As you may know, YouTube can be a fickle beast! I started YouTube in July 2013 (Channel – MrHairyBrit) as an experiment to try to understand how YouTube worked and how it could help me in my day job as a web developer. I soon found out that YouTube was a very engaging, friendly social media platform that rapidly become my new hobby and passion. I started to make 3 videos a week, a mixture of movie reviews, video replies (when they still existed), rants and funny news – slowly gaining YouTube Subscribers. Each time I would look at my videos and slowly work to improve on my camera framing, audio quality, and practiced on talking to a camera – all while on a tiny budget.
Roll forward to October 2016 – I had been on YouTube for 3.5 Years, made 600+ videos and kicked, punched, scratched my way to nearly 8000 YouTube Subscribers. Its a number I am proud of because during this time I had many successes and many failures, some great videos and some horrifically cringe worthy videos… but then I did something that helped my channel EXPLODED!
I gained 10K YouTube Subscribers in just 7 months!
Gaining 2000+ YouTube Subscribers a Month!!
After months and months of making 3 videos a week, not seeing any major changes to my monthly views, I felt I needed to shake up a few things. I started thinking “if a website had 600+ pages of content surely some of those should get traffic?!” So with that in mind I started researching YouTube Video SEO and here are….
4 Tips To Boost An Existing YouTube Channel – Gain YouTube Subscribers
Revive Old Videos – Redo Video SEO
After 3.5 years I had over 600 videos but many of them failed in the Video SEO game. I looked back over my old videos and was horrified to see how badly I had tagged them. I updated them with new more accurate Video Titles, Descriptions, Video Tags and added a new EYE CATCHING thumbnail. Using TubeBuddy, I would update 5-10 videos a day and over time some (not all) would be reindexed by YouTube and spring back to life again!
End Screens & Info Cards – Use The Tools YouTube Gives You
I personally find that 80%+ of my viewing audience now views me on Mobile devices, smartphones, iPad and other iDevices. This was something I had not optimised for when I started making videos in 2013. The old annotation system allowed you to add helpful links but mobile users couldn’t use them…. but they CAN use End Screens and Info Cards! Using TubeBuddy, I bulk added End Screens and Info Cards to all my videos helping to boost interaction with my mobile viewers, making it easier for them to watch more videos and subscribe to me!
The Power Of Playlists – Keep People Watching For Longer
I noted that some of my videos would get regular traffic. I collected my to 10-20 videos and built playlists around them. Each playlist would have theme that matched the top video and I placed that video at the top of the playlist, making the playlist a SERIES. This mean YouTube can then associate those videos to each other and suggests them more as the next video in the related auto-play video section. This also meant that I could use the video that was getting traffic to feed the other videos in the playlist with traffic, increasing overall watch time and views!
ASK – Make It Easy For Them To Become Subscribers
One thing that I was always shy of doing was ASKING my viewers to do something. I would hide it away at the end of the video in a rushed sentence just as the video was ending … “Please like, comment, share, subscribe and ill see you soon, goodbye!” – What this did was numb people to the Call To Action (CTA). Your CTA should be clear and direct! I have now moved my CTA to the WITHIN THE FIRST 30 SECONDS of the video and making it clear how to – “Hello Hairy Family and welcome back to another video. If you want to see more funny news remember to CLICK SUBSCRIBE for 3 Videos every week….” – This tells them WHAT to do and WHY, and this and rapidly increased my subscriber click through rate. Just goes to show, if you ASK, you will receive
Getting YouTube Subscribers can be hard when starting out and people always ask How To Get YouTube Subscribers. But begging for subs, buying subscribers and trading subscribers in Sub 4 Sub could be hurting your channel and may even get your YouTube Channel banned.
It can be hard to find that motivation to start making YouTube videos. You can take months to find the right camera, test your microphone, decide on what content you want to make and then finally muster up the courage to record and upload that first video. Only to then get hit with that frustration and sinking feeling that all that hard work might not get seen because you only have 3 subscribers, and this is where you seek out ways to buy subscribers or trading them in Sub 4 Sub groups or websites.
Sub 4 Sub means Subscriber for Subscriber and its the practice of promise to subscribe to someone else’s channel in return for getting them to subscribe back to you. This can seem like an easy way to get YouTube subscribers but what you are actually getting in inactive sub 4 sub subscribers that are very unlikely to watch your content or engage with your videos at all. This can harm your youtube channel as YouTube monitors video view velocity when a video if first published. If YouTube doesn’t think the video has enough views compared to the channels subscriber base within the first 48 hours it can negatively affect your videos ranking in search and suggested videos.
YouTube is a huge platform with millions of channels and maybe even billions of users watching hours & hours of video every second. This can be a huge needle in a haystack when it comes to companies or branding so you need to Build Your YouTube Brand, make it STAND OUT and drive authority.
I can be hard to get noticed but if you make your brand UNMISSABLE then it will help attract some attention. Here are 28 tips to Build Your YouTube Brand.
#1 – Choose your identity – Start to Build Your YouTube Brand
If you want viewers to subscribe to your channel and come back for more later, then they need to know what they are getting themselves into.
While there are endless YouTube video ideas to choose from, it is important that you have an identity. Whether that means talking about beauty, travel, sports, gaming, or anything that comes up in your life, make it very clear to the audience so that you get subscribers who stick around!
#2 – Follow a passion (yours and theirs)
First of all, make sure that YOU are passionate about everything you are saying and doing on your YouTube channel. If you don’t then none of the rest of the list will matter, and you won’t have any fun!
Once you know what you are passionate about, find the groups of people that are equally passionate and likely to make a large, loyal fan base. If you know that you love all Technology, then think about making great videos catered towards viewers who are passionate about virtual reality, or artificial intelligence.
If you become a trusted source in passionate niches, you will have a great channel.
#3 – Make great video thumbnails
YouTube king of subscriptions PewDiePie uses eye catching thumbnails every time
Your video’s thumbnail is the first thing people see so make it count!
Boring, or grainy images are going to look weak beside other YouTubers who are competing for the same viewers so take a few minutes to make a great thumbnail and you will see the difference.
4 Tips for Better YouTube Thumbnails
1. Use closeups of your face: Humans like eye contact and this will catch their attention in search results!
2. Convey strong emotion: Strong emotion on your face can set the tone for the video and prime the audience for what is in store.
3. Use bright backgrounds: It’s all about being eye catching in a sea of YouTube results all over the screen. Bright screens get people’s attention, and also tend to create stark contrast with your main image.
