How To Find Success Using YouTube with Jamar Diggs

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This episode is presented by Instil, a nonprofit platform built to leverage the power of modern technology to help nonprofits do their best work. Instil holistically manages supporters including donors, members, and volunteers to deepen nonprofit connections with their community, increase revenue, and maximize impact. Learn more here.

Did you know YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world? And yet many of us aren’t taking full advantage of it.

That’s why my YouTube Coach Jamar Diggs is here to share why YouTube’s evergreen search strategy works for ANY organization, how to draft intentional content for the platform, and one of the key foundations for success.

We also talk about the power of utilizing chapters, YouTube shorts, what metrics to measure, and why you need to pay attention to low competition keywords when titling your videos.

If you’re ready to learn how to take your YouTube channel to the next level, this episode will give you the inspiration to get started!

YouTube isn’t really a social media channel

I remember when I first dug into the backend of my Google Analytics to see how much of my website traffic was actually coming from YouTube. At the time, I wasn’t uploading videos consistently and didn’t have a specific keyword strategy.

Lo and behold, I was shocked to find out that the visitors who converted from YouTube were incredibly high quality. They spent 5x longer on my website, and my bounce rate hovered around 50% or less. Crazy!

That was the moment I realized that I needed to take waaaay more stock into YouTube.

Jamar says we shouldn’t think of YouTube as a social media platform – yes, there’s a comments section and they have a community tab, but we really need to think of it as a search engine first.

And once someone finds the valuable content that you’re offering? Direct them to your website so they can join your email list or take action on your cause.

YouTube foundations you need to have in place for success

So if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and invest quality time and energy into your YouTube strategy, Jamar has several helpful tips.

Start with your expertise first, and ignore what everyone else is doing! Start out with a list of topics that surround what you’re good at and known for. 

Compelling thumbnails and a well-crafted title with low search competition are also critical and should stand out on their own. When someone is searching for something, that combination of things can help them validate that they’re in the right place and should click on your video.

And don’t forget about chapters! Chapters will boost your viewer retention significantly by breaking up long videos into clickable sections. For example, let’s say you repurpose a longer webinar by uploading it to YouTube. Maybe your listener wants just one specific question answered without having to watch the entire video – now they can easily jump to that part of the video that answers it.

The best markers for the success of a video

Open your video with a powerful hook before introducing yourself. This way you’re solidifying your authority and expertise before diving in (and newsflash? The very beginning of a video is what will make or break your viewer duration!) 

In the middle, you can pause briefly to encourage listeners to subscribe or leave a comment, and then tie up your video at the end with a call to action.

When you’re measuring the success of your videos, which metrics actually matter?

• Average Viewer Duration: how long is someone watching your video? What is the percentage, and what can you do to get that number even higher?
• Traffic Sources: where are your viewers actually coming from? Is your video ranking for your chosen keywords? Is it being suggested or recommended?
• Clickthrough Rates: what percentage of your viewers are clicking over to your website or lead magnet?

If a video is not performing well, don’t trash the video. Consider making an adjustment to the title or to your thumbnail. 

Above all else, Jamar reminds us to not stress ourselves out by uploading more than one video a week, especially if you’re just starting out.

Jamar’s Ask

Jamar would love for us to donate to our local LGBTQ center in our area. Jamar donates to LGBT Life Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

Notable Quotes from Jamar

“When we’re up on Instagram and other social media platforms, it’s not really controlled by a user’s intent. It’s really used for you to scroll and be engaged and to stay on the app for as long as possible. YouTube has that same kind of functionality, but they want you to watch more YouTube videos. When it comes to my strategy, our job is to get them hooked into you, and then make the next step obvious, that is to get onto your email list or do that next thing off of YouTube.”

“You can go as big and bad as you want, but are you going to sustain that? If you’re at the very beginning stages, just cut out your mistakes and then upload it – it’s fine. It doesn’t have to be this influencer-worthy thing.”

Resources & Links

Learn more about Jamar’s YouTube strategy and management services on his website. You can also follow him on YouTube and on Instagram at @jamardiggs. Jamar also recommends Filmora for inexpensive video editing software.

See the video Jamar and I referenced in this conversation, How to Get Donors for a Nonprofit Organization With Social Media Ads in 2022.

Jamar’s favorite YouTuber is Jonna Jinton, a Swedish artist, musician, and filmmaker.

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