HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Dan Schawbel is the bestselling author of Me 2.0 and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog. His latest blog, the Student Branding Blog, provides branding and career advice for high school, college and graduate students.
There are thousands of different websites that you can leverage to build your own personal brand, but only a few that will give you both the reach and credibility to make a major impact. Here at Mashable, we’ve provided you with a detailed look at how you can build your personal brand on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Today, we’ll focus in on the largest video sharing site on the planet, more commonly referred to as YouTube.
With over 120 million U.S. viewers, YouTube is used by President Obama for his weekly State of the Union Address, by universities who share lectures from star academics, and by celebrities such as Miley Cyrus who use it as a lifestream. Aside from the popularity of YouTube, the site exploits the most powerful branding medium of them all, video.
The reason why video is so effective in communicating your personal brand is because your audience will already feel like they’ve met you by the time the video is over. With video, you get a sense of who someone really is based on their voice, their face and their body motions. Video can support your branding efforts like no other medium on the web.
1. Brand your profile
In order to build your personal brand on YouTube, you have to decide how you want to position yourself. If you already have a brand (such as “financial expert for baby boomers”), then carry it over onto your YouTube channel to make it consistent with your other web properties. Channels that have multiple faces should be branded under a topic or a company. Channels that only have one face and voice should be branded under a full name. This is extremely important to understand because you can’t change your channel name at a later date.
Choose a channel name: Depending on your branding strategy, you could choose your full name, your company’s name or a unique “show” name for your YouTube channel. For instance, if you want to brand yourself as an expert in your field, you might want to do it under your own name. The URL you will receive in return for a successful registration on YouTube is youtube.com/user/yourfullname.
Profile setup: Just like with Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, filling out your profile is important because it will allow people to locate you on a platform where millions of people are competing for attention. You are able to upload an avatar or use a screenshot that they give you from your latest video. Use the avatar/professional picture that you have everywhere else. You also get to add a single URL, which should be the website that best represents you as a brand, such as your blog or LinkedIn profile.
Channel information: Most people don’t know that there are different types of accounts you can choose on YouTube. If you’re an expert in your field, then I recommend selecting the “Guru” account type because you can use a custom logo and add links. To access this page go here.
Customize your channel: Log into your account and view your channel as it currently stands. On the top right of your screen, select “Switch to Player Mode.” This will change your current display to the newer layout, where people can view your latest video and select any other ones that they want to watch from the sidebar.
Channel title and tags: Where it says “Edit Channel,” you should click on “settings” and then give your channel a title, such as “Mike Smith’s Internet Marketing Show.” On the right, you’ll want to type in tags that reflect your video content, such as “marketing” and “mike smith” because that’s how people will find your material while searching.
Themes and Colors: Under “Themes and Colors,” find the colors and overall look that align with your website, blog, business card, PowerPoints, etc. You can also upload your own background image and change fonts and colors. There are websites that have free YouTube designs that you can use too.
Modules: Now you want to go to “Modules” and check all options because comments, recent activity, and friends are all important if you want to build a community around your YouTube brand.
Latest video: The last thing you want to do is to click on “Edit” on the top right of the screen and where it says “Featured Video,” select “Use the Most Recent.” This way people will be viewing your latest video automatically.
Now that have presented your audience or future audience with a legitimate profile and design on YouTube, you’re ready to start developing videos that will put your brand in the spotlight, while helping you build your business.
2. Create remarkable videos
Content is king and on YouTube, the only true way to be successful is to have content that is worth spreading. Typically, this means it has to be either really funny or extremely interesting. Here are a few examples of remarkable content. Video isn’t for everyone and you shouldn’t fool yourself if you know you’re introverted and shy.
Video equipment: I recommend either using a web camera from Logitech ($99) or a Flip Ultra HD ($200). The flip is higher quality, but the webcam allows you to do video chat or live video in addition to regular videos for YouTube.
Advanced video equipment: If you’re really serious about creating a video show on YouTube, then you may want to invest in a sounds system, amplifier, lighting, and other professional tools that will make it look professional.
Produce content: The best part about taking videos of yourself is that if you don’t like the end product, you can delete it very easily. I recommend that you shoot multiple videos at once and then cut the ones that don’t work well. Make sure all of your videos fall under the theme of your YouTube channel and that you fill out the title, description and tags for each. In the description of each of your videos, there should be a link back to your blog or website because the people that watch your video might have never heard of your brand before.
Once you have about five or six videos, you will want to start promoting both your channel and each video to your audience.
3. Promote your videos
When promoting your channel and your videos, you’ll want to use the network that you already have before you start to get creative. In the past year, YouTube has streamlined the sharing process through various social networks.
Facebook Application: Using the YouTube Video Box Application on Facebook, you can add your videos automatically on your profile page or your Facebook Fan Page. This is a great way to give each of your videos additional visibility without additional labor.
Autoshare on Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader: Go to your YouTube account settings and click on “Sharing.” In this menu, you can automatically syndicate your YouTube updates (such as when you upload a new video) through Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader. Before you check all three off, please understand who your audience is on each social network. For example, if you share your professional videos on Facebook, where only your college friends are, then it might be awkward.
