After working with over 200 channels and gaining more than 5 billion views on YouTube, we’ve seen it all! Through this process, we’ve discovered the most common YouTube mistakes brands make on this platform.
In this post, we’re highlighting the top 5 mistakes you need to avoid, and sharing what to do instead.
We’ll kick it off with an obvious one, something that if left unchecked, will leave you with a ZERO percent chance of success… 👇🏼
Does your brand need help creating a YouTube Strategy? That’s what we do!
5 Mistakes To Avoid on YouTube
No direction
Making videos without knowing what you want to achieve or who you’re making them for is like playing darts with spaghetti noodles – messy and unlikely to hit the mark. 🎯 This is among the most common YouTube mistakes we see.
If your channel is having a hard time getting of the ground, the first thing to do is take a step back and figure out who you want watching your videos. Then determine what your content should be about. Ask yourself what those intended viewers really want to see from you.
Having a plan helps you know what content to create, and how you can best add your unique value to each video.
Thumbnails that don’t inspire the click
First impressions matter on YouTube. Thumbnails that fail to stand out and peak curiosity will highly limit the chances of your video being watched.
An uninspiring thumbnail is like a book with a bland cover, often passed over for something more interesting.
To fix this, start spending more time on your thumbnail designs. Better yet, make 2 or 3 variants to split test! This will give you a much better shot at creating something that actually gets clicked.
For example, let’s look at this thumbnail we created for our client, The Novus Center, a sexual wellness clinic. This thumbnail has a 9.4% CTR, and that’s because it’s simple, generates curiosity, and communicates the idea of the video effectively. Ask yourself if your thumbnails are checking those boxes, too.
Thumbnails also shouldn’t be the very last thing you think about before uploading. Start thinking about your thumbnail as you’re outlining your video idea and writing the script. This helps make sure it doesn’t just become a rushed annoying task holding you back from hitting publish.
Remember, thumbnails need to be both visually interesting and clearly communicate what the video is going to be about. We like to use the 3 element rule: one protagonist, one context support, one detail.
Boring Videos
Well duh, seems obvious right? You would think so, but even giants like Costco can miss the mark. Their videos often get less than 500 views and their whole channel has only gotten 36,000 views in the last month, despite having 3000 videos on the channel!
Picture this: Costco ditches their boring recipe videos for lively, entertaining infomercials about unique products. They could use charismatic hosts who engage the audience and help the content go from mundane to memorable.
Even if your videos are more educational, adding some personality and elements of entertainment can go a long way.
The goal is to create videos that viewers find both helpful and entertaining, making them look forward to your next upload.
Caring about vanity metrics
Brands come to us all the time with specific goals of hitting 10,000 or 50,000 or a million subscribers. But they fail to mention metrics like CTR, APV, number of engagements, and many other metrics which are actually much better indicators of how your channel is performing.
In fact, we made a whole other video about this very topic, showing which metrics you should actually focus on in 2024. 👇🏼
Shift your attention towards the metrics that matter, as well as the content quality and value you’re providing. The views and subscribers will follow.
Ignoring the ‘You’ in YouTube
This is a platform that thrives on personal connection and community building. Brands that fail at this will always see their content underperform.
You need to find a way to add a personal touch to your content. This could be through sharing insider stories, responding to comments, or adding a personable host to your videos.
Take the Mr. Clean YouTube channel for example. You have a charismatic mascot in Mr. Clean, but the whole channel is mostly just ads or sub 30 second videos. This video released 9 years ago has more personality than all their other videos released in the last year combined… bring back more sexy time!
On the other hand, take our client GitHub. They have an engaging host for a news series that the audience actually looks forward to and interacts with in the comments.
Building a relationship with your audience is essential. It’s what turns casual viewers into loyal followers.
Wrap up
With these common YouTube mistakes and examples in mind, your brand now has the best shot at avoiding these downfalls and finding success on YouTube.
And if you want to go even deeper into improving your audience retention and keeping viewers engaged, check out this YouTube video next.
