With 1.9 billion users worldwide, YouTube is a leading platform for new music discovery and a vital shop window for artists of all sizes and stature. Making sure your YouTube channel is properly managed and well-presented can make a real difference when it comes to appealing to and retaining new fans.
We’ve put together a series of easy to digest checklists to help you build the foundations of a strong YouTube presence that will help drive your discoverability and grow your fanbase.
The channel homepage is generally the first place a new user will visit upon discovering an artist on YouTube.
Before we get into detail, why not open your YouTube homepage in a separate window so that you can check each aspect as we go? Note down anything you’ve missed so far.
First up, choose the right channel art:
- Are your profile and banner images unique and easily recognisable as you/your brand?
- Are they consistent with the images you are using across other media platforms?
- Are they relevant and up to date? Make sure to update them for the launch of any new campaigns.
- Are your social media links displayed in your banner image? This will help to build your general following, enabling fans to interact with you on other platforms.
Once you’ve completed these steps, your channel should already look more coherent and consistent with your brand.
Now for your channel trailer:
- Have you set a channel trailer?
A channel trailer is a video that you select as the main feature on your YouTube homepage. When a user clicks through to your homepage, your selected video will start playing automatically in this space.
YouTube allows you to display a different video depending on whether it is being played to a subscriber or a non-subscriber. With that in mind, you could use this feature to welcome new visitors to your channel and encourage them to subscribe, and show off your latest music video to users that have already subbed.
Make sure to update your channel trailer when you have new content coming out on your channel.
Further guidance on best practices can be found here at the YouTube Creator Academy.
Creating playlists/channel sections:
- Have you organised your videos into appropriate and relevant channel sections or playlists?
A channel section lets you gather related videos together to help your audience find specific content quicker. You can have up to 10 sections on a channel. Perhaps creating separate playlists for live performances and music videos is a good place to start.
You can read more about how to create, edit and customise the order of your channel sections here.
Once you’ve set appropriate profile and banner images, chosen a channel trailer and organised your sections, your homepage will have a far stronger connection to your brand, which will in turn help to grow your audience.
Read on for our next instalment in the YouTube checklist series, focusing on Content Optimisation.
Words by Eliana Medalie
