This is a killer update from YouTube and something that every artist I work with has wanted to be able to do for sometime.
You can now create an annotation in a video on YouTube and link it so people can click through directly to your site or to your music on iTunes or a whole host of other places.
Well, you can....if you're a premium partner.
And I know most DIY musicians aren't.
So having gotten you all excited, sorry to dash your hopes, but there are a whole load of DIY and Indie musicians who are already premium partners on YouTube and if that doesn't include you, it's yet another incentive to make YouTube a major priority.
Plus, of course, often the features that first appear on premium partner channels find their way to all of us.
If you're a regular reader, you'll have noticed that the posts have dropped off dramatically since I took up a job at a major management firm - read a bit more about that here - as I simply don't have the same time to pick up on great tips.
As promised, normal service will resume as and when Steve gets on board and I find that extra bit of time to keep this up!
One thing I have had confirmed from the first month back in the mainstream music business is that there really is a level playing field for the DIY musician and what we and the other musician advice bloggers tell musicians is EXACTLY the same stuff that big music marketing agencies charge labels and globally succesful artists loads of money to do.
So, what we're telling you is what works!
Anyway, here's the tip that I've come across today.
It's written for brands rather than musicians and some of the specifics don't apply. In fact, there's a lot of general theory in the first two-thirds of the book, but read it all and in the last third you'll find loads of good solid tips and advice that will help you make videos that are more likely to get views.
For musicians part of the message is that you can make a video that seemingly has little to do with your music (as well as making lyric videos, music videos, backstage and live videos etc) and let your music soundtrack be part of the video. If both are good, you can direct some of the viewers on to your music elsewhere.
There's plenty of specific ideas on what type of content works in that context.
In fact, when you sign up for 'Social Video Blueprint' you'll also get 'Video 101', a basic short overview of video marketing that is also extremely worthwhile.
Bob Baker has been writing about music marketing a long time.
This post by his assistant, Kendra, is an exceptionally good take on why you need to have a YouTube channel that you update regularly and, more importantly, what you should put on it!
But, the vast majority of artists now accept that getting closer to your fans is the strategy that is most likely to aid success - and videos on YouTube are a key part of that.
So, go and read Kendra's post. What's genius about it is that she has loads of ideas that I support for things that aren't you playing music or doing covers which you can film and post to enagge your fans.
This is a video uploaded yesterday by a musician who follows our blog.
I spent some time yesterday and the day before working on and explaining a strategy that I am sure will bring additional exposure for Nick's music. He is a talented singer songwiter with a focus on 12 string guitar.
You can see the thread of the advice (there was also a long phone discussion) on our Facebook wall in the threads of the last few days - (if you're reading this weeks later, don't sweat it as the test will be over!).
In short Nick is going to build a profile as a great 12 string guitarist with lots of YouTube video and a website dediated to that niche genre of music. This WILL WORK for him as he has the talent and his material is strong. He can therefore focus on gaining a fanbase in his niche and grow from there.
It's exciting!
What I NEED your HELP with.
I want to use Nick's video uploaded last night as a test on how my experience and theories on YouTube are developing.
I really need as many people as possible to:
1. Log in to their YouTube account - this is crucial;
2. Visit the video's URL here -
3. Click the 'Like button' just under the left side of the video.
4. Comment on the video.
5. Add the video to 'favourites' and to a playlist by using the second button in from the left.
6. If at all possible - embed the video on a site that you have or post a link somewhere that points back to the video with the anchor text '12 string guitar lesson' .......if you know what that means!
7. Share the video on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
8. Watch it - although actually that's not the point right now (weird, I know!).
If you could do any or all of these things I would be extremely grateful.
The purpose of this test is to see how all those positive actions affect the YouTube algorithm and how much it increases the profile of the video on YouTube - in 'hot new videos', getting on the front page etc.
We can track that with YouTube Insights and it will really help me in my future advice to everyone who reads our post.
