Why You Should Think Twice Before Jumping on a New Social Platform

June 1, 2017

It happened; another social media platform has launched. It’s promising to be the next FacePinStagramChatBook, and you don’t want to miss out — so you join it.

Though it is enticing to jump on every hot new social media platform, there are also plenty of platforms that have not been able to stand the test of time (R.I.P Vine). We’re going to give you a few things to consider before joining a new social media platform.

Social Media Overload

“Be sure to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook, LinkedIn…:”

When it comes to promoting your social media, the fewer the better. You don’t want to overload your audience with too many calls to action (CTAs). According to YouTube’s creator playbook, “CTAs should be minimal and simple. Too many prompts can cause confusion. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for viewers to perform an action”

Studies have shown that if you give your audience more than three actions, they actually won’t do any of them. Limiting your active social media platforms is necessary, especially if you want your audience to take action.

Listen to your audience.

If your audience is suggesting you join a new social media platform, check it out. Evaluate how that platform can serve you in your overall goals online. Additionally, you want to be where your audience is, so if your audience is ditching one platform for another, then you should at least be aware of where they’re going and how they can stay connected with you.

If you don’t like it, don’t join it.

This should go without saying, but one of the best ways to decide if you should join an emerging social media platform is asking yourself, “Do I like it?” Some people really love being on Pinterest, others prefer Tumblr. Just because people are on it doesn’t mean you should join it. One more time for the people in the back. JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ON IT DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD JOIN IT. Be on the platforms you enjoy and where your audience is. If they want to keep in touch with you, they’ll know where to find you.

At the very least, just claim your name.

No one likes getting Catfished.

When a new social media platform emerges, the best thing to do is at the very least claim your social handle. This prevents anyone else from claiming your name and posing as you or just posting things that people may mistake for you. Claim your social media handle and let people know where they can find the real you.

Conclusion

There is always going to be a new emerging social media platform that you’re going to want to jump on. Some will stay, and some will go. The biggest question to ask yourself is, “Is it worth my time?” Managing the current load of social media platforms is a task in itself. See how the new platform develops over time, and if it makes sense, add it to your social media circle.

What social media platforms are you currently using?

Get YouTuber.

Who am I to review a product?

Russ Fairley

June 1, 2017

The internet is chock full of reviews and reviewers, and each one has their own style, delivery and approach to content. For those interested in joining the fray, it can be intimidating. How can we get into the online review game without getting lost in the mix? How do you get people to care about your opinion?

In this latest phase of the information age, practically all of us have a platform from which we can share opinions, achievements and pretty much anything else that comes to mind. Some of it is done in true earnest, some of it is flaky, and some of it is simply noise. With all of this information out there, do consumers still find value in the thoughts of specific reviewers? Do potential buyers seek out validation from a litany of reviews before they make a purchase? Should we still be sharing our opinions?

Does anyone care anymore?!?!

Of course we do. There’s always room for another expert, especially when that expert can offer a unique perspective or entertaining approach.

What matters to you?

Creating product reviews to post online can be a rewarding endeavor, depending on your goals. Ask yourself: What is it you’re really after? Racking up the video views? Generating a huge subscription base? Building an audience to the point you can use YouTube to generate income or brand yourself as an industry guru? All of these are fine goals and really are possible these days, though the space isn’t exactly the Wild West it once was.

Online reviews have existed for many years now, and some people have been doing a great job of it for a long time. Like anything new, there are things that need learning, but the tried and true reviewers have ironed out some of the kinks in the process along the way. Many of them have invested a lot of time and money into their production — creating legitimate multi-camera environments, garnering press support for products and software, and finding sponsors to help keep the wheels turning beyond a few shows.

FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN OFFER THAT WILL MAKE YOUR SHOW WORTH WATCHING.

It’s not a prerequisite to create a broadcast-ready production — and this isn’t meant to scare you away from the idea — but if you want to achieve real goals, don’t under-think what you’re taking on. As much as people want to learn about the product you are reviewing, you won’t hold their attention with blurry video and unintelligible audio.

Building Relationships

More important than the technical side of production however, will be the relationship you build with your audience. As you produce more reviews, your viewers will come to hold you to certain expectations. They will begin to value your objectivity, your humor or maybe your outrageous antics or stunts — whatever makes your reviews appealing and engaging.

Figure out what it is you can offer that will make your show worth watching. Will you be entertaining but informative? Will you have a hook or a specific angle for each review? Will you be cold and business-like? Will you be brutally honest or will you offer more of a sponsored content feel, liking just about everything but offering some perspective? Will you wear a 10-gallon cowboy hat?

So many decisions. And after episode one how do things get better? 20-gallon hats?

Working with Brands

Another important relationship you’ll cultivate is with the brands whose products you will be reviewing. Research the industry you’re going to be participating in. Reach out to the companies who create the products you’re interested in reviewing. Many of them will use PR firms they can point you to, who will generally be helpful in supplying software licenses or loaner devices for your reviewing pleasure.

Here’s another place to let your unique personality — and value to brands — shine. Lots of people wanting to start their own program get caught up in the excitement of trying out products before the rest of the world and chase down hardware and software as though it were tradeshow swag, and not a tool for review. If you want to last as a reviewer and have access to the latest and greatest in your area of coverage, focus on the relationships you forge with these companies more than with what they can provide you. Getting a free gadget might be exciting, but having access to information about upcoming announcements is a much more valuable thing in the long run. Not to mention, those who are just after free stuff kind of screw up the system for the rest of us.

Become Their Go-to Reviewer.

It’s true. A show needs to be consistently strong, which generally means working harder to make it get better along the way. If it doesn’t improve constantly, it can get lost in the maelstrom of other similar shows. That said, it’s hard work juggling the variables that make a great show — company reps, sponsors, guests, the production itself and promoting and pushing the show to hopefully build an audience. All of this for little or no money can turn a fun adventure into a real drag. Fortunately, technology can take some of the weight off of your shoulders.

AUDIENCES CAN BE INFLUENCED, BUT THEY WILL ULTIMATELY COME BACK TO WHAT THEY TRUST.

