PART 02
Software applications are a big hit, in part because you can add subtitles to your
video, you can incorporate special effects, and you can zoom in and out and take
advantage of many other features. Since optimizing your video is essential if you
want to attract attention on YouTube, let’s find out how to do that.
The next section will help you learn how to create and maximize your videos’
potential so they captivate your audience.
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Part III – Optimizing Your Videos
Optimizing your videos is essential if you want to stand out in the crowd. You
don’t have to have fancy technology to make a great video. Use the tips below to
learn how anyone can create compelling and interesting videos for their YouTube
audience.
Remember, YouTube provides even novices the ability to create videos and
upload them as simply as possible.
Features of a Good Video
YouTube.com only gives you ten minutes to make a good
impression. So, you want to make the best impression you
possibly can, right?
How do you do that? There are many features “good” vs. “bad”
videos have. Consider the last time you watched a movie preview?
Was it intriguing? Did it get you asking questions? Did you want to
see more?
When you create your online videos for YouTube, you should be
thinking along these lines. Pretend you are creating a movie
preview.
Here is what you want to do:
- Get your message out.
- Make a point.
- Entice visitors to come back for more.
- Provide clear shots and well-recorded audio.
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- Keep it short and sweet.
- Graphically improve your video to keep the viewer intrigued.
Remember, ten minutes is not much time. You want to record a
sharp video, one that is dynamic, unusual and anything but
ordinary. Some of the most popular videos on YouTube are popular
if for not other reason than the creator did something unique,
different and interesting.
Think you can’t come up with something creative for your video?
Think again.
Here is a simple activity to try to help you start your journey. Take
out a piece of paper. You are going to brainstorm. First, list the top
10 idea you have for making a great video.
Next to each idea, write down what makes that idea appealing. If
you can’t come up with at least five reasons the idea is compelling,
scratch it off your list.
Narrow your list to your top five choices.
Now, try to define how you will present the information in your video
to highlight your video in a unique and unusual way. Will you dress
funny? Will you record atop the highest mountain? Will you include
a popular sound track?
Whatever you decide, make sure you try something unique. People
have every opportunity to watch something boring on television.
They turn to YouTube.com to find interesting and intriguing things
to view.
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Even if you are trying to brand and promote your sites, you must be
careful to make sure you do so in an interesting and creative way.
No one wants to watch an infomercial on YouTube. So find a fun
way to get your message out.
Making Videos With Your Camcorder
If you have a digital or analog camcorder, then you probably already know how to
use it. It is easier to post videos to YouTube if you use a digital camcorder. All
you have to do is shoot your video, download it, and upload it to YouTube.
If you use an analog video recorder, like the kind that uses older VHS tapes to
record videos, you will probably have to use a converter box to create a digital
copy of your video, which you can then upload to YouTube.
Once you upload your video, it’s time to improve on it. Sure, you can leave it as
is, but remember, if you take even a small amount of time graphically
strengthening your video you are likely to attract a larger audience. So, here’s
what you do.
First, make sure you have access to some video editing software.
You can acquire this inexpensively on the Web. One of the more common
tools people use is Windows MovieMaker.
Once you have the right software, upload your video to the
application. Once you do this you can edit your video all you want. Try
saving multiple versions of it and testing it with users to see which they
like best.
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Now it’s time to make your video stand out. Add special effects, like
interesting color schemes or fade in. Try adding titles or even chapters to
your video. Put some music in the background. All of these small additions
will encourage more people to look at and review your video.
If you are not sure what makes a good video, go to YouTube.com and check out
their “featured videos” section. Find out what makes these videos stand out. Is
the content outrageous? Does the author use multiple special effects? Are
subtitles or category titles included? Take some notes about what you like and
what you don’t. This will help you when you brainstorm ideas for improving your
personal video.
Time To Upload
Now that you took some time to play with your video, it is time to upload it to
YouTube. Make sure you save any changes you made to your video before you
upload it. You also have to save your video in a format YouTube can use.
YouTube.com recommends you save your video with the following extensions for
easier uploads: .MOV, .AVI, or .MPG files. These are common video formats
most people find easy to use. YouTube also recommends you use a video with a
320x40 resolution and one with an MP3 sound track.
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You should be able to upload your video any way you like. If you use a digital
camcorder, you can upload your video from the device to the website. YouTube
even provides the alternative for users to send their videos to the site by e-mail.
One you upload your video, you will need to provide some description for it and
tags so people can easily find it. The best way to create tags for your video is to
come up with some catchy keywords people are likely to search for when looking
for videos like yours.
