So many young people and adults that I work with set up YouTube chanels and don't really understand the basics of how it works and what the rules are to make it work well.
We live in a content driven era where you can make the greatest video in the universe, but if no-one knows where to find it, it may as well not even exist!.
Recently the LONDON360 reporters had a session with Sports Partnership Manager for EMEA at YouTube- Dan Pheysey - who gave us these bullet points that you should be aware of when setting up and mantaining your YouTube channel.......
Understanding the platform
There are 3-5 billion people currently using YouTube
Only 3 sites in the world that have over 1 billion users: YouTube, Google and Facebook
6 billion hours per month watched on YouTube. Over 20% of the internet's bandwidth.
4 days of content every minute is uploaded
Your core audience in Gen C which is 18-25 and these are viewers/ creators and curators. Make the content/view it and organise it.
40-50% of viewership is on mobile devices.
This means....
There is generally an audience for most types of content you create
BUT
Its very competitive.
One of your main challenges with this much content is your audience finding you.
Content strategy
Always think....is there a tweet that I can write that concisely explains what my video is about?
If there isn't then you probably shouldn't make/share it.
Most views come from people searching for content so creating a topic that people are searching for will automatically boost your views. This is why it is important to have a strategy when producing your content.
Tentpole programming. This means creating 3 different types of content to build your audience whilst retaining your core viewers and subscribers.
•Hero: Inspiring and emotional storytelling promoted through advertising. These are one off , or occasional , videos that make your brand stand out but are usually too much effort to produce continuously. They give the wow factor and get attention.
•Hub: This is regularly produced content that satisfies subscribers to the channel. Keeping your core audience.
•Hygiene: Videos that educate the audience by answering questions found through search.
Plan your audience around news events that are coming up, this is where you'll see the spikes in viewership as its what people are searching for.
Ask yourself the 10 fundamental questions
1.Is it shareable?
2.Is it conversational? Are you talking to your audience?
3.Is it interactive? Is there any way you can involve your audience?
4.Is it consistent? Are there recurring elements? Are you delivering what your brand promises?
5.Is it targeted? Do you have a clearly defined audience?
6.Is it sustainable? Can you keep it up to standard?
7.Is it discoverable?
8.Is it accessible?
9.Can you collaborate? Is there any room to feature a guest who is doing something similar? That way you could steal/share each others' audiences.
10.Is it inspirational? Is it coming from a place of true passion?
You can check what people are searching for using Google trends. https://www.google.com/trends/
YOUR PAGE
Your page should have a cover photo explaining what your channel is about. An avatar and a logo is essential. They need to know what they are going to get when they land on your page so your photos and name should be clear.
The ABOUT section is very important for what the search algorithm takes into account so you need to have the KEY WORDS of what you do on your channel. Handy tip- You can update your about section regularly to optimise what is in your latest videos.
You can also add places you've filmed/performed/companies you've worked for to optimise if anyone is searching for content about these.
THUMBNAIL: Make it as interesting as possible. Expressive faces work best with bright, contrasting colours.
In your DESCRIPTIONS you should be linking to your channel and other videos.
TAGS are important so that your video appears in the recommended video section. You can custom baseline tags for each video and then add more specific ones depending on the video's content. To do this you go to advance section- tags.
Your END CARD should have a clear call to action, subscribe button and ideally a link to another video to encourage people to continue watching.
It is a good idea to set up themed playlists as this is continuous and people will just carry on watching.
The biggest earners in terms of advertising are sport/beauty and food.
40% of viewed content on YouTube is long form - 15 mins or more so there is room for this.
Using music/third party content
YouTube have an audio library which you can use tracks from free. If you use other peoples music and they notice they can a) ask you to take it off b) take any money from the video if it is monetised c) let you use it with credit
YouTube has content ID which lets other users know when their content is being used by someone else and sends them a Copyright Notice and gives them options to take action. Therefore it is highly inadvisable to use others' content without permission.
HAPPY YOUTUBING!
(Masterclass transcribed by London360 project manager Tayana Simons).