4. Be consistent: It helps your brand to have similar thumbnails all the way across your page
# 4 – Show off a great channel logo
Your channel logo may be small, but it can say a lot about you. Don’t underestimate the first impression that people will see representing ALL the hard work that you put into your videos. Before creating images like logos and banners, you should make sure that you are making them the appropriate size
#5 – Use Awesome Art for your banner
The images that you use on your channel can influence viewers to hit that ‘subscribe’ button.
#6 – Make a compelling channel page
Your channel page is the home base for anyone looking at your body of work. First and foremost, make sure it looks pretty with the logo, banner, and thumbnail tips above. Now that you look like a pro, you should remember that some people might actually read (yes read!) your channel description. Use this opportunity to tell your story, and let your personality shine through.
This is an area where you can show off the benefits of subscribing to your channel, and use a call to action to try and get their sub while you have their attention. You can (and should) also organize your content with playlists. This will let any potential YouTube subscribers find the content that is most interesting to them quickly.
It also makes for a good viewing experience for anyone who wants to binge watch your videos
#7 – Add some contact info
If you are putting yourself out there on YouTube, and you want to build an army of subscribers, it helps to be accessible. Who knows what opportunities might come up – a fellow YouTuber might want to connect, or a fan might want interview you on their blog.
One thing is for sure is that if you make yourself hard to get a hold of, it is a lot less likely that golden opportunities will fall into your lap.
#8 – Have recurring segments
Recurring segments!What do the Tonight Show, Jeopardy, and Bill Nye The Science guy all have in common? RECURRING SEGMENTS! Audiences return again and again for DECADES because they like the reliable structure and familiar nature of their favorite shows. Think about how many clicks Jimmy Kimmel gets every time he posts a “Mean Tweets” video.
If you can come up with a handful of structured segments that you can perfect, you are guaranteed to get more views. People want to see the next segment that they know they are going to love.
#9 – Upload Often
YouTube viewers subscribe to channels that are clearly active and posting new videos all the time. If you are stingy with your posts, then there is no reason for them to follow you.
Try to start out with at least one video per week. That way you will quickly build a library of content that viewers can go back and watch, with a pattern that they know they can count on in the future.
#10 – Have a content calendar and stick to it
Calendars aren’t just to help you stay on schedule
With so much YouTube competition, your subscribers need to know that they can rely on you for consistent content.
Make 2 key decisions
How many videos will you produce each week?
When will you publish them?
Once you know these answers, your YouTube channel should run like clockwork for your subscribers. Try to hit ‘publish’ at the same time each day/ week.
DON’T OVER COMMIT – If you get subscribers with the promise of daily videos, don’t be surprised if you lose them when you downgrade to weekly episodes instead.
#11 – Choose good titles – Eye Catching
Along with the image, your video’s title will form a viewer’s first impression of whether or not you are worth a view.
People tend to click titles that are intriguing or useful to them. Using exciting terms like “Amazing” “Hilarious or “Unbelievable” tend to get people’s attention.
You should also think about driving urgency. Suggesting that watching your video will have an immediate benefit will get more views than static titles. Think about the difference between ‘How to dress better’ vs ‘How to start dressing better today’
#12 – Keep your titles brief but teasing
Don’t give everything away in one long sentence. Keep your video titles relatively short, and leaving them wanting more. Try to keep titles below 50 characters to have the best chance of people clicking on your video.
#13 – Cross Promote Your Videos to Build Your YouTube Brand
Always try to turn one view into many views! When someone is watching your channel, you have a few different opportunities to cross promote your other videos. The best ways are:
Mention a suggested video during your video
Include a call to action button as an annotation, or at the end
Put links to suggested content in your video description
#14 – Pick the right tags
Many YouTubers actually forget about tags entirely. What a waste!
Tags are a key factor in helping Build Your YouTube Brand and get your videos in front of the right people. They will inform the search algorithm when people are looking for content, and will also give new viewers an idea of what your videos and your channel are really about.
#15 – Include Annotations & End Screen Options
YouTube has built in excellent features to build in interactive moments during your video, as well as multiple calls to action at the very end.
Here is a helpful video Derral Eves.
#16 – Use keywords, and SEO to Rank & Build Your YouTube Brand
Speaking of titles, you should think very carefully about the specific words you use in those titles. They will have a big impact on whether new viewers can find you in the first place.
YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world, and people everywhere are looking for answers and entertainment in that search box. Before anyone can subscribe to your channel, they need to find you first! That’s where keywords come in.
#17 – Use Google Trends to Build Your YouTube Brand
Using Google Trends is the best way to see what people are getting more and less interested in over time.
Why does this matter?
Funny cat videos are more popular than funny dog videos – but both searches peaked in 2014
When the pros think about how to get more views on YouTube, they know that it helps to be talking about things that more and more people actually want to see. You aren’t going to attract a big audience reviewing season 2 of The Adams Family in 2017.
#18 – Use multi-part episodes – Extend & Build Your YouTube Brand
Who doesn’t love a little suspense?
If all of your videos are standalone pieces with no mention of a follow-up, then there is much less incentive to hit the sub button. However, if they want to know what happens next, then they are more likely to follow your channel long term.
#19 – Keep the audience in mind
If you want to get YouTube subscribers, then don’t just make videos that you think will be fun. Pay attention to trends in your niche. For example, if you talk about TV shows, make sure you know what shows are rising in popularity and make content geared towards that rather than only shows that you think people SHOULD want to hear about.
#20 – Always ask for a subscription
Whatever you need your viewers to do, don’t be afraid to ask! Many YouTubers miss out by forgetting to simply ask people to subscribe if they enjoyed the video.
Just be sure to keep the call to action quick and simple
In many cases we are looking for a lot of things – a like, a subscription, a click to our website, a follow on Instagram etc. Don’t overwhelm your audience with a check-list of ways they can help you. Pick one or two that are most important and mention them quickly at the beginning and end of the video
#21 – Use Channel Trailers
Channel trailers are an awesome way to establish what your channel is about, and why people should care. Just like a movie trailer is a fast moving clip that shows the best that a film has to offer and gets people excited for more, your channel trailer can be the difference between a viewer subscribing, or moving on to the next thing that catches their eye.
First of all, if your title and thumbnail catches a viewer’s attention, the next thing they will check out is the description. If you don’t have a compelling reason for them to stick around, they won’t make it far in the video.
Secondly, YouTube can’t listen to every word in your video, so it relies on descriptions for its search engine. This means that a good description can help you show up in search results for potential new subscribers.
#23 – Add a channel watermark
How to add a channel watermark to your video
You can build in your own personalized watermark that will show up on each video. This is a subtle reminder embedded right onto the video content that the viewer should subscribe
#24 – Look for helpful resources
If you are reading Vlogging Guides, then you are already off to a good start ?