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You will also have to specify one or more categories under which YouTube.com
lists your video. Remember, the goal here is helping other users find your video
quickly and easily. With millions of videos uploaded each day, you have to take
time to ensure you label, categorize and tag your video correctly, so it stands out
from the crowd.
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Part IV - How to Drive Traffic to Your Site by
Posting Videos on YouTube
Web 2.0 offers many cost-effective ways of promoting your website and YouTube
is no different. And that’s just one part of YouTubing. It is also one of the most
fun ways of promoting your website. There is music, there is video, there is
creativity, and there is marketing. A terrific mix, isn’t it?
YouTubing is not going to sell your product. What it can do, however, is get
people interested in your services. How? Let’s take a look.
Browse around
If you are new to YouTube, this should be your first step. It’s a fascinating world
out there. Plunge right in and look around a bit. Look at the kind of videos others
have made. You’ll find some of your favorite music videos, movie scenes, vintage
videos, personal videos, documentaries, and of course, a glut of marketing
videos. If you find something in your niche, make a note of it. When you make
your own video, you’ll need to come up with something different from your
competitors.
Create a video
That’s what you’re there for. Grab a video recording device – your camcorder,
digital camera, webcam, or your cell phone, and get started. Like anything else,
you won’t get it right the very first time. If you look at your first video and feel like
pulling your hair out, remember that you’re not alone. Making a video is much
easier in your mind than in practice. Over a period of time, you’ll get better at it.
Which brings me to another point; just one video won’t win it for you. Once
you’ve uploaded your first video, start working on the second video and then the
third. Yes it’s not easy but it’s much easier than some of the other marketing
techniques. This will also give you an opportunity to experiment with a variety of
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techniques. Some may flop miserably while some may enjoy wide popularity and
may turn into a rewarding viral distribution.
Spare a thought for the viewers
YouTube is free but viewership has to be earned. So here is humble advice. Do
not make videos that take forever to load. People have other things on their
mind. And a site like YouTube has many choices for them to pick from. A study
on video-sharing websites suggests that a video works best when it is under 5
minutes in length. So even though YouTube allows you a maximum of 10
minutes, keep it under 5 minutes.
Before you upload your video, ensure that the file format is accepted. YouTube
accepts .WMV, .AVI, .MOV and .MPG formats.
Entertain
I’ll say this a hundred times over – YouTube is not your marketing collateral. DO
NOT sell your product on YouTube. Use it wisely to get people interested. Once
they start flocking to your website, you can sell all you want. The minute you start
boring them with your ‘Buy Me’ messages, they’ll turn the other way. The best
way is to come up with something entertaining that the viewer would want to sit
through. When you have six interesting videos on something, the viewer will
surely want to know you. That’s when your marketing begins.
Add your website URL
You’ve made a great video and you’re getting a lot of comments. All of it will
count for nothing if it doesn’t result in increased traffic to your website. So add
that all-important URL with your video. You may add one before the video and
one after the video. Add your URL to your YouTube profile as well.
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Market through others
Whoever said you need your own videos to attract traffic? If you don’t want to
spend time creating a video, approach a popular YouTube user. Offer them a
payment for displaying your link on their videos. That’s encouragement for them
to come up with interesting videos and a marketing platform for you without
sweating too much.
Put up a video on your social networking profile
This may not seem relevant at first but it will surely help you get popular. Put up a
bunch of hit YouTube videos on the other social networking profiles that you use.
A few examples are Digg, De.li.cious, Orkut, and Reddit. That will make your
profile attractive and help in getting new contacts.
Participate
If you want others to visit your profile on YouTube, start with visiting their profiles.
Browse through videos, add comments for their videos. Don’t spam their profiles.
Offer genuine comments and try to initiate a dialogue.
Spread the word
If you have uploaded your own video, get your friends and family members to
view it and rate it. Nothing works like a five star rating. Ask them to chip in with a
few good comments as well. The biggest mistake is to assume that uploading a
video is the end of it. It needs a lot of promotion to make your video visible.
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Tag your video
Now this one is the most obvious idea. Use appropriate and relevant tags for
your video. You wouldn’t want a person to miss out on your video if he or she is
looking for something similar.
What you’ve read above are just a few ideas you can use to drive traffic to your
YouTube profile and thus to your website. You’ll find more as you go along. As
you see other users, you’ll pick up a few interesting tactics. The bottomline – be
innovative, be observant and be smart.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you have the basics down, it is up to you to make extraordinary videos.
Here are several frequently asked questions newbie’s have when starting with
YouTube.
If you do not find the answer you need, check out YouTube.com’s help section,
where you will find a comprehensive listing of hundreds of questions users have
about the service.
