by Yemisi Odusanya aka Sisi Yemmie
Today, YouTube has more than a billion users — accounting for almost one-third of all people on the internet. And every day people watch hundreds of millions of hours of video on YouTube, generating billions of views.
Among the site’s billion users, there is also a new generation of stars, with legions of fans, whose primary platform is YouTube. These include Nigerian YouTube stars, making it big online — at home and internationally. How did they do it?
1. Have you noticed a pattern to what makes a video/channel popular?
Popular videos tend to have a lot of personality and something unique about them. The YouTube community is very active and will rate, comment on and share interesting videos. People often create video responses to other popular videos — these tributes can get as many views as the original hit.
2. What kind of equipment does a user need to make cool videos? (eg, obviously video camera, what about editing equipment etc?)
YouTube is for everyone — you don’t need to spend a lot of money to produce entertaining videos. You will need a video camera but it doesn’t need to be high-spec — it could be a webcam, mobile phone camera, flip video camera or a digicam. Taking some time to think about lighting and sound will pay off and basic editing does help make your video more attractive. Most cameras come with editing tools. This is a fun project to do with a friend but if you need more help, use the YouTube community — there are millions of budding film directors who can give you tips. The YouTube Creator Academy has some great guides oto make great videos, grow your channel, earn revenue, and get closer to your community- https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/
3. Are there any other tips or tricks you can share?
Do’s:
- Get inspiration from the best — Watch other YouTube videos and get ideas from other geniuses who are uploading videos.
- Be creative — People want to see something interesting.
- Be timely — Topical humour works!
- Be consistent — Don’t upload just one video, give people a chance to get to know your work.
- Offer something new — The YouTube community wants videos they can’t see anywhere else.
- Be authentic — People love personality.
- Be yourself — YouTube has something for everyone so if you’ve got a quirky talent, share it!
- Know there is an audience for every talent — From kukere dances to delivering a lecture about science, the YouTube community loves uniqueness.
Don’ts:
- Don’t be a copycat — Cheating is overrated, you are unique and the world wants to see it.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment — If your friends like it, it’s probably perfect.
- Don’t make your videos too long — Unless Dbanj is in your video, try to keep it under five minutes.
- Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want the world to see.
- Don’t make your video too complicated — Leave that to Baz Luhrmann.
