Let me ask you a question.
What separates your channel from your competitors?
In this video, I'm going to show you the top ten ways to brand your YouTube channel so
you can clearly communicate the content you want to get across to your viewers.
Hello, my name is Herman Drost.
If you want to grow your audience on YouTube and generate traffic leads and sales on autopilot,
hit the subscribe button and click the bell notification icon so you'll be notified whenever
I upload new videos.
Let's first look at the benefits of branding YouTube channel.
Number one, it reinforces your content.
Having consisting branding elements across your channel and videos makes it easier for
viewers to consume your content.
Number two, helps your channel stand out from others.
There are probably ton of channels in the same niche as you, so how can you distinguish
yourself from those channels?
If you have unique branding elements that pertain to your own content, it's easy to
stand out from other people.
Number three, communicate what people can expect from your channel.
For example, when viewers land on your channel homepage, they should know immediately what
your channel is all about.
When they see a thumbnail in the search engines, they should immediately know that it belongs
to your channel.
Number four, convert viewers into subscribers.
If you have beautiful channel art and convey your message clearly so viewers know what
content they're going to get, they'll be more inclined to become subscribers.
For example, if you use a logo or face in your thumbnails, it'll be obvious which channel
that belongs to.
You want your branding elements to stick in the mind of your viewers.
Let's take a look at the top ten elements to brand your YouTube channel.
Number one, channel name.
If you're just beginning a YouTube channel, think if you want to use your personal name
or a business name.
If you use your own name as your channel name, and it's not a name that everybody else uses
like John Smith, then it'll be easy for viewers to identify your content.
On the other hand, if you use a business name associated with the content that you're creating,
that'll be easy to identify the channel.
For example, when I began this channel it was all about web design, so I chose isitebuild
as a name for my channel.
I also used the same name for my local web design business.
Even though my channel has evolved, I've still stuck with that channel name.
Number two, channel banner.
Many new subscribers will subscribe from your channel homepage.
The first thing they usually see is your channel banner.
You want to make a professional, attractive channel banner so it grabs the attention of
your viewers in the first few seconds.
It should be very clear from your channel banner what your channel is all about.
You might also include your upload schedule like I have on my channel banner, which is
Monday and Thursdays.
Include links to your social media sites as well as to a landing page where they might
download a free report or free e-book.
Number three, value proposition.
The purpose that you value proposition is to summarize in a few words what your channel
is about.
This typically goes on your channel banner.
When they first see it, they'll know immediately what to expect.
If you want to know how to come up with a value proposition for YouTube channel click
the link in the card.
Number four, channel icon.
This appears above and below your channel banner as well as next to your comments.
When people read the comments and see your channel icon, they'll instantly recognize
that it belongs to your channel.
A lot of people use their face, just as I do on my own channel, or you can use a logo.
Use whatever icon you prefer that helps identify your channel to others.
Number five, channel trailer.
When people haven't subscribed to your channel, they're going to see your channel trailer.
This is a great opportunity to motivate people to subscribe to your channel.
As they see your channel trailer and your channel icon, your channel trailer is very
prominent.
The purpose of your channel trailer is to motivate people to subscribe.
In one to three minutes, summarize the content of your channel and give people a reason why
they should subscribe to your channel.
Another option is to find the video on your channel that is attracting the most subscribers.
To do this, go to YouTube Analytics, click on your Subscribers link, then click on the
YouTube watch page.
The video tiles at the top will show you which videos attracted the most subscribers.
Use your top-subscribed video as your channel trailer, because you already know that it
attracts subscribers.
Number six, thumbnails.
Your thumbnails are the beginning point of the journey of your viewers.
Most likely, the first encounter your subscriber has is by seeing your thumbnail in the search
engines.
Your thumbnails also appear on playlists and playlists make up the sections on your channel
homepage.
Therefore, make sure you have a consistent look across all your thumbnails and your channel
homepage.
Use contrasting colors, bold text, and a face or icon in your thumbnail.
Take a look at your competitors' thumbnails and try to create something different that
stands out from the others.
For my thumbnails, I usually include a face, bold text, and contrasting colors.
Number seven, sections.
When viewers first land on your channel homepage, they'll often scroll down to see what other
content you have on your channel.
Therefore, create vertical and horizontal sections on your channel homepage that contains
the thumbnails of your playlists.
Place your most popular playlist at the top then continue in descending order based upon
the importance of the playlists.
Make sure you create a captivating title for your playlist as well as a well-thought-out
description.
The title and the description of your playlist will appear above each section.
I recommend adding five to seven vertical and horizontal sections to your channel homepage.
If people want to take a deeper dive in the content, they can just scroll down the page.
Number eight, About page.
Many visitors that see your channel homepage will also look at your about page to find
out what your channel is about.
Therefore, create a well-optimized description that includes your channel keywords.
When writing the description, place yourself on the mind of your viewers, asking what's
in it for me.
Definitely avoid just talking about yourself, because the purpose of the description is
to get people to subscribe.
If you have a business or want people to contact you for brand deals, include your business
address.
In the Links section of your About page, include links to your social media sites, your website,
or your landing page.
All those content helps identify who you are and what you stand for.
Number nine, subscribe watermark.
This is a small icon that appears in the bottom right of all the videos across your channel.
It could be a logo, subscribe image, or even a picture of yourself.
This makes it easy for your viewers to subscribe from any video on your channel.
If you want to know how to create a subscribe watermark across all the videos on your channel,
click the link in the card.
Number ten, video bumper.
This is optional but you can include a motion graphic at the beginning of your video.
It's often called a logo's thing because you're animating your logo.
If you want to know how to create this kind of intro for YouTube videos, click the link
in the card.
Now you know ten ways to brand your YouTube videos.
Another more powerful way to get more views and subscribers is to rank your videos in
YouTube search and have them appear in YouTube suggested videos.
If you want to know how to rank your videos in YouTube search, Google search, and YouTube
suggested videos, watch my next video.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video.