Social scheduling tools like Hootsuite and Buffer can be a real help with promotion, as they allow scheduling of regular social media alerts about the show. Plan an hour every Sunday to create your alerts for the week. Put aside opinions about which platforms you like and dislike and consider the audience of the show. Will Instagram posts speak to them, or is Facebook the way to go? Twitter is a powerful tool, as well. What about adding occasional live shows using Periscope or Facebook Live? Is it worth investing in a bit of live production gear and conscripting some help?

Find tools that help streamline your marketing efforts. Social schedulers like Hootsuite, Buffer and others allow you to bulk schedule updates so your fans always know what coming up next.

The platforms you use, and how you use them, will go a long way to building stronger relationships with your viewers. Find ways to get your content in front of your viewer so that you come to mind first when they are actively seeking out product reviews for an upcoming purchase — or when they just want to be entertained.

Call to Action

This could’ve been a 30,000 word article, and it might’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. The internet is an organic environment where audiences can be influenced one way or another, but will ultimately come back to what they trust. Some people rely entirely on Amazon reviews or the comments on B&H product pages. Some consumers wait for a product to hit the pages of their favorite magazine or review website. Maybe Engadget or TechCrunch are the only reviews that matter. Some people comb YouTube for independent reviews.

There’s no one right answer, and there’s no way to guarantee a new review channel will achieve any measurable success. That success might be impossible to even notice without setting goals that a show should be striving for. How we break down analytics, or how we disseminate video performance data, including comments from our audience, can make the difference between a show that is constantly improving and one that drags itself through the mud with each episode.

To get started, watch tons of other content to see what works and doesn’t, then create something unique and original. It may take some time to perfect the vision for your channel, but planning will smooth the way. Look to a reviewer that you personally admire and try to figure out how they connect with their audience.

There are a million ways to create something interesting and fun, but only you can decide the right direction for your own product review channel. Making your channel great is important, but remember the real key: Have a good time doing it.

If it’s fun, and you’re passionate about what you’re reviewing, it will come across to your audience. Remind them to subscribe to your channel, promote the heck out of yourself and keep dreaming up new ways to set yourself apart.

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How YouTube Creators Can Use Content Marketing to Make Money

breebrouwer

June 1, 2017

If you’ve paid any attention to the business side of the internet, you’ve probably heard the term “content marketing” thrown around quite a bit.

It’s likely you’ve heard businesses rave about the benefits of content marketing, including setting up these brands as leaders in their industries while also building up an audience of dedicated fans and potential customers.

But if you’re still unsure about what content marketing is, or how you as a creator can use it to make some money, you’re in luck. In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know to get started with this popular method of marketing to grow your own business and income.

What Is Content Marketing?

According to the Content Marketing Institute, this form of marketing is defined as the following: Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

In other words, content marketing is a way of building up your audience through high-quality content creation, which makes them more likely to become loyal to your brand, purchase from you and spread the word about what you’re doing.

As a YouTuber, this process should sound highly familiar, as it’s what you do every time you post a new video to your channel: build a loyal audience of brand advocates. In fact, making video content is often considered a subcategory of content marketing, right alongside other formats like blog posts, case studies and infographics.

What Isn’t Content Marketing?

While content marketing can encapsulate other methods of marketing like social media and video, it’s primary goal isn’t to pitch products or services to your audience. This means content marketing is not in any way like traditional advertising. Content marketing shouldn’t look like commercials, for example, which more often than not try to convince consumers to buy a product or service that may not even be right for them.

CONTENT MARKETING FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING GREAT ORIGINAL CONTENT THAT DRAWS IN ORGANIC VIEWS.

Instead, content marketing educates and informs audiences so they become more knowledgeable about your industry or business. It focuses on developing great original content that draws in organic views and responses and seeks to build an extended relationship with an audience. Of course, content marketing involves a lot of work and takes longer to show tangible — and financial — results than advertising might, but knowing you’re creating brand loyalty and earning your audience’s trust means you’re setting up your business for long-term success.

How Can Creators Make Money with Content Marketing?

Fortunately for vloggers and video creators such as yourself, making money through content marketing is well within your reach. You’re already familiar with how to make video content, a skill many businesses don’t have, so you have the advantage here. You just need to know how to leverage your video knowledge to create effective content marketing.

For starters, you can use YouTube as a marketing platform for your main business, if you aren’t already doing so. Let’s say you’re a vlogger who has yet to earn money from anything outside of advertising revenue; launch a product or service and simply keep using your channel as an outlet to educate your audience about your area of expertise. Every once in a while, drop links to your product or service in descriptions, annotations or even directly in your video content so curious fans know where to go to buy from you.

A good example of a creator using YouTube to market a business is Jared Polin aka FroKnowsPhoto. While Jared boasts over 630,000 subscribers who help him bring in some ad revenue, the photographer and videographer once told the press he also makes money from the video and photography guides, merchandise and products he sells on his website, as well as from brand deals and sponsorships. He credited YouTube for giving him “the ability to reach all the people I’ve reached” — essentially, YouTube is his marketing channel.

You can also make money through content marketing by finding clients who need help creating video content. As noted above, many businesses don’t understand how to create videos that attract viewers and build a loyal fan base. Use your knowledge of online video to help these types of clients develop visual content for their own businesses, and charge them for your services. The more success these brands see, the more likely you are to have opportunities to create video content for other and possibly even larger businesses.

It’s important to note that selling your video content services is not the same thing as creating a sponsored or branded video. In those cases, a company is paying you to create content promoting their products or services, but in that role you’re just a creator. In order to make money developing content for other businesses, you need to view yourself as a professional service provider — one who is still a creator at heart but who’s also willing to invest the time and effort into understanding your client’s audience, what type of content resonates with them, etc. With this mentality, you’ll be able to make — and charge for — truly compelling video content for various clients.

To Wrap Up

Content marketing is one of the best ways to build a loyal fan base, and using video as part of your content marketing strategy will only help strengthen the connection and trust between you and your audience, or between your clients and their audiences. You already have the skills and knowledge to succeed with this method and grow your business, so what are you waiting for? Go start making great content audiences can’t wait to watch.

Get YouTuber.

The Rise of YouTube Kids and Why They’re so Successful

Stephen Mandel Joseph

June 1, 2017

Children’s video channels on YouTube are flourishing. The baby boom of nursery rhymes, building blocks, cartoons, music videos, web series and much more has catapulted kids as young as five years old into the spotlight of instant YouTube stardom. With the increasing success of fun and even absurd videos being created by and for tots on the number one video platform, it may be a good time to hop on the children’s comedy bandwagon.

