Creator connect
I love attending the Youtube creator days, If you have a Youtube channel, make videos and have over 1k subscribers then you can apply to attend a creator day. This time they did allow creators under 1k to attend by competing in a competition that allowed them to attend. A common question I get asked when I go to these days is how do you get to go? Keep an eye in the creator studio of your youtube page and a notification will pop up and you apply to attend. Then after a few days, you will get an email back confirming if you are allowed to attend. I highly recommend going to them if you can. They cost you nothing, you learn loads, meet like-minded people and of course the free food!
You might have read my previous post on what I learned at the last creator day, you can find that post here. I wanted to write a post on what I learned from the day for people who couldn’t attend and share the tips for my fellow bloggers, after all, sharing is caring.
I learnt a lot from being around fellow creatives, The community is so lovely and there was a mix of everyone from gamers, to musicians to lifestyle Vloggers. Everyone sharing tips and ideas with each other. Sometimes, people in your normal daily life, just don’t get the whole Youtube and social media blogging world. At times I do feel people think I am odd because after my day’s work I love to go home to edit and film, take photos and paint! Whilst others go home and watch Coronation St, I prefer getting my creativity flowing, That is why I love going to these events as I meet people who are the exact same and I don’t feel so odd.
Pre-course work
Before attending the creator day we had to complete the pre-production coursework from the creator Academy, You can find these online courses through the youtube creator community. This is really resourceful and I find it helpful. The Pre-production course had some great tips. For the type of videos I produce, my biggest learning was about using scripts, storyboards and shot lists. I do find I can film a video and when I go to edit I realize I left out important info or shots I wanted to get. So, I am trying to loosely write out scripts, Mainly checklists of the things I want to say in the video. I also make a list of the type of shots I want to get. So, whether it is a shot of me painting, opening a tin of paint etc.
The 10 fundamentals
We broke up into smaller groups and had a breakout session, we had a mentor each and we sat together and went through the ten fundamentals. Even though this was a Youtube event I do think these 10 tips apply to all social media content you put out there, whether it’s written, video or audio content you produce.
Shareability
Is your content shareable, would the people reading, watching, listening want to tag their friends or share to their pages? After all, sharing is how you reach new audiences. How would your viewer describe your content in 10 words? Is it funny, relatable, inspiring, motivating, knowledgeable? Ask yourself these questions before you hit that publish button.
Does your content give value to the viewer, are you giving them knowledge and is it relatable to your audience. I suppose an example of this could be if I started sharing designer home furniture on my channel, it would be no longer relatable to my audience as they watch me for DIY and how to achieve an expensive look for less, Just an example but I hope you get what I was trying to say.
Conversation
Talk to your followers, I have said this before in a previous post but you should always reply to comments and emails as much as you can. There are times I cannot reply to all but I do make a point to sit down and engage with 90% of comments on my social media pages. I am not a brand, I am a person that shares my ideas on the internet. That is why people like to follow you, they see you as a friend, sister or brother.
Another tip I got was to try and include some chatty vlogs to your channel to catch up with your audience.
Interactivity
Just like chatting and having conversations with your audience, encourage engagement. Ask your audience for video ideas, mention them in your videos, Ask questions in your videos and reply to them and create a community. I love when a YouTuber or blogger I really admire takes the time to reply to my comment. I feel great when they do.
Consistency
A lot has to be said about having a consistent upload schedule. I can only upload once a week as I work full time but since uploading once a week instead of randomly I have steadily seen my audience grow. Another tip for consistency was with your branding, are your thumbnails, banners, and name cohesive with the content you put out. Is your energy consistent in all of your videos? They did say about sticking to the theme of your channel also, so don’t be putting out baking videos if you are a gamer etc, I do think though, that you can share different contents in Vlogs if you do want to test the waters with something new.
Targeting
Check them analytics and get to know your audience. Find your niche, example if you are a beauty blogger but you’ve lots of skin care knowledge then share that as well, or you might be great at special effects makeup, whatever you do that fills a niche then share it. There is a niche for everyone, at the last creator day I met a chap that made videos about pencils! Now that is niche!
Sustainable
This is something I will be taking on board the most. Can you sustain the videos/ content you are putting out and to be realistic with yourself?
I would love to be able to put out two videos a week, but, it is not sustainable for me at this moment in time. So, it’s better for me to produce one a week that is good quality instead of two really bad ones that are rushed. A great tip was to block shoot, For the nature of my DIY videos I cannot block shoot two or three videos in one day, however, if you are a musician, gamer, or makeup person then this may be easier for you to do. Also, plan out your content using a content calendar. Know what you are going to produce next for your audience.
Discoverability
A tip to get your content discovered and to getting ideas was to search google trends. Also, whats trending or current and topical.
Another tip for discoverability was to make sure you have all your SEO covered, make sure to use tags, keywords in your descriptions and titles and share your content on your social media platforms.
Share your evergreen content, you could have an old blog post or video buried away, why not dust it off, relook at it and republish it.
Accessibility
Can every episode be fully appreciated by a new viewer? So, if you have made a series for youtube if the person watches the 2nd or 3rd episode, will they be able to make sense of it without watching the first episode?
Collaboration
Something I definitely want to do more of, whether it is a guest chair in one of your videos, collaborating in Vlogs or creating ideas for content then get out there and collab, it is also a fantastic way to reach new audiences. A tip I got for contacting larger channels was to give them value, You may have a small channel but you might be better at editing or filming and you can give them value also.
Inspiration
True passion always shines through, Create what makes your happy and not the type of content that you think people will like. I am so passionate about the projects I share, but, if I was to talk about makeup you would be able to tell straight away that I wasn’t as passionate. You can see it in people. So, be you and share what lights that fire in you.
So, there are the 10 fundamentals and learns from the creator connect day. I really hope you found this post useful and can apply some of these tips to your content, whether it is written, video or audio.
Please do share your own tips in the comments below for fellow creators.
Thanks for reading,
Catherine.
This is a really helpful post and it's very kind of you to share it with us, really great tips x
Yes, thats a great tip! Never assume you know what your audience will like or dislike. I love seeing other people's style and how they transform things.
I would add not to make any assumptions about who you might find favor with, I think that kind of thinking could mess with the creative juices. ..for instance I'm very creative, however I am not too into shabby chic, however I am into transformation and enjoy your work and the processes involved.