Social Media

ALL ABOUT YOUTUBE

Jason Granville explain how to set up a YouTube channel that will impress your target audience. First, you have to get the basics right

Whether you are setting up your channel for friends and family, a charity, or your business, first you need to know your YouTube channel’s purpose.

This is one of the most important tips for beginners. Do you want to share your passion with the world? Is YouTube part of your video content marketing strategy to promote your business? Are you looking to integrate social media and video marketing strategies? Are you trying to make your YouTube channel your business? Knowing what your purpose is will help guide you while you start creating content.

If this is about your business, you’ll obviously want to brand your channel with your company’s name. It is also a good idea to link your channel to your website and other social media accounts, so everything is reinforcing everything else. Having a strong grasp on the purpose can also help you seed ideas for the types of video content that will most likely resonate with your audience.

As with other social media, if you go into your YouTube channel blindly, you may suffer from having unfocused content that lacks cohesiveness and drives would-be subscribers away.‍

‍Getting started

If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll need to sign up for one, and then head over to YouTube and sign in with your username. Next, you will find there are certain hoops you have to jump through, such as leaving a comment on a video or creating a playlist.

I recommend the ‘upload video’ action, as it will give you prompts to guide you through creating your own channel. You will be asked if you want to use the name associated with your Google account, or with a brand account. The advantage of using a brand account is that you’ll be able to give channel management access to multiple people. Once you choose which option you’d like to use, YouTube will set up your channel. It’s as simple as that.‍

‍Verification

After you create your YouTube channel, you’ll need to verify it. This will enable certain features that you will not have access to without verification, including having the ability to customize your video thumbnails; an engaging thumbnail can be the difference between people clicking to watch your video, or completely ignoring it.

To verify your account, navigate to ‘Channel status and features’ in the YouTube settings and click on the Verify button. You will be prompted to give your phone number, at which point you can select between getting a verification code via text or voice call. This verification code should arrive quickly.‍

‍First impressions

We all know how important first impressions are. They can set the tone for your entire interaction with any given person in any given circumstance.

Your YouTube channel banner will likely be the first thing viewers and possible subscribers will see when visiting your channel. It’s big and sits right at the top your channel’s main page. Having an effective banner is your chance to make that good first impression, enticing viewers to stay and check out some videos.

Artwork

Creating YouTube channel artwork should be no problem if you have design skills. If you don’t, there are several tools and templates online that will make the whole process much easier.

Canva is one easy-to-use graphic design platform with several YouTube channel art templates that can help you get a jump start on designing your own banner. And it’s free.

A little tip is to make sure that your logo and text are centralised as your banner will have to work on several types of devices. Once you have your

design finalised, go to your channel and hover over the area where your banner would be. You’ll see a camera icon flash up on the top right of the banner area. Click on the icon and upload away!

If you have yet to upload any videos, you will need to click on ‘Customize Channel’ towards the top right of the page. Here you will see a preview of your channel’s home page. Click on ‘Add channel art’ where the banner would be. Nice and easy.‍

If you are building a video content marketing strategy to promote an existing business, you’ll know what services or products you have to offer and to whom you are offering them. But if you are getting into YouTube with hopes of making it your business, you might have a harder time finding your niche.

Focus on things you are already proficient in or have established credibility for. Think of a subject you are passionate about and want to share with others.

‍Practice makes perfect

Watch enough professional YouTubers and you’ll find a similar sentiment. While it might be easy to critique the quality or consistency of your early work, you should be proud of the effort it took to get there. Plus, early work can still generate subscribers! Wherever you are on your learning curve, just press record. Start making your videos as soon as possible. Learning how to start a YouTube channel as a beginner is largely about pointing that camera and shooting.

Play around with camera angles. Search for your voice. Figure out how to light your shots. Dabble with editing. This is your time to start gaining experience. Just start filming.‍ ‍A common concern of beginners is their camera set-up. Some YouTubers might be afraid of looking like a rookie with bad equipment, while others might just be excited for a new toy. Either way, getting the best camera should not be a top priority.

Your smartphone could probably do the job for now. Instead of getting a new camera right away, investigate tools that might make it easier to shoot with your phone such as a tripod or stand. Eventually you’ll want to upgrade your camera and a solid DSLR should suffice then.‍ One of the most common mistakes new YouTubers make is concentrating too much on video quality and not enough on audio. It should be the other way around because nothing ruins a video faster than poor sound. If your audio is not clear, your

An engaging thumbnail can background music is too loud, or you speak too softly, you’ll be the difference between people certainly see complaints in the comments. Make sure that what clicking to watch your video, needs to be heard is heard. The or completely ignoring it. best way to do this is by having strong mics. An often-overlooked YouTube tip for beginners is to invest in a good microphone before a good camera.‍ As always, a few hundred words is hardly enough to give you a comprehensive guide, but please feel free to contact me if you require any further assistance. Want advice from Jason? Contact him at jason.granville@yahoo.co.uk