As YouTube continues to evolve as an alternative to traditional children’s TV, channels catering to children are popping up all over the site with videos that are actually earning incomes. In addition, as video becomes increasingly popular in the way children communicate and interact with each other, kids may actually see starting their own channel as a way for them to express themselves while learning to be creative in the process. Based on your child’s age, YouTube has taken the headache out of creating channels for your children as well as eliminating the worry of whether or not your child will view inappropriate content from other channels.

With the launch of the YouTube Kids app, made specifically for children, it’s easier than ever to break into the children’s entertainment business. With the app, children don’t need to sign up or sign in with their own account or a parent’s account. The app makes it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore and is available free on Google Play and the App Store in the U.S.

Kids Content Gets Results

Some of the most popular YouTube channels are aimed at children, and creators on the mega video sharing site have learned that any video uploaded with popular topics kids are likely to enjoy will get views. It’s no surprise, then, that channels like Fun Toys Collector, Superfriends — featuring Spiderman and Elsa along with a ton of other seemingly random characters from pop culture — and the LittleBabyBum nursery rhyme channel are skyrocketing to the top of the charts when it comes to views and watch time.

In addition to the plethora of children’s content created by adults, the trend has inspired peewee entrepreneurs around the globe to embark upon launching their own video channels. Ryan ToysReview is one of the leaders in this regard. His channel features, you guessed it, toy reviews from a kid’s perspective. Ryan and other half-sized tycoons like EthanGamer, who posted his first gaming video when he was seven years old, and Emily Tube, who makes fun videos that are both educational and entertaining, are accumulating millions of views — especially since kids are known for watching the same video over and over and over again.

Few of these popular videos rack up the same staggering numbers when it comes to subscriber count and like/dislike tallies; most kids would rather watch a video than offer feedback. Some channels even deactivate the comments section on their videos. Neither YouTube nor the young YouTuber focus on feedback as much as they do on building up a very loyal following of repeat viewers.

YouTube has taken notice of the kid channels that have attracted hundreds of thousands of views per month, leading the platform to begin investing in children’s shows on its YouTube Red service. Apart from that, these YouTube stars have generated revenue from the hundreds to thousands of dollars or more through advertisements, affiliate products and sponsored videos. Kids, under the smart guidance of their parents, have used their digital stardom to open bank accounts, prepare for college and, unbelievably, even apply for future employment. There’s no better way at handling success than preparing for the future.

Building Your Brand

Whether your children’s content stars kids or adults, professional strategist in marketing suggests beginners looking to launch their own channels focus on marketing through other social media platforms, just as you would other types of content. It’s recommended that you consider your marketing strategy for how to increase views before you even set up your channel. Research the marketplace and the categories most popular for children on YouTube. This way you not only build success, you can keep it growing.

JUST LIKE WITH OTHER YOUTUBE GENRES, THERE’S STILL PLENTY OF ROOM FOR VARIETY AND EXPERIMENTATION.

YouTube also allows its users to add end cards to the end of your videos. By setting up an interactive end card, you encourage people to watch more of your content. This is even more important for content directed at children, since the easier it is for them to choose your video to watch next, the less likely it is that they will be distracted by something else in the playlist.

Successful Content

YouTube and Google track online behavior in categories trending across popular channels. This is how they keep up with the rising fame of individuals sharing their content. Now, of course, there are no conventional formulas for a successful YouTube channel. On average, a successful YouTube channel needs more than just those colorful videos with the alluring thumbnails.

YouTube bloggers have reported that the average viewer watches videos usually a minute or less, and that keywords included in the title, description and tags draw in the viewers. Branding has been another crucial element in drawing in multiple views and loyal followers. If you’re looking to create a popular YouTube channel, you need to create a familiar, visual brand for viewers to identify your content and return for more of your video uploads and updates. If viewers immediately recognize your video thumbnails, you’ll have an easier time attracting repeat viewers since they’ll have an idea of what to expect before they click.

A Bright Future

At the rate children are watching — and creating! — videos to the world, YouTube creators are poised to seriously disrupt traditional children’s television. And just like with other YouTube genres, there’s still plenty of room for variety and experimentation. The next big YouTube sensation is looming on the horizon, and that megastar may just be you or your kid.

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How Walkthrough Videos Can Grow Your Gaming Channel

June 1, 2017

Too often, YouTubers gamers find themselves in a Let’s Play rut, producing the same videos over and over. If you’re looking to change up the content you offer, walkthroughs offer a wealth of opportunities to diversify and grow your channel.

With so many new games released every week, posting endless Let’s Plays is an easy habit to fall into, but playing different games doesn’t equate to having diversified content on your channel. The games are varied, but the basic format of your video content isn’t. Walkthroughs could be exactly the change needed to grow your channel.

What’s the Difference?

At first glance, walkthroughs and Let’s Play videos don’t seem too dissimilar, as they both feature you playing through parts of a video game. The difference, however, is the intent behind the video and overall presentation.

Rather than only showcasing gameplay, a walkthrough aims to teach viewers how to maneuver through various stages of the game. From demonstrating the most efficient way through a level to navigating a particularly tricky puzzle, walkthroughs are about education.

Let’s Play videos, by contrast, are there to spotlight the gameplay, story and, most of all, your reaction. It’s all about the surface details, whereas a walkthrough is a deep dive into the content and mechanics. No matter how many different games you feature, a Let’s Play boils down to the same reaction based format. Walkthroughs offer unique content for each video because no two levels of a game will be conquered in exactly the same way.

The Benefit

Besides bringing fresh content, walkthroughs add value to your channel in other ways. Once a game has been out for a week or so, Let’s Play videos lose their attraction for audiences. A month down the road when the next major game launches, no one will be searching for — or interested in — your previous Let’s Play.

A walkthrough, however, enjoys longevity well beyond a game’s launch window. Tips and tricks on tough spots throughout a game will always appeal to players. Gamers just discovering a title years later can still utilize the walkthroughs you’ve created.

