Adding a banner image

The banner image is that large image spanning the top of a channel. Your banner is an opportunity to showcase your channel’s identity and give it a look and feel that’s unique to you.

The image you upload will be used on your channel on desktop computers, TV screens, and mobile phones, so choose an image that you think looks good across all devices.

A good image will

• Be a compelling representation of what your channel is about. Choose something bold that stands out!
• Be on brand for your business. It should match or be in the same family as your other brand creative, such as your website.
• Be as clearly visible on mobile phones as it is on desktops. For example, if it contains text, ensure that it can be read on all devices.

Whatever you choose, be sure you have the rights to the artwork you use. For example, you can use photographs you have taken yourself or illustrations you’ve had created. You can also find images that are available without royalty using Google Image Search.

To add a banner image to your channel:

1. Click on the Customize Channel button.

   You will see a beautiful clean slate that is ready for your creative touch. Your Google account profile image appears in the upper-left corner of the banner, along with images of devices and the Add Channel Art button.

2. Click on Add Channel Art.

   A box appears where you can upload photos.

3. Select a photo from your computer to upload or choose from the images in Your Photos or Gallery.

   Use a high resolution, large size image that is at least 2,048 x 1,152 pixels.

   A preview shows you how the image will look across devices.

4. Click on the Adjust the Crop button to alter your image and check the check box for Auto Enhance to make changes to things like brightness.

   Your channel art is uploaded.

YouTube offers downloadable channel art templates that you can use to design your channel art. Visit http://bit.ly/YTchannelarttemplate and navigate to the Image size & file guidelines section where you can find a downloadable zip file.

Adding links to your banner

On other YouTube channels, you may have noticed links to social media sites, such as Facebook, that sit on top of the channel’s banner image. You can add these links to your channel’s banner, too, by following these steps:

1. Navigate to your channel and click on the About tab.
2. Click on the Links button (near the bottom of the page) to add up to five external website links.

3. Give each link a title, enter the URL, and then click on the Add button.

   For example, you may choose to title your links as My Fan Club or My Facebook Page.

4. Add more links until you’re happy and click on the Done button.

   These links appear on your YouTube Channel’s banner.

Editing your channel icon

Your channel’s icon, also known as a profile picture, comes from your Google account, and it’ll follow you around pretty much wherever you go. The channel icon appears as the profile picture on your YouTube channel when someone visits, and it’ll be the image you click to access your Google account. It will also be the image that appears next to your comments when you comment on someone else’s video. It’s everywhere!

Even though the image you upload for your channel icon will be square, when it’s live it’ll appear with a circular crop. Keep that in mind and choose a profile picture that keeps the main image in the center, and not off to the sides.

Your channel icon should complement the rest of your YouTube channel art. For example, you may want your icon to be a photo of you, your product, service, or something that represents you that is consistent with your YouTube channel overall and your banner image. Coca-Cola’s channel icon, shown in Figure 13-2, is a great example because it shows its logo and product lineup, and is immediately identifiable as Coca-Cola wherever it may appear on the web.

To add or update your channel icon, follow these steps:

1. Hover your mouse pointer over your channel icon and click on the pencil icon that appears.

   An overlay message tells you that you’ll be taken to your Google account to change the image.

2. Click on the Edit button.

   A new browser tab displays your Google About me page, with an overlay to let you upload a photo.

3. Choose an image to upload, adjust the crop, and click on Done.

   The image you choose is posted immediately.

4. Return to your channel and check your channel icon.

   Make sure that it’s clear and complements your channel’s banner. If you’re not happy, change it!

Adding your channel description

The channel description is simply a few sentences describing your channel. This description appears in a few areas on YouTube, including when users mouse over your channel icon or visit the About section on your channel.

You can include links and write up to 1,000 characters in the channel description. A good channel description may say who you are and what you do, tell people what videos they can find on your channel, encourage viewers to interact with you on YouTube and your social channels, or provide links to other places where viewers may find you on the Internet, such as your website.

To get a sense of how other people have described their channels, visit other channels on YouTube and click on About to see their descriptions.

Figures 13-3 and 13-4 are two examples of great channel descriptions. In Figure 13-4, Coca-Cola gives information on who it is, the company’s origin, where you can find it, and its product range. This channel description helps you know you’ve arrived at the right place.

