How To Go Viral On Youtube – Video Marketing Tips For Musicians

By Cassie Petrey – CrowdSurf.net

How To Set Up Your YouTube Channel

Anyone can set up his own channel on YouTube.  When you register an account on the site, you are automatically given your own page.  The URL for your channel will be www.youtube.com/username.

When you go to set up your own channel, be sure to keep these ideas in mind:

Step 1. Think About Your Channel Name

Make your user name something that is easy to remember.  It would be ideal to make your user name your band’s / artist name.  If that name is unavailable, add something like “music” or official” into your user name.  This lets YouTube users know that this is an official account, and it makes it easy for your fans to find you.

TIP: Your YouTube name should match your URL & your MySpace

Step 2. Specify “Musician” Account.

To do this, all you need to do is:

- Login to your account

- Click on “Account” in the right top corner

- Select “Edit Channel” – this is located in the “Overview” tab

- Go to the “Channel Type” section & select “Musician”

Step 3. Design Your Channel!

Go into the “Account” section and click on “Channel Design.”  This will give you the option to select different colors, upload a background image, etc.  It’s really easy to use, and within a few clicks you can spice up your Channel’s look.

Here are a few channel design tips:

- Try to make your channel look somewhat similar to your website & your MySpace, Twitter etc.  You always want to keep your artwork consistent on all of your sites so people can recognize that its you all over the net.

- Make sure that you make the text and links on the page easy to read.  I would recommend keeping the table colors white, text color black, and the links blue or another dark, readable color.

- Don’t add too many sections (i.e. Group Links, User Uploads Box, etc.) if you currently don’t have any activity on your page.  Having these blank sections on your page will make it look cluttered.  If you decide to start using these options, you can always come back and add them later.

Step 4. Text Populate Your Channel

Did you know that you can add information to your YouTube Channel just like you do to your MySpace and Facebook pages?

Here are tips for text content to your channel:

- Click on “Account” and then select “Performer Info.”  This will give you the option to fill out basic information about yourself/your band.

- Be sure to include website and MySpace links.  You can’t use HTML in the performer info section, but you can create a hyperlink by using the full URL (this must include http:// before your website address).

- You will be given three spots for album images and buy links in your profile – use them!  Don’t have three albums out yet?  That’s OK, Create an icon that links out to your merch page or website.

- Add your tour dates to the page by selecting the “event dates” tab in your account backend.  You have the option to include a buy link for each tour date – be sure to use it if you can to sell tickets to your shows if they are available online.

Step 5. Upload Your Videos

I know, it seems simple, but there’s more to uploading videos to YouTube than just clicking the yellow “upload video” button in the top left corner of the screen.

Title Properly

Make sure that the title of each of your videos includes your artist or band name, song title, and any other relevant information.  The title of your video is the first thing that will be seen in the search results, so make sure it’s easy to identify.

Use the Description!

You have a lot of space here to describe your video in depth, so if you couldn’t put everything you wanted in the title, you will have the opportunity to add it here.

TIP: Remember, you can put URLs in the description as well, so be sure to add links to your: MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, CD Baby etc.  You have to include the full website address for the link to be clickable i.e. http://www.arielpublicity.com

Select a Proper Video Category

This will more than likely be “Music.”

Tag Thoroughly

Use as many different tags as you possibly can.  Be sure to include your artist/band name, song name, any related artists names (especially if you add a cover), similar artists (so that when people type in an artist they like they will come across your video), genres of music, hometown, names of all band members, producer, themes in the video and anything else that makes your video more searchable.

Broadcast Options and Sharing Options

Don’t change these options. `They are already set for maximum viral exposure.

Uploading the Actual Video File is The Easiest Part

YouTube pretty much accepts all video formats.  You just need to make sure your video is under 1000MB and you are ready to go.  However, I would recommend that you keep each video under 200MB if possible.

Step 6. Become a Frequent YouTube User

A lot of people don’t know this, but you can interact with other users on YouTube.  It’s actually very similar to the way people interact on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.  And it’s an effective way to get more people interested in your videos and channel.

TIP: This is something that will need to become a part of your daily online marketing routine.

TIP: Use Precaution

Please be careful, YouTube moderates user activity and spamming very closely.  Everything will have to be done in moderation, and if you receive a notice to stop sending messages, adding friends, etc. – PLEASE STOP or else your account will be deleted.

Subscribe to Channels

This can help you go a long way:  Start off by subscribing to channels of similar artists or artists that you like and sound like. The easiest way to do this is to type in the artist’s name in the search engine, and related channels will be the first ones that pop up.

After you have subscribed to your favorite artist’s channels, start subscribing to their to their fans’ channels by going to the artist’s channel and locating the “Subscribers” box.  This will be a good place to start adding friends.

Watch Videos

This is how you get the word out about your own channel.

A Few Things to Do While Watching Videos:

Rate Videos

All you have to do is click on the stars under each video. It literally takes 1 second.

Add Videos as Favorites

Love the video?  Just click on that little heart.  Keep in mind that these videos will be added to your “Favorites” section on your channel.

Comment on Videos

And respond to other people’s comments.

Rate the Comments

You can click on the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” – this also takes one second for each rating.

Make a Video Response!

Feeling really compelled?  Make a video response!  Just click on the link right underneath “Statistics & Data” to post it.   Sometimes making your own acoustic cover or just a speaking response to a popular video can bring traffic to your own channel.

Add Friends

You can add people as friends just like you can add friends on MySpace and Facebook.  Add you need to is visit their channel and click on the “add as friend” link in their contact table located in the left column.

Comment on Channels Too

Not only can you comment on videos, but you can also comment on people’s channels as well.  The comments section is generally located at the bottom of the right column on a user’s channel.

Step 7. See How The Pros Do It & Emulate!

Here are some recommended artist channels to look at

Ariel Publicity – www.youtube.com/arielpublicity

Ashley Tidsale – www.youtube.com/ashleytisdale

Blake Shelton – www.youtube.com/blakeshelton

Greg Holden – www.youtube.com/gdholden

Jonas Brothers – www.youtube.com/jonasbrothersmusic

Lady Antebellum – www.youtube.com/ladyantebellum

Luke Bryan – www.youtube.com/lukebryan

Savannah Outen – www.youtube.com/savannah7448

Simple Plan – www.youtube.com/simpleplan

SouljaBoy – www.youtube.com/souljaboy

The Black Year – www.oyutube.com/theblaqkyear

Tokio Hotel – www.youtube.com/tokiohotel

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