Add your blog: Go back under YouTube account setting and click on “Blog Setup.” This will allow you to link your blog (Wordpress.com/org, TypePad, Blogger, etc) with your account. This feature will enable you to post your videos on your blog directly in just a few simple clicks.
Embed your videos: If you have a blog or traditional website (corporate or personal), you can embed one or more videos from YouTube on it. YouTube embedded videos give you options, such as a border, different size arrangements and a variety of colors.
Link to your channel or videos everywhere you can: The more links you have to a video, the higher it will rank when keywords are searching in YouTube or in Google. Also, more links typically means more traffic to your videos, which helps build your brand. Link to your channel and videos from your resume, from your social networking profiles (possibly as a graphic icon), from your email signature, from your presentations and everywhere else.
YouTube isn’t going anywhere. It’s one of the most trafficked websites in the world and it’s a great place to get started with online video. Even though many of your videos might not get 100,000 views, the important thing is that you can leverage that video content and share it on all of your branded properties. Your YouTube channel can become a very important asset to your brand, one that provides your authentic voice and appearance like nothing else can.
More personal branding resources from Mashable:
- Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand
- Personal Branding 102: How to Communicate and Maintain Your Brand
- HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Facebook
- HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Twitter
- HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
- HOW TO: Leverage Social Media for Career Success
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kkgas
Reviews: Facebook, Google, Google Reader, LinkedIn, Logitech Z523, Mashable, Twitter, TypePad, WordPress, YouTube, blogger, iStockphoto, video
Tags: how to, personal brand, video, youtube
The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Over the last few weeks I’ve been exploring principles that are evident in many successful blogs. So far we’ve looked at Listening, Trust, Usefulness and Community. Today I want to get personal with you and share a story with you.
The Day I Was Jumped On By a Reader
Last week while at Blog World Expo I was coming down off the stage after presenting on a panel when out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone moving towards me – fast.
Within a second of seeing the movement I was literally jumped upon and found myself in a tangle of arms, hair and tears – I was being hugged within an inch of my life.
I didn’t know what to do at first – I didn’t know who was hugging me but while a bit of a shock at first I could tell the person was genuine and so did the only thing I could think to do – I hugged back.
After a few seconds of hugging the person pulled away. I had expected it to be someone I knew but realised pretty quickly that this was a stranger (or at least she had been a moment or two before). She had tears in her eyes and was obviously emotional – I didn’t know why until she began to talk.
For the next 4-5 minutes my hugging assailant (a reader as it turns out) talked, almost without taking a breath. She told me about the first day she read my blog (she remembered the first post), she told me about how it had helped her, she told me about the ups and downs of her blogging, she told me about her family, she told me about my family, she told me that she’d bought my book, joined my community, bought my ebook, she just talked…..
She talked as if we’d known each other for years – I guess in a way we had…..
Gradually my new friend began to slow down (and breathe) she suddenly began to become a little more self conscious. She began to blush a little as she realised how what she’d just done. I assured her that it was totally fine and in her flustered state she said:
“It’s just that I feel like I know you.”
As we continued to speak I realised that here was someone who I had previously not known had existed (she’d never left a comment or said a word on my blog in over 3 years) who ‘knew’ me – at least to some degree.
Here was someone who’d not only read something that I’d written daily for years – but someone who had watched my videos, had noted when I’d become a Dad, had seen when I’d travelled, had observed my disappearances from the blog when I’d been unwell.
She didn’t know all this stuff because she was a crazy stalker (far from it) but because I’d allowed myself to blog in a way that was personal.
Not that ProBlogger is a ‘personal blog’ as such (not in the sense that I blog about the movies that I see, the things I eat or the everyday experiences that I have) – but I inject something of myself into this blog:
- I use my real name
- I share images of myself from time to time in posts and on key pages
- I share videos where people can see my face and hear my voice
- I include details of what’s happening in my life and family (usually in passing and by way of illustrating something)
- I try to use personal language (I blog in the first person most of the time)
- I write in a style that is similar to the way I would speak to a person face to face
- I tell stories about my experiences as they relate to my topic
- I use personal examples where I can to illustrate what I’m saying
- I’ve done live streaming question and answer sessions via video
By no means am I the most personal blogger going around. Everyday I see opportunities to be more personal in fact – but I’ve made a concerted effort over the years to inject something of myself into what I do – and it’s paid off.
It’s paid off not just in terms of being jumped on by strangers when overseas but also in creating the kind of site that people want to come back to, the kind of site that people recommend to others and also the kind of site that people want to spend their money on (remember my friend has bought everything I’ve released – she said she did so because they were ‘mine’).
I know being personal on a blog is not something that everyone feels comfortable with and that is in everyone’s style – but it is one thing that I’ve seen exhibited in many successful blogs.
How about you? Do you take a personal approach with your blog?
PS: one piece of advice – when it comes to being personal I’d suggest bloggers think a little ahead about what they will and won’t reveal about themselves, their family and their lives. Having some boundaries in place for personal safety can be a worthwhile thing – this doesn’t mean you’re not being personal, just that you’re being smart and exhibiting some personal safety.
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog