Getting Started On YouTube

YouTube is a great way to show people that you’re an expert, to build a know, like and trust relationship with prospective ideal clients, and to drive traffic to your website.

How to Use YouTube to Grow Your Travel Business with Sheryl Plouffe

In this fantastic guest workshop, video marketing expert Sheryl Plouffe shared with us TONS of golden nuggets, including:

Creative ways to generate leads and grow your business on YouTube

How to create a marketing tool that doesn’t put strains on your budget or time

How to gain an advantage over competitors by utilizing the leading platform for online video

Create Your YouTube Channel

Add Channel Art

Download your YouTube Channel Image Guide

Downloadable Guide – Social Media Image Sizing

Add Links to your Channel Art

Embedding YouTube Videos to your Blog

Curating and Sharing Other People’s Videos on Your Channel

The Kinds Of Topics You Should Cover In Your Videos

Your FAM Trips! People LOVE to see your FAM Trips and property tours. Take several videos on each FAM Trip and property tour.

FAQ’s – Keep a running list of questions you get asked when you meet with your ideal clients. Create a video for each question and answer the question in the video.

Interesting Facts About The Destinations You Book – For each destination you book, create a video that gives interesting facts about that destination. Share some hot-spots, must do’s and must see’s, and things they should avoid.

Your Newsletters – For some (or all) of your e-Newsletters create a video with the tip(s) you’re giving in that week’s newsletter. Then have it transcribed and on your blog embed your YouTube video and include the transcription.

Why People Should Hire You – Create a video that tells your audience what you do (your OMS). Show your passion and expertise by sharing your story (why you’re a travel agent), and of course tells your audience what the process is to work with you (invite them to book your “free consultation” and exactly how to do it). In addition to optimizing this video on YouTube, embed it on the About Page of your website.

The Video Format You Should Follow

This is the MOST important step of all. EVERY single video you create needs to have a hook in the beginning (to hook them into watching your video), and it needs to include your OMS and it needs to end with an invitation for your viewer to book your “free consultation” with you (this is your CTA).

Give your viewers crystal clear instructions on how to book with you. For example, give them a short URL to go to which directs them to a page on your website to book with you (that page needs to link to your online scheduler in a very clear way). Also, include that URL at the top of your video description, and make sure it includes the http:// (or it won’t be a hyperlink). If you don’t yet have your website done, simply forward the short URL directly to your online scheduler. Then, when you finish your website, you can simply redirect that short URL to the new page on your website that you create.

In this video, Heidi walks you through this format.

To recap, here’s your format:

A hook

Your introduction (and give your OMS)

Your content (keep it concise and when possible, make it entertaining)

Your crystal clear compelling CTA

YouTube SEO – 5 Steps to YouTube Stardom

Step 1. Create quality content!

People are on YouTube to be educated and/or entertained. Period. If you don’t give them what they are looking for, they will move on. YouTube is not the place for a sales video. If your videos provide good quality content, you will have “earned” the right to send your viewers to your website with a call to action to learn more, and you should totally be doing that, but keep it soft. This is about relationship and reputation building, not selling.

Don’t be worried that you have nothing to talk about either. You’re a professional, you’re an expert, you have a TON of knowledge that your clients are looking for! Don’t be shy about sharing your gift!

YouTube Ranking Factors:

There are a lot of factors that factor into the ever-changing YouTube algorithm that decides which videos make it to the top. One factor is viewer engagement, which includes things like:

Number of comments your video receives.

Total seconds users spend watching your video.

Number of likes your video receives.

Number of times your video is shared on social media.

Number of times your video is shared on other websites.

In order to get your viewers engaged, you have to create great content that people are looking for.

These are the types of videos that do well on YouTube:

How-to keywords (“how to pack for a trip Paris with kids”)

Reviews (“review of the latest and greatest new resort”)

Tutorials (“setting up and using the new Tripit travel app”)

Anything fitness or sports related (“bikram yoga for beginners”)

Funny videos (“cute animals”)

Step 2. Do your keyword research

We cover keyword research in depth in the SEO module here ==> Module 27 In addition to the keyword research tools covered in that module, there are a handful of keyword research tips specifically for YouTube.

You want to do your best to find keywords that return YouTube results on the first page of Google – “Video Keywords”.

If you optimize your video for keywords that don’t have video results in Google, you will only get traffic from YouTube. If you use Video Keywords, you will get traffic from Google, which, as you can imagine will dramatically increase your traffic.

Finding Video Keywords is simple, although sometimes it takes a little time. Just search for possible keywords in Google until you find one that returns YouTube videos in the results.

Note the third result in this screenshot is a YouTube video.

A couple more tools for finding good YouTube Keywords:

1. YouTube autocomplete. Using this is simply a matter of going to YouTube like you were searching for something, type in the first word, or words, and see what YouTube suggests adding to it. This will give you a good idea of what’s currently trending on YouTube.

2. http://keywordtool.io/youtube. We also recommend this tool in the SEO module, but this link will take you right to the YouTube search. Take some time to read the instructions on this site so you fully understand the tool.

Step 3. Put your keywords in your video file name and the video title

Before you upload your video to YouTube, rename the file using your keywords.

Once you upload the video, give it a clear, descriptive title, using your keywords and try to place the keywords towards the beginning of the title for a little extra boost.

Step 4. Optimize your Description

In addition to providing information for your viewers, your description helps Google and Youtube know what your video is about.

Best practices for YouTube descriptions:

Put a link to your website at the very top of the description – one of your main goals is to drive traffic to your website, make it easy for people to find. Your link must include the http:// (or it won’t be a hyperlink). There are more details about this in video above.

Include your keyword in the first 25 words

Make the description at least 250-words

Include your keyword 3-4 times

Step 5. Add tags

Tags also help Google and YouTube understand what your video is about. It also boosts your exposure because you’re more likely to show up in the sidebar of YouTube and be suggested along with other videos as related.

ALWAYS make your tags relevant to your video. It does you no good for your video to show up to people who aren’t actually looking for that content, and it can actually damage your rankings.

Use your targeted keyword and any other keywords you found in your research that will help the search engines understand what your video is about.

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Now that we’ve covered the basics, you’re ready to dive into the AWESOME Advanced Training we have for you which was created by YouTube sensation… JAMES WEDMORE!!

It’s a short powerful training and in it James gives you a KILLER strategy. Check it out now here.

Your Success Planner and How-To Video Series is $45

To purchase a printable version of the planner, click here!