Rene’s Top Five on YouTube: July 19, 2024 edition
Jul 19, 2024 – minute read
It’s been two years since I started at YouTube as Creator Liaison. Looking back at my intro video now, it’s humbling to see how far everything has come and how far it can all still go!
It’s an indescribable privilege getting to end almost each day, every day, having helped fellow creators share their voice, ensure their agency, and build an ever-better future — at YouTube scale.
Deepest thanks to the brilliant, empathetic, insightful YouTube creators and creators of YouTube who are on this once-in-a-lifetime journey with me, I can’t wait to see what we debate, collaborate on, and achieve together in year three!
🗣️Text-to-VO is now a thing on Shorts. You can record your video, upload it in the main YouTube app, add some text, and then tap the voiceover button to get it read out-loud by one of four voices. It’s great for when conditions were too noisy, you didn’t have time, or you just didn’t want to use your own voice on a Short. Just remember, whether it’s a real voice or text-to-voice, to keep the storytelling compelling! See YouTube Creator’s Short for how it all works, and while you’re there, check out their new video on the Shopping Extension as well!
🎶 Erase Song adds one more tool for creators dealing with copyright claims on their videos. Previous options let you trim out the song or try to mute or replace it with something from the YouTube library. Erase takes it a step further, letting you either mute entirely or try to separate the claimed music from audio you may want to keep, like talking. If it doesn’t work, and you really want to address the claim, you can go on and trim, but this is a terrific new option for creators to work with. Watch the Creator Insider video for more!
▶️ Julia @VidCon puts a final cap on a fantastic week as the YouTube Blog’s own contributor extraordinaire shares her first feels on the big event: “On my way out of the hotel we’re filming at, I run into my favorite creator and long-time inspiration, [NO SPOILERS]. Talking to creators is literally my job, but this time I can’t stop shaking. His work has had such a profound impact on my life. It’s what sparked my interest in YouTube in the first place, what led me to become a writer and to this day I don’t miss an upload. It’s a perfect full circle “pinch me” moment." So good, so go read!
🙋Q&A: “Why isn’t the algorithm pushing my videos like it used to? I’m making the same content, why am I not getting the same views?” I get variations on this question all the time and I know first hand as a creator how frustrating it can feel. Even when we make the critical mindshift of understanding that the algorithm doesn’t and never did push videos for creators but has always focused on recommending videos for viewers, it can still be… a lot. And it mostly comes down to audience. Audiences change and evolve over time. Trends come and go and so do topics. Old competition fades and new competition emerges. People grow and their interests shift. The algorithm’s job is to follow the audience, so the creator’s job becomes the same. We have to find ways to reinvent ourselves, to stay fresh, to remain relevant and compelling. The biggest media companies in the world with the biggest franchises on earth are having trouble pulling views to their big action movies and shows right now, and there’s zero algorithm involved there. Just audience and connection. Focus on the audience and the algorithm will follow!
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📈 Tip of the Week: Making banger videos is really, really, really hard. So hard, it’s often enticing for creators to focus on busy work as a way to procrastinate. Things that seem important and we’re told will somehow help our videos but are really just time better spent making better videos. Things like “SEO” for the best “keywords”. The truth is, there’s no amount of keywords that can make a not-so-good video perform great. Instead of falling into metadata traps, go back to the basics. Come up with an idea that’s broadly appealing within your topic. Figure out a compelling thumbnail and title. Craft a hook that immediately captures interest, and then make a video that delivers on the thumbnail and title’s promise. Then watch how that video performs, pick something to improve on, and start the next video. The only way to make bangers is to keep banging away on videos!
So get with the contenting!