Is your company using video as a marketing tool? Many businesses are now leveraging the power of video content, whether promoting products and services, sharing client testimonials, or providing how-to videos for customers. The possibilities are endless, and it’s easier than ever to record and share video content.
For clients who are creating a library of videos, we always recommend setting up a branded YouTube channel to house them. There are several important benefits of creating a channel, including:
Hassle-Free Hosting – by hosting your videos on YouTube rather than your own website, you don’t have to worry about bogging down your web server or exceeding bandwidth with your web host when website visitors watch your videos. You can embed and play videos on your website, but they aren’t hosted there.
Analytics – YouTube channel owners have access to detailed analytics, including number of video views, watch time, average view duration, demographics, playback locations, and more. This data can provide helpful insights for creating future videos that engage your target audience.
Reach – did you know that more than one billion people visit YouTube each month1? That’s almost one-third of all people on the Internet. You can open up the door to a whole new audience through YouTube.
Search Engine Optimization – when you think about search engines, most people think Google. But you may be surprised to learn that YouTube (owned by Google) ranks as the second largest search engine2. By including a link to your website from your YouTube channel and optimizing videos, you can boost relevant traffic to your site.
Beck Technology YouTube Channel
Have I convinced you that you need a YouTube channel? If so, here are some tips for setting up your channel:
Your channel will need to be associated with a Google account. If you don’t have one associated with a business email, it’s quick and easy to create your Google account.
If you ever lose or forget your access information, you can request a reset link which will go to the email address on record or to the cell phone on record.
One critical recommendation: set the account up as the business owner’s email or another leadership team member versus a staff member who may resign, retire or be terminated. Ensure that the details are documented somewhere in a master file. YouTube can’t help you recover and claim a channel back if you do not have the email or cell phone associated with that account. (We’re speaking from experience here as we had to create a second channel for a client who had such an employee situation occur.)
You’ll want to brand your channel, which includes:
Channel name – after you login to your Google account and begin setting up your YouTube channel, you’ll be prompted to enter a name for your channel. Be sure to instead click the link ‘Use a business or other name.’ Determine if you want to use your business name or something else as your brand account name.
Channel Icon – you’ll have to upload an image that is 800×800 pixels. For businesses, we recommend using your logo as the icon.
Channel Art – this shows as a banner at the top of your YouTube channel page. It displays at different sizes on desktop, mobile, and TV displays, which can make finding an image that works well across all devices challenging. The recommended image upload size is 2560×1440 pixels. It will automatically crop the image to fit on smaller devices, so critical text or photo elements should be within the safe area of 1546×423 pixels to be seen on all devices. You will have an opportunity to preview how the channel art renders on all devices before saving.
Description – provide a description about your company and what viewers can expect from your channel (1,000 character limit). Include a link to your website.
Verify your YouTube channel to be able to access additional features, such as custom thumbnails and ability to upload videos longer than 15 minutes. It’s simple. You’ll be asked to provide a phone number so they can send a verification code that you will enter where prompted on your channel.
We’ve only scratched the surface of the benefits of setting up a YouTube channel and some of the things you need to be prepared for to get started. Keep an eye out for future posts where we will share tips for uploading videos and optimizing for search engines.