Crafting an Effective Video

Making a walkthrough video isn’t a simple matter of changing the voiceover commentary on top of a regular play session. There are key elements to include in order to give viewers what they need while still being entertaining:

Follow Along in Order: It’s crucial to ensure your walkthroughs follow a specific, clear order. If you’re going level-by-level, you should go in the order the game presents them. Skipping around will only confuse viewers.

Slow and Steady: You can’t play at your regular pace in a walkthrough. You have to slow down so viewers can keep up with everything. Don’t get into a situation where viewer has no idea where you are or how you got there.

Directions: Along with slowing things down, be clear in the voiceover directions. Whatever you do, explain to viewers why you did it that way. Detailing your method through a level or mission is what audiences are looking for, as the quirks and methods of play are what makes your strategy unique to you.

Clear Labeling: Lower thirds and other on-screen text should already be part of your videos, but in a walkthrough they become essential. They quickly alert viewers when you’re moving to a new area and highlight elements of a puzzle or boss battle. They can also spotlight secret mechanics or Easter eggs.

Get Discovered: Proper titles, descriptions and keywords are vital aspects of getting your walkthroughs discovered — especially for multi-video breakdowns. If you’re tackling a particularly notorious section of a game, include the level name in the video title and talk it up in the description. This gives you more visibility to gamers searching for specific levels or bosses.

Taking these into consideration will ensure you’re not turning potential subscribers away. How you play the game and the personality you bring will keep them there. Just because you’re doing instructional content doesn’t mean you can’t insert your own elements. Viewers can find boring walkthroughs anywhere, so make it your own — just don’t skip the basics.

Add Variety

Walkthroughs don’t have to be boring or fall into the same pattern every time. They aren’t necessarily limited to getting viewers through stages of the game. You could record bonus videos to highlight discovering secrets, tracking down collectibles, speed routes between zones or alternate strategies for bosses.

It’s possible to cover all of these within your main walkthrough series on a game, but they work exceptionally well in fleshing out your channel. Posting them after your primary walkthrough series ends gets more content out of a single game while subscribers have something new to enjoy.

Additionally, different genres require different approaches. Using the same walkthrough format on open world games won’t work for straightforward action titles. Walkthroughs on multiplayer specific games — fighting, MMOs, MOBAs, shooters — will focus on tips and tricks rather than working through a level. Strategy games are more about mastering mechanics and understanding options for the players — the list goes on.

No matter how you look at it, there’s a plethora of content you can add to your channels by introducing video game walkthroughs. The pointed content and longevity they have ensures they’ll continually bring in new subscribers while keeping your current ones happy.

Get YouTuber.

Expanding Your Beauty Channel

Rhiannon McGavin

June 1, 2017

There comes a time in the life of every YouTube creator where the old tricks and tips just don’t cut it anymore. Despite the infinite combinations of glitter and gloss, sometimes a beauty blogger just hits pan.

It’s totally fine to branch out into subjects other than makeup for your videos! As with any material, make sure that you’re creating this content because you actually want to, not because it might garner more views or that everyone else is doing it.

The best way to make entertaining videos is to make something that you would want to watch, and that goes for every genre. Take inspiration from channels that you really appreciate, not just the popular ones. Check if your favorite blogger has different playlists for their channel, and see how they differentiate their videos.

Over the last few years, many beauty bloggers have stepped outside the makeup aisle in a variety of ways. There are some benefits to keeping a strong focus on beauty, as you become the spot to go to for that topic. For example, Stephanie Nicole is so dedicated to liquid lipstick that she has a chart to ascertain the full caliber. Lisa Eldridge crafts a cynosure on beauty products, which makes sense since she’s an actual artist for Lancôme. Even if makeup is a hobby rather than a career, there are certainly enough ways to vary content while concentrating on beauty; monthly favorites, GRWMs, hauls, tutorials, and what have you.

Of course, there’s also the reverse situation, wherein creators who wouldn’t normally talk about makeup feel pressured to because it’s more lucrative and more expected of female YouTube creators in general, but we’ll leave that for another discussion.

Anyway, as your channel evolves, it’s possible that your interests will develop. There are video styles adjacent to beauty that could be natural extensions of your content, the most obvious example, of course, being fashion! Tons of creators have some sort of look book video, and it’s a great way to branch into clothing. Coming from the world of makeup, you clearly know something about color coordination and style, and many of the video prompts for beauty vlogging can easily transfer to fashion.

Along with what we wear, there’s something else integral to the daily routine: food. This might require some background skills and a different setting than the typical bathroom (hopefully), but fixing up a beloved dish can be a nice way to diversify your content and get some snacks. Breakfast can be the most important meal of the day and an easy way to get into foodie videos.

Those are just a few given ideas. For more inspiration, just look at your activities offline! Do you have favorite exercises? Do you knit, or paint, or play instruments? Where else do you cultivate interest? Kaya Empire can switch from answering queries about skin care to her engineering major, a subject she’s clearly very passionate about. Even in her monthly favorites, Jenn Im always mentions books and films that she enjoys alongside cosmetics, and it’s cool to see her interests outside of eyeshadow palettes.

Countless bloggers have discussed more complex topics in their videos, ranging from relationship issues to mental health to feminism. This expansion is great because it exposes viewers, especially younger members of the audience, to material that they may not have purposefully sought out otherwise, and it’s a gentler way to begin those conversations.

If you do branch out beyond beauty, there may come a time when you have to decide whether to start a second channel. Personally, I think it’s best to keep your audience concentrated in one place. Going off pure metrics, ten thousand subscribers on one channel sounds more impressive than five thousand subscribers on two different channels, even if it’s the same amount.

This strategy also builds the channel to promote you as a fully-rounded person, rather than just the sum of things that you talk about. Again, it depends on what sort of approach you take to video-making. As with any advice, doing what you want to do takes precedence, but it’s wise to wait until you have some sort of established fanbase who would more willingly make the jump from one link to the next before putting energy into a second channel.

Of course, if the non-beauty topics that you want to tackle are radically different from what you normally do, it could be nice to start a second channel lest you alienate your original audience. The main channel could stay beauty-related, while the second one can host less-structured vlogs, cooking videos, studying tips or whatever else your heart desires.