BufferBlog, Vlogging Guides, and communities like YTTalk can help you learn how to get more views on YouTube from fellow vloggers.
#25 – Attend Events
From local meetups, to massive international events, there are many opportunities to attend YouTube related events. Use these opportunities to network with other content creators, and meet your fans!
#26 – Learn from your most popular videos
If you want more YouYube views, it helps to know what has worked in the past. Use successful videos as inspiration for similar content and build a reputation for viral videos that people love to watch.
#27 – Avoid too many ads
Ads can be a good thing to let you make money on YouTube and fund great content, but don’t go overboard. You get several options on what type of ads you are OK with permitting on your videos.
While it might be tempting to go all out and try to maximize your earnings, keep your viewers in mind. You will get more views on YouTube if your subscribers think that you aren’t just in it for the money.
#28 – Be transparent with your audience
If you do want to make money with your videos, just make sure you are honest about it. For example, if you are being paid to review a product, mention that in the video. It doesn’t mean you can’t give your genuine opinion!
This doesn’t end with just money issues. You can gain a lot of trust by telling people what is going on behind the scenes and making them feel a part of your channels. Loyalty brings more YouTube views back to your channel then trying to outsmart the audience.
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
YouTube for most people is the the aggregator of fail compilations, the disseminator of cat related humour and a beacon for everything viral. Killing time on YouTube is the most productive way to be unproductive, but there’s so much more to it than salacious thumbnails and unrelated debates about political theory in the comments section, there is also hidden unknown youtube tips and tricks
Aside from a few easter eggs to please medium-core trekkies and Star Wars fans, there are some genuinely useful hacks that can enhance your YouTube viewing experience ten-fold. I mean, if you’re prepared to sign away three hours of your life by watching late-nineties wrestling videos, then you should do it in style, right?
Ever heard of YouTube Leanback? Or how about turning any video into a GIF? No? Then there’s so much more to show you. Here’s a run-down of my top five YouTube hacks:
1. Make any YouTube Video into a GIF
You can turn any video into a GIF by simply adding “gif” just after the “www.” in the URL. For example “www.gifyoutube.com/watchx”
Once you type that in, you’ll be taken to a simple gif making tool page that lets you cut out a section of the video and export it.
Select the point at which you want to start the gif and then select how long it lasts, and you’re done. You’ve made a gif in a matter of minutes.
2. YouTube Disco Your YouTube Videos
You already knew that you can use YouTube to stream music, but did you know it can be a DJ too? YouTube Disco automatically puts together a playlist of songs from your prefered genre or artist.
Go to www.youtube.com/disco and enter any artist, song, or genre and YouTube will populate a playlist of the most watched/popular videos from your search.
You can also set it to play the current top hits and it will tell what videos are most popular at the moment.
3. Slow Motion YouTube Videos
There are a couple of ways to slow down a YouTube video, with the simplest way being to hold down the spacebar during a video. This cause the video to rapidly play and pause, which creates a budget slow motion effect.
If, however, you want some more advanced controls, head to www.youtubeslow.com and enter your video’s URL into the specified field. You can then either speed up, slow down, play on repeat or set a loop.
Wesley Snipe’s “always bet on black” moment in Passenger 57 in slow motion.
4. YouTube Leanback – YouTube and Chill
YouTube Leanback is the friendlier version of YouTube on the big screen. If you’ve ever tried to watch videos on the normal desktop version of YouTube on your TV, you’ll know it’s a pain. Entering characters into the search field with your TV is just not practical, and you need to get right up close to the screen to see what’s going on.
This is where YouTube Leanback comes in. It’s a simplified YouTube UI that only requires use of the arrow keys to control. Also, if you have a smart TV, you can connect your phone or tablet to control what’s on the screen – and you don’t even have to be on the same Wi-Fi connection to do it.
Anyone in the room, providing they’ve gone through the verification process, can connect to the YouTube page and chuck videos into the communal playlist.
All you need to do is go to www.youtube.com/leanback and begin flicking through the availble sub sections of videos. To pair up your phone or tablet, go to www.youtube.com/pair on your mobile device and follow the instructions.
5. Google Video Quality Report
Buffering. Endless, rage inducing, buffering. But whose fault is it? Well, it’s your throttling, lacklustre ISP, according to Google.
Google’s YouTube Video Quality Report was launched earlier this year to help consumers understand why their videos take so long to load and can’t be streamed in the best quality. Some childlike illustrations show you how video makes its way to your screen, but don’t let the welcoming graphics fool you. This is video report is a shaming exercise, designed to embarrass ISPs for providing little bandwidth.
The report, which isn’t available everywhere, will tell you how good your connection is in the area and which ISPs are offering the most YouTube friendly internet speeds. This is done via a verification system, which labels each ISP as either ‘HD verified’ or not.
Check it out here (as I said, it may not be available in your area) and see if your connection can sustain 20 minutes of 1080p footage.
YouTube has 1+ billion users. While not all are content creators, it’s safe to say that several million are uploading consistently, with thousands of new creators joining every day – Here are 5 Tips For New YouTubers to help them get started.
If you’re just starting out as a video creator, your first few videos will be buried among the millions of videos uploaded each week. So how can you increase your chances of being discovered amid the massive haystack that is YouTube?
Say two people follow you on Twitter. One has the default ‘egg’ as their profile picture; one has a well-designed image. Which are you more inclined to check out and follow back?
One of the most important first steps you can complete as a new YouTuber is your branding. Attractive channel art can drastically increase the chances that a viewer will check out your other videos and subscribe.
2. Create a regular schedule
Just like popular TV shows, releasing your YouTube videos on a schedule can ensure that they get in front of the maximum amount of viewers. To start, aim to release one video per week, and be sure to tell your subscribers when to expect new content!
Mention your schedule at the end of each video
Include your schedule as part of your channel art
Remind fans on social media
3. Strive for originality
Creating truly original content will be your biggest advantage when starting out—and no one can do that but you. At this very moment, there are more than 60 million Minecraft videos on YouTube. So if you’re set on creating gaming videos, for instance, spend time thinking about how you can make them stand out from the very large crowd!
Here are some more tips for new youtubers in our blogs!
4. Be patient about income
Everyone likes extra money. But when you first start out as a creator, it should be strictly to have fun and grow your audience. Most creators who are making a living from their content have spent years building up their channel and are seeing more than a million video views per month. So try to be patient and focus on creating amazing content, and it’s more likely that the money will eventually come.
5. Be yourself
It may be tempting to model your content after another successful creator verbatim. But that strategy can sometimes come off as fake—and audiences can tell. Whether you’re quiet, loud, or awkward, be yourself! No matter what type of personality you have, there will be people out there who will enjoy your content.
