Why is YouTube such a popular platform, and why does it garner such excellent marketing success for creators and brands? For one, it enables both creators and consumers to take deep dives into very specific topics and niches they enjoy; the long-form format of its content (pre-YouTube shorts, that is) makes it a great alternative to traditional television. For creators, it was once one of the only social media platforms on which you could monetize your content. To this day, it has the most well-developed monetization and analytics backends of any social media platform, supporting creators in achieving optimal success and making money from it. The ability to get discovered, grow a community, and nurture an audience on YouTube is unmatched due to its robust algorithm and stronger focus on search optimization as a subsidiary of Google.

To sum it all up, YouTube has been and continues to be, the crown jewel of content marketing platforms for small businesses and creators. If you don't have a YouTube channel yet, now is the time to create one. Keep reading to learn how to do just that!

What We’re Talking About

• YouTube Demographics
• The Rise of Multi-Channel Creators
• Creating Your YouTube Channel
• Crafting a YouTube Posting Schedule and Workflow
• Takeaways

While Instagram and TikTok are often considered the top contenders for the spot of number 1 social media platform, YouTube has proven itself to be the true gem of the social media landscape. The data doesn't lie: Experts estimate that more than 122 million people visit YouTube daily, averaging 11 minutes and 24 seconds on the platform. Beyond that, YouTube may have the most diverse audience of all the social media platforms: 81 percent of 15-25-year-olds in the United States watch YouTube, as well as 67 percent of 36-45-year-olds, 66 percent of people aged 46-55, and 58 percent of people 56 and older.

These days, the natural trajectory for creators is to transition from solely creating short-form content to eventually making their way to YouTube - and this makes tons of sense. While platforms like Instagram and TikTok are excellent for discoverability, these platforms encourage people to passively swipe through content versus sticking around and subscribing to become a part of creators' communities. In contrast, YouTube has proven to be an excellent place for creators to grow, nurture, and monetize their audiences with long-form content.

The key to a successful multi-channel approach is understanding each audience's content styles and user behaviors. While short-form content tends to be 'highlight reels' heavily influenced by what's trending and relevant, long-form content enables you to provide more value and deeply engage and nurture your audience.

Take Baby Ariel as an example. While her TikTok channel features funny snippets of her life and her takes on the latest social media trends, her YouTube channel gives subscribers a deeper look into her personality as she takes her audience along for a more intimate look into her life, featuring vlogs, confessionals, and spend the day with me videos. The same goes for the most adorable pup on the internet, JiffPom, whose TikTok is a sizzle reel of their adventures. At the same time, their YouTube channel feels like full episodes or extended takes of their TikTok videos. That's the magic of YouTube; viewers expect and desire longer, in-depth content to get a deeper look into the lives of their favorite creators or deeper dives into the topics they care about, making the platform the perfect way for short-form content creators to expand their brands by nurturing their audiences based on their unique behaviors on each platform.

‍Pro Tip: Making a multi-channel content strategy is easy, thanks to PLANOLY's multi-channel workspace. PLANOLY's multi-channel workspace makes planning your content for every channel in one centralized place easy. With this feature, you can organize your content ideas, collaborate with teams, schedule all your content for every channel, and so much more!

Ready to launch your YouTube channel? Follow these steps:

‍Step 1: To create a YouTube account, you must sign in to or create a Google account. Visit Youtube.com and select 'sign in.' If you have a Google account, sign in using your login information. If you do not have one, select 'Create account.'

‍Step 2: Once signed into YouTube with your Google account, select your user icon in the upper right corner and select 'settings.' Under 'settings,' select 'create a new channel.' You'll then be prompted to add a channel name. Make sure you choose a name that aligns with your brand and the content you plan to share on your channel.

‍Step 3: Once your YouTube account is set up, it's time to customize your channel! Start by adding your channel details to the 'basic info' tab. Think of this as the 'bio' of your channel that will help people determine if they want to stick around. This section will include a description of your channel. Be sure to be descriptive about what your channel is about and include SEO keywords, as these will help with the discoverability of your channel. You can also add links to your website, sales page, or other social media channels here.

‍Step 4: Now it's time to brand your YouTube channel! Start by adding your profile image. Your profile icon should be a clear image of yourself or, if you choose, your brand's logo. Ensure the photo you use is high resolution, centered, and easy to identify, as this icon is how people will recognize your channel.

Next, you want to add your banner image displayed at the top of your channel. Consider this a billboard for your channel that gives your audience more insight into your brand and content. Use an image of 2048 x 1152 px for your banner and 6MB or less.

YouTube videos require a significant investment of time and resources to create, so you must have a posting schedule and workflow. Success on YouTube boils down to content optimization and consistency, and your workflow will help you to ensure that you're prioritizing both.

The first thing you want to do is determine a realistic posting frequency. How long will it take to outline your video scripts, record your videos, upload them, and write SEO descriptions? Time out each step and create a cadence for each. Based on that, consider your capacity to determine your posting frequency. Posting 1 video per week is regarded as a good standard.

The next thing you want to do is develop your content themes and series. Think of YouTube like your very own TV network; your channel needs a TV guide that previews what type of content you'll be creating and how frequently, making content planning easier.

Lastly, you want to incorporate YouTube shorts into your content strategy. YouTube Shorts are quickly growing in popularity and can help expedite the growth of your channel. Many creators repurpose short-form content from other platforms or share preview clips from their longer videos using YouTube Shorts. Determine what makes the most sense for you and add this to your posting schedule and workflow. For more guidance, check out our blog post that explains the YouTube Shorts algorithm in more depth.

‍PRO Tip: Map your content plan by using PLANOLY's multi-channel workspace where you can auto-post both standard and YouTube Shorts content.  

YouTube has existed since 2005 and has only continued to grow as one of the leading social media platforms for creators and small businesses. If you're thinking about unlocking the possibilities of YouTube for your brand, now's the time to get started!