• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, August 6, 2013

The number of views for brand-created content on YouTube is growing 73% year over year, which means both that brands are comfortable marketing on the world’s biggest site -- but also that competing for share of voice will get harder as YouTube grows more crowded.

Already the top 100 brands have staked their claim on YouTube, and on average they’re publishing about 78 videos per month. Bear in mind that media companies are producing the bulk of the new videos, however most of the top 100 brands have a strong presence on YouTube, according to a just-released report from Pixability, a marketing and advertising software firm focused on YouTube marketing.

YouTube is a valuable marketing venue in part because of the long shelf life of content. A video generates about 40% of its total views in the first three weeks, another 30% through twelve weeks, and the final third through the life of the video.

However, the biggest challenge many large brands face is that they spend more energy on video production and not enough on marketing. Case in point: More than half of the videos produced by the top 100 global brands have less than 1000 views. So, how can brands on YouTube generate a respectable amount of views for the long haul?  Pixability analyzed the top global 100 brands to develop a set of best practices.

-  Use social media. At first blush, this seems obvious. But many brands don’t use social media to its full potential. However, brands that link Facebook and Twitter to their social media have more views. Pixability said the top 25% of brands (based on views) had much higher Facebook and Twitter sharing than brands with fewer views, suggesting that social media plays a vital role in driving views.

-  Produce a range of videos. Short-form videos are great for the top-of-the-funnel marketing, while longer videos can help customers who are closer to buying and want more information.

-  Be regular. The most popular YouTube brands produce 50% more videos per channel than the least successful ones, but they also produce regularly, generatings about 78 videos per month.

- Optimize. YouTube is a huge search engine, and brands should utilize search engine optimization tactics, but also follow particular best practices for YouTube. “Google prioritizes Web pages with YouTube video embeds,” Pixability says. “The best performing 25% of Top 100 Global Brands took more care in optimizing their videos and channels, maintaining twice the number of playlists and video tags than the bottom 25%.”

– Production quality matters, but it’s not a game-changer. Slick graphics and high-def video are nice, but not necessary. Videos with lower quality production can still drive many views.

– Integrate. YouTube is not a vacuum, so be sure to link YouTube channels with traditional and offline marketing

– Brand your videos by including metadata, titles, tags and descriptions. Why is this so vital? Because videos live within YouTube and are also carried throughout the far corners of the Web.