Finally, there’ll be plenty of time to refine. As you grow on YouTube, your style will grow as well. Listen to feedback from your viewers, and most of all, have fun. Good luck with your videos!
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
Just like there are a things you can do to increase the likelihood of success in YouTube (including YouTube SEO Tactics), But, there are also many youtube mistakes which are commonly overlooked and avoiding these mistakes can help increase your chances for success within YouTube.
Terabrite on Vlogging (Personal Vlog Channels – YouTube Mistakes)
If you’re a looking to create a vlog on YouTube, you may be thinking that it’s you’re going to get famous vlogging. That’s not how it works. There are a few things that you can do to increase volume which will help you reach that goal.
1)Have a main channel where you do something like music, skits, comedy, or something. 2)Make your vlogging channel unique, so as to stand out from all the other bloggers. 3)Try humor or something else to keep your viewers interest.
The Fine Brothers (How to Annoy Established YouTubers – YouTube Mistakes)
4) Don’t steal or just copy other people’s tags, descriptions, or titles for your video. Many new YouTubers will copy the metadata from a successful video verbatim in the hopes that they will rank similarly, as often times with the hope that the original YouTuber will take notice and be honored that you found their work to be well optimized. In reality, you will end up annoying these people that you look up to, and they may never want to talk to you as a result. Not a good approach for attempting to become connected to a YouTube influencer.
5) Don’t just keep putting up videos on your channel over and over when nothing’s happening.
You may have 100 views, 200 views, 300 views, or even 4,000 views, but what you really need to be doing is developing one skill. Then collaborate with people who have more subscribers, but less skill. For example if you’re a really good 3D artist and go to someone with 10,000 subscribers and say let them know it. Tell them you can do something 3D for them. Maybe they do composing. You can suggest that if you do a 3D for them, they can mention you in their video. Just doing an amazing video and putting it up on your channel will probably not bring you the success you want. Collaborating with the community is a good way to start.
6) Don’t try to be someone else.
Originality is important, but being yourself and don’t just follow a trend. If you do, it just adds you to the crowd. If you are the needle in a haystack, it’s difficult to stand out. You should focus on originality and create something that will make you stand out.
7) In the description box, don’t forget to have hyperlinks.
Some people have their YouTube accounts set up, but they don’t have their Facebook or Twitter linked in the description box. It is important to have a hyperlink, which is a link they can easily click, because people want to click it and go right to the page. They really don’t have the time to just copy, paste and put it in the browsers.
8) Don’t make everything long – YouTube Mistakes
It is best to keep things short.
9) Don’t forget to have a Subscribe button at the end.
You want people to subscribe to you.
10) Don’t do something just because you think it might get views.
Do content that you care about. Do something that really interests you, and make sure you find your voice. Don’t be one of those people who just show up once in a while. Have a long-term plan and don’t say, “If it doesn’t happen within a couple of months, I’m not going to do this.” Show up consistently and work on your craft. Think long-term and focus.
11) Don’t forget to watch other stuff. Watch stuff that you love. A lot of people on YouTube, when they’re starting out, don’t watch other stuff. Watch your peers. Watch the people that inspire you. And I just think if you find your voice and you’re authentic and you keep stuff relatively short, you can do some good work and you hopefully will succeed.
Success on YouTube is not going to happen your first week and it’s not going to happen without creating unique content that you’re passionate about, and that is distributed in a strategic way. It’s going to take some time, but these tips will hopefully help make success easier for you.
In 2012, YouTube began de-monetizing non advertiser friendly videos based on new advertising-friendly guidelines. This is not done by people, but by an algorithm that looked at the metadata of videos and other factors to decide whether it is likely to be something an advertiser wouldn’t want to be associated with.
Over the last five years, this advertiser friendly algorithm has regularly removed videos from the pool of advertised-upon content. However, when much of the YouTube community started looking into this process after it hit the news in August 2016, they realized that the algorithm can be over-sensitive. Creators provided examples of videos that talk about subjects like depression, LGBT rights, world events and news, acne scars, refugees, antibiotics, and more, which were deemed advertiser-unfriendly and de-monetized. Many of these videos, when reviewed by a human, were manually granted monetization.
What is Advertiser Friendly? Advertising-Friendly Guidelines
YouTube’s guidelines cast a broad net (a little too broad, in my opinion).
Sexually suggestive content, including partial nudity and sexual humor
Violence, including display of serious injury and events related to violent extremism
Inappropriate language, including harassment, swearing and vulgar language
Promotion of drugs and regulated substances, including selling, use and abuse of such items
Controversial or sensitive subjects and events, including subjects related to war, political conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies, even if graphic imagery is not shown
While the exact criteria aren’t known, key words in title & tags seem to play a significant role. For example, the channel “Healthcare Triage,” which talks about healthcare policy realized they had 27 videos flagged because–in talking about prescription drug costs, the opioid epidemic, and treatments for diabetes–the algorithm thought those videos were celebrating illegal drug use. This was possibly due to the tag “drugs.”
WHY DOES YOUTUBE DO THIS?
YouTube needs to create a brand-safe (advertiser friendly) environment in order to maintain and grow the platform, including the Adsense monetization that creators benefit from. They need to be able to guarantee to blue chip companies that there is control over what their brand appears alongside. The Internet Creators Guild is aligned in finding ways to increase ad rates in order to make careers for professional online creators more sustainable. However, we expressed some concern about this issue and suggested (1) more human spot checks (2) an easier way to sort and review in video manager (3) refining the algorithm.
NOTIFICATIONS & APPEAL
Whereas it was previously unclear if a video had been demonetized, YouTube started rolling out features in 2016 in order to:
Let you know when a video has been de-monetized.
Show a notice next to all de-monetized videos.
Allow you to request a manual review of a de-monetized video.
Re-monetize videos that the appeal process finds to be not in violation of YouTube’s ad-friendly policy.
When your video is de-monetized, this little yellow $ shows up.
Based on the ICG’s investigations, it looks as if re-monetization (if it happens) occurs in between 12 and 24 hours after a manual review is requested.
According to a YouTube representative, overall, less than 1% of partner videos have been de-monetized, and the appeal process is currently taking around 24 hours with a high rate of re-monetization.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A CREATOR?
It’s not the case that YouTube won’t be monetizing channels that cover current events or world news. But it’s worth being aware that creators who speak on sensitive subjects may be particularly affected by the algorithm erroneously de-monetizing videos.
Erroneous de-monetization will always result in lost income. Even now that the notification & appeals process is in place, a video could still be de-monetized for hours or days after upload while the manual review is pending. That could particularly hit hard at timely or viral content (which often means news-related and sensitive-subject videos).
