Uploading Your First YouTube Video
So you’ve just signed up to YouTube and created a channel and you’re looking to upload your first video. You really want to be thinking about setting your first video up for the best chances possible of it taking off. Every single video you post you have tools to use to try and maximise its chances of performing at its best.
One solid piece of advice, make sure to start your video strong as possible! Hook the viewer within the first 10 seconds or you risk them clicking away from your video and losing them.
Titles
Starting with the title, you need to come up with a title that is likely to draw attention to the video based on its content and also with most videos you want to try and get indexed in YouTube search for related search terms.
For example, say you created an ASMR video that is mainly you tapping on random objects slowly for 1 hour. A good title for the video may be:
ASMR Tapping Random Trigger Items 1 Hour Slow & Relaxing For Sleep.
Now there are a LOT of videos with similar titles in the niche so this one may not stand out, but it accurately describes the video and when people do click, they are less likely to abandon the video after a few seconds. For example, if the title was irrelevant, this would hurt the chances of it taking off.
Thumbnails
Now onto the thumbnail. Designing a thumbnail that actually reflects the video is very important. Make sure not to mislead too much with the thumbnail, although you do have some leeway as you do want to stand out amongst the crowd. You want the thumbnail to be related to the video so it does not mislead and also grabs attention at the same time.
A long time ago bright coloured thumbnails with neons and bright yellows were recommended, but they don't seem to perform as well as they used to now. You can work with the newer A/B testing feature where YouTube will rotate thumbnails, allowing you to see which performs best. This is something I don’t use myself, but when there’s a feature like this it is often worth using.
Description
In the description section, this gives you a chance to let the viewer and YouTube search understand more about your video. Use this section to describe the video content and share any links to your socials. You can naturally add keywords into this section, but it is best not to stuff them for example:
In today’s ASMR video we are tapping slowly on random objects to help you sleep. Relax with me as I tap on everything from a wooden coaster to more scratchy taps on a cardboard box.
Consider what people are searching for when writing your description and cater to them.
Keywords
Next we have keywords. They’re now hidden away when uploading a video, but I still think using them is best to help YouTube understand what the video is about and to give context. They are less important than they used to be now and many people skip them entirely, but for this video example we could add tags such as ASMR tapping, slow tapping ASMR, ASMR for sleep, ASMR sleep aid, ASMR 1 hour, ASMR relax, ASMR no talking and similar. We don’t need to use all 500 characters available, but adding some helps YouTube understand the video better.
Audience Retention
Think about what someone searching on YouTube or Google would actually type to find the video, usually a solution to a problem, and make sure your content matches that intent. Catering fully to that intent will position your video to get better watch time, stronger retention, and ultimately better performance.
These are the basics to focus on when posting your videos. Getting into a pattern of thinking like this helps our videos have the best chance out of the gate and can influence how we make videos too by thinking about our audience and what they want to see.
What do you focus on when uploading your videos? Retention? Thumbnail? Description? Share your thoughts and your own methods when uploading to YouTube.