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Panasonic LUMIX GH5: Best settings for YouTubers

Panasonic

June 1, 2017

This post is brought to you by Panasonic and the LUMIX GH5. Learn more on Panasonic’s website.

There are tons of new features on the GH5 that make it ideal for YouTubers. With those features comes a bunch of different ways to set up your camera. But not every channel benefits from the same settings. Let’s take two creators, Casey Neistat and Dude Perfect, and discuss what gives them their look. We’ll talk about the best settings and features that suit their unique style of of storytelling.

Casey Neistat: The Film Look

Known for his daily vlogs in New York City, Casey Neistat is constantly moving and shooting. Casey tells stories with a cinematic feel. His aesthetic leans a lot on visual storytelling. To achieve a cinematic look to your video, start with your framerate. Classic film cameras shoot 24 frames per second, so you should set your camera’s shutter speed to 24. Higher frame rates give a smoother feel, offering a more real life feeling video, but it won’t look as cinematic.

Casey’s also known for shooting video with great color and composition. Fortunately the GH5 offers 10-bit 4:2:2 bit depth color space. Simply put, 10-bit video captures billions of colors where as 8-bit only offers about 16.7 million. The more colors, the more control you have over your color during editing. Currently, the GH5 is the only camera under $8k to offer 10-bit 4K video, which is probably why it’s Casey’s current go-to camera.

Those Frames Tho

Next, let’s look at Dude Perfect, a channel that has a much different aesthetic than Casey Neistat. Dude Perfect creates fun videos of trickshots and more. Sports, let’s play videos and action is all best captured at a higher frame rate. Shooting at a frame rate of 60 frames per second will give a more fluid video that will capture fast action better. The GH5 is one of the few cameras that will shoot 4K in 60 frames per second, so you’re covered.

The content that Dude Perfect produces is a mix of real time video and slow-mo. Slowing down 60 frames per second to 24 will give you a two and a half times slow motion when played back at 24 frames per second. To slow down even more, shoot in HD and the GH5 opens up to 180 frames per second! Slow down 180 frames per second to 24 and get a seven and a half time slowmo! That means two seconds of video, when slowed down, will become fifteen seconds. Say you want to produce in 60 frames per second, then you will have a three times slowmo when you slow 180 to 60 — perfect speed for instant replays!

Universal Settings

Regardless of how you plan to use your GH5, there are some settings that are more universal. The most usable picture style for video that you don’t plan to grade is Natural. It gives you the more real color palate. Don’t forget that there’s also an upgrade option to the GH5 for V-log. It basically gives you video that’s easier for color manipulation. It’s not for everyone, but anyone who wants only the most beautiful video should get it.

Lastly, you’ll find all the shoot assists a video shooter needs in the GH5. Use the histogram to help you get perfect exposure. Turn on focus peaking so you know if something is out of focus. And if you need to change between frame rates and keep the same exposure, turn on Shutter Angle — a rare feature in cameras at this price.

The Panasonic Lumix GH5 offers an extensive list of options for YouTube creators. With the possibility to shoot 10-bit 4K video or 180 frames per second in HD, its features are rich.

Learn more about the Panasonic LUMIX GH5.

Provoking a response from PewDiePie in part helped move Keemstar’s DramaAlert into the spotlight.

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Vlogs: Follow the Drama

Jason Miller

June 1, 2017

YouTube drama channels have been rising in popularity over the past year, with many channels getting millions of views and hosts making a steady income from it. Do you have what it takes to traverse this rising and sometimes brutal phenomenon to create your own YouTube drama channel?

by Jason Miller

There has been nothing like YouTube in the history of communication. Titans of the printing age William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer pale in comparison when it comes to sheer influence. YouTube reaches almost a third of the human race. And like Hearst and Pulitzer, influencers in the YouTube community are beginning to wake up to the realization that sensationalism and gossip not only make great headlines, they get viewers. Drama YouTube channels have become increasingly more popular over the past year. Depending on your perspective and moral outlook, this is either a natural extension of YouTube, essentially continuing the long and storied tradition of gossip news and sensationalist headlines or, like PewDePie, you see it as a degradation of what makes YouTube great, pitting YouTube influencers against each other for the next scandalous clickbait headline.

DRAMA CHANNELS WORK BECAUSE THEY COMBINE OUR LOVE FOR THE DRAMATIC WITH OUR LUST FOR CELEBRITIES.

Either way, drama channels work because they combine our love for the dramatic and our lust for celebrities. Think about it: How many times have you clicked a link because the headline said something shocking about a celebrity? This is the same thing. Whatever your perspective, these channels are only becoming more popular, and many want to cash in on it.

What is YouTube Drama?

A YouTube drama channel is exactly what it sounds like, a channel where the focus is drama from YouTube influencers as well as other celebrities. They are essentially the E! or TMZ of YouTube, but much less formal, and very much in the tradition of YouTube vlogging. Each channel is usually centered around a personality who reports on and gives perspective on the dramatic happenings of YouTube celebrities. Often this includes calling them out on things they have done or said on their channels, social media or in real life. For many drama channels, trolling can be a big part of it — for good reason, but more on that later.

The most popular YouTube drama channel and possibly its most controversial is DramaAlert hosted by Keemstar. Keemstar is more aligned with the angry comments section of a social media post or the darker corners of Reddit than more traditional types of dramatic channels such as Philip Defranco. Defranco is similar to a traditional media outlet and does his best to give context, perspective and reason to his videos. Other influences such as Here For The Tea and Sanders Kennedy take a very informal vlog approach to what is otherwise very much like tuning into TMZ or E!. For perspective, as of writing this article, DramaAlert has approximately 1.8 million subscribers, Philip Defranco has about 5.4 million.

What makes a good YouTube Drama channel?

A YouTube drama channel is just like any other channel on YouTube; what makes it good comes down to just a few essentials. The most important of these is content. Always. It doesn’t matter if you are producing a drama channel or a cooking channel, what you put out there can’t just be watchable. It must be entertaining and engaging and give the viewing something they can’t find elsewhere. With a drama channel, personality is hugely important. Like with vlogging, the viewers connect to the host; they tune in not just because of what you are saying but who you are. The host is someone the viewer would want to hang out with because that is essentially what they are doing for the duration of the video. By personality, I don’t just mean the flamboyant persona of the on air personality, but the perspective and viewpoint of the channel. Just reporting that XYZ happened isn’t enough; it’s your take on it that makes the difference.