We hope the new appeals process can help YouTube refine this system. In gathering data on videos that creators are submitting for manual review and studying what gets re-instated, the platform has the opportunity to refine the algorithm.
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
How does the YouTube decide which YouTube Adverts play on your videos?
Turns out YouTube Adverts work a lot like Google and Facebook ads do. Like on other free sites, the advertisers help fund the YouTube experience in return for exposure to ads. You’ll see certain ads over others because of your demographic groups, your interests (which is judged in part by what you search on Google and YouTube) and the content you’ve viewed before, including whether or not you’ve interacted with the advertiser’s videos, ads, or YouTube channel.
YouTube Adverts algorithms also try to make sure that people aren’t overloaded with ads while watching videos — so it actually sometimes won’t show ads on monetizable videos, even when there’s a demographic match.
Here are the five ad formats you can expect to see on YouTube, and how they work:
a) YouTube Adverts – Display ads, which show up next to the video and only appear only on desktop and laptop computers. The advertiser gets paid when you see or click on the ad, depending on their selection.
b) YouTube Adverts – Overlay ads, which appear across the bottom 20% of the video window and currently only appears only on desktop and laptop computers. You can X out of the ad at any time.
c) YouTube Adverts – TrueView in-stream, skippable video ads, which are most common ads. These are the ones you can skip after watching for five seconds. Advertisers can put it before, during (yikes!), or after the video plays, and they get paid only if you watch at least 30 seconds of the clip or to the end of the video ad — whichever comes first.
d) YouTube Adverts – Non-skippable video ads, which are those longer, 15-or-more-second ads you see before plays and can’t skip after any period of time, no matter how much you shout at your screen.
e) YouTube Adverts – Midroll ads, which are ads that are only available for videos over 15 minutes long that are spaced within the video like TV commercials. You need to watch the ad before continuing through the video. How the advertiser gets paid depends on the type of ad: If the midroll is a TrueView ad, then you’d have to watch 30 seconds of the end or the entire ad — whichever is shorter. If it’s a CPM-based ad, then you have to watch the entire ad no matter how long it is.
f) YouTube Adverts – Bumper ads, which are short- non-skippable ads up to six seconds long that play before the video the viewer has selected. Bumper ads are optimized for mobile devices and must be watched in their entirety before viewers can progress to the video they want to view.
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
Live streaming video has been a big topic of conversation for the past few years. Live Stream On YouTube has seen massive growth, especially in the past few years with the advent of Twitter’s Periscope, Facebook Live, and Instagram live videos.
Live streaming on YouTube is a little more complex (and confusing) than live streaming using these other platforms, though. On YouTube’s easier streaming option, there’s no simple “start” button; instead, you actually have to download encoding software and set it up to use live streaming at all. Luckily, YouTube has easy-to-follow instructions for how to do just that.
If you want to Live Stream On YouTube a live event, though, all you need is a webcam. We’ll get to that in a second.
Live Stream On YouTube From Your Desktop Computer
Log in to YouTube and click the “Upload” button at the top right of your screen. Normally, this is where you’d upload a pre-existing video — but instead, you’ll want to find the “Live Streaming” module on the right-hand side of your screen. Click “Get Started” in that module.
Before you go live, YouTube will first confirm that your channel is verified and that you have no live stream restrictions in the last 90 days. Once that’s all set, you have two options for streaming: “Stream now” and “Live Events.”
Stream Now – Live Stream On YouTube
Stream Now is the simpler, quicker option for live streaming, which is why it’s YouTube’s default for live streaming. You’ll see a fancy dashboard like the one below when you choose “Live Streaming” on the left-hand Creator Studio menu:
Again, you’ll notice there’s no “start” button on the dashboard. This is where you’ll need to open your encoder and start and stop your streaming from there. Here’s YouTube’s Live Streaming FAQ page for more detailed information.
Live Events – Live Stream On YouTube
Live Events gives you a lot more control over the live stream. You can preview it before it goes live, it’ll give you backup redundancy streams, and you can start and stop the stream when you want.
Choose “Live Events” from your live streaming dashboard once you’ve enabled it. Here’s what the events dashboard looks like, and you can learn more about it here.
When you stop streaming, we’ll automatically upload an archive of your live stream to your channel. Note that your completed live stream videos are automatically made public on your channel by default as soon as you’re done recording. To make them disappear from the public eye once you’re done, you can select “Make archive private when complete” in the “Stream Options” section of your live dashboard.
Live Stream On YouTube From Your Mobile Device
YouTube has also rolled out live streaming from mobile devices for YouTube creators with 10,000 or more subscribers (as of the date of this posting — that will be available to all creators soon, according to YouTube’s blog post).
Live streaming is more intuitive from mobile devices than on desktop computers. Qualified creators can simply open their YouTube app on mobile, tap the camera icon at the top of the screen, and choose “Go Live”.
From there, creators can enter details about the broadcast before immediately recording live for their subscribers, as shown below:
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
Want to add some cool sound effects or music to your YouTube video (or any video)? Royalty Free Music, YouTube is there for you. It has a whole library of high-quality, 320kbps audio tracks and sound effects that you can download royalty-free and add to your videos. (Or listen to in your free time. We won’t judge.)
To add royalty free music or sound effects to your video: Open YouTube’s Audio Library by clicking here or opening your Creator Studio, clicking “Create” in the menu on the left-hand side, and choosing “Audio Library.”
Now, the fun begins. By default, it’ll start you on the “Sound effects” tab. Here, you can search sounds using the search bar, like I did in the screenshot below for motorcycle sounds.
You can also toggle by category (everything from human voices to weather sounds) or scroll through favorites that you’ve starred in the past. For easy access in the future, select the star to add the track to your Favorites. The bars next to the songs show how popular a track is.
If you switch over to the “Music” bar, you can browse through all of its Royalty Free Music. You won’t find the Beatles in here, but you will find some good stuff — like suspenseful music, uplifting music, holiday music, jazz, and more. Instead of toggling by category, you can toggle by genre, mood, instrument, duration, and so on.
(Note: Some of the Royalty Free Music files in there may have additional attribution requirements you have to follow, but those are pretty clearly laid out on a song-by-song-basis. You can learn more on YouTube’s Support page here.)
Once you’ve found a track you like, click the arrow to download it and it’ll download directly to your computer as an MP3 file. Then, you can do whatever you want with it.
Increase Video Engagement with YouTube End Screens and Cards
Over the last 10 years mobile browsing has seen a huge shift towards mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. New websites are now built with Responsive Website Design in mind to maximise the traffic engagement you can get from mobile smart device users. YouTube has also seen a massive boost in smartphone and tablet views and now you can add YouTube End Screens and YouTube Mobile Cards (YouTube Cards) to grab mobile viewers and get them to interact. This blog is here to help you get the most out of YouTube End Screens and Cards!
