YouTube is the video medium of our time. By allowing YouTube to monetize content through advertising, the “YouTuber” dream job has long ceased to be a pipe dream of unrealistic nerds. Anyone who wants can make videos. But not everyone is automatically successful on YouTube and generates clicks in the millions. But there are a few tricks that professional YouTubers use to get the most out of their videos technically and in terms of content, and that companies can also use to build a presence on YouTube.
Step 1: Technique
The demand for YouTube videos has increased over the years, parallel with the more accessible and cheaper availability of technically high-quality material. A good camera is a be-all and end-all. Most new smartphone models have a high-resolution camera with over 12 megapixels and are perfectly adequate for YouTube videos. However, it cannot yet replace the good old SLR. While a good mic is essential, the sound is secondary to the image-heavy video – it’s worth bearing in mind that a good proportion of people surfing YouTube listen to it with their headphones on the go or turn the sound off completely and only read the subtitles.
There are cheap mini microphones for little money. A small investment is worth it here. While light is an essential factor, not everyone can afford expensive headlights. Large installations also take up a lot of space and cannot easily be discreetly concealed. If you film the video at your desk right next to the window, daylight is sufficient here. Even a bright lamp is adequate.
On the other hand, you should also be careful not to underexpose the video. The type of lighting can be changed and adjusted without much effort and know-how in post-production. However, if areas are not illuminated enough or too much from the start, the image information is lost at these points. A moderate illumination without much focus on the right mood is best here.
For post-production, the freshly minted YouTuber should rely on a solid program. Video editing programs are now a dime a dozen, but the video converter from Movavi combines many functions for which you would otherwise need several programs. The videos can be cut, converted into different formats, and edited extensively with it. The provider is therefore very well suited for YouTube videos.
Step 2: Check Out The Competition
Of course, you want to hit the nerve of the times and make the big breakthrough with your video. You always have to be up to date to generate clicks and followers. Current trends on YouTube, the most-watched videos, and political and social issues on other social platforms are part of the repertoire of a conscious YouTuber and content producer. You first have to see for yourself if you want to be seen. This also includes knowing which video formats are prevalent at the moment or which collaborations or challenges are currently taking place in the YouTube community. This is the only way you have the chance to hit the mark with your video and go viral – a single video is enough for this, but with several, you increase your chances considerably. Therefore,
It’s also essential to check out your immediate competition, that is, videos that cover similar or the same topic that you want to talk about yourself: Are there any similar videos out there? How many of them? How did the competition prepare the case? What new things can I contribute? All content should be adapted to current trends and prepared according to popular standards. At the same time, it makes sense to note popular and topic-relevant hashtags in advance that other YouTube users use, especially those with a high click-through rate.
Step 3: Planning
If you plan your videos, you save a lot of work. Every work step benefits from meticulous planning, from the content to the actual filming, to the post-processing. Therefore, you should think carefully about how you want to present your content to the viewers. The aim should always be to convey the matter clearly and understandably. Graphics, charts, diagrams, or animated GIFs inserted in post-production often help. But it would help if you were careful not to rely too much on these digital helpers. Although they vividly underline what is being said and, at best, are also entertaining. However, they do not replace a clear and distinct narrative style and facial expressions and gestures.
Sketching the course of the video, even roughly, makes it possible, for example, to plan shots and cuts and to rehearse the desired angles in advance. Above all, external factors such as the incidence of light and brightness must be considered. The incidence of light should never be direct or create backlight.
Storyboards help with more complex videos, where people don’t just sit and talk in front of the camera. Here you can carefully consider shot by shot before actually filming.
Step 4: Filming
When everything is ready, you can start filming. The philosophy here is: don’t count on the cut to save everything. You know videos in which one cut follows the other because the YouTuber has just spilled the word or digressed. The goal should be a take. Of course, that’s unrealistic, but the fact that you have an infinite number of interpretations only makes post-production more difficult. Therefore, you should pay attention to a clean, appealing background and switch off all disruptive factors such as smartphones or background noise as much as possible. Sympathy is an important vehicle. Smiling and making eye contact are critical. Since eye contact is problematic with a camera, it helps to imagine you’re talking to a friend instead of you.
Step 5: The Post Production
Post-production is the seasoned YouTuber’s bag of tricks. In post-production, you can salvage what went wrong during the shoot, polish what’s already good, and add lots of little extras. With various video editing tools, you can first edit the material professionally. It should always be ensured that the cuts are natural and abrupt so that the transitions become too complicated. You can apply contrast, brightness, and other image processing parameters when everything is in the correct order. Here, you have to pay attention to the viewer’s mood you want to create.
If the video topic is more factual and you want to get the viewer’s concentration, neutral and slightly more excellent lighting is the right choice. Blue and green levels can be cranked up here (clever preplanning YouTube may have already placed accessories in the exact tones in the background). If the content of the video is rather casual and relaxed, you can put the viewer in the right mood with warm tones (yellow and red).
Several filters are integrated into the program that can give the videos a unique and characteristic look. All high-click videos have subtitles. YouTube itself generates subtitles, but they are not as good as those created with the Movavi Converter (see above). In particular, it makes sense to provide subtitles for an English audience since English-language videos get the most significant amount of viewers. The converter allows you to save a smaller version on your PC or smartphone without sacrificing quality to upload the video to YouTube. With a small intro and a musical clip, the video is complete.
Step 6 Release
The video is uploaded to YouTube in no time. Now there are still a few critical parameters that need to be defined so that the video can be found. First of all, if you haven’t already done so, you should come up with an appealing and exciting title and a suitable description. In any case, the title must be ideal for clickbait, i.e., a bit sensational. You can put everything you referred to in the report, i.e., external links and websites related to the topic. If you already have your website, you can link it here.
It is advisable to spend a lot of time on the description. This is the primary way to show the value of a video, and many keywords increase the likelihood that the YouTube algorithm will suggest the video. Now is also the time to add hashtags to the video. Hashtags serve YouTube’s SEO and are a way for users to find your video. Therefore, it is essential to use many hashtags, and above all trendy ones, in addition to those that only serve to describe the topic. You can look up the current hashtag trends of various social media platforms on multiple sites – but be careful! They change every day.
You should also invest time and thought in creating a thumbnail. Thumbnails are small preview images that tease the content of a video. Although YouTube suggests frames from the video, it is strongly discouraged. Modern thumbnails must have a title with an attractive font and layout and a primary image. You can, but do not have to, take a still image from the video for this. You can upload the still image and add text to numerous online platforms. Again, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for current thumbnail trends. Using an up-to-date design increases the likelihood of the video clicking on.
Also Read: 11 Tips For A Successful Instagram Account
