To create a strong presence on YouTube, you need an effective branding strategy right across your channel. Your brand is the way your audience perceives you, and your target viewership should be able to easily recognize and differentiate your brand from others. In order to create a strong presence, you need to start implementing branding strategies. We show you 5 effective methods to brand your video content.
#1 Create a Subscriber Trailer and Branded Video Intros
Every YouTube channel should have a subscriber trailer to introduce the channel and the brand to potential subscribers. Make it short, to the point and give viewers a reason to follow you. The Lonely Planet trailer below is a great example of showing the viewer what they can expect. If you follow a consistent uploading schedule then you should also include a small message or note that highlights your publishing schedule to inform your viewers of when to expect your next video.
YouTube also gives creators the opportunity to add a 3 second branded intro to your videos. Three things that you may want to include on the branded intro are your channel name, a tagline, and a logo.
#2 Use Your Logo All Over Your Branding
Your logo is one of the most important factors when it comes to branding. By having a logo, you are creating a doorway for people identify and recognize your video brand. Great logos are simple, unique, and memorable. As mentioned earlier, your logo should be included in your branded intro. But, it is also effective to have it displayed within your video content as well. You can use YouTube’s InVideo programming feature to add a logo to the top right corner of your videos.
Branding your videos with your logo allows viewers to get familiar with your brand. Whenever people come across your logo, they should be able to immediately associate it with your YouTube channel. So it’s important to present it at every point of public contact, and there’s no better opportunity than within your videos.
#3 Use Hashtags to Promote Your Videos on Social Media
Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook and many more social media sites use hashtags. Every YouTube creator should definitely consider having a branded hashtag for their channel. Your goal should be to encourage social media users to use your branded hashtag when discussing your videos. One of the best ways to ensure that happens is by adding it to your video content as a video graphic. Most editing programs will do the job for you, but you can also use YouTube’s watermark feature for this as well.
#4 Use Your Video Description to Guide the Viewer
Speaking of social media, you can place the links to your fan pages and profiles in each of your video descriptions. Branding your video description with links to your blog, social media, or other promotional pages is a great way to draw additional interest from viewers. You can encourage viewers to check out the links in your description to keep up with the latest updates, news, behind the scenes and much more.
Your video description can also be used for announcements, messages, or for more details about the video. Most importantly, remember to include the significant links in the first few rows of text. The rest of your video description is hidden until viewers select the, “show more” tab.
#5 Use Calls to Action in YouTube Annotations
You’ve probably seen YouTube creators using annotations to encourage viewers to, “follow them on Twitter” or, “Subscribe to their second channel”. These are known as calls to action. Using CTA’s in your videos is very important as a YouTube creator because they encourage viewers to take action. You can use calls to action to encourage viewers to:
- Subscribe to your channel
- Like the video
- Leave a comment
- Follow you on social media
- Watch more videos
- Share the video
… and more! By using calls to action, you are encouraging people to engage and interact with your video brand.
Overall, the best way to grow your YouTube channel is to build a brand around it. Branding gives your channel more authority and a stronger web presence. The 5 strategies mentioned above are simple but effective ways to brand your YouTube videos. Remember, it all comes down to consistency. You have to be consistent with your branding strategies and effort when creating your videos in order to see results. By branding the content that you produce, you are able to establish a bigger following for your channel!
Source: http://tubularinsights.com/5-quick-wins-brand-youtube/#ixzz4OGnbzv00