In mid-February 2005, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim launched YouTube, a video service that is today the largest digital video database. Just a year later, Google recognized the value and potential of it and bought a service (which is worth just more than $ 100 billion today) for just over a billion and a half dollars.
This is considered one of the best purchases in history, and precisely because of the extreme popularity of this service, each individual can grab their 15 minutes of fame and become popular.
Nowadays, YouTube is cluttered with content and you may find it impossible to become watched and viral. But that is not true. The recipe lies in quality videos and constant posting, and the addition of a little marketing as a spice can make your channel ultra-popular.
In this text, you can find some quality YouTube tips for building channels and initial steps for success on this platform.
Tips for YouTube
While you may think that being a YouTuber is easy and that self-proclaimed influencers did not have to roll up their sleeves and work, you could not be more wrong. YouTube is not an easy task and you will have to work hard but, by using some of the tips below, you can achieve very good results.
Post Videos at Least Once a Week
Do not let your subscribers forget that your channel exists. Specify the days when you will post a new video so that they know when to watch the channel.
The best reach for the video is, according to many surveys, Sundays around 8 p.m. That is when most people are active and you can reach the best number of views. It would be ideal to publish two times a week, and it can be, say, Thursday night and Sunday night.
YouTube Tags
Tags briefly describe the video and help you achieve the best results on search engines. Tags must be relevant to the video, and examples of tags for, let’s say, a video “Best bluetooth headset for mobile phone” can be: “headset”, “bluetooth headset”, “mobile headset”, “headset brand”…
YouTube Intro
The intro is a slightly different subtitle but this little trick will help keep the viewer on the video. The trick is that the beginning of the video contains the main thing in the video or the most interesting part after which the intro will be shown and then the video is just starting.
That way the viewer will stay to watch the video to hear what is the main thing you need to do or to see how you did that something.
For example, if you are shooting hairstyle tutorials, showing the final hairstyle at the beginning is great. This is followed by an intro to your channel, the beginning of the video, and an explanation of how to do that specific hairstyle.
Do not spam video with unnecessary scene interruptions or calls to like videos, Facebook pages, or other profiles. It all has to be short and decent. The first thing is the video intro.
It should not last more than 5 seconds and must be dynamic, with your channel name clearly highlighted. This will help new viewers notice the channel and that way your channel has a better chance of having subscriptions.
Also, at the end of the video, you can tell viewers to comment on the video and your standpoints or ask a question. This will make them feel more important and you will encourage communication that serves to create a community of viewers.
In the video, you can occasionally insert some animation in a corner that will pop up and where the name of your Facebook page will be written or call to a subscription to a channel for more videos. However, this goes hand in hand as long as the video lasts and does not stop the video in any way.
Ending of Your YouTube Video
Devote the last few seconds of the video (up to 30 seconds) to sign out and call viewers to watch other videos or subscribe to a channel. Then, you can also highlight your website or some similar video. Be creative and incorporate it all nicely into your video.
YouTube offers an “End Screen & Annotations” option that will allow you to create the end of the video and through which you can highlight a video, playlist, or subscribe button. Also, at the end of the video, YouTube allows options to promote another channel or place a link to the website you built for your business or for whatever you want to promote or advertise.
When creating a website yourself, you will bump into free plans that most web page creation platforms have. Or, you can switch to paid versions by which your website will look a bit more professional.
When you add annotations to the video, be aware that they only work on the computer. They are displayed for the duration of the video in the upper right corner.
YouTube Thumbnail
Suggested videos are the main channel through which viewers come to them, and the better the video image looks, i.e. the thumbnail, the more likely someone is to click on your video. A boring thumbnail does not have a great chance of affecting YouTube users to decide to click, so dedicate yourself to crafting and highlight something that will attract viewers.
If you have done the previous steps and made a quality and intriguing start to the video, and created a great thumbnail, then you are on the right track to becoming a YouTube star. But do not overdo it.