WHILE PERSONALITY IS SUPER IMPORTANT, CLEAR STORYTELLING IS VITAL.

While personality is super important, clear storytelling is vital. Many would-be influencers make the mistake of just turning their camera on and ranting, then hoping for the best. Your reporting needs to be clear and easily digestible. I specifically used the word reporting because that is exactly what you are doing, reporting on events that have transpired and then adding your editorial take. Just like any other reporting, research and planning are both necessary.

Jump in the mud or stay above the fray?

As stated before, some YouTube Drams channels can become brutal, even trollish, by going after other influencers or taking a controversial position. While some influencers decide to keep it classy, others are just as interested in making headlines as they are in reporting them. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, again depending on your moral persuasion. Trolling and feuding with other YouTubers, specifically celebrity influencers, can get you attention and earn your gossip channel some legitimacy. After DramaAlert went after PewDePie, YouTube’s most watched celebrity, PewDePie shot back — giving DramaAlert more recognition than before, legitimizing him in the process. Don’t venture out into nastiness without careful consideration, however. The internet can be brutal and unforgiving, and not everyone has the stomach to be the next Keemstar.

Regardless of whether you want to jump into the ring and hurl mud at other YouTubers or just want to report on the drama surrounding YouTube and its stars, a drama channel can be a really fun hobby or career if you’ve got what it takes. Just take warning: If you choose to start a YouTube drama channel, those reporting on the fray are also often the targets of it. If you don’t already have skin like a crocodile, you better grow some because it can be an unforgiving jungle out there.

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Breaking Things on Camera and Getting Paid for It

Marc Johnson

June 1, 2017

There is a space in the universe that is YouTube where content doesn’t involve creating something to be admired, where destruction and chaos are the order of the day. Welcome to the world of breaking things on camera — and getting paid for it.

by Marc Johnson

My earliest recollection of the destruction genre comes from Blendtec’s Will It Blend? videos, in which a procession of ill-fated tech items were sacrificed to the blender gods. I cringed at seeing pricey items being destroyed solely for entertainment value — and blender promotion.

Techrax: $10,000 Gold Apple Watch Edition Crushed by Magnets

Gizmoslip: How Far Away Can World Champion Knife Thrower Hit iPad Pro 9.7?

But while I may cringe at the thought of my iPhone being torn to pieces by those vicious blades, there is indeed an audience for this type of content, indicated by the number of subscribers and views destruction-based YouTube channels generate. Upon seeing more of the new breed of tech destroying YouTube creators, the genre has actually grown on me. Whether it was the type of tech that was used or the unique way they found to test and destroy it, I became transfixed. There’s a part of me anticipating the major destructive scene, while a sliver of me always hopes that the tech will actually survive.

Some of the better YouTubers and channels creating this destructive drama I found are TechRax, who has an adolescent angst type of way to destroying things. Gizmoslip uses a special slow motion camera so you can see the detail in the destruction. FullMag uses military type weaponry and explosives to send his products to the afterlife. Then there is Wrecknology, who uses a unique mix of commentary, special guests and scripted content to highlight the destruction. The key to the entire setup involves tech items that people actually want or have like the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, DJI Phantom or even the 10,000-dollar gold Apple watch. Seeing these types of items being pulverized in some creative ways is the draw and the drama. Yet how can these YouTubers continually make videos like these and have it make economic sense?

Profiting from Destruction

These YouTubers are in fact turning a profit off of these videos. Some of the well-known creators in this genre have their own way of destroying these fresh out of the box tech and do it on a regular basis. How are these channels possible? Are they sponsored videos featuring products gifted by the company? Sometimes, but the large majority of products you see meeting their end on YouTube were paid for with the creator’s own money.

To better understand, we need to look at the math. Though there are a number of factors to consider, the gross YouTube ad revenue from Google Adsense averages as much as 5 to 10 dollars, or even possibly 100 dollars per 1,000 views (CPM). You’ll still be splitting that with YouTube, but CPMs like that can bring in a significant sum on high performing videos.

Machinima: Wrecknology — iPad Mini CUT IN HALF w/Raiden!

Remember, these videos rack up the subscribers and views — in the millions in many cases. Say one of these YouTubers buys the new Samsung Galaxy S8 at around 800 dollars straight out of pocket. This purchase is an investment in hopes that the destructive video they have in mind will reach the number of views needed to at least recoup that money they shelled out. We’ll use a CPM of five dollars for this example, but again, this can vary widely. If their video reached 1 million views, the estimated YouTube ad revenue would be about 5,000 dollars (1,000,000 divided by 1,000 views x $5 cpm). With the standard split of 55/45, after YouTube’s 45 percent cut, the creator would earn about 2,750 dollars from that video ($5,000 x 0.55 = $2,750). By these estimates, the creator would be getting their money back and a tidy profit on top. To see what your favorite destructive YouTubers are making try www.socialblade.com, where you can get an approximate estimate to their regular earnings.

Wanna break some stuff?

At this point, if this seems to catch your fancy and you think you might take a venture creating your own YouTube Channel in this genre it will greatly depend on a few things. Most creators like TechRax and Gizmoslip have been creating videos for years and in a sense only within the last few years gained the notoriety after sticking it out with videos that may have not worked as well. To start now would mean investing regularly to purchase products to destroy in your own special way. You could try to sell back destroyed items, but if you have watched any of these videos there isn’t really anything left of value. Our advice would be to start small while you build up a following, then go for the big ticket items when you know you can get enough views recoup your costs.

Get YouTuber.

The Keys to the Key of Awesome

Sky Scholfield

June 1, 2017

An Interview with Mark Douglas

Key of Awesome

• UPLOADS 1,067
• SUBSCRIBERS 5,140,590
• VIDEO VIEWS 2,940,574,505

Mark Douglas, if you haven’t already heard of him, is a part of the Key of Awesome. Previously Barely Political, the Key of Awesome team has been making videos for YouTube since its early days and has to date accumulated close to 3 billion total views and more than 5 million subscribers since the channel’s first viral video, “Crush on Obama.”

