Long Form Video

Despite being the second-most-visited website in the world, many businesses have ignored YouTube in favour of other social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Every day, YouTube users watch over a billion (yes, with a b) hours of YouTube videos, and yet only 9% of small businesses have taken the leap to start their own channel. As YouTube usage continues to soar, it becomes mission critical for businesses without a YouTube presence to jump in.

A YouTube channel is a separate entity of its own. It is findable through search, whenever people are typing your name or a generic term in Google. This is why a solid keyword research strategy is obviously important for succeeding here.

Before trying to build your YouTube presence, you need to answer one important question: “Why would anyone want to subscribe and come back to my YouTube channel?”

Creating content that is related to the central purpose of your channel i.e. showing your building expertise, your processes, as well as behind the scenes video is a great way to grow.

Video marketing encourages social shares.

Video is the second most popular content type on social media for increasing engagement.

Platforms like YouTube and TikTok have always been about video. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook are focusing on video. 

Even platforms that don’t offer native video uploads emphasize the value of video marketing.

Here are some simple pointers to follow:

1. Start with a plan or even better use your PLANNER!
2. Keep Your Videos Short and Sweet – Videos should capture attention, share a message, and get viewers to act all in short span of time. 
3. Make the First Few Seconds Really Stand Out – The first few seconds are crucial because that’s when they’ll decide whether to continue watching the video or scroll down to other content. Start off with thought-provoking questions, strong hooks, inspiring quotes, powerful visuals, or appealing music.
4. Use Sub-titles – Captions increase view time, 85% people view video with sound off on Social Media.
5. Take Note Of Lighting – natural light is best
6. Consider Using an External Microphone – Just like lighting, audio is also important in social media videos.
7. If You Use Music, Make Sure You’re Allowed To – you can get into trouble with the platforms for stealing copyrighted materials. Or if its Facebook they’ll simply shut the sound off completely
8. Use Storytelling
9. End With a Call-To-Action – tell your audience where to go or what to do next.
10. Optimise for Different Channels – Size and shape matter when it comes to social media visuals. Keep in mind the correct dimensions, orientation, video length limit, and other important specs of each channel.

Video Ideas 

• Video of client’s reactions at handover and Testimonials from clients
• Real-estate video and photos, showing off all aspects of the house inside and outside in a cinematic, elegant and professional way!!
• Video Testimonials from the client in their new home
• Photos of fixtures, design features, interior finishes, fireplaces, staircases/entries, etc.
• Time-lapse of major phases of the build

When it comes to long form video content it must be either:

• Educational content – Creating value-driven educational content is a great way to get started on reels—especially since people are encouraged to share and save reels. Here are some examples of educational content: Five things to do before you start to build, layout ideas or plans, and top three things to look for in a good builder. Think of tips and advice that your audience wants and needs.
• Products or services – Reels are primarily seen by non-followers, which means this a great way to promote your business to new people. Share how-to’s, before and afters, vlog-style videos with your products—anything to catch people’s attention.
• BTS (Behind the Scenes) – People want to see more relatable and raw content on social media. BTS videos are a great way to be more personable and to build rapport with people. Share things like your business story, a day in the life at your company, or funny, relatable clips of you and your team.
• Keep these tips in mind:
• Keep the videos short, simple, and easy to follow.
• Include captions and text overlays for accessibility.
• Use trending sounds in the background (when possible).
• Include keywords related to your business in your videos, captions, and hashtags.

The goal is to connect with them through your imagery:

• Provide value through education, humour, or inspiration.
• Build trust through customer reviews or user-generated content.
• Encourage interaction so users will save, share, and like your posts.

How to Upload a Video to YouTube in 5 steps:

Step 1 Upload: Upload videos to YouTube Studio from the web

Step 2 Add Details: Add title, description, thumbnail, tags, etc.

• Thumbnail – The image viewers will see before clicking your video. Thumbnail or cover photo is of primary importance to grab viewers’ eyes and click your video. Although YouTube can randomly capture 3 photos of your video for a thumbnail, we highly recommend that you create a custom thumbnail and upload it for your video thumbnail.
• Title – The title of your video. The key is to make your title look compelling, clickable to viewers. You may include some keywords viewers are likely to use for certain topics but don’t do keyword stuffing. Keep it short and sweet.
• Description – Info that shows below your video. The description is a summary of your video content and will be shown below your title and a snippet of it will be displayed next to the thumbnail in YouTube’s search result. You may highlight what this video is about. If it’s a long tutorial video, you can add a timestamp to help viewers watch the parts of the video they find most interesting.

Here is an example:

00:00 Intro

00:20 Why you need to use a particular product

00:52 Where are 3 best use for the product

01:29 How to plan your build

Since the first 1-2 sentences or the initial 126 characters of your description will be shown in the search research in YouTube beside your Thumbnail, do your best to make them pitch your video and engaging. Give attribution to the music you use in the video or people you work with to create this video. Add 1-2 clickable links for viewers to learn more information or drive traffic to your website. Do it sparingly and wisely.

• Visibility – Choose the privacy settings of your video to control where your video can appear and who can watch it.  If you’re in the YouTube Partner Program, you can set your video to unlisted or private until checks are finished. To get notified once checks are complete, you can opt-in to get a notification in the YouTube Studio app. 
• Location – Enter the location where your video was filmed.
• Playlist – Add your video to one of your existing playlists or create a playlist.
• Audience – To comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), you’re required to tell us whether your videos are made for kids.
• Age restriction – Age-restrict videos that may not be appropriate for all audiences.

• If your video is 60 seconds or less and has a square or vertical 16:9 aspect ratio, it will be uploaded as a Short. 

• (Optional) If your video is longer than 60 seconds and has a square or vertical 16:9 aspect ratio, you can tap “Edit into a Short” to trim your video and upload it as a Short. 

Step 3 Video Elements: Add subtitles, end screen, cards.

• Video elements aim to enhance the viewing experience of your YouTube videos. You can add subtitles, and interactive video content like an end screen or cards to show viewers related videos, websites, or call-to-actions. 
• Add Subtitles. You can add subtitles to make it easier for native-speaking or foreign audiences or viewers with hearing impairment to follow your video content. Check how to add bilingual subtitles to videos.
• Add an End Screen. Add related videos worth watching for viewers at the end of a video. To use this feature, your video must be at least 25 secs long.
• Add Cards. Add interactive content during your video

Step 4 Checks: Check for copyright issues in the video content

YouTube will automatically screen your video for copyright issues, such as the YouTube background music used in your video. If nothing goes wrong, simply hit the “Next” button.

Step 5 Visibility: Select how to publish a YouTube video, such as a private video, an unlisted video or as a public video or a scheduled video.

• Private. Publish a private YouTube video that only you and chosen people can watch your video.
• Unlisted. This is a tricky private YouTube video. An unlisted YouTube video won’t show up on your YouTube channel’s homepage or in the search result. People can only watch an unlisted video if they know the video link or browse a webpage with this video link or the embedded code.
• Public. Publish a public video that everyone can watch on your YouTube channel.
• Schedule. Set the date and time when to make your video to be published to the public.

Next Lesson: Measuring What Matters on YouTube