Whether you are building a YouTube channel for the first time or updating the one you’ve had since the early days of YouTube in 2006, remember that any social media endeavor requires some thought toward process. Here are 5 steps/stages that can help you build a better branded YouTube experience.

1. SOCIAL STUDIES: FIVE STEPS TO A BETTER BRANDED YOUTUBE EXPERIENCE May 2012
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2. overview.
Whether you are building a YouTube channel for the first time or updating the one you’ve
had since the early days of YouTube in 2006, remember that any social media endeavor
1) Process
requires some thought toward process.
1) Introduction While it may seem like a no-brainer to some, not everyone sees the benefit of engaging on
YouTube. Aligning yourself with a social process can help to alleviate the pain of
optimizing your YouTube presence.
3) Stage 1: Content
Give some thought to how brands fit in with the consumer-generated content on YouTube
and run through the basics of the newly updated YouTube channel contained in this
4) Stage 2: Information and Settings presentation.
5) Stage 3: Design Finally, build your branded YouTube experience and give the content-hungry consumers
something to feast their eyes upon.
6) Stage 4: Analytics
7) Stage 5: Optimization
Photo Source: YouTube and Google brand logos
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3. Process
 Lead with strategy and process
 Set objectives, measure forward
 Work through the process: content, information,
design, analytics and optimization
 Measure to the objectives and expectations you
set down
Photo Source: Invents.com
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4. PROCESS
social process. OBJECTIVES
Objectives
Identify your objectives and exactly
what you are hoping to walk away with.
The more specific you can be, the more
you will be able to measure against in
the end.
5 Stages Content
1. Start with your Content Strategy and
look for content that suits the platform
and audience.
2. Then move onto updating the
Information & Settings as much as Optimization Information
possible.
3. After doing this you can design your
channel to a look and feel that supports
your content.
4. Monitoring the channel using the
analytics tools provided will give you
valuable information that should let you Analytics Design
know if what you are doing is working.
5. Finally, remember to optimize your
channel. Just like every social network
out there, it doesn’t live in a silo.
Measure
Don’t forget to measure the effectiveness
and efficiency of your efforts as they relate
to the objectives. MEASUREMENT
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5. Introduction
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6. INTRODUCTION
3 types of channels.
Custom Branded Channels
Branded Channels The site-like interface offered by YouTube
Most commonly used by brands does not come without a price. Further
that don’t have a limitless budget to customization inside the YouTube model
User Channels invest into YouTube, but want a itself requires extensive development and
The most basic of the three types of customized experience. The collaboration with Google and YouTube.
channels, the user channel is designed to remainder of this presentation will
offer everything that a consumer might discuss this in more detail.
need. Analytics are provided for videos,
but the appearance customization is
limited to background colors and images.
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7. INTRODUCTION
new design.
Cosmetic Updates Tip:
In March 2012 YouTube released a new design format for profile Take the guided tour of the new channel design to
pages. YouTube slimmed down the appearance to offer more visual make sure you understand the basics.
real estate for videos and content, but also improved the structure of
the page to make it easier to find what you need. You can find the tour by going here:
http://youtu.be/q56nxmAikpA
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8. INTRODUCTION
anatomy of the channel. Featured Video
For YouTube viewers the brand channel is a hub for content. Place your
most engaging content in the featured video section to pull viewers
further into the branded YouTube experience.
Appearance
Brands can customize their
YouTube channel as they see fit. Editing
The most basic customization is The new YouTube design allows for a much
called an image map, which allows easier and fluid interface. While you can edit
areas in the background image of how each section of the channel works
the channel to operate as buttons. (featured videos, playlists, uploads and
The admin of the channel can edit information), the majority of changes will be
the different parts of the background made through the “Edit Channel” button in the
to make them clickable. In this top right.
example each product directs the
user to the corresponding section of
the brand’s website.
Playlists
If your channel has a lot of content it may make
sense to create playlists based on topics or
Tabs
themes to help the user find what they are
The primary benefit of a branded
looking for. In this example, content is broken
partner channel is the ability to add
up by date.
additional “tabs” to make
customized content sections.
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9. Stage
1 Content
 Create content with the consumer in mind. Ask yourself,
“Would I share this with friends?”
 Host a wide variety of content on the channel
 Upload current video content hosted elsewhere
(if applicable)
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/FjallravenSE
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10. CONTENT
content is king.
Be smart. Content is king.
YouTube can amplify content you have
elsewhere, but this doesn’t mean the viewers
will engage with it.
Try to fulfill the needs of your potential
subscribers by providing entertainment or utility
and ask the question: Why would someone
share this?
Example:
Chevy does a good job of featuring entertaining
videos with groups like OK Go, who made a
name for themselves making music videos and
distributing them on YouTube. If you don’t have
the budget to make a musical car, don’t worry
behind-the-scenes content and engaging
commercials work just as well.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/Chevrolet
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11. Stage
2 Information and Settings
 Complete information fields for the channel
 Complete information fields for each video
 Understand how to set private, public, unlisted videos
 Understand what each appearance setting does
Photo Source: iLounge
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12. INFORMATION AND SETTINGS
channel settings.
