Leveraging Social Media: YouTube (Part 1)

Videos are the fastest growing social media communication tools. A terrific way to reach and educate your members is through YouTube. YouTube allows registered users (you have to have a Google - gmail account) to upload videos that are available for public viewing.

When you become a YouTube member, YouTube assigns a personal channel to you. The channel has divisions designed to display a short personal description, thumbnails of videos you've uploaded, lists of members who are your friends and subscribers, and a section where other people can comment on your channel. The good news is that you can use one Google Account for multiple channels. You can still have a personal channel and one for DKG.

WikiHow is a great source for getting you started. How to Make a YouTube Channel and How to Make a YouTube Video are both excellent and use text and graphics in their directions. In addition, YouTube provides about 30 short “courses” in YouTube Creator Academy.

Make your channel shine:

• Choose a name that will stand out and be memorable.
• Connect your channel to your social media accounts. YouTube will automatically create statuses on each account.
• On your privacy page, enter your Gmail address to receive notifications for subscriptions, channel analytics, and more.
• The description for your channel is very important. Use as many keywords as possible. This will help people find you.
• Add as many keywords and tags that apply.
• Always have a call to action to encourage engagement.  Ask for a thumbs up, or ask for comments.
• Use YouTube insight to get important stats on your channel.
• Keep videos short. Five minutes is usually long enough.
• Promote your brand with attractive graphics. The “brand” refers to the way you promote your group. The brand should remain the same and be recognizable.
• Produce good quality videos. While viewers may forgive a visual that is not great, most will turn away when the audio is poor.
• Videos should be exciting. Jazz it up a little. Sitting and talking into the camera for five minutes is boring to everyone.
• Upload testimonials to share with potential members.
• NEVER “borrow” material of any sort. Copyrights!

Get the basics set up and start small. Are you ready to get your feet wet?

Graphic is CC0 from Pixabay