*Editor’s note: Links to TubeBuddy are affiliate links and we earn kickbacks if you happen to purchase their service(s).
TubeBuddy has quickly become one of my favorite tools for promoting and marketing my YouTube channel(s).
I recently released a music video so (with a bootstrapped budget) I have been looking for creative ways to squeeze time in each day for good ‘ole fashioned grassroots promo. I am also running ad campaigns on FB and YouTube (currently at $1.00 per day for testing purposes); I will be sharing my insights and results with you from those campaigns but back to TubeBuddy…
Here’s a list of features, then I will share my favorite two:
- Bulk Annotation Copy – copy annotations across all or select videos.
- Thumbnail Generator – generate the “perfect” thumbnail to help generate more clicks and views.
- Tag Explorer – discover popular and trending Tags related to the content in your videos.
- Bulk Find and Replace – find, replace, and append text across all your videos.
- Subscribers Export – export your subscribers as a list (CSV) including social profiles & info.
- Bulk Card Copying – automate process of copying Cards on some or all of your videos.
- Unlimited Upload Defaults – YouTube provides us with 1 upload default setting; TubeBuddy gives you unlimited.
- Comment Filters – hide what you don’t need to see; reply and filter through comments faster.
- Copy Video Tags – copy Tags from your videos or your competitor’s videos.
- Bulk Video Promotion – auto-replace content areas inside your video descriptions for promotion purposes.
- Featured Video Selection – easily promote your newest uploads.
- Social Sharing & Tracking – share outside YouTube and track the networks you share to.
- Canned Responses – welcome new subscribers using pre-written messages.
- Advanced Video Embedding – quick access to your video embeds with advanced options.
- Integrated Channel Data – access to StatFire and SocialBlade data directly inside YouTube.
- Community Connect – easily contact people who have commented on videos via YT, G+ or Twitter.
TubeBuddy also encourages their users to submit new ideas for new features as well as suggestions to improve current ones.
Now that you know what TubeBuddy can do, you must know that you can connect 1 YouTube channel for Free and use limited features. As a TubeBuddy Insider you can pay $5/month (discount if you pay annually) to receive full access to all the features. You can also connect up to 5 YouTube channels.
Below is a screenshot of the TubeBuddy Dashboard. It is a browser extension that loads when you are using YouTube.
Onward to my two favorite features (that I am using for free).
Message Subscribers
When you are in YouTube’s Dashboard on the Subscribers page (under Community in left-side menu) TubeBuddy inserts a message button which quickly allows you to click, choose a canned response (pre-written message), and send it to your subscribers.
Even more, TubeBuddy adds a Status column with a dot, either gray or green. This dot tells you if and when you last contacted each of your subscribers.
A column for Social is also added; when you click View, any social networks connected to that specific YouTube channel are displayed allowing you to quickly connect with subscribers outside YouTube.
The screenshot below provides us with a visual.
This one feature has saved so much time in my daily marketing and has added a new layer of engagement to my efforts that was non-existent previously.
The screenshot below displays the Messaging screen. The free account allows you to save one canned response which you can see in the image.
You will want to be aware that YouTube implements limits just like Twitter and Instagram. You do not want to send your 1 canned response to too many people too fast. YouTube’s system will flag you for spamming. Repeated flags will get you suspended or terminated from YouTube.
In the case of my music, I am always looking at Tags from popular bands and artists who receive a lot of traffic and engagement from the type of fans I think will like my music.
Since YouTube is a search engine, Tags are an important factor in trying to get your videos to rank and display in searches relevant to your genre. Cover artists who receive a lot of views and engagement are taking advantage of YouTube’s search engine by using the names and song titles of popular artists in their Video Titles, Descriptions and Tags.
Tag Explorer
My second favorite feature is the Tag Explorer which allows you to view and copy tags from any video on YouTube. Screenshot below.
The TubeBuddy Icon (next to …More) is a drop-down menu with the following options:
- Promote This Video
- Bulk Copy Annotations
- Share Tracker
- Advanced Embed
- Social Monitor (beta)
Summary
I am going to continue using TubeBuddy for the next few months to get a better idea of how effective (or even if) my strategies are working.
So far TubeBuddy has proven itself a valuable tool simply for the amount of time it saves. Before I found TubeBuddy, I was spending minimal time marketing on YouTube. Instead, I have been heavily promoting my videos outside YouTube. Over the last couple of weeks I have been spending more and more time on YouTube and less time in other places.
However, I need more time to experiment as well as a chance to work on a few projects outside my genre. Once I have gathered and analyzed more data I’ll be back with an update.
Until then, feel free to try TubeBuddy for yourself.