YouTube is the second-most visited website in the world behind Google, which owns YouTube.
Your brand should have a presence there.
The opportunity to reach your audience on YouTube is massive, with 1.7 billion unique monthly visitors. More than 60% of those users visit YouTube every single day. Wouldn’t it be nice if they took a look at your content while they were there?
Luckily, 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 there, too.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- The basics of how to create a YouTube channel from scratch
- How to optimize your channel for success
- What kind of YouTube content tends to resonate with viewers
- And more!
Before you can put your incredible YouTube marketing strategy into effect, you’re going to need a YouTube channel. Luckily, It’s pretty easy to create a new YouTube channel, even if you’re a beginner.
Take off your cinematographer hat and put on your click-a-bunch-of-buttons hat: here we go!
Create a Google account
YouTube accounts are connected to your Google account (Google is YouTube’s parent company). If you don’t already have a Google account, it’s time to make one. Don’t worry; it’ll just take a couple of minutes.
Update your channel branding
Tap the Branding tab to access more customization options:
- Change your profile picture: Use something that’s at least 98×98 pixels
- Change your banner: This appears at the top of your channel page. Aim for an image that’s a minimum of 2048 x 1152 pixels
- Add a video watermark: This image will overlay onto your content in the right-hand corner. For best results, use an image of 150 x 150 pixels
- Add a description and basic contact info
Tap the Basic Info tab to update details like your handle and URL. You can also add links and contact info and write a description of your channel.
The description is a great opportunity to add some keywords and hashtags that will help your target audience find your channel. It may be short, but it’s a powerful tool for both communication and discovery, so you’re gonna want to get it right.
Add some content!
Hopefully, you’ve got a video to actually put on this YouTube Channel, but if you need a minute to whip something up… we’ll wait.
OK: once you’ve got that vid file ready to roll, just tap the Play icon on the left-hand side of the screen to access the video menu. Tap the blue Upload Videos button.
As your video uploads, you’ll be prompted to enter some details about this great piece of film. Add a title and description that explains what viewers can expect… and don’t forget to cram in those search terms and keywords while you’re at it.
You can also select a thumbnail to help your video stand out in search results and on your channel page. This can be a still from the video or a separately uploaded image, but either way, make sure it POPS. Read more on how to create a great, eye-catching thumbnail below.
Tap Show More at the bottom to access options like tags and subtitles.
Tap Next when you’re done, and you’ll be taken to a menu that invites you to add cards (links to other videos) and an end screen. You can always go back and add or adjust these later as you amass more content.
Tap Next. The next screen will advise you if there are any copyright issues with your video — for example if you’ve used an unauthorized audio clip from Jaws to accompany your jellyfish video.
Tap Next if there are no issues. Your last hurdle to clear is the Visibility screen. Here, you can choose whether to publish a video publicly or keep it private. You can also schedule your video to go public at a later date.
Tap Save, and now your first video is out in the world. You did it! You’re a YouTuber!
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