The Rotor Blog

Get More YouTube Views to Your Music Video

Mastering YouTube for musicians is tricky. Here are 5 steps to get youtube subscribers and more fan engagement.

If your music video is struggling to get the hits it deserves, you’re not alone. It’s an issue which every up-and-coming artist has had to deal with. There are over a billion users on YouTube, so the potential is huge – but how do you get your music video noticed and get higher fan engagement? Thankfully, there are a few insider hints and tips that can give your view count a healthy boost. Here’s how to get more YouTube views to your music video.

Create an Artist’s Channel

Before you do anything, you need a channel. It needs to look sleek and professional. Don’t get lazy with the style of your YouTube channel, this should be a representation of you and your music. Think about it as if it were your own website with your own unique style. If you can, keep it consistent with any social media, Bandcamp or Soundcloud profiles you have.

There are a few things to remember when creating a channel:

High quality cover art
Links to social media, Bandcamp, Soundcloud or any other sites
Relevant logo or profile pic
An engaging description that talks about yourself and your music
Contact details

Important dimensions for YouTube channel images:

Cover art – 2560 x 1440 pixels
Cover art safe area – 1546 x 423 pixels at centre of image
Channel icon – 800 x 800 pixels

Get Your Music Videos Found

There’s a lot to remember when uploading a video to YouTube. A lot of users overlook the importance of tagging, title and description but these are crucial to being found in YouTube searches. Follow our steps below and your video will have the best chance of getting seen and growing your fanbase.

Create a Sweet Title

Your title is probably the name of your song. Does it have your name in there too? Have you collaborated with any other musician? Make sure they’re mentioned as well. If people search your name or the title of your song, your video should be first in the results. Give this a little thought when picking a name for your vid.

Add a Few Tags

Tags will help your video show up in YouTube’s suggested music video section. Throw in plenty of relevant tags. This should include the genre and sub-genre of music you’ve produced as well as a few important keywords related to your video. Try to include between 8 and 12 tags if possible.

Write a Sleek Description

A lot of up-and-coming artists ignore the video description. Put aside five minutes and write a few lines about your vid and your music. Introduce yourself as an artist, write about the type of tunes you produce and give a little insight into the making of the video too.

Don’t forget to add a few links back to your social media pages or other sites in your description. Ask people to follow you or check out your site if they like your tunes.

Choose an Exciting Thumbnail

The thumbnail of your video needs to look awesome. It’s what’s going to get people clicking. If it’s boring, people won’t watch it. Pick the most eye-catching pic you can.

Video thumbnails should be 1280 x 780 pixels.

Include a Few Annotations

If you add some annotations to your vid, you’ll see a jump in engagement. It’ll boost your view count on other videos, entice people to click through to other sites and also give your YouTube subscribers figures a jump.

These are some of the most common uses of annotations:

Allow viewers to skip ahead
Suggest other videos viewers may like
Link to your social media, website, Soundcloud, etc.
Ask viewers to subscribe

When creating annotations, keep them small, close to the borders and transparent – bad annotations can put a lot of people off.

Build Some Playlists

Playlists can be a great tool for getting your music videos out there. Group together a collection of similar tracks and build a playlist your fans will love. If you’ve got lots of videos on your YouTube channel, playlists can be a helpful way of organising your content.

Share Your Music Videos Everywhere!

Once you’ve uploaded a video, don’t leave it on your channel to get dusty. Share it everywhere you possibly can. Don’t just do this once – share it as often as you can get away with. Get your friends sharing it too. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, your website or in an email to your Nan. Your friends, family and followers should all know about your latest vid!

When sharing on Twitter and Instagram, remember to use relevant hashtags to get as much exposure as you can.

Make Awesome Videos!

No matter which way you look at it, having an awesome music video is the most important step to getting Youtube views. Irrelevant of how great your tunes are, the music video will help or hinder your popularity.

Thankfully, this is why we’re here. You don’t have to be an expert at production to make seamless videos. Our platform will help you get the professional music videos you need without breaking the bank or wasting precious time and effort. Our videos are super simple to make and ultra-stylish. Find out how to make your own promotional video here!