Figuring out the right way to promote your content can be challenging. You post on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, but don’t see an increase in views. Posting your video on your social channels seems to be the default promotion plan, but fortunately, there are lots of different ways to promote your content, like Community Forums.
There are many forums targeted towards YouTubers, including our very own TubeBuddy forum. It has over ten thousand registered members and is a very active community. However, there are rules you’d need to abide by. Here are a few things you need to know to properly use forums to promote your content.
It’s a Community Based Forum, Not a Place to Advertise
It can be very tempting to plaster your video and channel link all over the forum, but this is usually against the rules. A forum is a community, not an advertising platform. Similar to burn-in ads, people don’t like being forced to watch an ad that they didn’t sign up for.
When people register on forums, they don’t expect to be bombarded by advertisements from their fellow peers.
All YouTube creator-based forums follow YouTube’s terms of service. That means asking for sub4sub is against the rules and it can terminate your channel.
Begging for subscribers is discouraged, and it can hurt your reputation.
It also tends to be counterproductive – if other users on the forum see you as a beggar, they’ll be less likely to look at your channel.
Engaging in a community can be tedious for those who want instant success, but you can’t rely on luck alone. YouTube is an endurance run, not a short sprint. It’s about the relationships you build with your peers. You may not reap the benefit in the beginning, but by building a reputation, you are earning recognition.
For example, Justin Y has one of the most extensive channels with no uploaded videos. He has a loyal fanbase of over 400,000 subscribers and half of his playlists have over a million views. A lot of people recognize him by just looking at his avatar. Why is that? Because he interacts with the YouTube community and has gained notoriety.
How To Promote Properly In TubeBuddy’s Community Forum
Like most Communities, the TubeBuddy Community Forum has a few different boards and discussion threads to help better organize the conversations. There are some key spots within our community that are best suited to promote your channel and videos.
Promotion Area
Here you can post your videos to your heart’s content. Keep in mind that many others have the same mindset, so it can be challenging to garner views from people who are only here to promote and nothing else. The turnout could be different if you’ve built a reputation within the forum
Content Feedback
This is where you should head if you’re looking for specific feedback on your video. Remember that in order to get feedback, you’ll need to give some out first. Watching other people’s work with a critical mind can also help you with your creative process. Every created thread and post will be put into review before it becomes public. This is to ensure that everybody gets a fair audit and a thread with a self-review
Collaborations & Meetups
Another way to promote your content is through collaborations. There are a lot of creators just like you on the forum, and many of them keep their eyes on this section. Cross-promotion is an effective strategy in growing your channel. By sharing audiences with each other, you open a floodgate for potential subscribers from the other channels. YouTube loves it when you keep viewers within its platform, and it would be more likely to share these collab videos.
Milestones & Accomplishments
hen you reach a goal that you’ve set for yourself, don’t be shy and inform the community. In this section, many people love to showcase their achievements and encourage others on their road to YouTube success. They may even check out your channel to learn from your accomplishments.
YouTube has its fair share of hurdles to try and pass, but it isn’t an impossible journey. There are plenty of different community platforms, all with their own unique and familiar residents, for you to establish your presence and promote your content.
TubeBuddy’s forum is a great place to start! You can find like-minded individuals to bounce ideas with or learn from. There are even experts like Nick Nimmin himself lurking around the forum. We strive to keep a positive and helpful community, so come join and be a part of TubeBuddy!
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