This article proposes a great way to start growing your Influence Network on YouTube… and have fun at the same time!
You’ve heard us talk about the power of video and using it to save time yet grow resonance via video messaging. We’ve also written about how YouTube can be used to make you rich (from a content perspective). But how do you go from starting out, then picking up a camera and making a video, to harnessing the power of a thriving community like YouTube? In this Top Tip I have another way to help you grow your audience on YouTube, and to maximise the Return On Investment from your time.
Well, most of us are trying to do this (if we are trying at all) by doing just as I mentioned – picking up a camera and making a ‘Vlog’ (Video Log) or something like a ‘How-To’ video. Given enough time, and if taking the right approach by encouraging your viewers to share, like and comment on your video, you’ll be growing that audience in no time.
One of the common misconceptions you may have is thinking that people will magically engage with your videos, just because you’ve made one. However, in order for you and your videos or channel to be interesting enough to attract the attention of others, you already need to have people engaging with it. You can’t have an avalanche without a few drops of snow after all.
So how can you ensure that your videos have the impact and effect that you need? The simple solution is to call in a little help, to begin with by having a group of friends & colleagues you can rely upon (your own ‘personal posse’ of sorts) to give your videos the help and boost they require. And yes, it’s ok to ask for help!
“Social Media can be a bit like a restaurant – everyone wants to go to the busy place because they want to find out what they are missing out on.”
But just like a ‘microwave meal for one’ it can be tough to get through if you’re always going it alone. You’ve got to make content regularly, give reasons for people to come back to your channel, constantly look for ways to interact with those who have watched your videos, and that can take time out of your already busy schedule (after the fact that you’ve already done so to make a video in the first place).
Ok, so what’s my tip?
Find a buddy!
If you are wanting to start a YouTube channel and share some value with others, chances are someone else that you know is wanting to also share some content of a similar nature. Maybe you want to answer some questions about SMSF for retirees, or maybe you found a quick and easy way to throw out the Ikea manual for your next furniture build and wish to pass that knowledge on.
Whatever it is, there is a strong chance that you know someone within your Professional (or Personal) Network that is also wanting to share that same value. Why not help them make a video? Or better yet, why not create a video TOGETHER?!
Firstly, the workload is shared, so suddenly that time you’ve got to spend producing the video can be halved (if you want it to be). For example, maybe you host the location for the video and you have to set up the equipment, but the editing can be done by your buddy.
Secondly, by making a video with someone else, you offer a varied perspective and more possibilities for different types of content delivery. You are now disseminating information as a pair; you’ll be surprised at how much this freshens up the engagement factor of your video, and this is exactly why we have two of us present our ‘Gear Review’ series on our own The Social Adviser YouTube channel. (If you want to keep up to date with video equipment, make sure to subscribe!)
So what happens once you’re done producing the video?
Well, if someone has ‘guest appeared’ on your channel, they can share the video within their own social network, extending the reach of your voice. And of course, if you have ‘guest appeared’ on theirs, they can reciprocate. If you want to start a YouTube channel, it should be because you want to give value to someone, and that doesn’t mean the value has to always come from yourself!
And don’t forget the other kind of personal posse; you have the chance to ‘point out’ the value to your clients and customers by inviting them to check out your video or subscribe to your channel. This really can be a case of mutual win-win!
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, involving someone else in your videos helps you hold yourself more accountable to deliver content than if you were just doing it alone. How many times have you thought, “I’ll do a video next week” and that week comes and goes and the video doesn’t get started… I know I have!
Now, you don’t have to go and make every video you record with someone else, as you also need to become comfortable enough to hold an audience’s attention on your lonesome. But adding it into the content that you are already creating, perhaps even just once a month, will allow your viewers to ‘change up’ their experience, and after all, keeping it exciting is exactly how you will gain subscribers (the lifeblood of YouTube).
If you found today’s Top Tip useful, I have a Twitter account dedicated to helping people with their video techniques & gear, so please follow along at @nickvideoninja, and look out
If you found today’s Top Tip useful, I have a Twitter account dedicated to helping people with their video techniques & gear, so please follow along at @nickvideoninja, and look out for the hashtag #vidninjatip, and ask any questions you might have there!