The point is not to 'game the system' but it is to try and work out a best practice approach to follow every time you upload a new video to give your video the best kickstart and chance of high numbers of real views and the best possible viral spread.
Nick is just the guinea pig but he deserves our help too!
Please help us out and we'll let ou know if it works, or not!
The big notable improvement is that you can now have links to your site and social media profiles from your Channel page - every artist should go and add these now. The article tells you how:
...covers the ins and outs of the new site design, starting with the new YouTube channel design and layout. If you haven’t visited your YouTube channel since the redesign then you’re in for a surprise. Not only can you now post links in the sidebar of your channel, but YouTube is also now offering a series of layout templates, a new Feed and more. Not sure where to get started? Not to worry. We’ll take you through all the steps of getting your new YouTube channel set up.
And, this week I have been doing a lot of work on YouTube - how to get your videos noticed and spreading. It's not easy but there are some tricks that we're testing at the moment. We'll let you know how they do.
The one KEY that we have missed before in our efforts for our artists (even though we've pointed it out in other posts!) is to use YouTube as a social network. The younger you are the more you probably do this (that's what the demographics show) but most don't. What does that mean? - well, add friends, ask them to subscribe, create favourites and get liking videos (and ask for likes back).
All that interactivity seriously boosts your channel and videos inside YouTube's ranking algorithm - more so if you can get views, comments, favourites and likes within the first 48 hours of uploading. This is a GREAT thing to ask your fans to do for you by emailing them and asking them to log in to YouTube and watch the video and favourite it, comment on it or like it.
This MASSIVELY increases your chances to appear in the 'recommended' or 'related' video lists which in turn exposes you to a wider audience.
We're trying to test how well this works - and it looks good - and we have a few other tips that we hope will make these 'best practice' approaches work even better.
It's also becoming clear that having your video embedded off YouTube on third party sites is a BIG deal to YouTube and proves that your video is hot - and hence they want to encourage more people to see it. Again, getting your video embedded on other people's blogs as soon as possible after you upload it becomes a marketing goal.
So, if and when we get some specific feedback from our own efforts, we'll let you know.
And here's the video from one of those tips. We've only just started adding this to our videos, but it works in a big way! An annotation that links directly to the 'subscribe' button for your channel. This video shows the old layout, but it explains it well. I'd recommend adding a 'Subscribe to us for more videos' annotation to every video you have on YouTube.
It WILL increase your subscriptions and that will help your YouTube marketing. Best tip - have the subscription come up at least twice, maybe three times. First time after 20 sconds or so, second time just after half way and thirdly, right at the end as the video ends.
Pat is a well known marketer online who has created a very large audience for himself through his open and honest marketing methods.
He talks about how to promote a blog or products online, but what he says can be applied to promoting music pretty much wholesale.
In this video he talks about the three biggest ways that his blog has been discovered and where the majority of his followers come from.
And they are:
iTunes (because of his podcast);
YouTube;
Links from other blogs
Although the concept of creating valuable useful content that applies to bloggers who teach something (how to blog, how to surf, what's the best camera etc, etc) isn't 100% applicable to how you can spread your music and your brand as a musician, there are many lessons in here that you can adapt.
Podcasting is a great way to get your fans in tune with you, your tastes and your music - an effective way to bring your tribe (as Seth Godin calls them) closer to you. Those podcasts can be about your music and what's happening with your band and career but they can also be about the wider world of music - with elements that relate to your music.
And, as we said in this post - Why musicians should be bloggers - there is a MASSIVE opportunity for musicians to place themselves at the centre of a niche, genre or scene by becoming the authority blog on that particular scene. The strategies that Pat talks about here are then very useful for building an audience.
In short, every musician trying to get noticed should be looking to get a presence in places where there are huge numbers of people looking for music and info/news about music - YouTube, blogs and iTunes are obvious places for that.
We went YouTube crazy a while ago - believing that it was the most essential place any musician should have a profile. The traffic is huge and the opportunities enormous.
