What to Do in 2023 to Promote Your Music on YouTube [New]

2 billion plus users. In 2023, YouTube will have that many users, making it the second-largest and most widely used social media network in the world (after Facebook). Not to mention that it is owned by Google, the most popular website on the internet, so that’s another factor.

Even YouTube itself has added features that make it a crucial tool for musicians and artists who want to promote themselves, such as YouTube for Artists, a built-in analytics section, and customised profile settings. Why then would a singer not wish to benefit from this form of promotion? It would be foolish of you not to. And since you are reading this, we know you are not the foolish type.

12 strategies To promote your music on YouTube

Well, the use of video and images has grown significantly because of its capacity to help listeners engage with a song more quickly and deeply. Also, every time someone watches your music video, you can get compensated.

Why are videos so crucial for spreading the word about your music?

Moreover, keep in mind that Ditto can get your music videos on Vevo, giving you an even better chance to generate views, interaction, and additional potential royalties from individuals who watch your videos.

These are 12 tried-and-true strategies to promote your music on YouTube visual presence and promoting your music.

1. Optimize your online profile.

First impressions matter. Big-time.

By taking the time to ensure that your YouTube channel is attractive and well-presented, you can get off to a strong start.

Here is our helpful list that goes through the essentials.

Your channel offers:

– A YouTube banner image that is well-designed and the right size.

– Excellent profile pictures or logos

– Content that is organised well, such as content that is divided into playlists or themed sections for particular types of videos (such as “official music videos,” “official remixes,” and “live performances”).

– Links to your official website and social media accounts

-A clear description of your goals and artistic voice in the “About” portion of your page, as well as any hashtags that might aid the algorithm in finding your channel.

– High-quality thumbnails, either ones that YouTube suggests or ones that you’ve yourself made using programmes like Canva and Adobe

Becky Hill’s channel satisfies all the standards, as you can see below.

Banner, profile picture, and social media links

Streamlined channel design and excellent thumbnails

The quality of your on-screen aesthetic can make the difference between viewers choosing to stay on your channel and take a look around and viewers walking out the door before they’ve even set foot inside.

2. Get the word out

You shouldn’t neglect your social media approach just because you’re attempting to build an audience on YouTube.

Instead, you should use online organisations and communities as a way to communicate with others who have different interests from your own.

On websites like SoundCloud & Reddit, there are a few of the most well-liked online community groups for musicians. You may join subreddits on Reddit, for instance, that are especially related to the genre or kind of music you prefer, as well as more generic ones like ‘r/listen to this.

Consider the value you could bring to these group dynamics. Does your video discuss any subjects or ideas that are pertinent to this crowd or community? If it does, that’s fantastic! Upload your video, invite others to watch it, and don’t forget to provide a captivating thumbnail.

Additionally, this entails being present on all significant social media channels in order to broaden your audience, drum up excitement for new initiatives or releases, post your music videos, and more.

Also, you may split your music video into segments that can be used as teaser content for your social media accounts. These segments can be as brief as a 15-second Instagram story or a 30-second Facebook post.

Here’s an illustration from Justin Bieber, who released a preview for his music video for the 2012 song “Boyfriend” on both his official YouTube and his social media accounts.

This gives viewers a sneak peek at your video, which will heighten interest and encourage them to visit your YouTube page to watch the entire thing when it’s released.

3. Engage comparable channels.

Engaging and interacting with other channels that are similar to yours is one of the key strategies to increase channel engagement.

To effectively market oneself, you cannot do it nonstop. To enhance the value of your own service, you need other people—people with whom you can collaborate.

The channels who publish comparable music to yours and have subscribers are the ones to target because you’ve essentially located your target market!

By discovering channels that play your style of music and take their content seriously, you can establish a network with other musicians on the platform.

You may do this by simply looking up similar musicians or musical styles on YouTube.

If your music has a Lana Del Rey vibe, for example, search for YouTube channels that focus on indie dream wave or musicians who sound similar to Lana Del Rey.

