Youtube Changes & The Sky Starts Falling!

Youtube Changes are a Thumbs Down!

At the beginning of December, Youtube announced their biggest changes and began rolling them out to users.  …and a mob of virtual rioters quickly ensued!

On December 1st, Youtube uploaded a video enthusiastically announcing and demonstrating their newest updates, and it was met with more “thumbs down” & negative feedback than a Rebecca Black music video (sorry Rebecca!)

Youtube has a strong community of “Youtube Superstars,” Content Creators & avid fans who absolutely detest these new changes!  WHY?!  Probably because most people fear change!  As a marketers & business owner however, you have no reason to resist this most-recent makeover.  In this post, I will go over the most significant changes to Youtube’s interface, and show you how to benefit from these changes going into the new year.

No need to sweat over the little things or run around thinking the Sky is Falling just because Youtube looks a little different.  I’ll show you exactly what you need to focus on, & what you can completely ignore.

The +90 Min Youtube Makeover Webinar

Last week I did a +90 minute training webinar for members of Video Traffic Academy showing everyone how to profit from Youtube’s latest changes going into the new year.  IF you are one of our +3,600 members of Video Traffic Academy, you can access this webinar below (password protected)

(Note: This webinar is only available for VTA Members Only.  To join Video Traffic Academy, click here)

The New Youtube Home Page

The New Youtube Home Page

One of the most significant changes that you’ll quickly notice is Youtube’s new look on their Home Page.  As you may notice, it bares an uncanny resemblance to Facebook’s Live Feed function.  The latest content & activity from your “subscribers” will now show up right at the top of your Youtube Home Page.  This is an effort to move Youtube into more of a “socially relevant” networking site.  Youtube’s intuitive nature will deliver more-relevant content to you the end user with the hopes of providing a better experience for Youtube Viewers.  This new feature frustrating some of the big Youtube Partners, because the “most-popular” & “trending” videos are no longer predominately displayed on the home page.

Stumbling upon a completely random, funny video that is quickly going viral will be much harder as Youtube attempts to deliver you more relevant content based on who you subscribe to and what videos you “like” & share.

How to Leverage this Change:

Inside Video Traffic Academy, a lot of the strategies we teach come from a foundation in “Video SEO.” By identifying the proper keywords & keyword phrases for your market, you can effectively get your videos ranked at the top of Youtube & Google’s search result pages. Youtube’s new Subscription Feed function will all you as the content creator to benefit from your existing social reach.  Now more than ever, getting your “Sphere of Influence” to subscribe, like, comment & share your videos will produce compounding effects that get your videos more exposure.

Your efforts for Youtube in 2012 should include:

1.  Get more Subscribers! 
Incentivize your viewers to become subscribers with strong “Call-to-action’s!”  Tell them HOW to become a subscriber and WHY they need to!

2. Get More Interaction!
Using annotations, your video’s content and your description’s copy, urge your viewers to take action on your videos.  The more users “like,” comment & share your videos, the more exposure your video will get from your subscribers’ audience.  So much more potential for viral-nicity!  (made up word? perhaps!)

3.  Be More Consistent!
As Youtube attempts to blur the line separating offline television with online entertainment, it would be highly advantageous to begin behaving more like a weekly sitcom.  Be consistent in your uploading and your efforts.  Visit Youtube daily-even if it’s for a few minutes.  Interact on other channels & videos and respond to comments left by your audience.  The more consistent your efforts become, the more you’ll stay relevant in the feed of your subscribers!

 The New Youtube Channel Page

Youtube has also performed a major overhaul on your specific Channel page.  How your videos are displayed, removing “channel views” and eliminating “friends” from the equation, Youtube is in the process of transforming their site from a “Video-Centric” community to a “Channel-Centric” one.  There are a bunch of little changes that you can quickly notice here, and I’ll let you play Sherlock Holmes as you discover some of these changes for yourself.

What I would rather do is give you a quick action list and show you want you NEED to do to make sure your Channel is properly optimized for future use! Ready?

Your Channel Page Action Items:

1. New Background Image
If you had a customized background image before the change took place, you may need to re-upload your existing background image or go ahead and have a new one created.  The new channel layout calls for a simple image with your name, logo and information on the far left hand side of the channel page.

