YouTube Best PracticesPresented by the Advanced Video Practice May 2011

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• Why a YouTube Brand Channel?

• Organization

• Integration

• Design

• Creativity

Table of Contents

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The YouTube channel structure allows brands to build

customized central locations to present video content,

while simultaneously using the platform as a base to

optimize distribution to various social media properties,

blogs, and other websites.

Brand Channels can create an optimal user experience

through organization and integration features as well as

creativity in content and design

Why a YouTube Brand Channel?

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Organization

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Country-Specific User Channels

AutoPlay video to drive higher view counts

• Cisco’s global selector tool allows users to select country-specific Cisco YouTube channels around the world

http://www.youtube.com/user/BRCisco

www.youtube.com/user/Cisco

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Multiple Layers of Navigation

AutoPlay video to drive higher view counts

• The HP Corporate brand channel links to business unit channels

• Business unit channels feature playlists of product divisions in their navigation section with a side link to the main list of HP channels

www.youtube.com/user/HP

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Offering Multiple Languages

AutoPlay video to drive higher view counts

• A Language Toggle Button is offered on Siemens Channel

www.youtube.com/user/Siemens

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Uniting Product Specific Channels

AutoPlay video to drive higher view counts

• Offerings too small to have their own channel have their own playlist are on The ABCnetwork main channel

• ABC Network’s brand channel features navigation that highlights products (shows) that have their own YouTube channels

http://www.youtube.com/user/ABCNetwork

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Connecting a portfolio of related product channels

• Products in ABCnetwork’s daytime TV portfolio have their own navigation features

Daytime TV/soaps link to each other

Main network channel has one-way links to the daytime TV channels

http://www.youtube.com/user/abcnetwork

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• Housing videos in different buckets/categories helps users find the content they are looking for

• It also helps brands guide users to the preferred videos they most want viewed

• Example: Windows separates videos on its YouTube channel into different tabs, using the carousel-like interface to give users a rich experience that allows them to easily find videos they seek; it also allows the brand to highlight the videos it most wants to show by defaulting to a specific tab

http://www.youtube.com/windowsvideos

Bucketing Videos into Tabs

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• Salesforce.com’s channel featured a long keynote speech that starts up showing an annotation overlay of the topics covered

• Users can click on the topic and jump directly to that part of the video

http://www.youtube.com/user/salesforce

Bookmarking Key Topics in Video

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• Giving users the ability to search for videos within a brand YouTube channel increases the likelihood they will find videos relevant to them

• Example: HBO provides a search functionality for all of its uploaded videos

http://www.youtube.com/hbo

Offering Search Functionality

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• Providing multiple ways of finding videos on a brand YouTube channel increases the likelihood users will find compelling content

• Example: In addition to its mosaic presentation of user-submitted entries, HP allows users to see the winning videos from its contest as well as view the finalists from each week

• Example: IBM features 16 videos that can be browsed by rolling-over them

http://www.youtube.com/HPyourstory

Giving Users Different Ways to Find the Videos

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• Presenting the most-preferred current video as the default video introduces users to the YouTube channel with the most compelling content

• Updating these featured videos ensures they stay current and gives repeat users different experiences

• Highlighting additional preferred videos and accompanying them with brief descriptions allows users to easily watch more

• Example: HBO highlights its most current and relevant videos at the top of its channel page with a carousel of thumbnails and brief descriptions

http://www.youtube.com/hbo

Highlighting Preferred Videos

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Integration

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YouTube Embed Distribution

AutoPlay video to drive higher view counts

VW Facebook

• For its Volkswagen’s “The Force” Super Bowl spot, the automobile company released the videos 5 days ahead of the game on its YouTube channel and embedded it on its other owned media properties, while frequently giving updates on the video’s success

VW Passat Blog

VW Twitter

VW YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/volkswagen

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Allowing Sharing of YouTube Content on Other Social Media

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• Making it easy to share videos on a YouTube channel via other social media channels increases exponentially the amount of possible viewers

• Example: The LionsGateLIVE YouTube channel for Saw 3D presented multiple opportunities for users to share the content on its YouTube channel, including sharing it through:

• Email

• Twitter

• Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/lionsgatelive

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• Although the primary content on YouTube channels is video, providing users with the ability to view and upload other types of content (e.g. photos, text) gives channel viewers a more exciting all-around experience

• Example: The LionsGateLIVE YouTube channel for Kick-Ass the Movie allowed users to submit videos as well as photos of them as superheroes, accompanied by descriptions and superhero names

http://www.youtube.com/lionsgatelive

Allowing Users to Upload & View Non-Video Content

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• Increase engagement with non-YouTube content by showing users how they can get more of what they see on the channel

