Why you should create a trailer for the new YouTube layout

Gloria Rand blogs: 

One of the keys to successful video marketing is getting subscribers. First, you have to win them over. The new YouTube channel layout provides you the opportunity to feature a trailer that only plays when non-subscribed viewers land on your channel. This is your chance to let them know what your channel is all about and encourage them to subscribe.Why 

If you do any type of videos for your business, I encourage you to create a video trailer ASAP! Don’t let this precious real estate go to waste on your channel. You don’t have to have a slickly made trailer either to be effective. (Although it doesn’t hurt!) Just make sure you have enough light, a simple background and keep your message short. And, very important – remember your call to action: ask the viewer to subscribe to your channel.

YouTube: How one marketer attracted 3 million viewers to his site

Paul Wolfe has attracted more than 3 million viewers to his YouTube site. He says one secret is to be consistent with your posting schedule: 

YouTube can be a great source of traffic for your business….but you have to be consistent. You have to think of yourself as a TV show and post regularly – once a fortnight, once a week, twice a week, five times a week. Whatever the frequency that suits you….find it, and stick to it. 

That way your audience will know what to expect.  And YouTube will too ...  you’ll quickly learn that YouTube values consistency.

Panel discussion: Best practices for creating online video

From Troy Dreier at OnlineVideo.net:

Today’s video workflows are moving to the cloud, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solutions that works best for all companies. Cloud video workflows vary widely in both cost and features.

At a Streaming Media East panel discussion on cloud video workflows, three experts helped attendees understand the different solutions available and choose the right one for their needs.

The panelists also gave out plenty of practical advice on related topics such as attracting an audience to online video.

5 basics to shooting great video

From Allison King at Ragan's

When planning and shooting your video, these production basics will help you look like a pro and prevent potential disaster.

• Use the "rules of thirds." Divide the shot into thirds horizontally and thirds vertically (so you have 9 imaginary equal sections). The points of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up or across the frame.
• Pay attention to lighting; it can make or break your video. Don't, for example, shoot video of someone indoors who is backlit by a window.
• Bad audio is worse than bad video. More people will tolerate a poor quality image in a video. But bad audio, says Wolcott, makes the video unviewable.
• Get a lot of close-ups. Use the 80:20 rule: 80 percent close-ups and 20 percent wide shots. Close-ups is how you are able to convey action and emotion.
• Test across devices, including mobile devices.

Stop talking about 'social media' and start talking about 'real-time media'

David Meerman Scott says:

When I speak with executives around the world about social media and business, many think of their kids' (or grandkids') Facebook or the Twitter silliness they hear about on television. ... When I ask the same executives about "real-time communications with customers" they lean forward and want to know more. These are the same people who dismiss Twitter. When I talk about "real-time media" they understand that it is important for their business.

Makes sense to me.

Video: How to build a swivel adaptor for the GoPro Hero 2

From Randy Werner's YouTube channel:

3 ways to create a YouTube page that grabs attention

From the Content Strategist blog:

According to company statistics, there are more than 800 million unique visits to YouTube with 4 billions hours of video are watched each month. A whopping 72 hours of video are uploaded onto the site every minute — that’s a lot of competition.

With so much content available, owners of YouTube pages need to make sure that they give people a reason to visit.

Here are some tips on how to make a YouTube page attractive and worthy of people’s attention.