Collaborating with a fellow YouTuber is a great way to increase views and gain a bigger audience. Here are a few collaborations that have worked and some ideas to get you inspired.
When it comes to creating content on Youtube, the saying that two is better than one is a good piece of advice. YouTube is a community after all. The main reason people love the website so much — and why people from all over the world flock to it — is the aspect of community. People can come together and create inspiring and fun content for people to watch, whether by themselves or by collaborating with other creators.
The reason YouTube creators should consider collaboration is the same reason for creating a channel in the first place — to get people to view your content. Collaboration is simply helping one another. You appear as someone else’s guest in one of their videos and in return, they make an appearance in yours. This will help fans of one creator find and become fans of the other, resulting in growth for both audiences. Collaborations, therefore, can potentially help your channel gain new subscribers.
Collaborations can coming in many forms.
Collaborations can be as easy and simple as linking to complementary videos across channels or as involved as planning and producing completely original content. Once a collaboration is made, using social media to get the word out on your video is another good way to bring in viewers, so make sure you and your collaborator both publicize the collab video once it’s posted.
Collabs Done Right
Collaborations can come in many forms. Most often, they happen between creators, but collaborations between creators and other public figures and sometimes even between channels and brands are also possible, though the definition does start to get muddy when you start talking about sponsored video.
Here are four YouTube collaborations that work, in no particular order.
Chris and Jenny Bingham
One of the easiest ways to collaborate is to find someone in the same area as you. A collaboration can be as simple and easy as working with someone who is nearby, like a friend or, for Chris and Jenny Bingham, siblings. Here, it works because the two are literally blood-related. They share a common ground. That connection between the two makes the collaboration work because the two have similar personalities and styles of humor. In the end, it works perfectly as the two blend together. They work off one another, the banter isn’t forced and it doesn’t feel like they are simply reading off a script.
Mamrie Hart, Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart
Some of the best collaborations come from the simple desire to hang out with good friends. All three of these YouTubers are successful on their own, creating and sharing funny videos with the millions of viewers who make up their combined audience. When these three creative heavy-weights come together the result is pure gold, in part because of their willingness to be candid with each other and the audience. The success of this video is grounded in the trio’s authentic presentation of their friendship.
Hazel Hayes and Amy Schumer
With YouTube, you can collaborate with pretty much anyone, including, in some cases, your favorite celebrity. This may strike you as unrealistic but in fact, a lot of celebrities are crossing over to the video community site, especially when doing promotional tours for upcoming creative projects.
Both parties certainly benefit from working together.
Hazel Hayes does celebrities interviews on her channel for her Tipsy Talk series where she literally drinks with her favorite celebrity. While the collaboration is not between channels in this case, both parties certainly benefit from working together.
BuzzFeed and Purina
Likewise, collaboration videos can also emerge from relationships between creator and brand. In this case, however, the result is a sponsored video. BuzzFeed is constantly creating content with a variety of brands and when they converged with Purina, the result was immensely successful. Since it first appeared in 2014, the video has earned over 18 million views. The concept is simple, but it showcases the emotional power content marketing can wield for both creator and brand. Again, since collaborating with brands puts you in the territory of sponsored video, make sure you are being compensated fairly and that your relationship with the brand is fully disclosed to your audience.
Get Inspired and Go Collaborate
Being creative and finding ideas that work is what makes a YouTube channel work. This is also true for finding the right people to collaborate with on those creative ideas. Like all connections in life, such as friends and relationships, finding that right person makes everything better. Chemistry is key. Without it, that connection is lifeless.
A good collaboration will drive views and increase awareness for your channel. To begin collaborating with someone, you need to figure out the right kind of creator to connect with. Start by initiating a conversation with a creator you admire or who produces similar videos to yours.
You can reach out to other YouTubers through a variety of outlets. Chat forums and other types of social media like Instagram and Twitter are all good places to make connections with fellow creators.
Here are a few places to look for people to collaborate on your videos with:
•The YouTube Partners Google+ community
• YTtalk Forum
• The YouTube Community Forum
If you think collaborations are meant for those who have been around the block, you would be wrong. The best time to collaborate is when your channel is just starting out. Collaborations bring in a new audience and increase views.
Collaborations are not just for those who have a million subscribers.
Collaborations are not just for those who have a million subscribers, they’re for anyone with the desire to make their channel known. If you are just starting out with a YouTube channel, collaborating with someone is a great way to attract new viewers. Plus, it will benefit both parties and give you an encouraging push forward in making a name for yourself as a creator within the community.
