With about 90% of current internet users signed up on social networking sites, the overwhelming popularity of these platforms makes the concept one of the most influential on the internet. And we focus on helping you find the best social media to promote YouTube channels.
Social media has seen some interesting applications over the years. Individuals use it to keep in touch with members of their various communities, while businesses have focused on using the platforms for lead generation and marketing.
There are hundreds of social media applications. As a YouTuber, you can expand your channel’s reach by connecting with the audience on all these platforms. But many don’t know how to promote YouTube videos on social media. The secret is knowing your target crowd and having an appropriate social media marketing strategy to help you reach them.
With so many social media platforms available, it can be challenging to determine which ones are best suited for promoting your YouTube channel. In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of three popular social media networks – Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook – to help you make an informed decision about which platform(s) to use for promoting your YouTube channel, and get you an overview on how to promote your YouTube channel on social media.
Social Media Networks for Marketing YouTube Channels
YouTube users come from many other social media networks, with each platform having a unique characteristic contributing to its popularity.
You may want to direct your huge following on another network to your YouTube content or will like to generate new leads using these other platforms.
This section will look at the pros and cons of some platforms and how you can take advantage of them to promote your YouTube channel.
How to promote YouTube Channel on Instagram
Instagram is a great platform to visually promote your YouTube channel. You can create a dedicated Instagram account for your channel or use your personal account to showcase teasers, behind-the-scenes footage, and highlight clips from your videos. Make sure to use relevant hashtags, tag other creators or brands that you collaborate with, and post regularly to keep your followers engaged. You can also use Instagram Stories and Reels to share short previews or sneak peeks of your upcoming videos, and encourage your followers to check out your YouTube channel by adding a call-to-action to your captions or bio.
In its basic state, Instagram is a photo and video-sharing application. Additionally, one can do other things like upload short video snippets or stories, record live video sessions, etc. The possibilities with Instagram are only limited by the creative ability of the user.
But promoting your YouTube channel via Instagram may not be as easy as many perceive it. The common element of uploading video content on both platforms doesn’t simplify the audience’s conversion from one to the other.
An obvious difficulty that stems from the similarity between these social networks is redundancy. Why would anyone want to upload videos on YouTube when these videos are already receiving attention on Instagram and driving up the number of followers?
There are several reasons you would want to invest time and effort into YouTube promotion. Still, many will rather be comfortable succeeding than risk failure on another platform.
Pros
- With over 1 billion active users monthly, Instagram allows you to present your channel to an entirely different audience from those you target on YouTube.
- The engagement rate on Instagram is far higher than other social media networks. According to research by Socialinsider, the average rate of engagement on the network is about 4 times higher than on Facebook. You can transfer the interaction from Instagram to your YouTube channel.
Cons
- On Instagram, videos you upload are cut short when longer than 60 seconds. Captions are also limited to between 138 and 150 characters, limiting how much description you can give to a video. Your content from YouTube thus can’t be fully expressed on Instagram.
- Instagram posts do not support clickable links. Promoting your YouTube channel on the platform becomes difficult since your videos will be truncated, and you won’t be able to use links instead.
How to promote YouTube Channel on TikTok
TikTok is currently the fastest growing social media application, with about an 1157% increase in its global userbase from 2018 to 2020.
Users on this app create 15-second videos that they can share with viewers.
These are usually dance videos, comedy skits, challenges, hacks and rely heavily on sounds, filters, and special effects to make them attractive.
TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, and it’s a good place to promote your YouTube channel. Create short, engaging videos that showcase your personality and niche. Make sure to use relevant hashtags and music that’s popular on the platform, and include a link to your YouTube channel in your bio or captions. You can also collaborate with other TikTok creators or participate in trending challenges to reach a wider audience.
Despite all the amazing opportunities that TikTok offers, brands must be careful how they use the platform. Musicians may succeed exceptionally, but it may still be a risky domain for YouTube channels in other niches.
Pros
- The average person uses their mobile media apps for 47 minutes each day. The popularity of TikTok and its mobile-oriented design makes it an excellent marketing platform. You can take advantage of this to promote your YouTube channel to the most promising market currently available.
- TikTok has focused on young people since its inception. The statistics show that they have achieved this, with most users being in their early 20s or late teens. This makes it the best social media to promote YouTube channels to a young audience.
- The platform has become a hub for promoting music. Many songs have made the Billboard charts through TikTok trends. As a musician, this allows you to boost your songs and promote your music videos on YouTube.
Cons
- If your YouTube channel has an older target market, TikTok’s orientation toward young people will cause a conflict of audience.
- TikTok is mainly used for comic skits, so a business-oriented YouTube channel may get tagged as unprofessional if it uses the platform to promote its content.
How to promote YouTube Channel on Facebook
Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has become the most popular social media network globally, with about 1.2 billion monthly active users.
The number of users on the platform makes it suitable to reach as many people as possible within your brand’s niche.
Facebook may not be as popular with younger generations, but it’s still one of the largest social media platforms with a diverse audience. You can explore how to promote your YouTube channel on Facebook by creating a page for your channel, sharing your videos in relevant groups or communities, and running Facebook ads to reach new viewers. You can also post updates about your channel, share links to your videos, and engage with your followers by responding to comments and messages. Lastly, you can also leverage Facebook Live to create interactive Q&A sessions, interviews, or live streams that can promote your channel and engage with your followers in real-time.
Promoting your YouTube channel on Facebook will give it a huge boost, so it gets the proper attention. You can use it as a marketing funnel to direct traffic to your channel. This traffic can then be converted into sales or subscriptions.
Pros
- Facebook offers incredible reach for your YouTube channel. It opens it up to an additional 2 billion people, tripling your potential target market.
- The platform allows you to create and manage a community for your channel. Converting people in your community into subscribers becomes easier this way.
- Facebook offers better tracking and measurement capabilities, offering you improved analytics for the traffic you direct from there to your YouTube channel.
Cons
- Using video ads to reach a target audience on Facebook is quite expensive compared to other social media networks.
- Using Facebook as a funnel to promote your YouTube channel may require community engagement on both platforms. This requires more time and effort for effective management.
Which is the best social media to promote YouTube channels?
The different social media networks assessed in this article each have a particular characteristic they are best known for.
To determine which is best, you first establish your channel’s niche and develop a marketing strategy for promoting it. You can then select the social media platform that best complements this strategy.
If your marketing strategy focuses on reaching as many people as possible, you will consider using Facebook. For one aimed at capitalizing on engagement from your target audience, Instagram will be your best bet. TikTok is the best social media to promote YouTube channels if you have a mobile and youth-oriented strategy.
Wrapping Up
4.6 billion social media users mean that brands have the opportunity to promote their products and services to more than half of the world.
Knowing the best social media to promote YouTube channels and your brand has thus become an essential skill in the digital era. Each social media platform has its unique advantages and disadvantages when it comes to promoting a YouTube channel.
Instagram is an excellent option for reaching a new audience, but it may be challenging to convert followers into YouTube subscribers. TikTok is ideal for targeting a young audience and promoting music, but it may not be suitable for all niches. Finally, Facebook offers a vast audience and community-building opportunities, but it can be expensive to use video ads to reach your target audience. Ultimately, the best social media platform for promoting your YouTube channel will depend on your niche, audience, and marketing strategy.
Experienced marketing companies like Songlifty can also help you promote your YouTube channel on social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Although this alternative may come at a cost, it saves you a lot of time and effort and provides better assurance of results.