• Example: The YouTube channel for the NBA calls out (at the top of the page) when and where visitors can watch more of the NBA, live on TV

http://www.youtube.com/user/nbaus

Telling Users What’s Happening Outside of YouTube

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• SalesForce.com and Orabrush use their background design to highlight the subscribe button

http://www.youtube.com/curebadbreath

Foster Ongoing Contact with Visitors

www.youtube.com/user/salesforce

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• Highlighting subscriptions to partner YouTube channels:

– Allows for other channels to subscribe to your YouTube channel

– Shows that the brand embraces social media as a means for fostering community and increasing access, not restricting it

• Example: The NBA’s YouTube Channel subscribes to a few partner channels which in turn subscribe to the NBA channel

www.youtube.com/user/nbaus

www.youtube.com/user/WNBA http://www.youtube.com/user/ESPN

Subscribing to Partner Channels

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Location-specific lead generation

• Coldwell Banker uses its YouTube channel to house location-specific videos that drive lead generation for its real estate agents

Zip code search for videos Videos color coded by type Video and detail with 2 calls to action

Corporate website property detail page Contact request form

http://www.youtube.com/coldwellbanker

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• Displaying details of product offerings allows users to learn about what the brand has to offer without leaving the YouTube experience

• Example: The final tab on the YouTube channel for Project: Report (partnership between YouTube, the Pulitzer Center, Sony, & Intel) gives product details of several Sony Vaio laptop computers; when clicked, this page brings users to sonystyle.com

http://www.youtube.com/projectreport

Giving Product Details

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• For Coca-Cola’s Unlock the Secret Formula promotion, a video was placed on its YouTube channel with annotations that could only be activated at certain points in the video

• Users who clicked the annotations would be driven to the Twitter page of “Doc Pemberton,” who was supposedly the inventor of the Coke recipe

• Users could draw “clues” of how to unlock the formula from his tweets

http://www.youtube.com/wariolandshakeit2008

Annotations that drive to other Web Properties

http://www.youtube.com/user/cocacola

http://twitter.com/#!/docpemberton

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Design

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• Keeping look and feel consistent with the brand on the YouTube channel is key to providing a unified online presence

• Integrating current brand campaigns into the YouTube channel creates seamless messaging and extends campaign reach

• Example: Geico stays consistent with the current brand campaign with its top banner, its look and feel, and the default video currently featured

http://www.youtube.com/geico

Keeping YouTube Channels Consistent with Brands & Campaigns

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• Keeping design and language consistent from the website to the YouTube channel keeps users within a single, seamless experience and reinforces the brand

• Example: Barack Obama kept the look and feel, design, and messaging consistent from his website to his YouTube channel

www.barackobama.com

www.youtube.com/barackobama

Mirroring the Website

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• YouTube offers the ability to present and organize videos on brand YouTube channels in ways that differ from the standard format

• It can add a layer of fun and discovery to the video browsing experience

• Example: HP’s YouTube channel defaulted to a mosaic view of entries into its You On You Project, where users uploaded, viewed, and voted on user-generated videos

• Example: Raisinets offers an interactive clickable roadmap to different playlists

http://www.youtube.com/hp

http://www.youtube.com/user/Raisinets

Presenting Videos Creatively

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Creativity

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• NetSuite uses humor to add engagement to it’s B2B message about simplifying software

Mixing Humor with Business

www.youtube.com/user/netsuite

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Interaction with Videos through Choose-Your-Own Adventure Storytelling

• Allowing users to choose options within their video viewing experience can result in increases in:

– User engagement and attentiveness

– Number of videos viewed

– Length of video viewership

• Example: Online comedic trio Chad Matt & Rob houses their interactive adventure video series on their YouTube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/chadmattandrob

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Interaction with Videos through Choose-Your-Own Adventure Storytelling

• Allowing users to choose options within their video viewing experience can result in increases in:

– User engagement and attentiveness

– Number of videos viewed

– Length of video viewership

• Example: Online comedic trio Chad Matt & Rob houses their interactive adventure video series on their YouTube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/chadmattandrob

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• Creatively integrating videos within the page it’s housed in piques user interest and creates a memorable experience for visitors

• Example: The gameplay video for Wario Land: Shake It interacted with its YouTube page as it played, destroying the structure of the page as Wario destroyed his video-game world

http://www.youtube.com/wariolandshakeit2008

Allowing Videos to Interact with the Page

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Gallery

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• Siemen’s “Tag Cloud” widget uses a web of categories to drive users to videos on the channel

Siemens Customized Brand Channel

www.youtube.com/user/Siemens

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• After the viewing experience, users can watch other combinations and/or share each video through the Facebook and Twitter Share buttons

Pepto-Bismol Customized Brand Channel

• Pepto-Bismol created an interactive YouTube experience by allowing users to dictate their viewing experience by selecting combinations of elements to include in a video

www.youtube.com/user/peptobismo

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• Walmart’s customized brand channel features a variety of on-brand content separated by tabs – ranging from commercials/video ads to employee stories to testimonials from mothers

Walmart Customized Brand Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/Walmart