Do your favorite YouTube creators have a fancy closing screen that encourages you to keep watching their videos? For example, here’s one from Saturday Night Live:
You can create a customized end screen, too. They help keep viewers on your channel by suggesting other videos and sites they can check out. Here’s how to do it:
Navigate to your Video Manager, tap “Edit,” and select “End screen & Annotations” from the drop-down menu:
From there, you’re taken to the End screen creator studio, where you can play around with different templates and background to determine how you want your end screen to appear. Then, click the “Add element” menu to decide where you want to send viewers from your end screen.
Any YouTube creators can add an end screen to customize their channels. Here’s an explainer article with more details and inspiration ideas.
How to Add a YouTube Mobile Card (YouTube Cards)
You can use cards to advertise products used in your videos or links on your website you want to market on YouTube. If viewers tap the “i” in the upper-right hand corner of a video, the cards expand, as in the example below:
To add a card to a YouTube video, head to your Video Manager, tap “Edit,” and select “Cards” from the drop-down menu.
Then, choose where in the video you want cards to appear, and tap the “Add card” drop-down menu to choose what you want the card to promote. From there, customize the content that will appear to viewers when they tap the “i” while viewing your video:
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
YouTubers are sometimes called the most well a paid people, when you see YouTubers like PewDiePie raking in millions as reported by mainstream media from making videos in his bedroom somewhere. What the mainstream media dont get is that its a passionbut its also a full-time job based on views and CPM to generate ideas, record and edit the video – So how to you Increase YouTube CPM?
Its a dream of many YouTubers to one day become a full time YouTuber and to achieve that they need to be making enough money from YouTube to sustain themselves.
CPM stands for Cost per mille which means cost per 1000 views on a video and YouTubers can see their CPM in their adsense earnings reports. When an advertiser starts advertising campaign they can pay per 1000 views of the ad or cost per click on the advert. Therefore if the advertisers CPM was set to a max of $1 per 1000 views, and 900 of your viewers saw the advert they would pay $0.9 theoretically.
Introducing eCPM
eCPM is the effective cost per mille basically the same as CPM but is the cost for every 1000th ad view or impression regardless of what buying method of advertisements is being used for example Fixed, Cost per click, cost per action or CPM.
For example you run a CPC campaign with a cost of $1 per click, you get 200 clicks on the advert but 2000 impressions on the advert. the eCPM is $100 dollars because you made $200 from 2000 impressions. If it was a CPM advertisement and the price you paid was $5 per 1000 views the eCPM would be $10.
How to Improve CPM – Increase YouTube CPM
There are a few ways to improve your CPM (Increase YouTube CPM) on YouTube from targeting high CPC keywords, increasing engagement and watch time and making more videos which I will explain a bit more below.
1. Target strong CPC keywords – Focus your content to Increase YouTube CPM
This is a great way to increase your eCPM rates, Increase YouTube CPM. Since you are paid with a mixture of CPM and CPC adverts on YouTube This is a sure way to increase your income. So each keyword has a value which is assigned by advertisers that ‘bid’ on that keyword with the price they want to pay per click or per impression. If you make a video on Favourite Dog Collars for example, and the cpc of a dogs advertisement is 0.5 cent, you will earn 0.5 cent per click or have a cpm of $1.20 per thousand views then you will earn $1.20.
You can find the CPM of keywords that are related to your video on the google keyword tool. You will need a google account and signed up for Adwords, Googles Advertising platform which is free to sign up to.
If you’re solely focused on making money you may want to research keywords before you make a video. Eg. Looking up video ideas on Insurance, finding the highest keyword such as “Bluewater insurance which has a CPC value of 4.50” You might make a video on Bluewater Insurance – My Experience/Review. Now this may not get a ton of views but the CPC/CPM will be quite high due to advertisers paying high amounts for insurance keywords.
I would not recommend switching from your niche area to accommodate CPC. You cant go from being an established beauty blogger with a ton of subscribers to becoming an insurance reviewer as you will lose your audience and will get negative feedback. So try and stay within your niche area as much as possible, although you can deviate if it relates someway to the niche or just a “Storytime/experience” video which have gotten very common.
2. Increase your watch time and user engagement rates – Quality = Increase YouTube CPM
Watch Time. I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, watch time and engagement rates are vital for CPM. The better the engagement, the more likely google is to serve higher paying ads to your video as they see that your video has a good active audience who are paying attention.
3. Create more content – More videos = Increase YouTube CPM
Now this is a no brainer, the more content you have the more views you will bring in cumulatively. This will Increase YouTube CPM without a doubt. Create a content schedule of daily videos or a video every 2-3 days. This will allow your channel and your revenue to grow effectively. Don’t post a flood of videos as it looks spammy and may not get the attention it needs from your subscribers.
My CPM Is going down, whats happening? Seasonal Boosts to Increase YouTube CPM
CPM is determined purely by advertisers and which ads are being served to your video. Ad budgets are usually a lot lower at the start of the year, don’t worry about this.Ad budgets pick up around the summer time and towards Christmas you will see the highest CPM/CPC rates due to holiday advertising.
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
Make a Sponsored YouTube Video Without Getting in Trouble
For many YouTubers, getting the chance to review or get a free product in a Sponsored YouTube Video and maybe even get paid from a third party sounds too good to pass up! In the past few years we have seen YouTubers become influencers with hundreds of thousands to millions of subscribers in their respective spaces such as technology, gaming, beauty and more. Advertisers and companies are attracted to YouTubers now as they captivate an audience (Subscribers) they want to target. There are a few things you should consider before taking a product placement or engaging in a sponsored video!
Emma Blackery and Luke Cutforth’s Oreo Licking Race – YouTube 2014
1. Promotion Aligns with Audience – Sponsored YouTube Video Integration
Make sure the Sponsored YouTube Video product aligns correctly with your audience. The first thing you should do when getting involved with some sort of a sponsored video is to make sure it aligns with the interests of your audience. Let’s say you’re a beauty YouTuber and you get a vacuum cleaner to review. This does not align well with the interests of your audience as they are only interested in seeing beauty related videos. Therefore if accepting a product placement or speaking about a product make sure it holds the interest of your audience as it is better for the advertiser involved and you as the video will still receive good feedback from viewers.