There are a tonne of channels that play that style of music.

After that, you can start like and commenting on YouTube videos by related artists. Create a few truly noteworthy remarks that will make you stand out to YouTube fans and other artists. Also, if your remark goes viral, it can be pinned to the top of that particular video, giving your channel prominent viewing position!

ADVICE: To engage with a channel’s social feed, leave comments on the community tab!

But don’t go to bed alone! You must cover every inch of ground. It entails starting discussions in the video comments section. There is always a discussion to be had, whether the videos are new or old.

4. Plan your video content.

Have a consistent upload schedule so that your followers and subscribers know when to look for new videos from you.

It’s not about uploading videos everywhere; just the reverse, in fact.

Overdelivering is preferable to underdelivering. Hence, avoid scheduling yourself to release three videos a week, miss two of them because you were on tour, and then hurt and disappoint your audience by missing a deadline.

You have complete control over how frequently you post videos. To prevent viewers from leaving as they wait for your new video release or wonder if your channel is still active, it’s a good idea to update at least once a month.

As you can see, Lil Nas X continuously posts to his YouTube page every three to four weeks, never leaving his followers wondering when his next video will be released.

A good general rule of thumb is to post at the busiest periods of the day to ensure that your videos are seen by as many people as possible, especially if you have listeners in several time zones. If you posted your newest video late at night or on a Friday when they are out having fun, you can’t really blame your followers for not watching it!

But, you should go to your channel’s “Analytics” tab if you want to actually successfully customise your release schedule to your audience. You can then see a breakdown of the times when the majority of people watch your videos. The days and hours that you’ll schedule in your videos can subsequently be determined using this information. Practical, no?

5. Provide captivating video material

You shouldn’t use your YouTube channel as a simple track archive. More action is required than that.

Any stuff that will benefit your music and your followers’ viewing experience should be included, especially content that helps them get to know you better.

To organise the content on your channel and the kinds of videos you’ll promote, come up with a few content ideas in advance.

Here are some suggestions to get you going:

– Q&A and meeting sessions

– Live streaming video

– Teasers and making-of videos

The analogy to use is many videos, one song if you’re really at a loss for words.

How do we interpret this?

For each of your tracks, you may, however, create at least 2-4 videos by simply reusing the original material.

Include things like lyric videos, collaborations, acoustic/acapella/remix versions, and official song releases.

Powerhouse of pop music Ed Sheeran is a great example of how to reuse content by creating remixes and acoustic performances to stretch it further.

However, he also has individually selected stuff including behind-the-scenes footage and his version of YouTube shorts, #SheeranShorts…

YouTubers and other artists are always coming up with fresh and imaginative ways to produce compelling material. So take note and give it a shot.

6. Discover your audience (or steal it from someone else!)

It’s doubtful that you’ll have a strong enough subscription or fan base when you’re just getting started to provide you the kind of exposure you seek. So you’ll need to construct one.

Thinking about where individuals who enjoy and listen to your style of music hang out online or offline is one way to find your audience or your niche.

Consider online and offline communities, social media platforms, etc. Contact them directly or email them a link to your channel and a kind remark asking them to check out your content instead!

Because pinching someone else’s has nothing shady about it. The majority of the time, growing an audience involves appealing to already-existing listeners of popular music.

Doing a cover video of a popular song by an artist with a large following has historically been one of the most popular ways for artists to achieve this.

Boyce Avenue is one example of a band that became well-known after posting renditions of songs by Oasis, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Avril Lavigne from the 1990s.

In actuality, people seldom ever pay attention to new artists. Sometimes (sad but true! ), it takes that artist to perform a song by their all-time favourite performer before they simply sit up and take notice.

7. Utilize SEO for YouTube

In plain English, SEO, often known as “Search Engine Optimization,” is the process of incorporating words and phrases that viewers search for into your video content.

You almost certainly will receive more views and admirers if you capitalise on what others are searching for.

Start using Ahrefs’ free keyword research tool!

