Activating your YouTube audience
During my time with Inspire USA Foundation this month, one of the things I did was set up our YouTube non-profit channel for reachout.com so we could promote some of the amazing videos such as this one from the recently launched "We Can Help Us" campaign in conjunction with the Ad Council.
When I worked as Social Media Specialist for Virgin Blue I was lucky to get a looksee into the world of YouTube's premium features.
YouTube homepage is the 4th most trafficked site on the internet and the YouTube non-profit program offers some premium perks.
I firmly believe that the potential for brands is phenomenal, but that you need creatives who can push the boundaries with video format AND community engagement.
Sadly, most creative agencies have been living in the old world of broadcast and traditional advertising. I'm hoping that the knowledge non-profits have of how communities work and engage can transition into this new community media space... some of the following examples provide great case studies for what could lie ahead.
Signing up to the YouTube non-profit program was really easy and I was inspired (read: had to get my butt into gear) to be able to enter some of our videos in the Non-Profit Video Awards, as the winners were to be announced at the NTEN conference.
You can read about the program here, and you get quite a comprehensive overview.
One thing they don't tell you is that they are VERY QUICK to approve your channel. For me, this was a "quick win" on my very massive do-list and opened a world of opportunity to engage with visible content very quickly. YouTube review applications every 2-3 weeks, however I applied on Friday afternoon at 3pm and had approval by Tuesday morning. I then branded my channel using the custom gadget within a day.
This post includes my notes from the session "Activating your YouTube audience" with Ramya Raghavan from YouTube at the Non-Profit technology conference hosted by NTEN in Atlanta.
Activating your YouTube audience
Key Takeaway:
Go with pop culture references and stay "in touch"! You should watch at least a few YouTube videos per day. You can be inspired and perhaps "ride the wave" (and search results) of popular YouTube videos or cultural events. Personally I always make the time to read BCM's Two Cents newsletter, particularly the popular videos of the week and also their predictions for upcoming ads: blog.bcm.com.au
Examples:
Popular YouTube video: JK Wedding dance
Inspired: Pink Glove Dance - Jay Sean soundtrack
Invisible Children maximise popularity of Michael Jackson searches after his passing:
Michael Jackson in Uganda (good use of overlay feature too)
Useful functionality for your custom channel:
YouTube Direct:
Advantages: You can customise fields you'd like to ask people, can get info you wouldn't normally get from a youtube user. More info...
Moderator on YouTube (to be renamed YouTube forums):
Launching as a standard feature on all YouTube channels, expected to be within the next month.
Advantages: People can ask questions, vote them up or down, best questions rise to the top.
Example: www.youtube.com/davos
Video volunteers:
Average YouTube user who are passionate about making videos for causes. A good way to get connected to YouTube celebrities. More info...
Driving action from your video
Call to action overlays:
You can now use call-to-action overlays for your Non-profit videos, which are great for links to information and as a way to get links for donations. (World hunger / charity water as examples).
Note: Overlays will not appear in embedded videos, you may want to consider annotations if that's what you're after.
Video annotations:
YouTube non-profit partners have the ability to link to external webpages in annotations. Can appear at any point within the video.
Notes: If you use annotations, you will need to be aware that with captions that will cover the bottom section. Annotations will appear within embedded videos, however overlays will not so you may want to consider the pros and cons of each..
Examples: www.youtube.com/stillerstrong
Choose your own adventure style videos:
"That's not cool" - by the Ad Council
Collaborative Annotations:
Give people something to do with your video.
Example: http://www.youtube.com/TubePetition "Sign this video" Raise your voice, Climate change.
Follow what's happening in this world on YouTube's citizentube blog, http://www.citizentube.com/ and follow @citizentube on Twitter.