Sitting down with Mark was a little surreal being that he’s kind of internet video royalty. He and his colleagues started making videos way back when a dog riding a skateboard still had the power to break the internet and email forwards weren’t just coming from your one lonely uncle. Mark, being buried under work all morning, hadn’t spoken to any other humans yet, so we chatted about the weather a bit, and then I jumped right into those early days before he started making videos.

“In those days I was a struggling comic and in a sketch comedy group. Every time I did it though, it was like a one man sketch just trying to figure a way to get some funny characters in there or segway into some funny songs. I remember then, too, there being this kind of feeling where if you would go on stage and do an impression, people would automatically tune out and think it was lame. It was like, not cool to try too hard. Then I just started doing 3-minute YouTube videos doing a lot of the same things and pushing all of my talents forward there, and it felt like it was much more appreciated and still does.”

“Did you start out with your own channel or team up with other video producers?” I asked coyly. I knew a bit about Mark’s early years, but it was interesting listening to him tell it. You could tell he still loved what he was doing and enjoyed talking about it.

“I was actually lucky enough to come onto Ben Relles’ channel, which was called Barely Political at the time. He had a big hit, “Crush on Obama,” which was kind of one of the first big viral hits that was actually intentional. Other videos at the time where just like dogs on skateboards and stuff like that.”

I laughed a bit to myself remembering watching “Crush on Obama” with a group of my classmates in college. We thought it was hilarious and loved how much hard work people were starting to put into internet material then.

I’M GOING TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO WORK HERE.

“The company Next New Networks got interested in the channel after that and eventually bought it. I used to hang out with the main writer at the time, Rusty Ward, a lot, and he asked me to come in to do some voiceover stuff. It was a great time for politics, too, so I was doing impressions of Giuliani and John Edwards and Bill Clinton, and I started doing these fake phone calls between different candidates, which got me in the door. When I saw the environment these guys were in, being able to just come up with this stuff and get it out the next day or week, the immediacy and how many people were seeing it, I was just like, wow this is amazing, I’m going to do everything I can to work here. I started writing songs for the channel and eventually they offered me a full time position. I think of it as, not the beginning of my profession career, but definitely where things started to happen for me. I haven’t had a day job since then.”

During that last sentence, I’m pretty sure he was knocking on his desk.

Managing a Channel with 5 million + Subscribers

Mark started as a contributor and now oversees everything at The Key of Awesome. I’ve always wondered whether creators find is easier to specialize and join up with a team of other specialist creators or try to have a hand in everything and switch positions when necessary. Mark clued me into his process.

“Well early on it was all sort of shared. I wasn’t involved in everything at the time, we were all sharing the responsibilities and we were all kind of in the dark and figuring it out together. Ben Relles was really smart about that, and Michael Stevens from VSauce was working at the same channel at the time, and he was always really smart about analytics and just knowing how YouTube worked in general. I was always a little less interested in that aspect, but I always kind of benefitted from having these smart young people around me who did geek out on those kind of things. I just kinda tend to focus on the things I enjoy more, like making funny stuff.”

From Barely Political to The Key of Awesome

Barely Political went through a lot of name changes before landing on The Key of Awesome. They somehow maintained consistently good viewership throughout their lifetime, though — no easy task for any brand.

“Tell me about the many changes to the Barely Productions brand and how you worked within those. I understand you all took a couple turns before eventually getting to The Key of Awesome.”

A LOT OF IT HAPPENED ORGANICALLY, WHICH IS THE BEST.

“A lot of it happened organically, which is the best. Right before Obama got elected, it was a time when pop culture and politics merged so you could put out political stuff every day and everyone one was actually paying attention. Once he got elected though, everyone kinda chilled out and there wasn’t enough to really talk about, so we had to make a move. We were called Barely Digital there for a while, and we were doing tech and gaming stuff and just finding a new niche. But eventually Key of Awesome became the main thing. We were trying to have Barely Political be a variety channel, but The Key of Awesome became the most popular thing and as time progressed, I suggested changing the name. We went through a couple other name changes but now it’s landed at The Key of Awesome.”

“Did you ever feel out of element during the changes? I know some creators struggle with falling in and out of fashion as fads change”

“Well the early political stuff for me was a little outside of my wheel house; I was always just a little outside of my element then, but we made it a broader and broader which was a little more me.

I had done a couple songs that had done really well so, Ben asked, if there was something a little more like what you would wanna do, what would that be? I had an idea for a series where I would write a song every week. That was something I used to do, and I remembered some advice that Stephen Colbert said once which was to ‘get yourself in a jam.’”

“So you adapted that to your creative process for YouTube as well?”

“Yeah, I said every week give me a funny suggestion, and I’ll write a song and play on an acoustic guitar, and I would sing and play it in front of the camera. I pitched that to Ben and he said well, what if you made a new song and video every week? I thought it would be really hard, but I said I would give it a try, so that was kinda where the Key of Awesome came from. The title kinda of just happened, too. As we were putting out the first video, we were still on the fence about it, and Key of Awesome was the least objectionable title we had on the list. We also needed some kind of outro stinger, and someone sang something kinda silly. So I found those notes on the keyboard and we slapped it on there, and that little stinger was what made everyone actually like The Key of Awesome as the title. Like everybody was a little lukewarm about it but once it had that outro, it kinda stuck in everyone’s head.”

Adapting to Your Audience

Having done nothing remotely as successful as Barely Productions has, I felt a little nervous about the next question, thinking it might come off as a offence, but Mark was really receptive. “When it comes to your content do you have a problem with adapting to what viewers want to see, or do you see that as part of the process?”

“Yeah, well, it’s one of the things actually I kinda pride myself on actually, the ability to adapt. A certain percent of what you make on YouTube just has to be topical. There’s room for characters and things that are evergreen, but a large percentage just has to be current. Obviously, you can do whatever the hell you want with it, but I have tons of ideas and demos of original funny songs just sitting around because I know if I parody the next One Direction song it’s gonna do way better. Even a shitty one will do better than the original really funny idea that I have because nobody is looking for it. You are always trying to grab the tail of something until you have your own tail. But even then it’s still kinda hard.”

“How do you keep it going? You’ve been making videos for so long.”