Q. Can I comment on other people’s videos?
A. Yes, you can. Much like blogging, you are able to place comments about a
video. The more often people rate and comment about a video, the more likely it
is to achieve higher ranking on the site. Keep in mind however, once you make a
comment on another video, it is permanent. Only the creator of that video can
delete it. You can however, delete unwanted comments from your own video
clips. You should in fact, keep an eye on the kinds of comments people make to
your video so you do not have Spam comments posted to your clip.
Q. My comments are not showing up, and sometimes I can’t comment at
all. Do you know why?
A. The chances are high either (1) you did not confirm your e-mail address, so
you are not showing up as a registered member, or (2) you haven’t given it some
time. There is a slight delay in the time you post comments to the time you can
see them on the website. If you find you are having other technical difficulties,
sometimes it helps to simply clear the cache on your Internet browser. Typically,
to do this you will want to delete any temporarily files, your search history and
any cookies stored on your computer. Next, be sure to log out, and then log back
in again.
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Most of the time you can do this by using the Tools menu Options tab. Other
times you can click the Start button, then go to your computer control panel and
find the Internet Options bar, which will allow you to delete the files you select.
Q. I want to save a video clip to my computer. How do I do that?
A. You can’t actually download and save any videos to your computer, except for
your own videos. YouTube created a structure that allows all clips to run on the
site, but on the site alone. Sometimes you can save a video in your “save videos”
list on YouTube, and watch them when you log back in later. You can also
bookmark videos much like you would your favorite sites, so you can come back
to them later.
Q. What are playlists and how do I use them?
A. Playlists are lists of your favorite videos. When you bookmark videos you add
them to your playlist. Typically, creating a playlist is as simple as clicking on the
“save to Favorites” button. This link is just below the video you watch. You can
classify your favorites into separate playlists by using the dropdown menu. All
you have to do is create a title and the properties for each playlist you create.
You can even share your playlists for others. When you go to your playlists page,
located at:
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists
You simply select the playlist you want others to see, then click the bar that says
share this list. It’s that easy. You will need to add the e-mail addresses of people
you want to share your list with. When you click send, the people you appointed
will receive a message telling them they can log on and view your playlist.
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Q. Why are Playlists of use?
A. Playlists can serve many purposes. If you want to get a marketing message
out to many people, you can create a series of videos that talks about your
products, services or one you are promoting. You can then send a link of your
Playlist out to your opt-in list. You can also use Playlists to send out family videos
to members living out-of-state. Simply compile a few clips of your favorite family
videos, add them to your list, and then send them to distant family.
If you have a series of products you sell, or a book series you want to promote,
you can provide audio clips about that series on a specific playlist. You can then
create other playlists to market and show off other products you want to promo.
Remember, the list of possibilities is endless when you use YouTube.com as a
promotional tool.
Q. What if I do not want other people to see my video?
A. YouTube allows registered members to keep their videos private, meaning
only people you invite will be able to view your video clip. Simply visit the
following link:
http://youtube.com/my_vidoes
You will want to go to the “Edit” section, and select the private button. You will
then need to choose the contacts you want to allow viewing rights to.
Q. Is it hard to watch videos on YouTube?
A. Watching a video is simple, anyone can do it. All you have to do is visit the
site. Remember, anyone can watch video clips without registering. Click the
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video and you are in business. If you want to save videos to your favorites list,
you will need to register, but remember, registration is free!
Q. I want to use my cell phone to upload a video. How do I do that?
A. Many newer phones allow you to record short video clips. Before uploading to
YouTube, you will have to set up your account so it can receive videos from
mobile devices. To do this, simply log into your account. Then, follow the account
settings choice and click on the link to “Mobile Upload Profiles.” Here you can
enter information about the mobile unit you plan to upload from. Then you create
a file for your cell phone. YouTube.com will provide you with a specific e-mail
address you can use to send your videos to. Make sure you send your video
direct to the e-mail address provided by YouTube.
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Conclusions
As you can see, YouTube is making life incredibly fascinating. Using YouTube for
entertainment, as a promotional tool or to learn more about a subject you are
passionate about is easier than ever.
You do not have to be a technical wizard to figure out how to use YouTube to
your advantage. In fact, YouTube provides detailed instructions for all the
features, including the advanced features it offers on its site.
Before you seriously consider using YouTube as part of a self-promotional
campaign, log onto the site, create a profile and try uploading a few test videos.
This will allow you some time to get used to the sites features and figure out
exactly what you need to do to get your videos up and running. Don’t forget to
check in often with the featured videos section, so you get a better idea of what
others are doing.