How to promote content with YouTube

In MARKETING
23 April 2020
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The Digital Publisher’s Guide to Social Media

Thanks to social media, delivering content to thousands of people at once is as easy as hitting the “Post” button. But it isn’t always easy to achieve the results you have in mind. That’s why we’re bringing you a new series all about making these channels work for your digital publishing needs. Today’s topic: how to promote content with YouTube.

Why use YouTube to promote content?

Quite simply because YouTube is the second-biggest site on the internet in terms of traffic. And if you’re already working hard to improve your SEO on the biggest site—Google—why not do the same for YouTube? Optimizing your content on YouTube can bring you greater visibility and lots of visitors.

Better yet, you can actually boost your ranking on Google by posting content to YouTube. You may have noticed YouTube videos placed at the top of Google search results. Your own videos can be optimized to appear high in results, even before classic web sites.

An indispensable part of content strategy, online video has taken over a huge part of the digital world. In 2020, video was predicted to represent 82% of global internet traffic. So, what are you waiting for—it’s time to dive in!

Lead with a strategy

Before you start filming any video, it’s essential to establish a content strategy for your YouTube channel. Be sure to define your channel’s target audience as well as its overall goal. In other words, who you want to speak to, what you want to talk to them about and why.

Next, choose how often you want to post new videos and the main types of content you’d like to create. But don’t be afraid to adjust your posting strategy as your channel grows! The more videos you post, the better you’ll be able to know your audience, their viewing habits and expectations.

Let your branding shine

If there’s one rule to follow when it comes to your visual identity on YouTube, it’s this: create a consistent graphic style that makes you unique and easily identifiable.

Start with your brand’s visual identity and use it as a point of reference for all of your channel’s graphics, from the cover image to video outros. (And don’t forget the thumbnails!) Plus, keep in mind that the editing, animation and music should maintain the same style across all of your videos.

Of course, image isn’t the only thing that matters to a brand. Words are extremely important, too. Take the time to polish your channel description and descriptions for individual videos, making sure to use the same key vocabulary and tone of voice in your text.

Remember to customize your YouTube URL, which is a feature you can take advantage of once you reach 100 subscribers. A custom URL will make your channel easier to access through search engine results and signals to your audience that your account is official. (Customized account URLs are also available on Calaméo as part of our PLATINUM plan.)

💡 TIP: Use the same custom URLs across multiple platforms so that finding all of your accounts is simple. For example, include “mybusinessname” in both your YouTube and Calaméo account URLs.

Know how to attract attention

Making good use of so-called “clickbait” is essential. In other words, you should strive to make your content so attractive that anyone who comes across it won’t be able to resist clicking through.

However, be careful not to go too far. Never lie in your title about the content of your video! The key is to interest users without cheating them. And of course, no user should feel that he’s been tricked into clicking your video. Otherwise, he won’t return to your content—and rightfully so.

The thumbnail and title are the two most important elements of your video in terms of attracting attention and persuading viewers to click. The best type of thumbnail is one that creates an emotional response. Depending on your content, that emotion could be joy, sadness, shock, surprise or curiosity, to name just a few possibilities. This emotion leads to a reaction: clicking on your video.

As for the title, it plays a big part in the SEO of your video. Your titles should be phrased like a typical internet search, like “How to publish on Calaméo”. Choose your keywords carefully and be sure to include them directly in your video’s title to make it easier to find.

How to share written content on YouTube

If you want to share text content like a blog article or digital publication on YouTube, there are several options available to you.

  1. Sharing inside the video:
  • include a link to your publication in a note that will appear in the top right-hand corner of the screen (this feature is only available for YouTube Partners)
  • record your screen to show the page where your content appears directly in your video
  • mention that the link to your content is available in your video description
  • offer an audio version or podcast of your written content—simply read the text in voice-over
  1. Sharing outside the video:
  • post the link to your document in the description, without mentioning it specifically in your video
  • add the link in a pinned comment, which will appear first when viewers go to leave a comment on your video
  • create a post in the Community tab of your channel so that your followers can access the link right from their YouTube home page (available only to channels with more than 10,000 subscribers)

Have other ideas and tips for promoting digital publications on YouTube? Leave us a comment on our social media pages and share your thoughts with our community of digital publishers!

Ready to start?

