YouTube has more than 2.5 billion users, and it is the second most popular social media network worldwide. Yet, only some marketers are making use of this platform.
A recent Social Media Examiner industry report found that only 51% of marketers use YouTube, but 59% plan to increase their use of the platform.
Even though not all marketers use YouTube, they do recognize video is an essential part of marketing and learning. According to Wyzowl, 91% of businesses use video as a key marketing tool. Data suggest that online videos have an audience reach of 92.3% worldwide.
The image below illustrates the percentage of global internet users who viewed online videos for learning purposes during the last week of the fourth quarter of 2023, categorized by region. Morocco leads the way with 63.3%, followed by Turkey and South Africa.
Image from Statista, August 2024
How To Build A Following For A Show
There is no secret formula to being successful when running a live YouTube show, but I want to show what has worked well for us.
I ran three different shows, Turn Digi, Tea Time SEO, and, most recently, SEO Office Hours with Mike Chidzey from Good Signals. The third show has had the most success, and these are some of our learnings:
Engage With Your Audience
SEO Office Hours has two special guests who answer questions along with the host, Mike, and the co-host, me.
During SEO Office Hours, we have a live chat, and we encourage our live audience to ask questions in the chat to our special guests.
Sometimes, we are not as quick to reply as other audience members who answer the questions. This works well as it encourages audience members to get involved with the discussion.
Bring In Guests From All Backgrounds
We have freelancers and entrepreneurs take part in the show. We also have those from agencies and brands.
We have guests calling in from all over the world and, in one episode, including Brazil (so it was quite early for them) to New Zealand, the other time of the day.
The show is on at 9:30 a.m. BST, so that does allow others from the West to join.
However, if you want to run an event and have it open for the US to join, then you need to choose a time in the afternoon (if broadcasting from Europe).
Being part of communities in your sector helps you to get to know others and in turn, invite them to take part in your show.
Answer Questions Our Community Wants Answered
SEO can be overwhelming, and there can sometimes be many solutions to the same problem. Therefore, with SEO Office Hours, we ask people to submit their questions and then join us live to listen to the answers.
We also have a lot of discussion in the chat where other questions are asked. We tend to get through six questions a week and we include them in the transcript of the videos.
Consistency Is Key
When you want to make a difference in anything you do, being consistent is key.
Mike was adamant from the beginning that we do the show every Friday at the same time until at least the end of the year.
That would have been six weeks. By the end of those 6 weeks, we had 16k views and 48 subscribers.
Engagement
Sprout Social recommends that to increase engagement, you need more comments or likes on your video.
However, SEO Office Hours is a live show run via Zoom, so they cannot like or comment when we are recording.
We do not stream directly to YouTube, we upload the video later so audience members will have to come back and watch it and then like/comment.
We have not seen an increase in the number of likes per video, but we have seen more people join us live. In the beginning, we had 4 attendees, and in our most recent episodes, we have had up to 40.
We also have many questions asked from our audience members and guests answer the questions submitted in the chat sometimes before Mike or I are able to ask our special guests.
Have A Dedicated Landing Page
If you are running a live YouTube show, make sure you have a dedicated landing page with all information on how to get involved. Include the sign up on the home page as well.
For SEO Office Hours, we have all the videos of the previous episodes so guests can watch them, they can also read how to submit a question and sign up and where attendees sign up to calendar invites which grows each week – this is something that people naturally share.
Different Ways To Stream To YouTube
Dacast compares some of the best live streaming platforms in their post here. The platform you decide to use is up to you and depends on the objectives of the show.
For example, with SEO Office Hours, Mike did not want it to be too polished or rehearsed – because it isn’t. He wanted it to feel like a regular video call, like the original hangouts that John Mueller used to organize.
He likes the fact he can see everybody, including attendees, if they decide to share their video. Sometimes, attendees will jump on and give context to a question or help with answering a question.
When running a live YouTube show, there are two main options I have used in the past:
Zoom
This is a live video platform where anyone who has registered for the event can attend.
This means you can edit the video before you upload it to YouTube. At SEO Office Hours, we amend the video by taking out the “ums” and “you knows.”
