Setting Up Your YouTube Channel
Now that you have determined that YouTube is the right fit for your department or organization, here are a few things to think about as you get started.
Create a Channel Strategy
Having a plan will help you reach your goals and set the overall tone for your channel so your subscribers know what to expect.
- Set some goals: Use your goals to shape the content on your channel to ensure it is useful and relevant.
- Share exclusive content: Post videos that take viewers behind the scenes or highlight a unique angle that distinguishes your department or organization. Try to upload at least one new video every week to keep your subscribers engaged and coming back for more.
- Learn how to make high-quality videos: If you put time and care into optimizing the production value of your videos, they will reach a larger audience. Take into consideration factors like lighting, framing, editing and audio to produce professional, HD videos that will grab the attention of your viewers.
- Monitor your channel daily: Set aside time throughout the day to monitor and respond to comments. Social media users expect quick responses to their questions and concerns.
Build Your Community
There are a number of ways to increase awareness and bring more people to your channel.
- Engage with your fans: Be responsive to any comments or questions they may have and take the opportunity to encourage feedback and dialogue.
- Promote: Add calls to action such as “Subscribe to Our Channel” with a link on flyers, emails and other promotional materials.
- Get Social: Use other social media profiles to promote your videos (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The more places people see your videos, the more likely they are to subscribe.
- Stand Out: Uploading unique, compelling content will ultimately attract subscribers to your channel. Be creative and think outside the box. Great video examples: 1. Living on Campus at UCLA, 2. Pauley Pavilion’s Back, 3. Street Pianos at UCLA
- Add the YouTube Subscribe Button to your website: Make it easy for people to subscribe to your channel with just one click.
Learn and Grow
YouTube provides an Analytics Tool that allows you to track metrics for your channel. Using analytics, you can see:
- The channel’s growth in subscribers and views
- Top performing videos
- Engagement summaries
- Demographics on viewers
- Traffic sources
Additional Resources
Adding a YouTube Subscribe Button to Your Website
Register a Google Account
A Google Account is required to sign into YouTube. To create a new channel, this Google Account cannot be associated with another YouTube channel and only one YouTube channel per Google Account is allowed. Make it something easy to remember. Here’s a suggested naming convention: UCLA+Department Name+Social
Example: UCLAAthleticsSocial@gmail.com
Once you’ve set up a Google Account, follow these steps to create a YouTube channel.
Username
It is highly recommended that you create a unique user name for your channel. This will allow you to share your channel with a user-friendly link that can be easily remembered, such as www.youtube.com/ucla.
When choosing a username, you should always add “ucla” before your department or organization and do your best to establish a consistent naming convention across all of your social media channels. Avoid the use of dashes, underscores or special characters. For example:
UCLA Anderson School of Management
YouTube www.youtube.com/UCLAAnderson
Facebook www.facebook.com/UCLAAnderson
Warning: You only have one chance to set your username, so choose carefully.
Copyright Issues
If you have a complaint about a specific channel or video, you can file a Trademark Complaint with YouTube, but they prefer that users resolve such disputes with each other directly. For more information, visit https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1244601?rd=1.
Channel Icon
Your channel icon is overlaid on the upper-left-hand corner of your channel banner. Choose a simple and relevant image that represents your department or organization.
Your icon will render at 98 x 98 pixels; however, an 800 x 800-pixel image is recommended. Choose a JPG, non-animated GIF, or PNG file. Non-square images will be cropped. Maximum file size is 1MB. Learn how to change your channel icon.
You should also do your best to try and establish a single, consistent profile picture or avatar across all of your social media channels.
Using the UCLA logo
Do not use the UCLA logo or University of California seal by itself. This is reserved for UCLA’s main institutional social media accounts. The use of small text should also be avoided as this does not scale well when re-sized smaller.
Incorrect
Logo use should also remain consistent with UCLA’s graphic identity program.
Incorrect (the UCLA script logo is reserved for Athletics use)
Correct
Channel Banner
YouTube dynamically resizes banner images depending on the device the channel is being viewed on. The text and logo safe area is 1546 x 423 pixels. For optimal results on all devices, you should upload a single 2560 x 1440-pixel image that has been optimized to fit the below template:
Please review YouTube’s Channel Art Guidelines to see how your banner will render across devices.
Overlay Social Links
YouTube allows you to display up to four icon links overlayed on your channel art. Custom links appear below your icon links and can be used to link to anywhere on the web. You can have your first custom link overlayed on your channel art by selecting Overlay First Link on Channel Art. You are able to edit the name of the link (how it appears on your channel) and the shortcut icon, or favicon, will be added from the page. The link title maximum is 30 characters.
You should link to your UCLA department’s homepage and any other social profiles you’ve created. If you do not have a department-specific Facebook or Twitter profile, you can always link to the main UCLA profiles:
For more help on this feature, visit YouTube’s help page for Channel Tabs.
Bio
Make sure to write a short summary that clearly describes what your department or organization is, and include helpful links and contact information. This helps users identify your channel as the official social media channel of your organization.
How Do I Delete Comments From My Profile/Channel?
YouTube’s default settings allow any users to publicly comment on your videos on the Discussion Tab on your channel. If you wish to moderate comments before they appear on your channel, you must edit your channel settings by following these steps.
If you decide to allow public comments without approval, you will need to regularly review new comments and address any inappropriate comments that you find. You will most likely encounter a fair amount of spam or advertisements for other sites/products. These comments should be deleted whenever encountered. Learn how to remove someone’s comments from your profile.