We're even more convinced now.
And, this latest development adds the ability to sell your wares right on YouTube via integration with various partners such as Topspin.
Through a feature called the Merch Store, YouTube partners will be able to sell artist merchandise, digital downloads, concert tickets and other experiences to fans and visitors. YouTube has partnered with a number of companies to launch these stores. Topspin is helping power merchandise sales, concert tickets and experiences; SongKick will help sell tickets for concerts; and iTunes and Amazon will power transactions for music downloads.
We started using this IMMEDIATELY that we found out about it.
The instructions explain how to add a link to the bottom of your video on YouTube which links to your own site.
YouTube lets you do this in the description of a video but the usual on-video annotations can only link to other videos on YouTube.
So, getting a link to your site that offers viewers a free download of the track that they are watching if they sign up to your mailing list is really special.
The instructions are great but they leave out a couple of key points.
1. Don't worry about paying for the clicks. Although this is supposed to be about using Google Adwords and Youtube Promoted Videos together, you don't have to aim to get the video ranking high in YouTube's paid search in order to get the off-site 'call to action' link on your video.
Set it up and bid very low - 1 cent will do it - and you'll be allowed to add the link but you'll get very few, probably no paid clicks and it'll cost nothing.
The video will still show the off-site link everywhere that it is played.
2. This link is better than the link in your description as it will display everywhere that your video is embedded. So, make your video, put the CTA link in and then try to get it spread to other sites where your description wouldn't show, but this CTA link will.
DO THIS, it's brilliant marketing for almost free.
If you're track gets any success at all someone will create a lyric video, so you might as well do it yourself. People love them and you can simply have lyrics on a plain screen or you can do what a Katy Perry fan (I think it's fan, not official) does below and use slideshow photos with the lyrics.
Sure, it's Katy Perry, but it's got 32 million views!
This is BRILLIANT and I owe @DannyDee for pointing it out.
YouTube is preparing a 'Partner Playbook' for those lucky enough to have a YouTube Partner channel (where YouTube pays you because you get great traffic).
But, this piece on Social Times is written by someone who was at the YouTube Partner conference and where YouTube's Ryan Nugent gave an hour long presentation on best practice.
OK, so it's not targeted to musicians using YouTube but pretty much anyone making video and using YouTube to virally spread them can learn a lot from this.
Creating great content is, without a doubt, the most important ingredient in the recipe to YouTube success. However, even if you have the best content on the planet, nobody will see it if you haven’t optimized it for discovery. Ryan Nugent of YouTube’s Next Up Lab says, “50% of the work is making a great video and the other 50% is what you do when you upload it.” Here, we lay out some helpful rules and guidelines for optimizing your content, as outlined in Ryan’s presentation of the YouTube Partner Playbook.
But whether you know of Greg and his music marketing skills, this video is worth checking out just to see how the creativity involved is making the artist concerned grab fans very quickly - of course, the music is good and his talent isn't just on the video front.
But, the big deal is just in the creative thought that went into the video.
Greg said:
He used creative editing to make 3 versions of his music video and then filmed them being recreated in 3 iPhones. It is one of the most creative things I have ever seen.
Beyond this, he has put the 3 videos up for download so fans can recreate the videos themselves with their friends (you need 3 iPhones to recreate).
Go watch the video now and see what ideas you can think of for using mobile and video creatively.
Okay, so you lucked out and somehow managed to slip one past Geoff Smith and get a spot play on Radio 2. Millions of listeners all over the UK have just heard your 3 minutes of radio-friendly-two-tone-emo-shoe-gazing-nu-metal-folk-soul. Which means you’re now going to sell a load of singles, yeah?
