How Old Media Practices Might Work on YouTube
Since the videos you post on YouTube could be viewed by anyone at anytime, why would a channel choose to release videos on a schedule? It all goes back to ideas developed by television.
Content on TV is released based on peak viewing hours and days in order to capture the most eyeballs watching at one time. The more eyeballs, the more they can charge for advertising within a given show. The term “Prime Time” refers to programs being shown between 8pm and 11pm. The order of what show comes at what time is based on when it will perform best and how well it leads into the next show to hopefully keep the viewer watching that channel.
So how does this apply to your YouTube channel?
Although TV and internet video are two different animals, they’re of the same species.
If you want to get viewers to choose your channel or videos as a destination, you’ll need more than having good SEO; you’ll need to train your viewers to tune into your newest content. That’s where the schedule comes in. Even though a viewer can and will watch your videos at every and any hour of the day, they’ll want to know when and how to keep up with your work.
Take KathleenLights as an example. On her channel banner, she indicates that there are new videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This gives her fans the knowledge that she will have a new video for them to enjoy on those days.
Nerdist is another great example of this; they have specific types of videos on different days. You can get News from them Monday through Friday, on Wednesday you can catch The Dan Cave show and on Thursday, it’s the Because Science show. This schedule feeds and trains their viewers to look for this content on these days; they know it’ll be there.
Consistency with video releases will start to make your content an appointment for the viewer. TV has shown that an audience that makes an appointment to view your content is a high value audience. They are much more likely to stay longer, watch any advertising and give you, the content creator, more control over their watching habits. These viewers are mostly known as fans. They’re the ones that comment on every video, give you thumbs up and down and are more likely to share what they see with a friend.
TV has shown that an audience that makes an appointment to view your content is a high value audience.
The last takeaway is the idea of a lead-in. A lead-in is a video or show that leads the viewer to another video or show. A lead-in show will have mass appeal and will allow you to pull in viewers with the hope of keeping them. If the viewer likes the show they’re watching, it’s likely they’ll stay on that channel for the next show.
This works with YouTube, as well. If you make a video that a viewer likes, it’s more likely they’ll stay on your channel and watch the other content you have created.
TV shows that are lead-ins, at the end, tell the audience to stay tuned for the next show. This is like a little promo for sticking around.
As an added bonus, the longer someone stays on your channel watching your videos, the higher your videos will rank when searched for.
Although YouTube is very different from TV, the next time you watch TV, observe how you can apply the decades of experience TV has to improve and grow your YouTube channel. The similarities are great; however, because internet video is brand new relative to TV, not all acquired information will be applicable. What is will be YouTube gold.
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