YouTube is a video-sharing platform, streaming service and social media platform. It hosts every type of content you can imagine, with more being uploaded all the time.
Finding what you’re looking for with so much content can be challenging. Want to watch a live event or filter out the stuff you don’t need to see? How about avoiding parodies? Tap or click here for eight YouTube tricks that will have you searching like a pro.
Anyone can create and share content on YouTube. It’s easy and free and can be a creative outlet for your hobbies or a new way to draw attention to your brand or small business. Whether you want to make cooking videos for beginners or have a resume-writing business, YouTube can share your content with the world. We’ll help you get started.
How to create a channel
Anybody can watch videos on YouTube, but you’ll need a Google Account to like videos and subscribe to channels. If you want to upload your videos, you need a YouTube channel on top of that.
How to start a YouTube channel:
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or your mobile phone.
- Tap your profile picture, then Create a channel.
- Tap Create Channel on the menu that appears.
- Check the details (with your Google Account name and photo) and confirm to create your channel.
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What’s next?
Your channel name is the official name that people will know you by. If it’s a personal channel, you can name it after yourself. If you are focused on a topic, you can work that into the name. While you can change your channel name, it’s not a good idea to do so often.
Think about how your channel will grow before thinking of a name. You want it to stay relevant. Make it catchy and keep it simple if you can. You want people to remember your channel name and make it intriguing for newcomers.
Put some thought into your cover picture. Like your channel name, you want it to be relevant while attracting attention. For example, if your channel is for kids, you may not want to use the same picture you would to target an adult audience.
Describe your channel in the About section. Tell a story about how you started or why you created the channel. Share your goals with your audience and give detailed information, but don’t go on too long.
Put contact and relevant business information in your About section as well. And don’t forget to leave contact information and links for your audience to learn more.
YouTube sees more than 2 billion monthly logged-in users and 500 hours of content is posted every minute. What makes your channel or business unique from the others? Watch similar content to get some ideas and create your content from that inspiration.
How often should you post?
Your production schedule depends on a few factors, including how much work goes into each video, how much time you have, the videos’ length and the content types.
You can probably post every day if you are out with your phone shooting vlogs. These are candid and unplanned snippets to share with your audience.
Let’s Play videos take a little more work, but these can be unscripted and filmed with a camera focused on you and the game you’re playing. You can post these daily as well.
If your videos take a lot of research, you can space out your posts. The videos should reflect the work you put into them. Show your audience that you put in the effort by producing high-quality, well-researched videos.
If you work with a group of people with different roles, you may want to post once a month. This could include production teams (sound, cameras, editing, directing and more) or simpler videos that contain multiple personalities, such as skits.
Think about how things will be down the road. The time and energy you have now may not be enough a few months down the road. How much time can you dedicate in the long term? Are you in it for fun or to make money?
As your channel grows, your audience will expect a certain consistency. You can lose interest if you post daily videos for a while and then suddenly stop. Sometimes it can’t be avoided, and in this case, you can post a video explaining why your schedule is changing. But don’t make a habit out of it.
Start slow and find a frequency you can sustain.
Marketing your channel
You put a lot of work into your channel, and now you want to get the word out. Cross-promotion is one method that can increase your brand awareness. Working with similar channels benefits both of you and is an excellent way to network.
It could be as simple as a popular channel promoting a new one or two channels collaborating on videos together.
YouTube is a search engine, and as such, SEO is important. You should optimize your channel to rank higher in search results, just as you would for a website.
Primary keywords should be front and center in your titles. Primary and secondary keywords can go in your video descriptions, where you’ll have more room for them. You can include synonyms and long-tail keyword variations to increase your video’s chances of being seen.
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