Thumbnails must live up to expectations, must not disappoint the viewer, and to make the most of this powerful tool, you can make thumbnails and videos connected and ‘force’ the viewer to click on a new video.
Make a thumbnail and the words on it related to the title of the video, but not the same. Cheerful colors will set it apart from the crowd and make it catch the eye of users.
Longer Videos Will Help Your Channel
One of the factors that affect the ranking of YouTube videos is the length of watching the video (watch time). You will improve this with longer videos. A 1-minute video will have a watch time of about 50 seconds, while a 15-minute video will have a 14-minute watch time.
Which seems better to you? Of course, the content must be of the highest quality, so that people watch 90 % of the video.
YouTube Live
The live stream is a great way to create content for a channel without having to spend a lot of time on it. Just some of the benefits of streaming are that you can connect with viewers and answer or comment on their questions. The live stream will remain on your channel even after completion converted to video so viewers who missed it can watch it later.
Emotions, Sharing, and Help
There are 3 main types of videos that you should deliver on your channel, which will help you create community:
- The type of video that arouses emotions in the user and creates a connection between the viewer and you are the ones that concern your channel the most. These include videos related to your channel, such as videos for a significant number of subscribers or reviews. That way, viewers will know you care about them and see your channel as one big community.
- The type of videos that will have the most chances to share is the one that relates to some news or videos in which you do something interesting. Do your best and, depending on your channel niche, create a video that you think your viewers will share on social media.
- The types of videos in which you help viewers are designed to get new viewers coming to the channel by searching YouTube or Google. These are videos like DIY, tips, problem-solving videos, and the like.
YouTube Video Series
You watched the first part of your favorite series and cannot wait for the sequel? It is the same thing with your viewers on YouTube, so you can split the video into multiple parts or make series.
This way you have the best chance of retaining viewers and achieving as many views as possible and watch time. Place such videos in playlists, which you can highlight on your channel.
Record With Other Youtubers
As the best form of free promotion is recording with other youtubers in the same niche as your channel. That way, their subscribers will learn about you, and your followers will find out about them. These types of collaborations are extremely popular for channel promotion.
People think of YouTube not only as a digital library but also as a social network where they connect with other members and content creators.
Show Your Followers They Mean to You
Comment on each comment, especially at the beginning. Dedicate yourself to those who share and follow your work. That way you send them a thank you and keep them active on the channel. They spent time writing a comment, you spend time answering them. Do not be selfish.
If you are shooting video content in which you are the main character, consider some of the following tips:
- Be your own. YouTube influencers are gaining popularity because of their character and people are starting to follow them because they like their attitude and behavior. That is why it is important to be what you are and not to fake behavior that would come to light at some point. Throw away the script and when you sit in front of the camera talk out of your heart. Remember only the first and last sentence, and the rest should be spontaneous.
- Be in the scene whole. There is no point in setting up a camera that will exclusively capture your face. The video in which you talk to the camera can be monotonous, so it is very important that you give it some dynamics. That is why you should capture from the waist up and do not cross your arms. Include hand mimicry in the video as much as you can so that viewers do not get bored of the video.
- Invest in quality. Good sound, picture quality, and lighting are not the most important (it is much more important what the video is about) but are important at the same time. The quality of production on YouTube is greatly increased, so invest in equipment over time as your channel progresses.
- Be happy and positive. No one will look at you if you speak in the same tonality and look like someone has ruined your whole world. Be smiling and positive, talk dynamically, and make the video fun to watch.
We hope that we have helped you on your way to a YouTube star with these few tips. Keep in mind that the path to popularity on YouTube takes time and nothing comes overnight.
Forget the numbers and focus on creating quality and interesting content, which will surely pay off over time. You can record videos for a year and not reach the number of thousands of subscribers, and then with one video after a year, you can become popular and achieve incredible channel growth.
It is important not to give up, be constant, and dedicate yourself to creating videos.