To add or change your channel’s description, go to your channel’s main page and follow these steps:

1. Click on Customize Channel.

2. Click on the About tab and then click on the Channel Description button.

   An input box opens, enabling you to write a brief description of your channel.

3. Type your description and click on Done.

   You can edit this description at any time.

About tab

In the About tab, you can see how many subscribers you have, the date you joined YouTube, and the description of your channel. In the About tab, you can

• Add your email address so that people can reach you.

  The email address you list doesn’t have to be the one you use to access your YouTube channel.

• Use a drop-down menu to select your location. (Choose your home country, where you are based.)
• Add links to your website and social sites so that people find you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social sites.

Channels tab

You can add featured channels to highlight some of the channels you like the most or to informally connect your channel to other channels you may have.

Some YouTuber’s have a primary channel for their videos, where they review new technology, and then a second channel that they use for videos like vlogging about their life and adventures. You also may have friends who have YouTube channels that you’d like to link to.

Similarly, some brands have a primary channel for their videos and then use other channels for one-off special advertising campaigns or initiatives, charitable efforts, or partnerships.

Warby Parker, an eyewear brand, has a primary channel for its videos about how its products are made, short films, TV spots, and its corporate social responsibility efforts (see Figure 13-5). The company also has a separate channel, WarbyParkerHelp, for its customer service videos. On this channel are videos that tackle key customer questions around topics like prescriptions or its home try-on program.

You can add featured channels by following these steps:

1. In the Featured Channels section of your Channels tab, click on the Add Channels button.

   A page like the one shown in Figure 13-6 appears.

2. Enter a channel username or URL and click on the Add button.

   The channel appears in the list of Added channels.

   You can add either a channel username or a URL.

3. Repeat Step 2 to add channels.

4. When you’ve added all the channels you’d like, click on the Done button.

   The featured channels appear on the right side of your channel and in the Channels tab.

Discussion or Community tab

While you’re setting up your channel, you may notice a Discussion tab, which sometimes appears as the Community tab.

The Discussion tab is an area where the channel owner, subscribers, and visitors can post text comments, such as status updates and replies. Most channels have a Discussion tab.

The Community tab typically appears when your channel reaches a certain number of subscribers and is rolling out increasingly over time. If you do have the Community tab, you’ll be able to not only post text updates, but also create polls, post GIFs, and interact with subscribers and visitors. The Community tab is a more advanced version of the Discussion tab, allowing for images and links, not just text, to be posted (see Figure 13-7).

Here are some ideas to get you started posting in your Discussion or Community tab.

• State the purpose of your Discussion or Community tab. Let people know what you’ll be posting here and what you’re looking for in return from them. For example, perhaps your Discussion tab will be used exclusively for feedback on your products and services, so you’re looking for people to provide candid constructive feedback.
• Post your latest videos. Use the tab to direct people engaging in discussion to your latest posting. You can also post videos from your archive when relevant — for example, resurfacing something from the previous year, such as a fall recipe video you made.
• Promote any products or services you are offering. Strike a balance when doing so because people aren’t looking for the heavy sell here. If someone is asking a question about your product or service, provide a link directing them to it. Don’t periodically blast promotional messages apropos of nothing.
• Ask people questions. Use polls to ask questions like what your next videos should be or what they think about various topics. Maybe you’re developing a new product that you want input on.
• Speak the language of the Internet with visuals. Communicating using memes is common, and even the most conservative of brands can find that using memes is a fun way to create a rapport with their audience.
• Encourage people to act. Perhaps you want people to rally around a cause, take some kind of action, or focus their attention on a topic.

When you first start your YouTube channel, the Discussion or Community tabs won’t have a lot of action. Don’t worry too much about spending a lot of time posting in this section until you get a volume of subscribers that warrant your time. Test posts occasionally to see whether people are seeing and responding to them.

For inspiration, follow the community posts of channels you subscribe to so that you can see how they’re engaging with their audience.