2. Promotion Disclosure – Be open about Sponsored YouTube Video
Disclose that you got the Sponsored YouTube Video product for free or are getting paid by the company. This is one of the major guidelines. You must disclosed that the video is sponsored by a company or you got the product for free to review at the start of the video. You may not know but this is actually law. YouTube paid promotions are covered by a law called the FTC act and Lanham act which covers the promotion itself and false advertising. The FTC guidelines state that you must make the relationship to the company known to the viewers and make the disclosure clear and conspicuous. What they mean by clear and conspicuous is by telling the viewers straight up in a simple fashion without any confusion or misleading words, it also means that this disclosure should be at the start of the video and not at the end where nearly most of the audience drop off. So something simple like “This is a paid review” “Company X was kind enough to send me this product to review for free”
3. Be Honest – Sponsored YouTube Video Etiquette
Be completely brutally honest, don’t get blinded by money. This Sponsored YouTube Video guideline is purely to help you retain your audience. Disclose in the video that even though you got the product for free that you will be objective with your criticisms and unbiased. If you seem too promotion orientated, telling your subscribers that the product is amazing in a bid to promote it for more $$ but the product is really sub par and not at all as advertised, you are going to get really bad feedback from your viewers which may result in a bad reputation on your part and losing the trust you have built up with your audience.
4. Read the Contracts and Agreements – Sponsored YouTube Video Rules
Read the Sponsored YouTube Video contractual agreement thoroughly before entering into the promotion. If you are offered a sponsorship with a company, they will more than likely provide a contract. Be sure that you read the contract thoroughly and make sure all the guidelines of the contract comply with firstly your ethics and obviously FTC Guidelines. For example that you are allowed to disclose you are getting paid for this sponsored video and you can express your unbiased opinion
Have YouTubers Gotten In Trouble With the FTC?
Yes, In 2016 Warner brothers contacted a few large youtubers including the one and only pewdiepie to promote their game, the shadows of mordor. They paid these youtubers to review the game on their YouTube but they provided strict guidelines for the reviews of the game so that the youtubers couldn’t talk about any glitches or bugs in the game, talk negatively about the games such as aspects of it you didn’t like and pushing a call to action where you got your viewers to go to the site to sign up for the game. The FTC and Warner Bros did reach a settlement on the issue but the FTC Advised that “Consumers have the right to know if reviewers are providing their own opinions or paid sales pitches. Companies like Warner Brothers need to be straight with consumers in their online ad campaigns.”
What are the consequences for not disclosing product placements or sponsored videos. When the FTC receives complaints or manually reviews your video, if it finds a reason that your video is violating the law, you may get a warning to remove the video or change the content but if this is not met you could get a fine of up to $16,000 per violation of the FTC law.
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
Everyone Needs A YouTube Growth Strategy to Grow A YouTube Channel
Gaining YouTube Subscribers is getting harder and harder with an abundance of YouTubers entering the scene and people nowadays are pickier when choosing to subscribe to channels, as they don’t want to be bombarded with content they’re not interested in. The following YouTube Growth Strategy will allow you to gain subscribers more effectively and quicker than you have before. So get reading and start gaining a bunch of loyal subscribers!
Make use of YouTube Customisations – Branding YouTube Growth Strategy
Like any website you may visit, one of the few things you critique is the design, name/branding and the content on the page. The same can be said for a YouTube Channel. In a Branding YouTube Growth Strategy you have to establish credibility by having a completed channel which includes channel art such as Banners and Channel Icons, amount of videos and a completed bio. YouTube has a ton of customisation options to truly make the channel yours and brand yourself using the a Trailer Video, Icons and Headers, you can truly communicate who you are and what your videos are about with your Trailer Video and channel art.
Diversifying Content – YouTube Growth Strategy
One of the main factors of subscribers is views. Views are vital to gain subscribers without views how can people find and subscribe to your videos? There are two types of content fleeting and Evergreen. To Increase views you will need to have diverse content that pulls in viewers for a phase in time (fleeting) and indefinitely (evergreen)
Fleeting content describes videos that are only relevant for a certain time period that people will watch. For example Ice Bucket Challenge.
The Ice Bucket Challenge was fleeting, it was popular for a limited time frame of a few months and it was all people were watching. Lets say if you made a video about the ice bucket challenge that was humorous and contained compelling content it would have been watched a lot during that time frame but views would have fallen off towards the end of its popularity. In the process gaining you a lot of subscribers if Call to Actions were implemented correctly.
Evergreen content decribes videos that people are consistently viewing throughout the year. For evergreen content you have to put a lot of research into trends for example on Googles Trend Tool. If there is a niche or category that consistently brings in views you should do a video on the topic. For example, “How to clean make up brushes” People are always trying to clean their make up brushes throughout the year and its a problem a lot of people have. Should the video become an authority for this term it will gain views throughout the year for many years, no matter what happens.
It is not a fad. By using CTA (Call to Actions) and having compelling & related content these videos should pull in a lot of subscribers.
Call to Action (CTA) – Ask for engagement
A call to action is a vital part of a YouTube Growth Strategy and is basically asking the viewer to do something. For us, we want them to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Call to actions are an absolute godsend to YouTubers and can be used to increase subscribers exponentially if used correctly.
There a few ways to place a call to action in a video such as Annotation, which are those small subscribe pop up text or buttons that show up at the bottom of the page. In these annotations you put a button with a link to subscribe to your channel. You can also ask in a more personal way by asking during the video, usually during the start and end is the best time to ask as users are most engaged at the start and gives a reminder at the end, with a mixture of both you can increase your subscribers by implementing this simple feature within your videos.
Distribution of Content – Share Your Video, Get Seen!
As said above without views your content is nothing. The more you get people watching videos, the more people can subscribe. Distribution is an important part of a YouTube Growth Strategy and you should share videos at any moment you can. You cannot simply place content and expect people to come find it, you have to show them where it is. There are many ways to do this.
Facebook – On Facebook you can post your content on your page so your friends and extended network can find it. You can also place the video in Facebook groups, when placing in facebook groups make sure the facebook group’s interests align with the content in your video. Therefore they will find it interesting and be more likely to subscribe.
Twitter – With the use of Hashtags you can post a link to your video so your followers and audience can see it, as well as hashtag the tweet with a relevant area for example #Kyshadow and @kyliejenner for a KyShadow review to increase exposure.
Reddit – Reddit is an interesting source of views, as described above it is fleeting but if you post in the relevant section on reddit with compelling content it has the opportunity to bring in a large audience to your video if it gets upvoted by the community. In some cases, Small and Medium youtubers have gone viral with the use of reddit which really built up their audiences.
Forums/Blogs – Blogs and forums are also a great way to bring in views, by guest posting or commenting with a link to your video on a topic that is related to your video you can also bring in some new viewers who may subscribe.
