouTube recommends creating high-quality, vibrant thumbnails that quickly communicates your videos' point. It may be a little tricky to communicate your videos' point in a small thumbnail. In that case, ensure your face or those involved in the song are easily visible in the thumbnail.
As you can see, everyone involved in these songs is immediately visible. Now you understand why your first interaction with fans is so important.
3: Add Links to Your Other Songs In Descriptions:
Think about this: a new fan has just discovered your music or lyric video. You, as the artist, can do two things. Either you let them listen to the track and ask them to subscribe, or you put links to your other songs in the video descriptions to encourage them to consume more of your music.
The second option increases what's referred to as "session time". The easier you make it for new/existing fans to listen to more of your music, the more likely they are to stick around. Use your descriptions not only to tell stories and provide lyrics but to offer a sort of "rabbit hole" of more of your music. Take fans on a journey through your catalog.
Pro tip: If you want to do this well, put something like: "If you liked this track, check out these two tracks with the same sort of vibe:" - Then link to two songs that new/existing fans can vibe to!
4: Engage With Comments On Your Videos
We're always emphasizing the importance of engaging with fans as an artist. In fact, we live it by responding to virtually every comment we get on our Instagram page. It's vital to remember that fans are so much more than just followers on a social profile. Fans are hard-working people like you and me.
They work hard at their jobs, side-hustles, and businesses, and by some blessing, they spend that hard-earned money to see your shows, buy your merch and support your career. So when you neglect and ignore them, you're ignoring a part of what made you who you are.
Whenever you drop a new video on YouTube, do your best to spend at least the first week responding to as many comments as you can. Make your fans feel seen. It goes a long way!
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