People process an image or video 60,000 times faster than they do text. Why you should be using YouTube No, YouTube isn’t the only platform to use for video marketing. Make custom thumbnails One of the first things that I found to help increase clicks, views, and sales was creating custom thumbnails. Here’s an example when you look for “SEO tips”: Notice all those keywords in the titles and description? Did you notice how almost every single video on that results page had a custom image? So using a compelling thumbnail should be your first step when trying to drive engagement and sales through YouTube videos. To create a custom thumbnail, simply start uploading your video and choose the “Custom thumbnail” option during the upload stage: Here’s how to make your thumbnails compelling enough to drive tons of clicks and boost your CTR: Build excitement and set expectations. For example, if you’re focusing on tips and tricks like my channel does, you don’t want to post hour-long videos. If you want someone to like your video, you have to say it. I started making YouTube videos and was able to drive tons of traffic.
Video is on almost every marketer’s radar.
In fact, 69% of marketers say their video-marketing budget is increasing.
On top of that, mobile video advertising is expected to total 72% of digital ad spend by 2019.
But do you want to hear the best stat of all?
Marketers who use videos boost their revenue 49% faster than those who don’t.
I’ve even been stepping up my video game as a result!
Why? Because when it comes to channels for driving more sales, we should leave no stone left unturned.
It can be easy to get comfortable with our current methods and tactics. But then we lose out on the big wins and possibilities of other platforms.
If you want your conversions to increase (and you do!), you need to diversify your approach.
You can’t just run ads and grind your SEO to the first page anymore.
More and more people want to watch video instead of reading text.
A picture or video is literally worth 60,000 words.
What does that mean? People process an image or video 60,000 times faster than they do text.
And the numbers for video success are glaring:
Facebook’s video view count is skyrocketing every single day.
So if you want to drive more sales, you need to focus less on producing 60,000 words and more on helpful, value-driven videos.
And there’s no better place to get this done than on YouTube.
I increased my sales by using YouTube. Here’s how you can do the same.
Why you should be using YouTube
No, YouTube isn’t the only platform to use for video marketing.
Facebook video is another great way to drive sales. You shouldn’t necessarily put all your eggs in one basket.
But YouTube’s audience is king when it comes to landing sales and customers.
There are more than 1.3 billion people who use YouTube. And almost 5 billion videos are watched daily.
YouTube viewing has staying power. The average mobile viewing session lasts for more than 40 minutes!
That means you can capture attention and keep it for huge amounts of time.
And YouTube has the best post-click engagement of any social media platform:
YouTube also has the lowest bounce rate after a click-through to your site and has the highest average time on site and pages per visit.
In fact, YouTube accounts for the majority of mobile web traffic!
When it comes to mobile viewing, YouTube videos are the leader of the pack, beating out Facebook and Netflix.
One in four users in the United States watch online videos daily. That already impressive number is even higher in other countries.
YouTube is even growing more popular than traditional video content services like actual mainstream TV!
More people are using YouTube for their video-content needs than they are mainstream television.
People are hanging up the cable boxes and 1,000-channel subscriptions for nearly-unlimited free content.
This means that if you want to reach a massive audience and build your brand, YouTube is the place to be.
And it’s the perfect platform to leverage your following and drive tons of sales.
Here’s how I did it.
Tip #1. Make custom thumbnails
One of the first things that I found to help increase clicks, views, and sales was creating custom thumbnails.
When I first started out on YouTube, I made the mistake of just using a segment of my video as my thumbnail.
I took the easy way out, thinking there was no way that a custom thumbnail would drive more engagement.
I was dead wrong.
In fact, it can increase your engagement by 154%.
Just one look at clickbait-style sites like Buzzfeed can show you how these tactics can work.
They use attention-grabbing headlines and, more importantly, intriguing thumbnails to drive clicks:
Thumbnails are basically like your meta description headlines in a typical SERP on Google.
And YouTube is a search engine. When a user searches keywords, they get results based on those queries.
So the same SEO rules apply. You shouldn’t just care about rank, but also the click-through rate, too.
Your title, thumbnail, and short description are what get people to click.
Here’s an example when you look for “SEO tips”:
Notice all those keywords in the titles and description?
It’s just like your meta description on a typical blog post.
You want to target specific keywords to show up.
I digress. Back to the custom thumbnails!
Did you notice how almost every single video on that results page had a custom image?
We’re naturally drawn to imagery rather than text.
So using a compelling thumbnail should be your first step when trying to drive engagement and sales through YouTube videos.
In fact, the YouTube Creator Academy said that 90% of the best-performing videos on their platform have a custom thumbnail.
To create a custom thumbnail, simply start uploading your video and choose the “Custom thumbnail” option during the upload stage:
Here’s how to make your thumbnails compelling enough to drive tons of clicks and boost your CTR:
Build excitement and set expectations.
The best thumbnails on YouTube attract attention to the video and fill the user in on what they can expect.
Sometimes, the best thumbnails are clickbait. But remember: if your thumbnail is clickbait with no follow-through on the actual video, you can expect big drop-offs.
Here is a great example from iJustine on building excitement and setting the right expectations for your videos:
Or this one from Guess That Celebrity Tattoo that uses clickbait-style imagery to drive their CTR:
The title is “Guess That Celebrity Tattoo,” and their thumbnail perfectly sets the trap, almost forcing you to click.
It gets you wondering whose tattoo that is, even if you don’t care.
Make sure your branding is consistent.
Consistent branding is one of the best ways to create a custom thumbnail.
It allows you to stand out from the crowd easily. And helps your audience recognize your brand.
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