We all know nonprofits and associations have some of the best content out there. Your organization’s YouTube Channel is no exception. But what if your YouTube Channel could be even better? With some planning and these eight simple tips, you’ll be able to improve your organization’s YouTube Channel and attract more people with high-quality videos that promote your mission.
How Do You Improve Your Organization’s YouTube Channel? Wait, what is a YouTube Channel?
A YouTube Channel is a space on YouTube.com where you can upload videos of all different lengths and post updates on the latest happenings at your organization. Google owns YouTube, so it has some built-in SEO benefits that other social media sites may not have, like how search engines rank YouTube Videos higher in search engine results.
YouTube offers different video length options for your channel: Short Videos (up to 15 minutes), Medium Videos (up to 30 minutes), and Long Videos (over 45 mins). If you don’t know which video length is the best for your channel, YouTube provides a few videos that will help.
It’s important to grow your YouTube Channel with quality content, but it can be difficult sometimes when you’re busy working on other projects. However, this doesn’t mean that you should shy away from having your own YouTube Channel. You may need a little help from outside sources like video editing services, live streaming software programs, or an agency with social media expertise like DJG.
An organization’s YouTube Channel is its public face on social media. Let’s make it shine with these eight tips.
#1: Make a Plan
The first step in improving your YouTube Channel is making a plan. Planning out a YouTube Channel involves a lot of different things, but it’s worth the time. It’s important to start with a professional channel image and profile graphic that clearly represents your organization’s mission. Next, you’ll want to figure out what types of videos your organization will share and at what frequency new video content should be uploaded. These are important questions that need attention before anything else, and the answers should be based on your organization’s specific needs.
#2: Ask viewers to subscribe and be notified
At the start of any video, you should show the viewer how to engage and subscribe to your channel. This takes up a few short seconds and shows viewers how to subscribe, follow you on social media, and how to access additional information about your organization in other places such as Twitter.
Ask viewers also to share or like videos if they enjoyed them with their friends. It’s important for people who have liked what they watched to find more videos from your organization in the future.
#3: Create an Effective Title for Your Videos
Having a compelling title for your videos will help them stand out and get likes from potential viewers who may not otherwise bother clicking on them. Your video titles should be clear, concise, and descriptive. You may want to include what the video is about or offer a question that will entice viewers to watch it.
Here are few additional tips about what to include:
- Include in the video titles your organization’s name so that people can find it when searching
- Use keywords in both your title and descriptions so that the YouTube search engine can find them and include them for viewers to understand what they are watching. This will not only make your channel more discoverable on YouTube but also help others who may be looking for an organization like yours elsewhere online.
- Include in the video description a clear and concise summary of what your nonprofit does, as well as keywords about its work. This will allow viewers who are interested in learning more about your organization or exploring potential volunteering opportunities to do so by watching one of your videos.
#4: Get Good Quality Images for Your Channel Graphics
Having good-quality images for your organization’s channel will make it more appealing and compelling. Images that are professional and high quality will improve the nonprofit’s YouTube Channel appearance and would be a great addition to any organization’s other social channels.
You can get professional images for your nonprofit from freelance photographers and stock image sites, or you might want to invest in some of your own photography equipment if there is interest among your staff members. Consider what types of photos are appropriate for your nonprofit’s YouTube Channel and get the best quality images possible.
#5: Take Advantage of Video Annotations
Video annotations are a lot like YouTube’s comments section but are instead within the video itself. These annotations can include links to a nonprofit website, donate buttons, social media profiles, etc. Video annotations are a great way to encourage viewers to take action, whether donating or subscribing.
Annotations also allow marketers to engage by asking viewers questions and encouraging them to provide feedback. Annotations will not show up when someone shares your nonprofit’s video on social media, which means you can have these conversations without worrying about the nonprofit’s video going viral for the wrong reasons.
#6: Promote Your Videos to Those Who Have Liked Your Facebook Page
Cross-promotion on social media is one of the most effective ways nonprofits can share their YouTube Channel page with their followers. Sharing videos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a great way to encourage others to watch your content and reintroduce them back to your revamped YouTube Channel.
Social media networks like Twitter will automatically add a retweet or mention button when posting video content, which is also an effective way to get noticed and drive traffic back to your channel.
#7: Use Video Tags Effectively
Video tags are used for describing the intent of videos when viewed in YouTube’s search function. That means that viewers can sort videos by using tags like education, volunteering, and fundraising. It also lets viewers see videos with similar tags. Make sure you are using at least five tags that are relevant to your audience, organizational goals, and mission.
Tags are similar to hashtags on Twitter and Facebook, but YouTube video tags are more about intent than being a follower. Tags allow organizations to see how many times other videos have been tagged with specific keywords, which can help you determine what words may be most appropriate for your organization.
Tags on YouTube make video discoverability a lot easier. Try out different tag combinations with similar topics until you find what works best for your audience.
#8: Upload Consistent Quality Videos
To attract more people to your nonprofit’s YouTube Channel, make sure that the quality of your videos is consistent. You may want to try shooting videos in HD and uploading them at the same resolution. You can also choose to shoot more than one version of a video and upload it at different lengths (e.g., audio-only, full-length, highlight reel). Doing this will allow you to have a variety of styles to upload while still maintaining a high level of quality.
Takeaways
Planning a YouTube Channel out involves a lot of different things, but it’s worth the time. Creating the right videos, optimizing them for search and social media, getting high-quality images to promote on Instagram or Twitter—it can feel like you are running in circles. With these eight YouTube Channel improvement tips, you should be able to create an effective channel that will help grow your audience. If you are interested in updating your association’s YouTube Channel even further, don’t hesitate to reach out.
We can work with you on creating a strategy that makes sense for the size of the organization or help organize your channel content into a highly optimized experience.