Home tab shelves

YouTube offers a lot of flexibility to organize your channel, enabling you to merchandise your video content in a variety of ways and focus people’s attention on what’s important. Think of your other social channels, such as Facebook. Many of these channels are waterfalls of content, simply showing the latest posting in a never-ending stream of posts scrolling back into time. You may have the option to pin a post to the top of the page, but that’s pretty much the limit.

With YouTube, you can craft your Home tab to appear how you’d like, focusing people’s attention where it matters by using shelves. A shelf is a row of content, such as a playlist you want your audience to see.

The Channel shelf lets you group videos together in a specific way so that your audience can make easier decisions about what they want to watch. You can have up to ten shelves on one channel.

To group videos together:

1. In the Home tab of your YouTube channel, click on Customize Channel.

   You can now edit your channel’s features, as shown in Figure 13-8.

2. Click on the Add a section button.

   A little section appears within the page. It features two drop-down menus: Content and Layout. The Content drop-down menu lists the options to craft your channel’s layout:

   • Videos: You can create sections for videos, including your most popular uploads, a list of uploads in order of most recent, liked videos, and live streaming options.
   • Playlists: You can include playlists you’ve created, a single or multiple playlist, and more.
   • Channels: You can feature the channels you subscribe to as well as use a custom grouping option.
   • Other: You can create sections that contain recent activities and recent posts.
3. From the Content drop-down menu, choose the type of shelf you’d like to create.
4. From the Layout drop-down menu, choose whether you’d like the shelf to be laid out horizontally in a row or vertically as a list.

Your top row should match your marketing priorities, such as your campaigns in market or your best performing content.

Marketers should consider refreshing the layout of their channel periodically throughout the course of the year.

Channel trailer

One of my favorite features of the YouTube channel is the ability to create what’s known as a channel trailer, a short video that is shown to people who visit your channel but are not yet subscribers. This trailer video is an opportunity to pitch them your channel and show them a “best of” video that entices them to watch more of your videos and to subscribe.

The best trailer videos are short, lasting a minute or less, and keep things punchy and fun. Focus on what’s really important to your audience and why your channel delivers to their needs.

To add a channel trailer:

1. Create your video and upload it to your channel.

   Visit Chapter 14 for details on uploading videos.

2. In the Home tab of the channel you want to edit, click on Customize Channel.

   You have the option to edit your channel for returning subscribers or new visitors.

3. Click on For new visitors.

   The Channel trailer button appears.

4. Click on the Channel trailer button.
5. In the window that appears, choose one of your videos from your channel.
6. Enter the URL of the YouTube video.

7. Click on Save.

   Your channel trailer is set!

Avoid making this a boring “Welcome to my channel” video introduction. Instead, get straight to the best content in a short and sweet video that sells viewers on you and your channel and encourages them to subscribe right then and there.

The YouTube Partner Program

Introduced in 2007, the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) transformed the YouTube landscape. YPP enabled people creating and uploading videos to their YouTube channels to participate in ad revenue sharing. Suddenly, people who made content for fun could actually make money from their videos.

You can sign up for YPP if you meet certain eligibility criteria. If accepted, you start to earn money from advertisements that are served against your videos and from the YouTube Premium subscribers who watch your content.

To be eligible for the program, you need a channel that has reached more than 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months and has more than 1,000 subscribers.

The criteria to join the YouTube Partner Program can change from time to time as YouTube works to ensure the program delivers a quality experience. Check the most current eligibility criteria by visiting: https://support.google.com/youtube and searching for YouTube Partner Program.

Signing up for YPP requires the completion of four stages:

1. Agree to the YouTube Partner Program terms.
2. Sign up for AdSense.
3. Set your monetization preferences.
4. Get reviewed.

Other ways to make money

Beyond using YouTube to promote sales of your products or services, or to grow brand awareness and product consideration, which both drive revenue, you can make money through YouTube in some other ways. While these approaches usually apply to YouTubers, marketers may be able to find creative ways to leverage them.

Merchandising

Many big brands will offer merchandise, branded clothing, accessories, and products of all sorts with the brand’s logo emblazoned front and center. This technique is leveraged by popular YouTubers, such as PewDiePie. PewDiePie offers a range of merchandise, shown in Figure 13-9, so his 70 million plus subscribers can express their fandom and he can further monetize his audience. Marketers can take advantage of promoting their merchandise through their YouTube channel.