How to Create a YouTube Channel That Engages Your Audience

How to Create a YouTube Channel
That Engages Your Audience


Your YouTube channel is a reflection of you — it’s your
band’s home-base for broadcasting videos on YouTube.  
From your channel, you can feature your own uploaded
content, highlight favorite videos by other folks, and create  
personalized playlists.
A YouTube channel allows you to customize the presentation  
of selected videos and engage your fans through social in-
teraction features. Basically, your channel gives you the op-
portunity to brand your band the way you want, control the
content, and share it with the world from one simple location.
Here are a few pointers to help you get the most of your  
YouTube channel’s customization options:


1  Give your YouTube channel a good name. This is the name
   that appears at the top of the channel. Choose something  
   that makes sense (like your band or artist name!) — and  
   don’t be too clever unless EVERYBODY gets the reference.

2  Choose a great background image to customize your  
   YouTube channel. When you are logged into your YouTube
   account, you can style your YouTube channel page by  
   clicking “My Channel.” From the main channel page, click
   the “Settings” button. From there you can upload a  
   background image.

3  Select a background color. Set your background color to
   something that blends well with your photo. The color  
   customization options are on the same page as the  
   background picture uploader.

4  Set the default tab display (in the “Settings” section).
   This will determine what people view when they first visit
   your YouTube channel. Choose between a “feed” setup  
   that displays recent YouTube activity, a video page that
   shows your uploaded videos in reverse chronological  
   order, or a featured tab which you can select in “Settings”
   to display specific playlists.

5  Fill out descriptions and tags for the channel. The “Info
   and Settings” tab inside the “Settings” section allows you  
   to tag and describe your YouTube channel. Use good  
   keywords related to your music (including musician names,  
   band location, genre descriptions, etc.) that will help  
   viewers locate your channel in a YouTube search.

6  Use posts to update your channel subscribers of new
   content. YouTube channel posts allow you to com-
   municate directly with your subscribers. Alert them  
   of new videos and playlists, but don’t get carried away —
   no one likes SPAM.




Tips for choosing and uploading your background:



1  Choose a picture that is more panoramic than
   close-up. Think: wide angle shots of your band
   on stage, or something scenic.

2  The center of your picture will be somewhat  
   obscured by videos and text, so if the focus of
   the pic is on the left or right — all the better.

3  Use a picture taken in landscape rather than
   portrait. This will work best for modern wide-
   screen monitors.

4  Use a photo that is wider than 970 px in width.
   This way your picture will extend beyond  
   the edges of the main content area on YouTube
   (which is 970 px). Otherwise your picture  
   will be tiled horizontally, vertically, or both
   (your choice).

5  In most cases, it doesn’t look that great to tile
   your image. It’s probably better to avoid tiling  
   by choosing a larger image.


Extracted from:

"THE ULTIMATE 
YOUTUBE PROMOTION
GUIDE FOR MUSICIANS"

CD-Baby.com


For more information and tips, visit CD Baby’s DIY Musician Blog:


http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-guides/the-diy-musicians-complete-guide-to-youtube/