YouTube is a revolutionary platform that changed the landscape of the internet. Today, its statistics are staggering.
It has over 2.7 billion active users (including 80 million premium users), resulting in 113 billion monthly visits. 52% of all internet users use YouTube at least once per month.
In 2023, the site generated over $22 billion (approximately £17 billion) in advertising revenue.
YouTube isn’t just a monetary powerhouse. It’s also a phenomenal marketing platform that can help you broaden your reach, diversify your content, and generate leads. Every business on the planet should be figuring out how to get a piece of the pie.
In this article, we’ll show you how to get started on your YouTube journey. Before you begin chasing million-pound partnerships, however, you must create a channel, develop an online identity, and start to grow your following.
This guide helps ensure you get your foundations in place so you can build a valuable platform for your brand.
YouTube is owned by Google so you must have a Google account to create a YouTube channel.
Your first step should be to set up an account, which you can do through Google’s homepage or via YouTube (hit Sign In on the top right-hand side of the main page).
Follow the steps to create and finalise your Google account.
Next, go to YouTube.com and sign in. After that, all that’s left to do is create your channel. To do this, click your profile icon on the top right-hand side of the homepage and click “Create a channel”.
From here, you’ll be asked to set up a personal or business channel. Business channels require you to enter a custom name.
When you create a new channel name, it becomes separate from your main account and has separate settings and history. This allows you to keep personal and business tasks separate.
You can engage with your community, like videos, and comment on other accounts as your brand without affecting your personal profile. Below are a few tips for how to customise your channel in the early stages:
If you want to learn more about how to start your channel, we have a post that breaks down the process in greater detail.
Creating a YouTube channel is easy. Getting millions of views on your videos isn’t. Now, this isn’t always important.
However, you want to give your content the best opportunity to succeed. It’s also important for your audience to get the right impression when they land on your YouTube channel.
Before you start shooting videos and creating content, make sure you get the basics right. Here are some instructions to help you get off on the right foot as soon as you set up your channel.
One of the simplest yet most effective ways to professionalise your account is to add a banner to your homepage. A banner is a horizontal image that goes across the top of the page. It’s typically used as a creative piece of branding or to communicate a message.
You’ll likely have to crop or custom-design your banner image. YouTube recommends using one that’s 2048 x 1152 pixels (minimum) and 6MB or less. To upload your banner photo, go to the YouTube Studio and look for the Customisation tab in the navigation bar on the left. Then, click Branding and you’ll see where to upload your profile and banner images.
The watermark is a tiny image that appears on the bottom right-hand corner when your videos play. When you hover your mouse over the watermark, a small window appears prompting you to subscribe to the channel. A brand logo is often the most popular image for the watermark.
Note that YouTube recommends using a PNG, JPEG, BMP, or GIF (not an animation) that’s 150 x 150 pixels and 1MB or less. You can upload the watermark image in the YouTube Studio in the same place where you select your profile and banner images.
The About section appears next to the profile photo, just under the subscriber and video information on the homepage. Many businesses fail to realise how important this section is.
It allows you to describe the business, using keywords and hashtags, which will help consumers find your channel.
You can also add links to your website and other social media channels plus contact information and channel details. While you don’t want to overpack this section with text, take time to write a comprehensive About section and include all relevant links.
While there are ways to start off on the right foot with YouTube, success often comes down to trial and error.
No two creators are identical, and so, what works for one, may not work for the other. This could be the case even if you’re in the same industry. That said, it’s crucial to understand your audience as well as the competitors that service them.
When studying your target market, you’ve got to be strategic.
What information will help you create better content that resonates with your audience and helps you achieve your goals? When you take a deep dive into demographics, here’s what you should be on the lookout for:
When it comes to analysing competitors, don’t view them as the opposition.
In the YouTube space, having more quality creators in your niche is often a good thing, driving more views to your industry.
Watch competitor videos for inspiration and ideas. If the opportunity arises, consider reaching out to creators to collaborate. This is often the way YouTube channels take a leap to the next level.
It’s important for your YouTube account to have a purpose. Ideally, it will align with the overarching marketing strategy of your business.
Having a value proposition gives your channel a core identity and should help with idea generation and your content creation strategy.
Without a value proposition, it’s easy to get lost in the scramble of jumping from one trend to the next.
While this approach may result in a viral piece of content every now and again, it may detract from the overall branding. Consistency is key to building trust and gaining a loyal community.
