When people talk about growing on YouTube, they’re usually talking about creators—individuals, influencers, vloggers. Not companies. And definitely not about building a serious, revenue-driving channel.

But that's exactly what’s possible when you approach YouTube the right way. When you treat it not just as a brand billboard, but as a real performance marketing channel—just like Meta ads, Google Ads, or SEO.

At Humble&Brag, we’ve helped companies turn sleepy channels into major revenue engines. And today, I’m sharing the roadmap we use to make it happen: step-by-step, without the usual buzzwords.

If you want to learn how to use YouTube for marketing—and actually drive results, not just rack up views—this is for you. Check out the video below 👇 for a live walkthrough of this topic, or scroll on by for the breakdown.

Why YouTube Deserves a Bigger Place in Your Marketing Strategy

For most businesses, YouTube feels like a nice-to-have. Maybe you post a video here and there when you have time. Maybe you tell yourself it’s "good for brand awareness."

Meanwhile, some of the fastest-growing companies are quietly turning YouTube into one of their top-performing acquisition channels. With the right setup, YouTube can generate qualified leads, nurture prospects, and support your sales team—week after week, month after month.

But to do that, you can’t treat it like a vanity project. You have to treat it like a true performance channel. And it all starts with how you measure success.

Step 1: Set Up Measurement and Attribution

You wouldn’t spend a dollar on Meta or Google ads without tracking conversions. So why would you invest in YouTube without tracking what matters?

Before you create a single video, ask yourself: how will we know if this is working?

Here’s your basic setup:

• Create a landing page, lead magnet, product page, or call booking link.

• Tag it properly with UTM parameters.

• Embed the link in your video description—and don't be shy about mentioning it in the video itself.

Yes, you’ll still track impressions, views, likes, and subscribers. But the real goal is to track the journey from YouTube view to real business outcomes: signups, bookings, sales.

Otherwise, you’re just playing YouTube for vanity metrics.

Step 2: Add Self-Reported Attribution

Here’s the thing: not every viewer will click your link. Some will open a new tab. Some will Google you days later. Some will click an ad after discovering you via YouTube.

That's why self-reported attribution matters.

A simple “How did you hear about us?” field in your forms or signup flows can be a goldmine. It picks up the invisible halo effect that YouTube creates—brand awareness that turns into action later.

At Humble&Brag, we've found that automated attribution often captures only about half of YouTube-sourced leads. Without self-reported attribution, you risk underestimating the channel’s impact—and underinvesting as a result.

Step 3: Create Videos with a Clear Purpose

When you create YouTube videos for business, you’re not trying to become an influencer. You’re trying to educate, inspire, and guide viewers to the next logical step.

Every video should have:

• A clear topic that aligns with your audience’s goals.

• A call to action—whether it’s downloading a resource, signing up for a trial, or booking a call.

You don’t need to sell hard. In fact, you shouldn’t. But you do need to make it easy for people to keep moving forward once you’ve earned their trust. Content without a CTA is a wasted opportunity.

Step 4: Build Out Your Funnel Metrics

As your videos go live and start generating traffic, it’s time to build your funnel.

Here’s what you’ll want to measure:

• Impressions: how often YouTube shows your videos.

• Click-through rate (CTR): how many people actually watch after seeing a thumbnail.

• Views and watch time: indicators of interest.

• View-to-visit rate: how many viewers actually click through to your site.

• Visit-to-lead rate: how many of those visitors convert.

A typical view-to-visit rate for a B2B or high-ticket channel is around 3%. But you can often double or triple that by offering valuable resources—like templates, cheat sheets, or bonus materials—that complement your videos perfectly.

Think about what your viewer wants to do next—and make it ridiculously easy.

Step 5: Build Reporting That Tells a Real Story

It’s not enough to know that views are up. You need to know:

• Which videos are driving revenue.

• Which content types are most efficient.

• How your channel’s performance compounds over time.

That means breaking down performance by individual video, by content format, and across the entire channel.

At Humble&Brag, we go even further. We model out the compounding effect of releasing one good video every week. It's like investing in the stock market—the results might seem modest at first, but over time, they snowball into serious returns.

By the end of a year, a consistent publishing cadence could drive tens of thousands of views per week, generating hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of dollars in attributable revenue.

And best of all? Even if you stop publishing tomorrow, those videos keep working for you.

Why Now’s the Time to Treat YouTube Like a Performance Channel

Most businesses still think of YouTube as a branding exercise. A side project. A way to “get the name out there.”

But the landscape has changed.

YouTube search is still massive. Recommendation algorithms are smarter than ever. And buyers are spending more time researching independently before they ever talk to sales.

YouTube can—and should—be a core part of your marketing funnel. Not just for awareness. Not just for "brand lift." For real revenue impact.

If you’re ready to treat YouTube like the powerful channel it is, we’d love to help. Reach out to the team at Humble&Brag today—and let’s talk about scaling your growth through YouTube.