YouTube: How to Grow and Manage your Video Channel

Tips and findings from the Toronto Travel Massive’s community-based workshop on YouTube best-practices. 

This article was written by Cristina Filipe – a co-organizer of the Toronto Travel Massive – she quit her job in TV journalism to travel, volunteer and write about it and is the author of chasingtravel.com. 

Did you know?

YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and the most visited site after Google. Over 1 billion hours of YouTube videos are watched everyday and the number of channels earning six figures each year on YouTube has increased by 50% year on year.

It’s no surprise then that video is an increasingly powerful tool for engagement and influencer marketing. Last month, our Toronto community came together for an informative talk on effective tips and best practises shared by YouTubers and video creators in our community.

The event was a prime example of our chapter’s unique style, which encourages events run by the community for the community. A few of our members came to us with the idea to design a free and open Q&A panel discussion in which they wanted to share their personal tips, insight, and knowledge from their experience. Among the tips shared included using YouTube analytics, SEO practises, techniques to increase views and subscribers, ways to monetize and useful resources for taking our channels to the next level.

Massive thank you to the panelists and Flight Centre Canada for hosting us in the city’s newest travel hub. Be sure to follow and connect with them on Travel Massive at Maarten, Arienne, Kristin, and Will.

If you didn’t make the event, not to worry. We’ve put together a summary of their tips here.

Tips for Channel Growth and Good SEO

Create an engaging Channel Trailer. The channel trailer is the first video viewers see on the homepage of your video channel. A good video can entice viewers to watch other videos in your playlist.

Write engaging titles not click bait. Ask yourself, “what are consumers going to search?” Look at YouTube as a search engine.

Use a call-to-action. At the end of every video and in your description. You could ask a question or invite viewers to “leave a comment below”.

Write a good description. Tell the view what the video is about. You can also include a related link to a blog post,  affiliate link, link to any brands you worked with in making the video. Remind viewers to subscribe and comment.

Add Tags. The best tags on your video are relevant and specific. Tag yourself to each video because people may be searching you by name rather than your website. Don’t forget to add tags to your channel as well as each video. Tube Buddy is a free tool that gives you ratings for the tags you use. It tells you if your tags are working or if you can do better.

Add a creative thumbnail. Use a cool photo or design a creative graphic for your video thumbnail. Use large text or font to draw in the viewer’s eye quickly.

Comment on your own video. By doing this, you’re helping to start the conversation, encourage other commenters and create engagement with your audience. Pin your comment to the top of the comment thread.

Reply to all comments. Yes, all of them.

Redirect your videos. Redirect the end of each video to your channel or another video in your playlist.

Post once week. Even if you only have the time to post weekly, you will still see growth quickly. Arienne at See You Soon went from 900 to 2500 subs in a short time just by doing this.

Add a subscribe button. Use the watermark feature at bottom right of the screen to add a call-to-action.

Download a good editing program. Adobe Premier and Final Cut Pro are the industry standards. Free programs like iMovie can work well.

Use Google Trends. Google Trends is a great tool for discovering what consumers are searching for most. This can give you ideas on the type of content that is popular at a given time and what people what to know more about.

Tips for Analytics

Know where your viewers are watching from. Knowing the location of your audience means you can tailor content to your specific audience.

Know your audience retention. Use your analytics to understand where exactly viewership drop offs in your videos. Do viewers watch the entire video or just the first 30 seconds? Understanding your audience retention can help you make better choices when it comes to creating engaging content.

Follow your competitors. What is working for them and what are they doing well?

Download VidIQ. YouTube has analytics built right into your dashboard but if you want to dive deeper into video analytics, Will at Going Awesome Places suggests signing up for a free VidIQ account.

Tips for Monetization

Ideas for monetizing. Adsense, Affiliate programs, and paid campaigns with brands are some of the ways you can monetize. You can also pitch brands to sponsor your video (often a brand may pay you to mention their brand by text, logo, or a link on your video post).

Create a media kit. Offer unique packages and bundles of the services you can offer. Include references from brands you have worked with in the past

Pitch a 30-second teaser. One of the ways you can get paid for your work is by offering brands a 30-second teaser taken from a video you created. Some brands often pay to host a teaser on their social channels such as their Facebook page.

Rates. Ah yes, the R-word. Rates are difficult to set because there is no industry standard. To establish your rate, consider what your time is worth. Calculate the amount of time, expenses and any other factors required in a project. Don’t be afraid to ask for reasonable compensation.

Tips for Shooting Video

Capture B-roll. B-roll is an industry term that includes detail shots, shots that are close up, or wider shots that set the stage for the story you want to tell.

Shoot jump cuts. Two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary slightly. You can edit these together to tell a story.

Shoot a Standup. You can incorporate an on-camera introduction telling people what is to come in the video. An “extro” is a few seconds of yourself or the presenter at the end of the video with a closing statement.

Experiment with different angles. Think high, low, or behind interesting objects.

Use Insta stories for practise. Insta stories helps you get more comfortable with video, shooting angles, and being on-camera. It also forces you to be concise and engaging in a short amount of time.

Best Camera Gear for Beginners

Consider 4k video. YouTube is beginning to rank 4k content higher than HD.

Choose the right camera for you. Canon cameras like the T3i shoots quality video and comes with a handy LCD flip screen so you can view yourself on-camera while you shoot and frame shots more easily.  The Sony RX100 is a compact point and shoot but the video quality is excellent. Maarten’s channel is loaded with every camera review and tips you can imagine.

Use a tripod for more steady shots such as a Gorilla pod with flexible legs, or Monopod. The Gimble is useful for steady footage if you’re walking and shooting at the same time.

Download a teleprompter app. There are plenty of apps that use your phone to help you deliver a script more easily.

What types of video content work well?

Travel Tips or How-to. The best content is the kind that teaches viewers something they didn’t know or how to do it better.

Top five. Lists often make a concise and engaging video.

Seasonal content. Consumers tend to search similar content around the same time of year, if they are planning around a holiday or season for example Christmas markets.

Hotel room tours. Kristin and Shadi at Vacation Couple noticed their viewers wanted more info on the hotel rooms and resorts they were staying in so they increased this type of video content for their audience.

Reviews. Consider what you’re an expert in or what you enjoy learning about. Reviews about tech or camera gear are often popular for example.

How do you find quality and royalty-free music?

“Music can make or break ur video”. Epidemic Music offers very good variety of music tracks for $15/month subscription. If you decide to cancel your subscription, you can still retain the license to the music you downloaded (unlike other subscription programs).

Now that we shared our tips, what are your best tips for growing your YouTube channel? Join our discussion on the Travel Massive Lounge.

Connect with the Toronto Travel Massive to be part of the community.