Collaborations – Make Friends
Collaborations are an excellent source of new subscribers that is beneficial for both YouTubers. When collaborating you gain access to another YouTubers audience and they gain access to yours. When doing collaborations as part of a YouTube Growth Strategy, do them with people who have a similar sized audience, lets say you have 4000 subscribers, try and do collaborations with those who have an audience of 3000-5000 subscribers as they are more likely to accept collaboration requests. You should also make sure that the videos your making and that their making are related in some way. For example You’re both gaming youtubers, you should do a collab with another gaming YouTuber as their audience is also interested in gaming, it would not be effective to do a Gaming & Beauty Channel collab as gaming subscribers may not be interested in beauty and vice versa.
Intro, Outro and Channel Trailer
These are vital elements of any YouTube Channel. They show viewers who you are and what you make videos about. The channel trailer is the first thing a newcomer to your channel will see and this is the moment you have to impress them, and gain them as a subscriber. A good trailer is one that’s informative and under one minute. The use of intro’s is always important as it re-enforces your branding, as well as a video outro which you can link to other youtube videos so they can keep watching or give them the option to subscribe and like the video (Call to Action).
Consistency – Everyone Loves A Regular TV Show
Consistency is key as the saying goes and YouTube is no different. Viewers want to see a consistent stream of videos. If you really want to be a youtuber you should enjoy making videos and it should have to be a task. Therefore uploading videos on a regular schedule should be no problem and with more videos = more reach for views = more subscribers. By uploading frequently on a regular YouTube Growth Strategy schedule you are building a good relationship with your existing subscribers and developing new subscribers through new videos which will expand your reach.
Interaction & Personality
If you’re a growing youtuber you should interact with your audience wherever you can, if they ask questions in the comment or compliment your video, interact and thank them. This will let your audience know you’re there for them and they will become loyal subscribers. Even seeing a YouTuber respond in the comments makes me like them and makes me want to subscribe as it shows me that they care for their audience and their work.
YouTube Video Optimisation – Video SEO
Video optimisation is absolutely essential for subscribers. Video optimisation allows you to rank well in YouTubes Search and Related videos section. This includes Title, Description and Tags. You should have a relevant and stand out title. For Fleeting videos make the title snappy and out there, for Evergreen Videos make it out there you should do some keyword research. Keyword research entails finding out what people are searching for using Google Adwords Keyword Tool. Type in a few terms and suggestions and related terms will come up. For example “5 Best MakeUp Brush”. You should try to target medium and high search volume keywords.
YouTube Giveaways
Giveaways are the incentivized way of getting new subscribers. When doing giveaways as part of a YouTube Growth Strategy try and make the giveaway item as relevant to your topic area as possible for example if you’re a gamer maybe give away a controller, this will ensure any potential subscriber who subscribes to win the giveaway item has a real interest in the topic you’re making videos about. When doing a giveaway you should ask the audience to subscribe and share the content on social media such as Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. This will also gain you new viewers from their bunch of followers too!
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
Overall YouTube Watch Time Is The Secret To Growth
Overall video watch time or audience retention rate is vital factor of ranking when it comes to YouTube. YouTube watch time is how long viewers watch your videos before they drop off or leave a video, having a video watched for the full duration or more than half the video can improve your ranking in YouTube Search as well as improve ad CPM’s, therefore it is important that we can improve this metric in our videos. With Programmes like YouTube RED programme, if your content has a low retention rate (YouTube Watch Time) it correlates to a low payout from the RED programme.
Optimize Entry Points – Increase YouTube Watch Time
Your thumbnail and title are the first thing that a viewer will see and will get them to click through into your video. You must have a compelling and interesting title and thumbnail, but they must be accurate to the content and not be deceptive clickbait titles or thumbnails. If you use misleading titles or thumbnails, it will negatively affect YouTube watch time as the viewer will immediately feel mislead which will result in them leaving the video early and leaving a thumbs down.
Use YouTube Analytics – Investigate YouTube Watch Time
YouTube Analytics is a great tool for finding out why your audience is dropping off and lowering their watch time of the videos. If you check the audience retention report on YouTube Analytics you can find out which videos have low view times. If you find a trend in low view times in videos you can see what each have in common, for example if they’re dropping off within the first 15-30 seconds you should follow the 15 second rule to optimize the content, but if they’re dropping off halfway in each video you should see if there is any relation between the video eg. the video gets slower or has less energy which are the most common reasons for drop off, to combat this you can use annotations to prompt users to keep watching or simply telling them to stick around to see whats coming up.
Create Quality Video Content – Quality = Better YouTube Watch Time
Creating quality video content is an obvious one, but it is one of the most important factors. Why would you watch a video that didnt have interesting content? The higher the quality of your content and originality the higher the youtube watch time generally is. The user will be engrossed in the video and more likely to watch if it is something they haven’t seen before. You can achieve this by using your own style in videos and not blatantly copying other youtubers styles. Voice your opinions, spark interest, and interact with your audience by posing questions and call to actions.
Editing is also a big part of creating quality video content. You should edit your video effectively by creating interesting openings, use of cuts to edit out the boring or unrelated parts that aren’t interesting and only keeping in the compelling parts to maintain interest throughout the video. Make sure to test the video out on your friends or fellow youtubers before uploading to get an honest opinion and feedback on the video.
The 15 Second Rule – Hook Them Quickly and Gain YouTube Watch Time
When creating a video you need to grab the viewer’s attention within the first 15 seconds. If using an intro limit it to less than 5 seconds as if its longer it takes too long to get to the actual content. In order to capture the attention in the first 15 seconds you must place compelling content first with the information that the user is expecting or a build up to it. Don’t start off with boring information that is irrelevant to the video content. At the start of the video you need to channel all of your energy, be completely outgoing, energetic and fast paced and try keep it up throughout the video as this style of behaviour is highly engaging.
Video Linking and Annotations – Keep Them Watching!
The use of video linking and use of annotations in older videos, can help build YouTube watch time as users to continue watching your other videos by linking them to newer videos or continue to stay watching the current videos by asking them to stick around to find out more in areas that they usually drop off (eg. mid video) .This will increase your overall watch time since they are watching more of your video content.
Want more help? Need more hands on assistance? Get in touch we do YouTube Coaching >>
YouTube king of subscriptions PewDiePie uses eye catching thumbnails every time
Funny cat videos are more popular than funny dog videos – but both searches peaked in 2014
How to add a channel watermark to your video
Wesley Snipe’s “always bet on black” moment in Passenger 57 in slow motion.
If you’re a looking to create a vlog on YouTube, you may be thinking that it’s you’re going to get famous vlogging. That’s not how it works. There are a few things that you can do to increase volume which will help you reach that goal.
Emma Blackery and Luke Cutforth’s Oreo Licking Race – YouTube 2014
