5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About YouTube

Posted by YouTube Fan  at February 25th, 2012

Thanks for checking into our new blog series, “YouTube Tips & Tricks.” In this series, we’re focused on offering you helpful advice that will help you promote your YouTube video. In this article, we’ll give you some advice about how to reach a wider audience, bring you up to speed on YT’s latest updates, and share some of our own insights.

YouTube Tricks & Tips Pt. 1

1. When you publish your video matters.

The periods of highest activity on YouTube are Monday and Thursday afternoons. The lowest periods are Friday nights and weekends. How can this information help you? Knowing that the largest numbers of people are logged onto YouTube on Monday and Thursday afternoons, you can safely assume that if you have your video uploaded by noon (PST) on a Monday or Thursday, you will have higher chances of reaching a larger initial audience.

2. You can embed links in your video.

With easy-to-use tools such as www.linkedtube.com, you can add links to your video to help you promote your homepage, e-store, iTunes purchase page, and your own channel (see #4 for reasons why). It’s easy to add these links and can help you expand your social network. Speaking of which…

3. YouTube is becoming a social network in itself.

We all know that YouTube is owned by Google, and you can now add the +1 icon to any of your video or channel pages. In addition, you can also post updates in your news feed, which lets you notify your subscribers and friends when you add new videos, tour dates, or just have great news to share! Just make sure to post updates you think your audience will be interested in, or else they might hit that dreaded “Unsubscribe” button.

4. YouTube is moving towards a channel-based model.

YouTube users spend an average of 15 minutes at a time on the site. As people increasingly turn from cable television to the internet for information and entertainment, it’s in YT’s best interest to keep visitors on the site for as long as possible. By encouraging visitors to focus on channels instead of single videos, YouTube is hoping visitors will stay on longer to check out the other videos on the channel. Get more subscribers by adding links to your channel on your Facebook and Twitter accounts, in your email signature, and even within YouTube on your videos (see #2). We’re guessing that your number of subscribers is going to start to have more weight in determining your rankings. It’s not just about YouTube views anymore.

5. Your video thumbnail matters A LOT!

Okay, you probably already knew this one. When people are browsing through videos on YouTube, their first impression of you and your video is your thumbnail. It’s the deciding factor in whether or not they will click your video. When your tiny thumbnail is shown alongside 20 or 30 other thumbnails, you better make sure yours stands out. You might be thinking, I can only choose from three options given to me! You’re right, but we know how to get around that. Stay tuned to find out how…

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