Now that you’ve got all the details about how to promote content with YouTube, it’s time to turn your online documents into great digital publications. Sign up for your free Calaméo account today and explore what digital publishing can do for you!

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From city skylines to our own mobile phone screens, logos are a major presence in modern life and a key part of any business’s brand. But did you know just how old logos are? Their history goes back to the Middle Ages, when British pubs were required by law to identify themselves with an illustrated sign.

After the invention of the printing press in 1439, logos quickly made the jump onto the page and appeared in printers’ marks, classifieds, products and ads. Although many classic logos like the vintage Coca-Cola script are still used today, digital technology allows logos to do more than ever.

In this article, we’ll reveal three easy ways to put your business’s logo to work on your digital publications.

ONLINE REACH

The most important place that your logo should go is in your digital publication! Since Calaméo’s fun, immersive flipbook format allows readers to focus on your content, including your logo on the page creates stronger impact for your brand.

Be sure that your logo figures prominently on your publication’s cover, like in this example from AvidGolfer magazine. You’ll want it to be visible when sharing your publication on social media to enjoy maximum reach in your audience’s feeds. Plus, you can get even more exposure if your publication is selected for the #CalameoCoversClub!

IMPROVED VISIBILITY

Next up is your publisher account page on Calaméo. You can effortlessly add your logo as a profile picture by uploading a .PNG or .JPG file up to 5 MB. (Have an animated version of your logo? You can even use a GIF here for a little extra pizzazz.)

Displaying your business’s logo on your Calaméo profile gives it a professional look, but filling in details of your account page also comes with SEO benefits. In just a few minutes, you can polish up the account name, description, logo and website and make it even easier for readers to find your publications.

DIGITAL SIGNPOST

Last but not least, add your logo to our viewer so that it becomes part of the reading experience. With our PREMIUM and PLATINUM plans, you can include a logo and link to your website. Not only is doing so great UX, it also supports your lead generation strategies and helps drive traffic to your site.

Users can always move smoothly from reading your publication to checking out your site, without having to enter your URL or hit the back button in their browser. All thanks to your logo!

💡 TIP: To remove our logo from the viewer, upgrade to PLATINUM today and start publishing in White label.

With these three quick and easy ideas, you should be all set to start using your logo in digital publishing to boost your brand.

To take the next step, consider creating a custom Skin for your publications. You’ll be able to match every detail of the Calaméo viewer to your business’s visual identity, get creative with your logo and more.

Head on over to our new CALAMEO Magazine to see how dynamic a custom Skin can be!

For more information on all things Calaméo, browse our Help Center. You’ll find the complete documentation on customizing the viewer Skins on our Developers page. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions! Our Support team is standing by at contact@calameo.com to help as quickly as possible.

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SEO : 5 tips to improve your ranking

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The search engine optimization or SEO is a set of techniques to optimize the visibility of a website in search results. It is a major issue for companies that want to improve their visibility on the internet. In this article, we will give you 5 tips to improve your ranking and gain visibility on search engines.

1. Produce quality content

Content is a key element for SEO. Search engines attach great importance to the quality and relevance of content published on a website. It is therefore important to produce original, relevant and quality content to improve your SEO. The content must be structured, easy to read and to understand for the reader.

2. Work on your keywords

Keywords are terms or expressions that describe the content of your website. They allow search engines to understand the subject of your site and to display relevant results for Internet users. It is therefore important to choose your keywords well and to use them strategically in your content. It is also important not to abuse keywords to avoid being penalized by search engines.

3. Optimize the structure of your website

The structure of your website can have an important impact on your SEO. It is important to have a clear and easy-to-navigate site structure for Internet users. Search engines also place great importance on the structure of your website. It is therefore important to optimize the structure of your site by using meta tags, titles and descriptions for each page.

4. Use social media

Social media is a great way to promote your website and improve your SEO. By sharing your content on social media, you can attract new visitors to your website. Links shared on social media can also improve your SEO by increasing the number of links pointing to your website.

5. Assess your results

It is important to regularly monitor your SEO results to know if your efforts are paying off. Use analytics tools to track your traffic, search engine rankings and backlinks. These tools will allow you to know what is working and what is not and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

Improving your SEO is a long-term job that requires time and effort. By following these 5 tips, you can improve your SEO and gain visibility on search engines. Don’t forget that SEO is a constantly evolving field, so it’s important to stay on top of the latest trends and regularly update your strategy.