This is the third post about starting a YouTube channel. If you haven’t seen the previous posts, you can read part one here, and part two here.
You really need to be leveraging YouTube if at all possible, because it’s the most popular video-streaming service boasting massive online traffic, and constant streaming services – and ultimately, it will maximize exposure and help your brand become recognized within your market.
By the way, if you do decide to take YouTube seriously, then check out the Video Marketing Insider for a suite of top-notch trainings and software from a video marketing expert.
So, let’s look at three more ways to get your YouTube channel more views and subscribers.
A thumbnail is the picture that you click on when you want to watch a video. It should clearly indicate what the video is about, even though your title and description should also reflect the topic of your video content.
One option you have is to choose a freeze-frame from the video that you’ve uploaded.
For example, if you’re a baking company who also sells products to bake with, you might upload a video on how to bake brownies.
You can choose a freeze-frame from the video that shows you mixing the batter. YouTube automatically generates a few that they think are good ones, so this is fairly easy to do.
This is as simple as taking a picture and using a picture editing tool, such as Photoshop, or tools with a shorter learning curve such as Stencil or Snappa, to make it more appealing and relatable to your video.
For example, a beauty brand may want to use a custom thumbnail that features the products being used in the video hovering around a person’s face, using arrows to point where the products will be applied.
Or you can do a split-screen custom thumbnail. In the case of this beauty channel, they can use a before and after picture of what someone looks like with and without makeup, side by side.
Be sure to play around with different looks before deciding on your custom thumbnail, and make sure that it’s interesting enough that even you would click on it.
In addition to everything else, it’s important to have both a profile picture and channel art on your YouTube channel that accurately represents your company and reflects your brand message.
And if your business has accounts on other social media platforms, then your business profile picture and channel art should be the same. Again, it’s all about consistency!
Your profile picture and channel art are the very first things that people will see when they visit your channel. Whether you’re a one-person business or a company with thousands of employees, it’s important for brand recognition.
Your profile picture, for individual businesses, can be a profession-al picture of yourself, a mascot or other image that works with your brand. Simply click on the picture within your channel to up-load and edit.
Your channel art, however, should be a bit more brand specific.
Keep in mind what colors your brand uses the most, as well. Then try and incorporate these colors into your videos as often as possible. For example, if your company’s logo is cobalt blue, then have videos with a splash of this color in it or use other graphic elements like a video bar or subscribe button that includes that theme.
When visitors go to your channel and see your cobalt blue logo above thumbnails with matching thumbnails, they’ll start to associate that color with your brand.
If you’ve spent some time analysing successful YouTube channels, chances are you’ve noticed how common it is for all thumbnails to look similar in terms of color or font styles used.
This helps to build a strong visual identity that helps your account look polished and professional, but also helps to establish a theme.
YouTube is owned by Google, and so your channel will automatically be linked with a Gmail account. Even if you already have one, it’s a good idea to create a separate account just for your business.
Look into investing in G Suite to have professional email addresses created. So rather than @gmail.com, your email will say @yourcompanyname.com. It’s a small step, but it helps promote a professional atmosphere for your channel and company overall.
Keep in mind that the name you choose for your new Google account should be the name of your brand.
Just head on over to YouTube, click on your profile icon in the up-per right hand corner, and scroll down to “My Channel.” Click on it but avoid clicking on “Create Channel.”
This is where you want to click “Use a business or other name,” down at the bottom. At this point you should be prompted to enter your Brand Account name.
Your Brand Account name can always be changed in the future, should you decide to do so. At this point you have successfully set up the foundation for your company channel.
I hope that this collection of articles has given you the direction you need to start building your very own YouTube channel.
Start off by researching your market, spend some time watching videos from successful channels in your niche and then develop a content plan and schedule that you can stick to.
Once you get the hang of it, make it a point to regularly upload quality content based on the schedule you’ve chosen. Try not to change this! Your subscribers will rely on it and begin to log on expecting new content on those days.
Notifications cuts through the noise and helps your channel gain traction with repeat visits from subscribers.
And remember to upload in different video formats to keep it interesting and keep the viewer’s attention.
We wish you the best of luck in creating a quality channel and hope you’ve enjoyed this series!
If you want to know more about setting up your YouTube channel the right way, check out the featured resource below for an expanded version of this article covering all 11 tips in the series; download, read it and take action 🙂
