YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet after Google itself. It receives three billion monthly searches, far outweighing popular search engines such as Yahoo, AOL, and Bing.
YouTube and video marketing as a whole have taken marketing by storm, making it a highly favored option for brands looking to grow their online presence.
YouTube has also expanded its audience and even helped some of its users become well-known online celebrities. Given YouTube’s significant influence over online users and website visits, it should come as no surprise that it is also used as a successful digital marketing platform.
But as competition grows more fierce every day, how do you make your YouTube channel stand out and grow?
We have put together a list of the 10 best types of YouTube content that’ll help you grow your channel organically and attract authentic audiences. Read on to know more.
8 best types of YouTube content for growing a channel
As the attention spans of people continue to decrease and they look for more and more engaging content to consume, video advertising is seeing a monumental surge in marketing. More specifically, YouTube Marketing is also seeing a rise.
There are more than 51 million content creators on YouTube presently and the number is increasing day by day. It is a platform that is attracting content creators and brands alike. This is because it is accessible and easy to understand.
It gives you the option to connect with your audience and grow your online presence. Virtually anyone can make a YouTube channel today and get going. For many people, it has even turned into their livelihood. For example, PewDiePie, Danny Gonzalez, and Cody Ko.
If you too are looking to establish or grow your YouTube channel, we have come up with the best types of content that’ll help you stay fresh, relevant, and organic with your audience.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
#1. Explain topics people look for
The most important thing to remember as you begin your journey on YouTube is that you’re in tough competition. To make your channel grow, you need to stand out from the crowd. You need to offer valuable and unique content to make people come to you again and again.
One such way to do it is by creating explainer videos on topics people usually search for. When it comes to looking for an explanation on anything, say, how to create a Facebook account, people want videos that are short, precise, and accurate.
Look for creative, catchy ways to explain the topic. You might draw on a whiteboard with voiceover, or use pictures and clips to give a vivid image of what you’re saying. And keep the video under 5 minutes of runtime, if possible.
If you can use your own footage, it helps add to the realism. Otherwise, use stock images and videos to create your video. To add to the authenticity, whatever you explain, make sure that it is in your own words.
You might gather information from various sources, but the final result needs to be in your words. It helps to script your videos in advance. You will be able to see that you have included everything you want to say in the manner you want to say it.
- Use an audio-to-text converter to make your video accessible
One aspect YouTubers often forget is to see that their videos are accessible to a wide majority of their audience. Not everyone might understand your lingo, especially on a global platform such as YouTube. Some might be hearing impaired, some simply rely on subtitles to understand better.
Audio transcription is the process of converting an audio file into a text file. That might be any audio recording, such as one from a conference, an academic study, a music video, or an interview. Any form of content including podcasts, research, subtitling, and more can all benefit from transcription. If you’re looking to transcribe your audio to create a subtitle file afterward you can just use Happy Scribe’s audio-to-text converter to get the job done in minutes.
This tool helps you put accurate subtitles on your videos in no time. The software will create subtitles on its own without requiring any input from you. However, you have the option to add your own subtitles if you wish to.
Adding subtitles instantly widens the audience you will be able to reach. Given below are the people who benefit from the subtitles on your videos:
- Hearing impaired people.
- People who don’t want to turn on their audio.
- People who are in environments where they are unable to turn on the audio.
- People who don’t speak your language or have trouble understanding your lingo.
Subtitles vastly improve the comprehension of the viewer and directly engages them. This is especially important when YouTube is being used on the mobile app. The videos autoplay on the app and if you have accurate subtitles on, you will be able to draw the audience right away.
#2. Long-form video essays
On the other end of the spectrum from short explainer videos is long-form video essays. YouTube is unique as it is the only video-sharing platform that allows long-form video essays. In fact, people look to YouTube when they want an in-depth explanation of a topic.
Other popular video-sharing platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are associated with shorter videos whereas YouTube offers a wide variety in the form of videos of all lengths. Video essays allow you to establish yourself as a thought leader on a topic.
Some topics cannot be contained in a 5-minute video. They need detailed discussion and thought to create valuable information for the user. It takes more effort and time to create such a video so keep that in mind when you work on the different types of content to be created.
For example, you’re creating a video essay on influencer marketing. You might begin by the meaning and examples of the same. Then you might dive deeper with case studies, interviews with influencers, and create a campaign of your own.
You might even add unique segments as comparisons with other marketing methods or provide alternatives. Such a detailed explanation helps the viewer derive more value out of the content and appreciate your unique take on it.
Note: Always put time stamps for longer videos to help users navigate better. It increases the replay value of the video as well.
#3. Case studies
Case studies are another form of video content that allows you to do something unique and attract an audience. You might pick any topic of interest and create a case study around it. These videos don’t necessarily have to be long, only comprehensive.
Going along with the previous example about the topic of influencer marketing, you might create a case study about an influencer who proved to be highly beneficial for a brand. Or how a smaller influencer became big by partnering up with various brands.