Determine what your value proposition is and use it as a compass for making your videos.
It may help to come up with a slogan or tagline to bring clarity to the audience. For example, at Sendible, we end our YouTube About section with this message:
Sendible is a time saver that allows people to engage with new and existing audiences to build stronger brands on social media.
From this short sentence, you know that Sendible is a time-saving tool that helps you scale your audience and improve your social media performance. You’ll find that all of Sendible’s YouTube content falls in line with this statement.
A short five-minute video for YouTube can take hours or even days to make from start to finish.
Depending on your niche, content type, editing requirements, and much more, posting on YouTube may require several people to put in tens of hours per week. Therefore, planning content in advance can be beneficial.
You want to avoid a scenario whereby you’re trying to come up with content ideas for the coming week when Monday comes around. This will make consistency very difficult and inevitably will lead to diluted content.
Before you start churning out content, it’s important to have the right equipment. Again, depending on the nature of your business, your equipment list will vary.
Many faceless YouTube accounts generate a lot of revenue with low-budget videos. On the other hand, some channels, like Mr Beast, pump millions into every upload.
Podcast-style or camera-facing videos fall between both extremes and are among the most popular video types at the moment. If your business falls into this category, a sample equipment list may look like this:
After completing the above steps, your YouTube channel will be primed for producing content. That said, the videos you put out will be the real difference maker. When it comes to publishing, leave no stone unturned in terms of the technical aspects. Below, we take you through the key steps for publishing videos, including some of the technical tasks that some creators overlook.
With your content plan in hand, it’s time to start producing videos. Create a storyboard, write a script, or plan the shoot however necessary.
Remember to include equipment setup, wardrobe, and audio testing in the production plan. Your first few attempts at content creation may take longer than expected but this is part of the process.
Pro tip: read through the YouTube copyright rules and community guidelines before you commit to a video. Otherwise, a misstep could lead to your video being taken down, putting all your hard work to waste.
When your video is ready, uploading couldn’t be easier. Hit the Create button on the top right corner of the homepage and click Upload.
From here, all you have to do is select your file and follow the instructions. Keep in mind that uploads can take several hours, particularly for large files or long videos.
Rather than going through this process for each upload, use Sendible’s YouTube management tools. Our software allows you to schedule videos in advance for timely and consistent publishing.
You can use our analytical tools to ensure your content reaches your audience at the best times for optimal visibility and engagement.
Sendible’s centralised dashboard also allows you to manage other social media accounts all from the same place.
Just like with your YouTube uploads, you can plan and schedule corresponding social media content to go out, driving even more eyes to your video. Sendible’s all-in-one platform helps you streamline processes, saving time, and maximising performance.
During the upload process, YouTube prompts you to add further details, like metadata and a video description.
It’s easy to think that no one will pay attention to this information but in reality, it plays a big role in your content’s visibility.
Be strategic with your video title. Ensure it contains relevant keywords and has enough information to draw the viewer. However, you don’t want to cram key phrases or overcomplicate things. Try to keep the title to 66 characters or fewer.
Your video description should fall somewhere between 200 and 500 words. However, the first 157 characters are most important as these are what’s on display in the description preview.
Don’t worry too much about loading information. Instead, give a video teaser and include CTAs and links to important web pages.
If you direct your viewers to specific websites in your video, be sure to include the relevant links in the description. For tutorials or guides, it’s always good to include a video transcript.
You won’t always be able to include every keyword naturally in the video title and description. If this happens, add between five to eight tags containing the missing keywords. This is the perfect place to use keyword phrases rather than single words.
The importance of YouTube thumbnails can’t be understated. 90% of YouTube’s top-performing videos have custom thumbnails, and it’s no coincidence.
The video thumbnail has the power to draw all of the attention on the homepage but can equally garner no eyes if the design isn’t up to scratch.
Your thumbnail should provide a window into your video, giving viewers an idea of what to expect. Like it or not, the loudest and most in-your-face thumbnails tend to be the ones that get a lot of clicks.
Bright and bold colours with exaggerated facial expressions have become the go-to images for creators.
However, you can have success with a more subtle approach. For example, if your brand has a distinct colour scheme, a more tranquil thumbnail may stand out against a sea of chaos.
Remember, your audience may access your content from different devices so ensure the image isn’t overly complicated.
