I love the idea of leveraging other social media platforms to boost my YouTube channel, well it can be through my Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit account, or my photo and video sharing platforms like Instagram. The more I promote my videos on these social media the more I have seen the growth of my YouTube channel. So, how do I promote my YouTube channel through Instagram? Well, below I have discussed some possible tactics to your query i.e. how to promote YouTube channel on Instagram.
In this article, I have only discussed Instagram social media platform. Instagram can be your best social media to promote YouTube channel. Instagram is not like other social media platforms such as Reddit or Facebook where you can share your YouTube video directly with lots of different groups comprised of thousands of people. So how can you promote your YouTube channel on Instagram then?
Well to answer this question, let’s discuss some effective ways or strategies, by which you can definitely uplift your YouTube channel.
How to promote YouTube channel on Instagram – 7 tactics
Before heading towards the strategies, you should know some basic stuff or features of Instagram. Such as Instagram feed (post), Instagram stories, Instagram Direct messages, Instagram live streams, and Instagram Reels. You can take leverage from these features to promote your YouTube channel.
Now let’s discussed these features one by one with some other points. You should also embrace these points to promote your YouTube channel on Instagram.
Following are some tips that you should use to get more YouTube subscribers and views –
1. Optimization-
Before doing anything, your first task should be to optimize your both Instagram and YouTube profiles. You should set the same picture profile for both Instagram and for your YouTube channel. This way you have some sort of recognition over your both accounts and add a catchy, informative Instagram bio for YouTube channel and add your YouTube link to it.
The second task should be to optimize your videos with perfect Instagram aspect ratios. When you are about to post something to Instagram, you have to keep in mind the aspect ratio, because if you don’t then your content may lead to crop out.
In Instagram, different features have different aspect ratio requirements to display a video without any cut. Such as- for Instagram feed the best aspect ratio is between 16:9 to 4:5. And for both Instagram stories and reels, the perfect aspect ratio for a video is 9:16. On the other hand, the aspect ratio of your Instagram reel cover photo will be 1:1 and 4:5 for the Instagram home feed.
2. Use Hashtags –
One of the effective ways to promote your YouTube channel on Instagram is by using hashtags. The use of effective hashtags can really drive the audience towards your YouTube channel. Not only just your followers will see your post but also other people may see your post. If you use effective hashtags then the Instagram algorithm will recommend your video or picture to the other users also.
But you need to use the right hashtags in your captions or in comments that are related to your YouTube niche. But there is some limitation to using hashtags like only you can add a maximum of 30 hashtags in your Instagram post as well as your Instagram reels. Or in the case of Instagram stories, it is 10.
3. Take Advantage Of Instagram posts –
Instagram posts can be both photos and videos, that are displayed in the main feed, they will stay there as long as you have the account. You can post unlimited pictures and videos, but you can only publish 10 images at a time.
When someone looks at your Instagram feed they will know what kind of post you usually published. If the person likes your content then he will follow you for more great content. So, try to post as much as related to your YouTube niche. This way the audience may be more inclined to see what else you have to talk about the particular niche on your Youtube channel.
Also, before posting content when you write the captions and add hashtags; try to mention your YouTube channel URL in a natural way, so the audience doesn’t think that you are just promoting your YouTube channel.
4. Take Advantage Of Instagram stories –
Another effective feature of Instagram is called Instagram stories. So, how to promote YouTube channel on Instagram story? Instagram stories can be different types as they can be a boomerang, graphics, photos, or videos.
You can add unlimited stories to your profile but there is a time limitation, In Instagram stories, images will be displayed only for 5 seconds, and in the case of a video story, it will be 15 seconds. and this will last only for 24 hours unless you add them to your highlights.
People often share stories describing their present situations. Insta story ideas like what is he/she doing right now, behind the scenes of some projects that he is working on now, the tip of the day. So, the audience or your follower have got a quick snapshot.
You can take advantage of this feature by taking small clips from the video that you are currently working on and merging them into a story, so that audience knows that your video is coming soon. Also, add the countdown feature as a reminder that is available on Instagram to aware them of when it will be released on the YouTube platform.
Sometimes YouTube’s notification bell does not always work, but when people turn on that countdown notification Instagram will actually send them a notification when that countdown has ended and then people will know that your YouTube video is published.
If your Instagram profile is crossed 10000 followers, then Instagram will allow you to use the ‘Swipe’ feature in stories, where you put your YouTube channel link. But if you don’t have the necessary 10000 followers then make sure your YouTube link is mentioned in your Instagram bio.
5. Take Advantage Of Instagram Reels –
The latest feature of Instagram is Reels, their algorithms help your reels to reach a wider audience, and that basically means by applying some strategies you can drive lots of traffic to your YouTube channel.
You can make a reel up to 60 seconds of duration as they are micro short-form videos. Apart from this length, you can also make 15-second or 30-second lengths of the reel. You can fully utilize this short time duration to attract an audience to your YouTube channel.
Try to make a video that is related to your main YouTube video and post it on the Instagram reel, make sure you create this reel in a way that the reel catches the audience’s attention and wants to see the full-length video. Also, try to tell the exact location where he can find the YouTube URL in a natural way on the screen itself.
Let’s understand this by an example if your channel is about painting and your video is about drawing the “Mona Lisa” then you can show some progress in your reel, but don’t show the outcome or the final drawing, let the audience keep curious.
If the audience really loves your drawing progress by seeing the reel then eventually he will go to your YouTube channel to see the full video through the YouTube link that you already put on in the bio section or in the caption.
6. Take Advantage of live streams –
Another effective way to promote your YouTube is by using Instagram live feature. It will be more effective when you have a handful of followers. By coming to live you can talk about your upcoming YouTube video and when it will be released, and a short brief about your video. And also asked your followers politely to share the link among their family and friends. This way you can earn extra views and subscribers.
7. Direct messages –
Direct messaging is another feature of Instagram where you can promote your YouTube channel. If you are just starting to use Instagram and have small followers then you can directly message them one by one.
However, if you have a large number of followers then it is very difficult to DM them personally, and that’s where Instagram group chats come into play. You can create Instagram group chats where you can add your followers, it will be best if you add people who are working in the same niche as you. In one group you can add up to 32 people at the moment. That’s how you can promote your YouTube channel.
Conclusion –
Above mentioned tactics of how to promote YouTube channel on Instagram can do it with free of cost. You can promote your YouTube channel by using the above-mentioned tactics without any cost. However, for better engagement and reach of your YouTube video or channel, you can run ads. For running ads you need an Instagram business account and also need to spend some money to run your ads. If you have any suggestions regarding the promotion of the YouTube channel through Instagram then please feel free to comment down below.
Great overview of Instagram. Many features I don’t utilize enough