2. Edit Your Channel Details
You’ll also want to make sure that all of your channel details are filled out correctly.  Please check the image below for more info…

Edit Your Channel Settings

3. Activate the “Blogger” Template
There are a few different templates to choose from when setting up your Featured Tab.  Personally I recommend the “blogger” template.

Choose the "Blogger" Theme for Best Results!

4. Edit Your “Featured Video”
Similiar to the old channel design, you’ll want to have a featured video that autoplays when people view your channel.  You can choose from any of your past videos or select the option to use your most recent video (recommended).

Don't forget to Showcase a Featured Video!

5. Add Your Links
The new channel design makes it fairly easy to add website, blog & profile links to drive traffic to your web properties.  Make sure to take the time to add and edit this information!

The New Youtube Analytics:

My personal favorite change to Youtube’s most-recent overhaul has been their introduction to Youtube Analytics.  Previously called Youtube Insight, this extremely detailed & informative feature allows you learn more about your audience, your videos and your activity on Youtube.  Each statistic tells a story and with proper deduction skills, you can effectively improve your videos and your actions to improve your results.

Most of the features in Youtube Analytics have remained the same, however there are two features that I would like to call special attention to:

1. Audience Retention
Previously labeled as “Hotspots,” this improved function allows you to see just how engaging (or un-engaging!) your videos really are.  Identify the exact moments that are causing your viewers to run for the hills or perform a “digital-double-take,” rewind your video and beg for more!  Want to see more results with your videos, this function tells you exactly what you need to do!

2. Playback Locations
This new function allows you to see exactly where your videos are being watched.  As Mobile devices become more predominant in our lives, you’ll notice a greater percentage of playback locations coming from “mobile.”  This feature will also allow you to see exactly who is embedding your videos and which blogs/websites are giving you views!  Find out what is working and you can do more of the same!

The NEW Youtube Analytics

Is that it James?

No, it’s not it!  Youtube has introduced a few new features, functions and design changes in the past month or so, but the three major ones to pay attention to are the ones I mentioned above (The Youtube Home Page, Channel Page & Analytics).  Youtube has changed their design with a new look and feel that is much cleaner and modern.  Youtube appears to be phasing out the “friends” (temporarily labeled “contacts”).  The section where you can edit and tweak your videos is now called the “Video Manager.”  And a few months ago Youtube even added a web-based editing platform to edit, trim and improve your existing Youtube videos.

There are plenty of little design changes like this hidden all over Youtube, however none of these smaller changes call for you to change your video marketing strategy.  Other than the three major changes I listed above, you won’t need to worry about any new action-items at the moment.

To make sure you get the absolute most out of your Video Marketing Strategy in 2012, I’d like to close this post with a few of my personal predictions for Youtube & Online Video in the new year…

2012 Video Marketing Predictions:

It is very apparent that Youtube has some big visions for the future.  As they change their look, invest in over 100 Original Content Creators, Youtube is focusing their efforts on blurring the line that separates offline television with online entertainment.  In short, Youtube wants to become television.  Whether or not this will happen is not relevant just yet.  Here is what we can predict for the future of online video…

1.  The Bar will be Raised

This is the biggest prediction I can warn others about.  As video becomes more integrated into every aspect of your online marketing strategy, you’ll notice that the quality of video (both the visual quality and the quality of the content) will continue to improve.  This will result in higher expectations from users.  Are the days of shaky flip cams over?  Perhaps not yet, but the most aggressive marketers will be using High Definition Digital SLR Cameras with crystal clear quality and highly engaging and entertaining content.  So, the questions becomes, will you?

2.  The Little Guy Goes Viral

As Youtube changes it’s interface to become more like a Social Networking site, they are providing a user experience that delivers extremely relevant content.  In the past, the cute baby or dancing cat videos hit the Home Page of Youtube and they became insanely viral with millions of views.  Well, what about the rest of us?  What if our videos don’t capture some hilariously awkward moment on tape?  My prediction is that the marketers who have the most reach and pull can effectively influence their subscribers to spread their video content to more people thus allowing for a “mini-viral video” effect for relevant parties!  This is a very good thing for us as business owners!

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