“Doing improv, I found out that you can make something amazing out of just a suggestion that somebody throws out, and it can be way funnier than a brilliant idea that you have ruminated on for months that you think is going to be a masterpiece. It’s always kind of worked like that, and I feel like ideas are cheap and it’s more about execution. It’s just a volume business, so just being willing to try anything really helps.”

Making a Key of Awesome Video

If you don’t already follow The Key of Awesome, you can see behind the scenes videos of a ton of their songs on their channel. I wanted to hear straight from Mark, though, how the whole process takes place.

“Can you walk me through the production of a parody from start to finish?”

“We are always kinda of looking at the charts and Vevo. At that point, if we can’t decide between say a Taylor Swift video where she’s in the middle of a desert with real tigers and elephants verses a maybe a Bruno Mars video where he’s dancing in front of a white sheet by himself, we’re gonna do the Bruno Mars one. Mainly because we can recreate it cheaply. We have gone out and done videos like “Bad Blood,” where we went nuts and spent some money on it, but it’s always kinda of a gift when it’s just a simple video and its popular. Sometimes there will be a video where it’s hard to find anything to make fun of, but I feel like we can usually find some kind of premise and make a video around it.

Most of 2016 I was kind of writing by myself, but now I’ve brought some writers into the mix. We brought this guy Evan Kaufman in, who is a really funny improvisor sketch comedy guy.

To begin, I will schedule a voice conference with Evan, and we’ll brainstorm for whatever song we are doing and we’ll just spitball for about an hour and try to find something funny about it. We really take the video apart and make notes on everything, about a page of notes gives me confidence that we can do a good job on a video. The biggest part of that process is just finding some kind of premise that we can hang the whole video on conceptually and what we should and should not comment on. We usually know the right premise right when we come up with it, and whoever is the point person on that video will then write a rough draft. A couple days later we will take a look at the draft, make more notes and make another draft and take it from there. I try to think of it as that three-part process of writing.

IT’S ALWAYS KIND OF LIKE PUTTING TOGETHER THE CAR AS IT GOES DOWN THE ROAD.

While all that’s happening, because we’re always on a timeline and trying to catch the crest of an original videos popularity, we will have a pre-production meeting to figure out everything we’re going to need while it’s being rewritten. Even though the script isn’t done by that point, we should know some of the things we’re going to need, which actors we’ll be using, locations etc. Cara Alpert is my costume person, so if there are any big things we’re going to need, she works those things out — like a special Nicky Minaj outfit or pink wig or something like that. We’ll start doing those broad things and as soon as the script is done, we’ll have another full meeting with everyone involved in that video. Everyone includes Doug Larsen, who is our swiss-army-knife, Lisa our producer, Cara, and if it’s something fancy we will contact an outside DP or hair person or what ever else we need. It’s always kind of like putting together the car as it goes down the road. Then hopefully we can record the song just before we shoot it; sometimes we’ve recorded the whole video with just a demo and then we have to go in and record over the voiceover, which isn’t ideal because it makes it a bit more difficult, but it can be done if necessary. Then we just hope everything lines up, and everyone is available and we can get it out as quickly as possible. We always try to post on Saturdays so I tend to come home late every Friday because we are finishing up the video.

Soon as we’re done shooting, we start the edit and then while they are doing that, I’m thinking about what the next video is going to be. So just that repeating itself over and over and over. Its rare that we ever have videos lined up; usually it’s video after video back to back. Sometimes we’re able to get ahead, and it’s a nice feeling, but not normally.”

The Future of the Key of Awesome

“Where do you see the future of KoA going? I noticed you have been plugging a Patreon recently; are you hoping to move little closer to that platform?”

“Yeah we do use Patreon, which honestly took me a little while to get comfortable with just because I’ve never really done anything like that before and I feel like I’m a little more firmly planted in generation x. It has become a nice little sort of fan club, though, for people who are really into what we do. And through the rewards in Patreon, we have a lot more communication with this group of people. Like some of the rewards on Patreon are things like I’ll call you for a chat, and they’re actually into that. Its funny, too, because sometimes I make those calls and I’m like “Hey man how’s it going.” One guy told me once, “You know, I just like what you do, I don’t really do it for the rewards or anything. I’m glad to talk to you, but I just love what you do, and I want you to keep doing it. Don’t feel any pressure!” Which is great. Most of our hardcore fans I can tell are more like me when I was growing up, they’re like super nerdy about comedy. Those are the kind of people I like to talk to, and they have very specific questions about process and you can just tell they really want to make videos, too. In some ways though I hope I’m not responsible for them getting into such a tough industry. When I first came to New York, my acting teachers would always say if you can do something else, please do it, because this is a harsh field. I remembered being like wow, but when I started getting into sketch comedy and getting really specific about what I wanted to do, I knew I was happiest doing music and making people laugh, so there was no other choice.”

Finding Your Craft

“Do you have any advice for YouTubers with that same passion who are trying to get off the ground now?

“If you aspire to be a YouTuber, I would recommend figuring out what your craft is, the thing that you just like doing when no one’s even watching. Try to find a thing that is more of a craft, like if you really love sitting there and editing or something like that, do that. I have been just sitting here working on lyrics for this thing that I’m writing and it kinda feels like I’ve just been whittling wood all day. I can really get into the minutia of it; sometimes, it can drive you crazy, but when you’re done it’s an amazing feeling. For example, there was some industry party that I didn’t get invited to last week but I had so much work to do anyway, I thought well if I would have gone to that I would have been thinking of all of this work I had to do, and it just made me happy that I have this thing that I can go in the lab and do. It’s more important to get specific about exactly what it is that you like doing. It’s not enough to kinda like this and that and that; you have to pick the one thing that you can’t live without and really go after that. You’ll probably end up doing some of those things you’re interested in also, but if you’re not one hundred percent in love with say acting, then you’re not going to have the drive to keep doing it and putting up with the hard times of doing it. I sorta like being in dramatic plays, but if I was working on something I didn’t really like or the piece didn’t work, it was very difficult for me to get any enthusiasm for it. And that’s kinda how I ended up writing. When I started doing my comedy duo writing songs and making sketches though, even the bad shows were worth it. Once, we literally got booed off of a stage in Connecticut — they actually booed until we left — but I was so in love with sketch comedy it didn’t deter me from pursuing it further. Find the one thing that you can’t live without and really go after that.”

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