7 YouTube Lead Generation Strategies You Could Use

The video market is booming, and platforms like YouTube have become much more than a place for cat videos and pop culture reactions. YouTube has cemented its position as an effective marketing tool with its vast viewership, making it one of the prime places for advertising and attracting new customers. 

Lead-generation on YouTube is particularly useful for small businesses as good content can help them attract their target audience without paying premium prices for online real estate.

This guide will look at the importance of YouTube as a space to generate leads. We will also give you seven actionable ways to make your YouTube channel an effective marketing vehicle.

Let’s get started!

Why you should do lead generation on YouTube

If you haven’t committed to a channel yet, here are some pre-established YouTube channels with a sufficient amount of subscribers

According to a study, 2 billion users log into YouTube every month. This number alone is reason enough to convince every marketer that they should look at YouTube for lead generation. The platform is very easy to use and is extremely search-friendly. Aside from ranking on YouTube itself, your video can also appear in Google search results. In other words, people can quickly discover your content and get regular alerts when they subscribe to your channel.

90% of digital marketers use video for their businesses. Videos are also easy to share on social media, which helps you amplify your reach. The comment section and description box are also great places for an advertiser to drive more engagement. 

YouTube’s recommendation feature allows people to discover brands even if they are not actively looking for them. The presence of a strong influencer community also enables you to tap into people with an established following to get more views for your video content. 

7 YouTube lead generation strategies for your site

YouTube can be an effective way to create new leads and attract new customers to your business. It has evolved from just being a video sharing site to being a platform where brands can create more awareness about their products and services. 

Having a presence on YouTube helps you improve your ranking on search engines and opens up your audience due to its easy-to-share feature. How do you use YouTube to generate more leads for your brand? This section will look at how you can use video content to turn subscribers into qualified leads. 

That is why the foremost point you should direct your attention to is the visual design of your channel. People tend to fall for what seems appealing to them, so if you want to win their favor, take your YouTube channel to the next level and start with using YouTube banners that will enable you to create remarkable background wallpapers or catchy video thumbnails. When creating your banner, take into consideration your YouTube banner size and dimensions. 

1. Optimize your YouTube content

The first step in the lead generation process is to optimize your content using the right keywords in your descriptions. The way to stand out and climb the search ranking is through relevant content and content that helps search engines index you. Since YouTube recommends videos to its users, optimizing your content will be crucial to your promotional strategy. 

To optimize your content, you can add details to the description box including a link to your landing page, primary site, and other resources. You can also add links to your LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook accounts to drive engagement on your social media pages. 

Your video’s title and captions should have relevant keywords for your industry. 

Pro-tip: Use SEO tools to identify long-tailed and detailed keywords to tag your videos for best results. Optimizing your YouTube content will help you attract your target audience and generate high-quality leads. 

2. Add a CTA to your videos

A strong call-to-action (CTA) helps your video end on a strong note, gives your viewers a clear path ahead, and increases conversion rates. CTAs might include asking the customer to watch the next video, head over to your website, or subscribe to your channel. 

You can place the CTA at the end of the video or as an overlay. If you have a long description, try to put the CTA and other crucial links within the first 100 characters as viewers have to click to read the rest of the text, and many simply will not do so. 

Source: Wordstream

If your ad appears before another video, ensure that your CTA is visible so the viewer can click through straight away. Businesses should aim to display a clear path to their website. 

Take a look at the example above. We can see that the “Start Now” button stands out throughout the ad. The CTA clearly shows that it is offering a free trial, giving viewers an even better reason to head over to the site.

3. Use influencers to promote your videos

By using influencer marketing, your YouTube videos can help you create more leads. Getting an endorsement from an established creator with thousands (or even millions) of followers can help boost your signal and expose you to new audiences. The social proof that an influencer adds to your channel will help a lot in attracting new customers who need another voice to convince them to give your brand a try.

Since YouTube influencers typically operate in niche segments, they give marketers access to their own dedicated fanbases. Influencers also help brands integrate their product into video content that people already watch and know the best way to promote products without hard-selling them.

Therefore, reaching out to influencers should be treated with extreme importance. But before actually reaching out to them, you have to do some research to know how to write a pitch email and approach the whole process strategically.

A case study from Google talks about how the shaving products company, Schick, identified mid-sized to established content creators and incorporated their products into their content. Using this strategy, Schick captured attention in the discovery phase of the marketing funnel, with about 50% of its organic traffic coming in from YouTube’s browse feature.

4. Respond to comments promptly

The comments section on YouTube can help you drive conversions by allowing you to engage with viewers directly. You may use this space to answer questions, provide additional resources, and even pin relevant links. When your video attracts comments, it signals the relevance of the topic. Smart brands use this space to not just respond to comments but also to seek suggestions for future content topics. 

Source: Digital Doughnut

Responding promptly to comments is a sign that you care about your viewers and genuinely value their feedback. When you answer a question directly, you are actively engaging with your content. 

The example above from the electronics review channel, Unbox Therapy, shows a pinned comment that leads viewers to further relevant content. While posting long videos on YouTube may not be the norm, adding more resources increases your channel’s value and establishes you as an expert in your field.

5. Share your videos responsibly

After you upload the video and make it public, promote it across your other channels to increase its reach and encourage cross-platform engagement. For example, cross-posting your video on sites like Facebook ensures that it drives engagement and comments on both platforms. If you are wondering how to measure your search visibility, Data for SEO offers different options for tracking video content performance.

In addition to promoting your own brand, make sure that you tag the brands, affiliates, and creators you work with on YouTube and the other channels where you cross-post the content. Doing this helps you cement your relationships with other creative parties and businesses. 

This is a good opportunity to create a consistent video calendar strategy. With the massive amount of content available online, you want to leverage the attention you capture and build on it by providing more value. Not being consistent can put a dent in your credibility with your target audience and impact the entry of high-quality traffic to your channel.

6. Add website links to your video description

You can also use your high video views to drive traffic to your website by adding links to your description box. Make sure that the placement of the links is prominent and does not get lost in the text. The website links encourage viewers to head over to your site and move one step forward in the sales funnel – from awareness to interest.

Source: Blogilates YouTube

Whether users discover your video through the “Discover” feature or as part of YouTube’s recommendations, the lead generation process is not complete until your viewers visit your site as a potential customer. Adding a link to your site or product page gives them a direct line to your site and products. 

The fitness channel Blogilates, as seen in the example above, adds links to its product pages in the video description and gives its audience the opportunity to check out the products straight from the video.

7. Add content cards and YouTube cards to your video

You can also add content cards, which appear in the top right-hand corner of the screen throughout your video. Your viewers will see a drop-down menu that features other similar videos from your YouTube playlist.

YouTube cards (example below) typically appear during the video outro and are more interactive than content cards. They can direct viewers towards, for example, a poll or other related content. You can add up to five cards in a video, but you should not crowd the screen, given that most people view videos on their mobile devices. 

Source: Social Media Examiner

These cards act as an additional CTA that encourages viewers to explore your content and services. They let you promote your content visually without taking viewers away from your video.

Video: The future of marketing? 

YouTube has emerged as an effective medium to promote your business as it is search-engine friendly and has an enormous user base. With the Discover feature, good video content can help you drive your lead-generation efforts and increase conversions. Make sure that your video is SEO-friendly and has a clear CTA for the viewer. 

While your video should aim to educate and entertain, the comments section is where you can increase engagement by interacting with your target audience. YouTube’s creator-friendly tools also allow you to promote other videos and links through cards and the description box. 

If you use it properly, YouTube can be a valuable part of your marketing strategy. So, what are you waiting for? Lights, camera, action!