Fun fact: YouTube is the second most visited website in the world, behind Google, YouTube’s parent company.
Fun suggestion: Your brand should be present there.
Reading: How to create a youtube channel and earn
The Die Opportunity to reach your audience on YouTube is huge. It is the most popular social platform among US adults, and nearly 75% of Americans use the social video site, compared to 69% of Facebook users.
More than half of these users visit YouTube every day. Wouldn’t it be nice if they watched your content while they were there?
Fortunately, creating a YouTube account isn’t difficult. Creating a successful YouTube channel is a little more work… but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered too.
How to create a new YouTube channel in 5 easy steps
Creating a successful YouTube channel starts with creating a YouTube channel. How to create your account.
Step 1: Create a Google Account
If you use Gmail, Google Maps or Google Play, you’ve got it probably already done. You have a Google account… so skip to the next step.
If you’re starting from scratch, sign up for a new Google account here.
The name and email address will not be publicly associated with your brand, so don’t worry about keeping this on-message. This is just your key to YouTube.
Step 2: Create a YouTube account
With your Google account you are automatically set up with a personal one YouTube account. But to start using YouTube for your business, you should set up a Brand Account.
Just go to your YouTube account page, click Create Channel, then type a a name for your Brand Account. You’re in!
If you create a YouTube Brand account, you can grant admin access to multiple people and customize the name and appearance to match your brand.
Another cool thing about Brand Accounts: They give you access to YouTube Analytics, which provides super helpful insights into who is watching your videos and what content is popular. (Learn more in our post on using YouTube for marketing.)
Step 3: Customize your YouTube channel Channel to
Time to make this awesome new social media profile your own.
From your channel dashboard, click Customize channel. Go through the three tabs – Layout, Branding and General Info – to enter information that will help make your channel easier for viewers to find to optimize.
When filling out this information, use meaningful keywords that will help your account show up in searches.
Keywords can be your channel’s topics, your industry, questions your content can answer, or products that are featured.
Under Branding, you have the option to customize your channel images and icons upload to give your channel a unique look. One that ideally fits your overall brand and visually connects this YouTube account to your other social media platforms and web presence.
We have a customizable YouTube here find banner templates to get you started.
Step 4: Upload your first YouTube video
Well, that’s exciting. You’re about to become a YouTube content creator! I’m not crying, you’re crying.
To share your first video with the world, click the Create button in the top right and follow the prompts.
Step 5: Make your YouTube channel discoverable
As the old saying goes, when you post amazing content on Having YouTube but nobody sees it… what’s the point?
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To get views and subscribers, you should optimize your channel and videos for discoverability. We have a complete guide to promoting your YouTube channel if you want to dive deep. In the meantime, here’s the 30-second overview:
Optimize video titles
Use concise, meaningful titles that contain Google-friendly keywords.Titles are the first thing users see, but they also help the search engine understand what your videos are about. So make sure all your titles are punchy and intriguing, but also clear and include keywords.
Optimize your YouTube description
It is important to be clear and concise and also descriptive here. Make sure to preload your keywords and add links to other playlists.
Another good trick for video descriptions? Create a “table of contents” with timestamps to make it easier for viewers to find what they’re looking for.
For more tips, check out our complete guide to writing a successful YouTube description.
Add tags (in moderation)
While it can be tempting to fill this section with Clickbaity tags, make sure you only include YouTube tags that are relevant to your content are. Be honest and choose quality over quantity. The goal is to reach viewers who are actually interested in content like yours.
Tags also help YouTube’s algorithm to understand what your content is about. Make sure to add a category or two to help the search engine show your videos to the right audience.
Cross-Promotion
Insert a link added to your YouTube channel on your other social profiles, website, and email signature to let your existing fans know you’re building a video empire.
You see the algorithm
If you haven’t already, now is the time to familiarize yourself with the YouTube algorithm. This AI not only determines search results, but also recommendations for that all-important What’s Next sidebar.
9 Tips for Starting a YouTube Channel
1. Use eye-catching channel art and thumbnails
Your channel art and thumbnails are your billboards, so make an impression!
An effective thumbnail is clear and accurate and works in tandem with the title of the videos. But it also needs to stand out.
Thumbnails are used by viewers to decide what to look at when scanning the search results. That means you don’t just have to communicate what your video is about. You also need to differentiate yourself from the competition.
And a lot of the competition is… noisy.