You may use keywords to your advantage on YouTube by…

– Include search terms and keywords in the video’s title

– Making use of search terms and keywords in the video description

– Utilizing tags like “independent music” or “indie” can assist convey what your video is about

Just keep in mind that while some keywords may have a large search volume, they may also have a lot of competition when picking which ones to target. It’s preferable to go for less popular keywords to increase the likelihood that people will notice your video.

Songs with generic names like “Love Song” or “Heartbreak Song” are extremely competitive because they are overused. Try to be a little more creative.

Even if you don’t modify the song’s actual lyrics when you upload it to YouTube, you might want to think about changing the song’s name if you’ve already chosen the title (it’s legal, we swear!).

In addition to Ahrefs, TubeBuddy includes a tonne of fantastic free SEO capabilities and tells you exactly what your videos need to be optimised to the fullest.

8. Research current trends

Profit from prevailing trends that go together with your musical taste and your philosophy.

Only one highly popular video could result in a large fanbase expansion. So the next time anything interesting occurs, make a music video about it. You’d be astonished at how much creative freedom you can still have when utilising a trend.

You can find out what’s popular online by using Google Trends, or you can use YouTube Trends to see what’s popular on that particular site.

Perhaps you’re capitalising on a recent crocs craze (nice). That does not imply that you must literally describe a pair of crocs in your song lyrics. You may compose a song on what they evoke in terms of nostalgia and happy memories from your youth, for instance.

Fads and trends come and go, but the quick attention you could obtain from capitalising on a transient fad can actually have a lasting effect.

9. Analyze your data

Learn who is watching your video, where they are watching it from, and for how long.

These numbers can then be used to determine which of your videos is the most popular, after which you can aim to create material that is similar to that video.

You may access YouTube’s built-in analytics section from the “YouTube Studio” portion of your profile on YouTube.

You can get a wide variety of helpful reports that will provide you all the knowledge you need to make tactical judgements about video marketing. information on:

– Watch duration

– Sources of traffic

– Audience statistics

– Places for playback

– Rates of audience retention

– Subscription fees

10. Include CTAs in your videos.

A “Call To Action” (CTA) is a means to encourage viewers to take a specific action before, during, or after your video.

It doesn’t matter if you ask them to view another video that’s similar to this one, increase YouTube subscribe to your channel so they never miss a new video, or direct them to your official website instead.

They might appear as:

during the video, a pop-up

the description bar’s link

A URL is provided after the video.

11. Work along with influencers and other YouTubers

It’s a good idea to start working with YouTubers who aren’t necessarily artists in their own profession but are instead influential musicians in the creative video industry, much like it is to network with other musicians on the platform.

Look for TikTok creators or YouTube reaction video accounts that critique other people’s music or video material.

Find out whether they would be willing to host one of your videos, publish a link to your channel someplace, or give your video a review. If it’s a popular channel, that’s incredibly wonderful exposure. And if they enjoy your music, they’ll probably perform it without charge!

An illustration of this is the TikTok creator @bakuriftu, whose regular material consists of a variety of new artists, music spotlights, sample breakdowns, and record evaluations of new music.

Influencers like this guy, who have more than 92K followers and 2.2M likes, are becoming the tastemakers in modern music.

In order to trade traffic with these major creatives, connecting with the proper people can be done for little to no cost.

12. Sponsored YouTube Ads

All of the strategies we’ve discussed up until this point have been natural, or organic ways to expand your audience (all hard work, 0 dollar bills).

And even if organic tactics have been quite successful, we can’t discount the usefulness of employing YouTube paid advertising as a potent weapon for self-promotion on the site.

You may make the most of YouTube’s amazing targeting tools and the cash you set aside for this function.

If you haven’t done so before, you can begin by creating a Google AdWords account.

Test the waters first with a modest spending limit. Observe what kind of response you get, and then utilise that information to create the fundamental ad strategy you’ll employ to improve your visibility on the site. It all comes down to trying out several formats to find which ones are most effective at promoting your music.