Being reactive
Just because you’re producing regular, addictive, episodic content that amasses both subscribers and views doesn’t mean that you can’t generate some additional excitement around your channel. You may want to consider certain triggers:
» Tentpole events: Signifi cultural or industry events may play well into
your channel-and-content strategy. If you sell zombie paraphernalia, Halloween is a perfect tentpole event for you. Identify regular events or happenings in your topic area. If your channel covers auto racing, consider certain events such as the Daytona 500 and Le Mans as tentpole events. Industry events may be a great way to capture footage with industry leaders and personalities.
Make sure you have important YouTube apps installed on your mobile devices, especially at tentpole events. Several apps are available on both Android and iOS that allow you to work on-the-fl The Studio app, for example, lets you manage your channel from anywhere. Do you just want to watch some YouTube videos? The YouTube app is great for that.
» Reactive: You should be prepared to leverage nonplanned events for your
channel, which should drive additional traffi and viewership. Nonplanned events are about news, but only if it’s relevant to your channel. Marques Brownlee (www.youtube.com/user/marquesbrownlee), a major video reviewer, covers the consumer electronics business. If someone announces a new smartphone, you can be sure that Marques will have content on YouTube relatively fast.
Time-sensitive content may help you when it comes to showing up in searches or as recommended videos, because YouTube likes to put trending content recommendations in front of relevant viewers.
» Momentum: You can repackage your content into video trailers to help drive channel promotion. Just completed a livestream? Put together a highlight reel
to keep your channel active and your subscribers’ channel feeds fl
Don’t be afraid to craft outtake videos, behind-the-scenes content, and more personal pieces to let your audience know that you’re excited about this new content. This strategy helps personalize and enhance the authenticity of your channel.
Going live for more engagement
You can deliver a much more interactive experience with your most passionate viewers by taking advantage of YouTube livestreaming. You can livestream any number of events, but remember that they should align with your channel’s mission.
You have to heed channel restrictions and some technical requirements for livestreaming. Ensure that your account is in good standing with no strikes and that you meet the technical requirements. Don’t forget to test sufficiently before using this service.
Consider the following statements before adding livestreaming to your YouTube programming mix:
» Promotion is important: YouTube livestreaming is clearly diff from regular YouTube video — your viewers must show up for the live event to
experience it as it happens. If they don’t know about it, they won’t show up,
and all your prep work may be for naught. Be sure to get the word out, and
don’t be shy about asking your YouTube subscribers to help.
» Adjust in-fl Your audience provides feedback on-the-fl as your event
occurs, so be sure to watch the comments and respond accordingly.
» Repurpose event content: A livestream event is a great way to capture rich
and engaging content for use on your channel. Figure out how it fi into your channel after the event is over, and make several videos from the stream to create multiple pieces of follow-up content to live on.
To livestream from your mobile device, you need at least 1,000 subscribers.
Before you use content derived from a live event on your channel, you will, in some circumstances, need the legal right to use the content. Don’t worry: You don’t need to hire a lawyer, because you can read all about it in Chapter 16, when you learn all about copyright. Stay away from copyrighted music while livestreaming, and you’ll probably be fine.