In the new channel layout settings are still located under your user avatar in the upper right-hand corner
of the screen.
These settings do not change the appearance of your page, just the information and content housed on
the channel.
Cover All Your Bases
The settings link under your
profile will lead you to an
overview of your channel.
From here it’s important to
familiarize yourself with all
of the options available.
Completing all sections of
your profile setup tab will
provide viewers with a
richer and more effective
experience.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/arcticcat
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13. INFORMATION AND SETTINGS
video settings.
After uploading your video:
The information and settings
How to find video settings: tab is the first place you
should go after uploading a
video. Make sure that all the
relevant information is filled
out.
Tip:
The privacy settings are
one of the more essential
settings to be familiar with.
Private videos are
Then click… available only to people
you select, while public
videos show on the
channel page and can be
searched by anyone.
Unlisted videos can only
be accessed if the user
has the direct link to the
video.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/arcticcat
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14. INFORMATION AND SETTINGS
other settings.
Channel Settings
An additional way to edit the settings is through the “Edit Channel” button on the channel home page (see slide 8). From here
you can also edit the appearance of the channel.
This toggles the landing tab for the channel.
These advanced
features can improve
your measurement
capabilities.
Tag your channel with
brand terms and
keywords used on your
site to improve SEO.
Toggle your channel’s
visibility.
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15. Stage
3 Design
 Create a branded background
 Design the background around your content’s message
 Choose a themed background for design variability
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/realmadridcf
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16. DESIGN
adjust the appearance.
Mission Control
The appearance tab will allow the page
owner to create an image map for the
background. This essentially makes the
background image clickable.
Example: Adding a site navigation bar to
your channel banner allows viewers to
navigate to the brand’s website.
Featured Tab
You can adjust the layout of your channel to your
liking. Depending on how you want your content to
appear, it can be organized in one of four ways.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/arcticcat
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17. DESIGN
design with content in mind.
Design
AT&T provides a good example of a brand that has created a custom tab with specific content in mind. The design of the page
and the content play off of one another without distracting users from the real star of the page—the videos.
In the example below, AT&T has also used image mapping to bring website navigation elements to the page.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/ShareATT
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18. DESIGN
design with content in mind.
Thinking Outside the Box
Coca-Cola decided to add clickable icons throughout their videos. These links would lead to related content. This “treasure hunt”
method is just one way for a brand to connect with users. What is important isn’t the means but the fact that the brand committed to a
single idea and drove it with a unification of design and content.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/cocacola
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19. Stage
4 Analytics
 Choose metrics aligned with your objectives
 Compare audience insights to overall
marketing segments
 Look at different time periods to uncover
trends
Photo Source: Volacci
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20. ANALYTICS
Knowing What to Look At
Understanding which metrics are the most
important is no easy task. This will vary upon
your goals, objectives and content.
In some cases, video views may be more
important to a brand that values awareness,
while comments may be more important to a
brand that values engagement.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/starkey2010
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21. ANALYTICS
Traffic Sources
This tab is useful as a way to analyze referral traffic to your
page. Each traffic source will tell its own story about your
channel.
High embedded player traffic means that videos you have
embedded elsewhere (on your site) are working well.
YouTube suggested video traffic is a good indicator that your
content is tagged well and has proper visibility.
Subscribers
Brands will often undervalue YouTube based on the number of
subscribers compared to other social network followings.
YouTube is primarily used as a search engine, and therefore
the emphasis isn’t on the feed, but rather on the search
features.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/starkey2010
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22. Stage
5 Optimization
 Add and refine tags on the channel
 Add and refine tags on each video
 Add a YouTube app on your brand’s
Facebook page
 Promote videos
 Embed YouTube videos on your site and
other digital properties
Photo Source: “The Wall of Sound”
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23. OPTIMIZATION
Socializing
Your social channels don’t have to live in silos—they
actually get along quite well. Facebook app developer
Involver offers a free tab that allows your fans to watch
your videos without leaving the Facebook experience.
Tagging
Tagging and keywords issue strong signals to search
engines. Choose three to five keyword targets per brand
channel and as many as make sense per video. Tagging for
videos is paramount.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/nike
Photo Source: http://www.facebook.com/arcticcat.snow
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24. OPTIMIZATION
Embedding
If you have a site or blog that currently houses video content,
consider hosting what content you can through YouTube and
embed the videos on that site. YouTube amplifies your content
by allowing it to be both searchable on your site and on the
world’s second largest search engine.
Promoting
Same practices apply with YouTube as other social platforms —
promote and acknowledge. YouTube can be used to promote your site
as well. Using annotations on branded videos allows users to interact
and can be used to direct to outside sites.
Photo Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/arcticcat
Photo Source: http://www.arcticcat.com
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25. THANK YOU!
®
PERISCOPE
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