What Did YouTube Video Marketing Look Like in 2021? (Archive, 2021)

Recorded in June 2021 during Simon's s.media agency era — a team compilation. Published as part of a dated historical record.

How often should you post?

A quick overview of a successful YouTube video marketing strategy as it stood in 2021, starting with cadence. We typically said a maximum of twice a week — you don't want to seem spammy and annoy your followers — and a minimum of once a month, because any less and you stop being relevant; people won't think of you as a reliable source of information or entertainment.

Which metrics matter for your videos?

The key metrics: average watch duration, views, and click-through rate. To move them, post regularly; refine your titles and descriptions so your videos appear in search when people look for that type of content; and use eye-catching thumbnails.

What does the funnel look like?

The core of the strategy is a traditional funnel. Top of the funnel: brand awareness. Middle: build trust — create a connection with your subscribers and followers. Bottom: stay relevant, stay in the public eye.

YouTube is brilliant for the top. It lets you raise brand awareness in buckets at really good cost. Yes, use the organic tactics, the influencer work, tag your videos correctly — all the usual good stuff — but the most crucial thing for any business, product or service is getting it out there so people see it. Traditionally people used TV and every other route; YouTube is such a low-cost route to market, with so many people on the platform and so much content they want to see, that you can raise brand awareness like never before.

How do you convert the middle of the funnel?

Middle of the funnel is where the customer knows your brand and what you do, but hasn't bought yet — and the job is pushing them from knowing to buying. One thing that worked really well with a client: introducing testimonials at exactly this point. We built a sequence campaign showing different videos to their customers, and at the middle of the funnel we showed a testimonial from someone who had already bought — watching a real user love the product and rave about it converts people from awareness to purchase. At this stage you also want to express the feeling your brand or product represents: what could this do for that person? That's why testimonials work so well.

How do you read the advertising metrics?

YouTube offers so many metrics per campaign that it can get overwhelming. The ones to watch daily: click-through rate (clicks against impressions), views, average cost per view, watch time and watch percentage per video, and conversions — form fills or sales. YouTube lets you see and analyse each in minutes, and they diagnose different faults. Not enough conversions? It's likely your landing page. People not getting past the first half of the video? Maybe change that section. Cost per view too high? Look at the first few seconds, or the targeting. These few basics are how you optimise a campaign to get better every single day.