Thumbnails are recommended to be 1280 x 720 pixels and under 2 MB.
Regardless of your design approach, you’ll need to put thought and effort into the thumbnail design.
Canva has become one of the go-to image editors for creators. Sendible’s built-in image editing program integrates with Canca, allowing you to create compelling and attention-grabbing thumbnails on our platform.
With your YouTube video shot, edited, and optimised, all that’s left to do is publish. Sendible’s YouTube scheduler is the perfect tool for this. It allows you to add your video to the content calendar and schedule it in advance. There’s no need to waste time manually uploading every video each week.
To boot, Sendible’s analytics will show you when your audience’s activity peaks, ensuring you know precisely when to post.
YouTube Shorts are the platform’s answer to TikTok or Instagram reels. Shorts vary in length between 15 and 60 seconds, giving viewers bite-sized chunks of content.
Some creators release shorts in multiple parts to increase views and engagement. Similarly to TikTok and Instagram videos, they can be edited with text, subtitles, and music.
Shorts have become an important way for channels to improve reach and hit new audiences. These short-form videos have the potential to gain millions of views and reach viral status in hours, unlike ever before. They’re a great way to create awareness of your channel and draw in the viewer over time.
Perhaps the most convenient aspect of YouTube Shorts is that you don’t necessarily have to come up with new content to get involved. Instead, create snippets of your longer-form content and upload them.
Creating a YouTube channel is just the beginning. Once it’s up and running, it’s important to manage it correctly.
By following YouTube’s best practices, you give your content the best chance of reaching your audience. Below, we’ve outlined some management tips to ensure your channel runs smoothly.
YouTube allows you to customise the layout of your channel for the audience. This convenient feature means your homepage greets viewers exactly how you want it to. Sendible’s homepage includes a For You suggestions followed by playlists with tutorials and social media resources.
Before you have a repertoire of videos, this type of layout won’t be possible. In this scenario, it’s always good to have a channel trailer video to greet viewers on your homepage.
This video should be a short snapshot of what your channel is all about, giving your audience a sense of what they can expect and why they should subscribe.
You can’t expect your YouTube videos to be a hit from the beginning. Use Sendible’s analytics reports to dive into the data and gain a better understanding of your content’s performance.
In addition to likes and views, pay attention to where on the video users fast forward to, what they skip, and where they turn it off.
Keep these insights in mind when creating your next batch of content and continually refine your strategy. Be patient and you will begin to see results.
One of the most important things to note in your analytics report is the peak activity time of your audience.
You’ll want to schedule your content to publish around the times when your potential viewers are most active. This will drive up views and engagement, improving content performance.
A YouTube playlist is a collection of videos that play consecutively. You can create playlists on your channel under the Playlist tab.
When you have multiple videos uploaded, assemble them into a playlist. After a while, you’ll be able to create even more playlists according to video topics or categories.
Why should you create YouTube playlists? The answer to this is quite simple. It’s an effective way to increase views of your videos and keep people on your content.
One of the keys to success on YouTube is consistency. Subscribers learn to expect content on specific days and may even set reminders or notifications to let them know when a new video goes live.
What’s more, the YouTube algorithm favours accounts that upload regularly. Consistency proves that your channel is engaged and active, which could result in improved visibility and rapid growth.
If your YouTube channel generates enough traffic, it could be another valuable revenue stream. There are multiple ways to monetise your channel, both directly and indirectly:
Here’s a bonus tip. Always remind your viewers to like and subscribe. The vast majority of people who consume your content will not be subscribed to your channel. In the same vein, they won’t hit Like on your videos. This is why so many YouTubers directly ask to like and subscribe in their videos. You might be surprised at how effective this can be.
In 2024, starting a YouTube channel is a worthwhile investment that goes far beyond uploading videos. The work that goes into creating content can be used for other means.
For example, you can repurpose it for social media or include learnings in your next email newsletter. YouTube should be just one part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
As the expectations of online consumers continue to rise, there is no longer room for subpar content and social media guessing games. Businesses, brands, and solo creators should be using every tool at their disposal to nail down their marketing efforts.
Sendible’s social media management software is a no-brainer when it comes to efficiently managing all your accounts from one place.
Trusted by international brands like Expedia, NHS, and Texas A&M University, our track record speaks for itself.
That’s why we’re happy to offer a free 14-day trial that requires no card or contract. If you want more information before you sign up, book a demo with one of our team.