Evaluate what everyone else is doing and try to dodge. For example, choose your own color palette, or go ultra-minimal to stand out in a sea of neon colors and impact fonts.
Terry around with our channel art templates here.
2. Pick the perfect channel icon
A channel icon is like a logo for your YouTube presence. It should fit your brand and complement your channel banner.
When choosing an icon, follow YouTube’s recommended image dimensions to avoid stretching. Watch your channel on multiple devices to make sure everything looks good.
YouTuber J.J. McCullough uses a caricature of himself as a logo to represent both his art and personality.
3. Create playlists
Organizing and creating video playlists on YouTube is the best way to keep your viewers on your page.
YouTube playlists don’t just organize Your related content in a neat list, they will also play automatically. As soon as one video ends, the next begins… and so on. This minimizes the likelihood that a viewer will switch channels.
Financial advisor Max Mitchell, for example, adds all of his TFSA videos to a playlist so viewers can just sit back and learn more about taxes . free savings accounts for hours without end.
4. Create a channel trailer
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When someone first comes across your channel, a channel trailer is a way to get their first look at your content. Better make it count.
Just like the Hollywood hotshots get you hooked on watching Avengers: Tokyo Drift, you can give your audience a taste that will leave them wanting more.
Assume the viewer is a total stranger, so introduce yourself and tell them exactly why they should subscribe. Keep it short, sweet, and snappy: let them know how your content is doing and when to expect new uploads, like Yoga does with Adriene on her channel.
5. Consistently create great content
It sounds very obvious, but we’ll say it anyway: viewers want to see good videos.
But what a good YouTube video does is something different than, say, what constitutes a video that would host a foreign film festival.
According to Search Engine Journal, successful YouTube videos have attention-grabbing intros and great branding, background music, and clear audio.
Calls to action are also important. Whether your goal is to drive your audience to your website, increase your subscriber count, or start a conversation in the comments, the right CTA can help achieve it.
As with all social media content, there is no perfect formula for a successful YouTube video. Some brands thrive on sophisticated, highly-produced content, while others gain traction by being raw, unfiltered, and authentic.
The Vanity Fair YouTube channel is inspirational. Going beyond what you might read in the magazine’s profiles, it features videos of actors recounting everything they do in a day or passing a lie detector test.
Discover some ideas for engaging content from other social media platforms to inspire your experiments.
6. Schedule Your Videos
Give your videos the best chance of making it big by posting them at the right time: when people are online and ready to watch.
Your channel analytics will tell you if there is a day of the week or a specific time that tends to result in high viewership or engagement.
Once you have this information, you can post regularly within that timeframe using the help of Scheduling tools like Hootsuite.
Learn more about scheduling YouTube videos.
7. Understand your audience
It’s difficult to create compelling content if you don’t know who you’re creating it for. So make sure you get a good feel for your audience persona. Dive in.
Who are they? What do you like? (Why don’t they call me?!)
Once you’ve got a few videos under your belt, see if you’re hitting the mark by diving into your YouTube analytics. Hard-hitting numbers will tell you if, how and when your artwork will make an impact.
8. Experiment with YouTube Ads
If good old-fashioned organic content isn’t getting you the reach you want, maybe it’s time to throw a few bucks behind a promo campaign.
YouTube ads are available in these four categories:
- Skippable in-stream ads
- Non-skippable in-stream ads (including bumper ads )
- Video discovery ads (formerly known as in-display ads)
- Non-video ads (i.e. overlays and banners)
For more information on YouTube ad formats and how to use them, see our in-depth guide to YouTube advertising.
9. Ask viewers to subscribe
If someone subscribes to your channel (and hits the bell), they’ll get a notification when you post a new video – this is the best way to grow your subscriber base to increase your organic reach.
There’s a reason why “Don’t forget to subscribe” is the sign of choice for creators big and small.
Of course, it’s easier said than done than done to increase your subscriber count. That’s why we have a complete guide on how to get more YouTube subscribers.
Once you reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within a year, you can register as a YouTube affiliate and monetize yours Channel. Learn more about the YouTube Affiliate Program here.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for creating a successful YouTube channel. If you want to learn more, check out our blog post on how to get more views on YouTube, 23 clever ways to promote your YouTube channel, and how to become a YouTube marketing master.
Hootsuite makes it easy to upload, schedule, and promote your YouTube channel and videos across multiple social networks from one dashboard. Try it for free today.
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