Whatever topic you choose, make sure you include everything about it from the beginning to the end, even the information that you might think is common knowledge. This is what makes the case study authentic and comprehensive.
Popular YouTuber J Aubrey specializes in case studies. The channel collects extensive information about YouTube-related events and presents them in an informative and engaging way, purely for educational purposes.
The channel’s videos are often quite long, but that doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Remember that you need to have thorough information on the topic to create case studies. These videos give you the chance to establish yourself as a thought leader on the topic.
#4. Interviews
We talked about establishing oneself as a thought leader through video essays and case studies. Conducting interviews allows you to bring thought leaders to your channel and give your audience a unique perspective on a topic.
So, for a topic about influencer marketing, you might interview small or big influencers about how they get brand deals, how they craft their content for products and services, and any tips they might want to offer the user.
Similarly, you might interview brand executives to know their side of the story revolving around a brand deal. How do they pick influencers to partner up with? How do they negotiate deals? What do they expect from an influencer when they post about their brand?
Pair up interesting snippets from the interview to create an engaging video. Provide context about the interview or a specific answer wherever needed. You might conduct the interview in person or online, as both work fine with the audience.
As an additional tip, try to keep the interview as natural as possible. Keep fewer or cleaner cuts to create a natural flow. Interviews with too many cuts are often jarring for the audience. They might even give the impression that the complete information isn’t being presented.
#5. Create content that involves your audience
Involving your audience in the content you create is an excellent way to engage them and make your channel grow organically. There are multiple ways to do this. The simplest is asking them to comment on your videos about what they want to see from you in the future.
Going beyond that, you can create entire videos about the content of your audience. You might ask them to send you their views and opinions on a topic, such as influencer marketing from the example above, and sew their clips together to make a video.
This has the dual effect of allowing you to do less work while also allowing your audience to appear on your platform. They will be eager to get involved with you when they see others get that limelight.
Another way to create videos involving your audience is to let them ask you questions regarding a topic. They might send in their questions via clips or written messages and you might respond to them together in a video.
Conversely, you might ask them questions and they will send you clips or texts with their unique answers. Put together the most interesting responses via their clips or read the response on your own.
#6. YouTube shorts
A relatively newer feature on the platform, ‘Shorts’ offers the opportunity to not only switch up content but also reach a wider set audience with the potential to go viral. As the name suggests, Shorts are a shorter video format integrated onto the platform.
They are allowed to be 15 to 60 seconds long and have a designated section on the home page of the platform. One might say they are meant to be a response to the competition with TikTok and Instagram Reels.
You have the option to create shorter videos that might not require too much effort as long, even 5-minute explainer videos would. Or you might completely recycle your existing videos by cutting relevant bits from them.
The 15 to 60-second time frame will give you ample room to experiment with what you want to say while still being quick. The time frame is the best of both worlds when compared to the previous hugely popular platform Vine and the current sensation TikTok.
While Vine videos were only allowed to be six seconds long, often leaving creators frustrated that it was too short a time frame to put meaningful content in, TikTok videos are often too long that the audience might lose interest.
#7. Unique experience
It is often talked about how channels need to stand out from the crowd to find success in online spaces. However, it is easier said than done due to the saturation of content now.
500 hours of content is uploaded on YouTube every minute.
So, to stand out, you need to do something that is truly out of the box and not just a rehash of ideas. Take the example of YouTuber Drew Gooden. He has created a niche of exposing products and celebrity scams by becoming their paying customer.
He purchases popular, hyped, or celebrity products and services that are often extremely expensive and puts them to use, often for months, before sharing his experience with them. His extensive and dedicated approach has been lauded by his audience.
As seen in the example above, his series where he buys products advertised to him through Instagram is especially popular, the first of which saw him spend over $1000 on them.
As mentioned above, finding a truly unique niche takes time, effort, and dedication. You might create a variety of videos before you land on the one that resonates with you and your audience alike. The key is to keep trying different things.
#8. Live videos
Lastly, you might dabble in live videos to create a variety of content on your channel. 85% of users watched a live stream in 2021. You might ‘go live’ for multiple things, some of them are listed below:
- Sharing an event you are a part of, as an attendee, or as an organizer.
- Sharing some impromptu knowledge with your audience.
- Conducting interviews with friends or experts on a topic.
- Conducting a live interaction with your audience.
- Book readings.
Make sure you have a strong internet connection to hold the live. You always have the option to trim the unnecessary bits out of the video after the fact. Encourage users to engage with you with questions and comments.
The best way to succeed on YouTube is to always offer valuable content
As video marketing and YouTube continue to soar in popularity, an increasing number of content creators are aiming to make big on the platform.
There are myriad types of content you can create to make your channel grow organically. You might make short explainer videos about topics of interest or dive deeper with video essays, case studies, and interviews.
Your goal should always be to offer your audience unique and valuable information that engages them. It makes them look forward to what you have to offer with enthusiasm.
Let us know in the comments what other kinds of content channels must aim for to reach audiences.