We then upload it to YouTube so everyone can see it.
Streamyard
There are two options: either to run this live and have it streamed directly to your YouTube channel or simply run it live but have it recorded. Then, you can upload it to YouTube at a later date.
There are some online conferences and webinars, and there feels like a real distance between the speakers and attendees, and you are there to listen to what the presenters want to talk about.
Therefore, we went with Zoom, but I recommend using the platform that suits your company and the objectives of your show the most.
Encourage Live Q And A
With SEO Office Hours it’s really the people who submit questions and watch live that make the show.
We are watching the live chat, and the audience’s expressions (sometimes puzzled looks, really engaged, usually lots of nodding) dictate whether we explore a topic further/ something might need clarifying, or move to the next question.
The audience is a mixture of stressed marketing managers, frustrated business owners, and SEO pros who work alone. SEO Office Hours is their chance to see what’s working for others, to bring up the problems they are having, or just to chat with others doing what they do.
For us, running the show, it’s important that the audience feels heard and seen – and that if they have a question, it’s likely we will chat about it. We think Zoom or Google Meet naturally assists with this format.
During the live hour, it’s very rare for attendees to drop out, and that may be because they feel just as much a part of SEO Office Hours as the special guests answering the questions.
How To Manage Those “Awkward” Live Questions/Answers From The Audience (And Sometimes From Guests)
If there are these awkward live questions, you can do one of three things:
Wait for the audience to answer the question.
Ask the person to clarify what they mean.
Answer the question (the host and co-host with special guests).
Sometimes, spam questions are asked, and then if not answered, they are asked again.
Most of the time, in 37 episodes (up until August 11th), we have not had too many awkward live questions.
Where To Find Speakers Even If You Have Not Met Or Been In Touch With Them Before
This was the third time I had run a show and so I contacted some people who had taken part in previous shows. Being part of communities is key to connecting with others and promoting them in the show.
There is never an excuse to have the same type of people speaking at your YouTube show.
If you do not find people outside of your circle, that is fine, but build connections with others or ask former colleagues or friends if they know others who want to be part of your show.
How To Promote
Do not be shy about promoting your show.
Since Good Signals started SEO Office Hours on November 3rd, their LinkedIn followers increased by 560, and their subscribers increased by 251 by the end of July, our 35th episode.
Good Signals has a dedicated landing page with all information (how to submit a question and sign up) where attendees sign up for calendar invites, which grows each week – this is something that people naturally share.
Initially, Mike used to include SEO office hours in the weekly newsletter, and he also used to include it in his email signature.
Along with relevant descriptions, we also tag individual videos on YouTube by relevant topics so they appear for searches and alongside popular relevant videos.
Plus, we run a small Google Ads campaign on YouTube, which means that when people see similar videos, they are shown SEO Office Hours.
We have been lucky to be featured in the SEOFOMO newsletter; thank you, Aleyda Solis.
We were invited to come on the Search off the Record podcast, where Google occasionally interviews guests on its show. We sometimes have Lizzie and John from Google come on SEO Office Hours, too.
Use The Platform That Suits Your Brand The Most
If guests have YouTube channels, they sometimes share directly on the platform with their subscribers. We tend to promote on Linkedin and sometimes Twitter. We do not share the show on Instagram.
We played with the design for the thumbnails for the videos over the first few months.
Without overdesigning, we wanted to create something that people in our networks would recognize – and it seems to have worked. When we promote the shows, the thumbnails stand out.
Be Open To Feedback
We always welcome feedback, and when we receive it from attendees, we make those changes. This means SEO Office Hours continues to improve, and therefore, more people enjoy it.
As a result, these people share it with their network, and we have more exposure.
Don’t Give Up
If, at first, you do not succeed, try a different approach.
This is the third YouTube show I have been part of. We have generated the highest number of views on videos than I have in the past.
However, the experience I gained with the previous shows has helped me with SEO Office Hours.
Most of us do not learn how to run a live YouTube show at university/college or have formal training; we learn about it on the job.
Therefore, learn from others who have been successful, and if your technique is not working, do not give up; try something different.
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