YouTube Is Introducing New Ways to Help Small Businesses Make Better Video Ads | Adweek

June 17, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

YouTube wants to turn video ads on its platform into a DIY possibility for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Today, Google is launching three ways for SMBs to create video ads for YouTube that are—at least for the most part—free. With a new app called YouTube Director, the video juggernaut is helping businesses with little or no marketing budget create commercials on their own. The app includes a number of templates, music and editing tools and is free to use.

According to Diya Jolly, Google’s director of product management, the biggest struggle smaller businesses face on YouTube is the lack of quality of their videos.

Europe eyes new rules for online platforms | TechCrunch

May 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union’s executive body has today set out a series of proposals for new rules that would apply to a broad range of online platforms, from the likes of YouTube to Google to eBay, as part of ongoing efforts to boost competitiveness in the region under its Digital Single Market Strategy.

The proposals follow a year long assessment by the European Commission of online platforms, after which it says it has concluded that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not appropriate to maximize consumer benefits while ensuring effective regulation across all the different types of platforms — so it says it will rather look at each area where it can act “from telecoms to copyright rules, to address any specific problems in a future-proof way for all market players”.

Among the proposed changes is a new set of audiovisual rules — with the stated aim of achieving a better balance between rules that apply to traditional broadcasters vs online video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms like YouTube. Key among the EC’s concerns here is safeguarding minors.

YouTube Is the Unsung Juggernaut of This Election Season | WIRED

March 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

THIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION season—okay circus—has been a ratings boon for network and cable news. Recently, CBS CEO Les Moonves even praised Donald Trump’s candidacy, saying, “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”

But television networks aren’t the only ones benefiting from all this eye guzzling of political news. According to a new YouTube report released today, since April 2015, when most candidates began announcing their campaigns, a whopping 110 million hours of candidate- and issue-related content has been watched on YouTube.

5 Lessons Startups Can Learn from Successful Businesses About YouTube Marketing | Getentrepreneurial.com

March 22, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Whenever small business owners look in to the possibility of doing some kind of video marketing, they very often find themselves presented with outdated information about what works and what doesn’t.

Successful YouTube videos share a number of important characteristics that are a combination of common sense and a better than average understanding of how people interact with broadcast media. In these respects, video isn’t really all that different from podcasts, comics or e-books. Audiences respond most positively when some basic principles are followed. Here are some to consider.

30+ Ways for You To Use YouTube Effectively | Small Biz Trends

February 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

YouTube is one of the hidden gems in online marketing. It is a terrific way for small business owners to compete with the big brands. But creating effective (as in watchable) content and then promoting it can be intimidating.

Of particular interest to business owners who are wondering if the time creating and marketing with video is worth it is the YouTube Partner Program, created in 2007. It now has more than a million creators earning money from their videos. Thousands of channels are making six figures a year.

Fine Brothers spark fury with YouTube trademark attempt | BBC News

February 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The creators of one of YouTube’s biggest channels have sparked fury over plans to trademark and license a popular video format.

The Fine Brothers produce a popular series of “reaction videos”, in which people watch online clips and respond.

On Tuesday, they revealed a scheme to let other video-makers use assets from their version of the format.

But they have faced a backlash from viewers for trademarking “react” – a term widely used by other creators.

YouTube Will Completely Remove Videos Of Creators Who Don’t Sign Its Red Subscription Deal | TechCrunch

October 22, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

YouTube made its top video creators an offer they literally couldn’t refuse, or they’d have their content disappear. Today YouTube confirmed that any “partner” creator who earns a cut of ad revenue but doesn’t agree to sign its revenue share deal for its new YouTube Red $9.99 ad-free subscription will have their videos hidden from public view on both the ad-supported and ad-free tiers. That includes videos by popular comedians, musicians, game commentators, and DIY instructors, though not the average person that uploads clips.

It’s a tough pill to swallow that makes YouTube look like a bully. Though turning existing fans into paid subscribers instead of free viewers could earn creators more than the ad revenue, forcing them into the deal seems heavy-handed.

Google says the goal is to offer consistency, so people thinking about subscribing to Red don’t have to worry about their favorite content not being available in the ad-free service. But there’s no explanation why it couldn’t just flag videos of those who don’t sign the deal as “Not On Red”, and instead had to go with a sign-or-disappear strategy.

Alphabet Lets Google Chase Moonshots and Stay Profitable | WIRED

August 11, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

GOOGLE IS NOW many Googles.

Company co-founder Larry Page said in a blog post Monday that Google is reorganizing into multiple companies that will sit under a new umbrella operation called Alphabet. Core businesses—Search, YouTube, and Android—will operate semi-separately from Google’s myriad “moonshots,” including the X lab and Page’s various life science projects.

Want Leads? Use YouTube Remarketing | Small Biz Trends

May 12, 2015May 11, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Remarketing on YouTube has become almost as commonplace as remarketing on the Web. YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine with over 1 billion active users each month. Perfecting your marketing strategy for such a large platform can have huge benefits for companies, and what many are realizing is that the remarketing aspect of YouTube has huge potential.

It’s ultimately a great way to get a viewer — whether they clicked on your video, subscribed to your channel, unsubscribed from your channel, viewed your in-stream ads, etc. — coming back to your channel as you upload new videos. In the end, this is a great way to generate more quality leads to help you drive your business growth forward.