How do you develop a brand on YouTube?  It definitely takes more than just an awesome logo.  Why is branding important?  You want to give people something familiar and recognizable in which to attach your content so that viewers will likely want to check out all of your other videos and ones you upload in the future.  It makes you easier to find, and trust.  Our own Tim Schmoyer went over to the VidiSEO channel to discuss 8 ways to brand your channel.  The tips he gives are excellent, so you should pay attention if branding is something you’re curious about.

8 Steps to Branding Your Channel on YouTube

Let’s give the floor to Mark Ballek of VidiSEO and Tim Schmoyer:

OK, so let’s review what we’ve learned from this video:

1. Upload A Quality Avatar

Almost everything you do on YouTube will be accompanied by this avatar.  If you subscribe to channels and the kind of person who likes to see all of that channel’s activity, you’ll see that avatar when they like, favorite, share, subscribe, comment…you know, everything.  So you want to pick one that not only looks awesome and would compel people to click on it, but something that looks good even when it’s really small, which is likely when it comes to your activity on YouTube.

2. Watermark Your Videos

This is your logo, usually found in the corner of the screen, and as Tim suggests, “at 60% opacity.”  That way it will be an ever-present reinforcement of your brand on the video, while not being in the way of your content.

3. Mention Your Channel Name

In the first 15 seconds, be sure to find a way to mention your channel name.  “Hello, welcome to [insert channel name here]” is going to be a common one.  It’s a verbal reinforcement of your brand and helps people remember it and associate your content with it.

4. Brand Your Channel Page

Over on the sidebar of your channel page, you should have all of your social media links.  The page should have your logo in the background image somewhere.  Also, take the time to give a succinct description so that people can tell who you are and what you’re about, and not so long that it would be cut off and they would have to click to see more.

5. Add A Brand Tag to Videos

When you upload a video, you’ll be putting tags that describe the contents so that they can be found in search.  But you also want to put a “brand” tag at the end.  While tags at the end of a series of tags are not given as much weight, what they will do is give YouTube a frame of reference so that your videos show up in the “Related Videos” section while people watch your content, and not some other channels’.

6. Branded Intro Bumper

Place a video bumper no longer than 5 seconds at the beginning of the video somewhere, either right at the beginning or right after your intro.  This is more visual reinforcement of your brand and you can make these look pretty cool with simple graphics and sound.  But don’t make them too long or people will start leaving your videos en masse.

7. Branded End Slate

At the end of most popular channels’ videos you will see a whole bunch of links and previews of other videos that people can click and watch.  Throw your logo in the background somewhere, and now you’re associating this content with other content people might enjoy, all the while reminding them, “Hey, this channel, this brand, is awesome.  Watch more.”

8. Turn Off Channel Ads

It might seem counter-intuitive but this would be for your channel page only.  Taking ads off of that ensures that when people visit your channel page that they are seeing just you and only you, and not a whole bunch of unrelated images that might confuse them.

We’d like to thank Mark Ballek and Tim Schmoyer for breaking down how to brand your channel.  These are all fairly simple to do, so if you want to brand your channel, follow these easy steps.