As is ever the case with these articles, dear reader, the answer is no (and sorry about that). What will probably happen is this: around 0.01% of the people who heard Jeremy Vine interrupt calls from inane members of the public to play your song might be interested in hearing the tune again - but for free. And if they like it enough, then they might consider paying to download the track (or, since it’s Radio 2 listeners we’re talking about, see if they can find a 78 in an antiques shop in Rye). Either way, when they've got a little more acquainted with your music they may, heaven forbid, finally take the plunge and purchase your whole album. The main thing is: they've got to be able to hear that radio-friendly song again.
I was quite amazed by how many of the Top 100 are not this week's hits, but are songs that have been out a while. Not sure what it means as we have no idea what YouTube is measuring, but it's not what I'd expected.
So, why is it a goldmine?
Well, this is YouTube telling you what are the most popular songs so that you can do a response video or a cover video - or use that information for some other purpose that you can come up with.
I can't find an RSS feed for that page, but I have feeds in my reader for the following for the same reason:
A lot of the videos in these aren't music, so the new chart is a bonus.
I'd recommend all aspiring musicians look at these videos and charts regularly to see what songs are getting views globally and perhaps to make some videos that will get views off the back of their popularity.
Now, think about how this could be used by an artist!
The first person to do something like this is going to get massive publicity.
I know that it might be out of reach for most indie or diy musicians, and you seem to have to be a YouTube partner to run something like that on an iFrame on YouTube, BUT, don't let that stop you thinking about trying to come up with amazing ideas for your music promotion.
We looked at another YouTube Viral method here, which is doable by anyone with a camera phone, some time and access to Google to work out how to do it!
I've been asked about this a LOT in the last few weeks.
And, I'm remiss, as I haven't done our YouTube channel background properly (it's just the logo) and our Twitter one is a simple repeated logo! It's on the very long list of things to do.
However, we do try and make sure that our clients have a custom background for Twitter and YouTube that fit with their site design. Some are prepared to invest the small-ish cost of getting a designer to do this and some aren't. YouTube is tricky to do well if you don't have Photoshop skills!
Nonetheless, it's what we recommend. A consistent look across your own website and your social media profiles is obviously a good idea - just look at what major label artists do to see the consistency of their look! In fact, look into what they do all the time in social media and steal their best ideas!
If you Google 'YouTube Background', you'll get loads of detailed info and endless videos that show you how to do it if you have the skills.
Obviously, if one of you in the band is a designer or if the people that designed your site can do the backgrounds, you're sorted.
However, if you are after an all-in-one solution, check out these people - Custom Page. We've used them several times for various backgrounds and they will be doing ours for Make It In Music when we get five minutes!
The quality is good and they're reasonably priced and they deal with the photoshop stuff that gives me a headache!
Jon looks at why video on YouTube is so crucial to your promotional efforts and what types of video you can make to maximise the ways that fans can find, watch and listen to your music.
Think about it - if a blog takes your song and uploads it to hulkshare or even uses a track embedding plugin on their blog, people can listen to your music but the road ends there. However, if you give bloggers the opportunity to share your music through a Youtube video, you are giving ALL of their readers the opportunity to not just listen, but turn around and share the video with their friends as well. And of course, many blog readers are themselves bloggers, who find new music through a blog they follow, and then turn around and promote the same artist. With a Youtube video being the piece de resistance, you have significantly increased the likelihood of a feature from multiple bloggers.
Great article from Ariel Hyatt that sets out steps that you should take if you have a track licensed for use in a TV series, commercial or a movie.
People will go looking for it and if you follow these steps, you will be far more likely to convert the people that hear it and look you up because they liked it.
I have been guilty of not following this through myself and reading this struck a chord!
If you get lucky enough for this to happen for you - be prepared!
A few weeks ago I got a tweet from Mr. Robotic, asking if I could include him in my In Defense of 1,000 True Fans series. I love meeting people via social media, and what follows is the first artist who has approached me to tell his own story. It’s the perfect roadmap of how to take full advantage precious TV placements. Instead of the usual interview, I’m combining my “How To” article format (Sound Advice) with this In Defense of 1,000 True Fans piece, giving you an action plan.
