The Ultimate YouTube Treasure Chest for Marketers

A couple weeks back I made a personal pledge to get a better understanding of all the social media channels and tools we have at our disposal - and spend less time on my two 'favourite' platforms (blogs and Twitter) - firmly of the belief that the more I can cram into my head the better (I think!)

So, I've spent a few days trying to get a little further under skin of YouTube, and I've pulled out some tools, tips, resources and examples of YouTube goodness.

I plan to add to this pot as time goes on, but in the meantime I thought it was worth sharing what I found to be particularly useful so far.

YouTube Goodness - 'Brand' New

Some of these finds are brand new to me but others are just useful for those who work with brands on a daily basis. Enough of the suspense, let's get to it...

1. You Tube Show and Tell 

This was only set up a few months ago and is billed as the 'home of creative marketing examples on YouTube'.

It may be a bit light in some sections, but the bank of goodies such as 'viral hits' and 'brand channel examples' are really useful, especially during the planning stages of a campaign.

Major benefit: Creatives corner - a series of videos giving you advice on getting the most out of YouTube content

2. Infinitube

This is clever, useful, and addictive.

Infinitube allows you to select a key word / topic, and it will then respond with playing related videos on an automatic loop.

Major benefit: Doing some research about a brand / person, let this run for 45 minutes or so and you'll have covered a good portion of what you need to know.

YouTube's Quick List function is similar and is worth keeping on file too.

3. Tubereplay

Imagine you are at a conference and you have a great case study video you'd like to feature on loop during the time your guests are present?

This is the answer. Chuck the URL into the bar and let it do the rest.

Major benefit: Access to YouTube content that you want to use to make an impact

4. SynchTube

This is cool...and I must use it soon!

As they describe it: "synchtube allows you to create public and private rooms where you can watch synchronzied YouTube videos with up to 50 people. Everyone views the same video at the exact same time!

Major benefit: A solution to getting people 'together' to pass feedback on video content

5. One click search from Google Chrome

I love Google Chrome extentions - so nifty.

This one is a good 'un for when you are madly researching or looking for something - instead of popping out of the window you are working in, just search for a video direct via extension icon. Simples.

Major benefit: Time, time and, erm, umm, time.

6. The YouTube Blog

If you are spending more time in the video space, this blog isn't a bad one to subscribe to - also worth following them on Twitter too.

Major benefit: YouTube changes more than I do before a dinner party, so this is a good place to keep on top of new development and initiatives.

7. Converting YouTube videos to other formats with Any Video Converter

I love this for so many reasons.

It's free and it can turn any format video into desired output you like - and it is dead easy to use.

Major benefit: YouTube is home to every clip on the planet, this tool will allow you to grab the ones you want and re-package up as you see fit.

8. TubeChop

Ever wanted maybe 20 seconds of a four minute clip on YouTube?

This is the solution for you - go in there, grab it, and pass it in.

Major benefit: Just say a news report features your client / brand for only a small portion of a report, you can get just the bit you need. Nice.

9. TestTube from YouTube

The idea behind this makes a lot of sense. It is where YouTube developers and engineers test stuff out, but in a pretty open environment, allowing you to get a look in.

Things like 'comment search' and 'insights for audiences' could come in very handy.

Major benefit: Gives you a chance to be one step ahead of your clients, adding valuable insight where appropriate.

10. Channel Search

It can sometimes be a little tough navigating the YouTube interface, making some sections almost impossible to find.

I'm especially interested in how brand channels are evolving and these two links are great for this:

YouTube's most subscribed channels

YouTube's sposnor channels

11. CitzenTube

This is a video feed of the latest news with footage provided by Joe Public.

Major benefit: If you have some footage that is newsworthy, you might get it featured there.

12. YouTube Sidebar Widget

This can come in handy for bloggers to people managing corporate websites.

This will help created a customized Videobar for your site, in any shape or format you desire.

Major benefit: Trying to promote your YouTube channel? Feature one of these across your digital portfolio for extra awareness.

13. Creating a branded YouTube channel

I found a couple of great resources in relation to branding up a YouTube channel.

One direct from Google (guide to branding a channel) and one from One Woman Marketing (branded YouTube channels).

Major benefit: Both are very useful and worth referring to when you need to go through the design / set up process.

14. Top of the YouTube pops

YouTube have just announced that they'll feature charts to highlight the most watched / popular videos.

Here are two resources that are always worth checking in on:

Top 100 most subscribed UK YouTubers

Top 10 YouTube videos of all time (via RRW) 

Major benefit: Check out the most subscribed list to get an idea of why people subscribe to certain YouTubers over others.

15. Top examples of branded YouTube channels

I always find it tough compiling best practice examples of YouTube branded channels because they can be hard to a) search for and b) whether or not they deliver on their promise / purpose

In any event, here are five that I think each have something to offer:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Tango

http://www.youtube.com/user/homedepot (good example of content fit vs brand)

http://www.youtube.com/user/thelynxeffect

http://www.youtube.com/user/DriveTheATeamVan - (test the 'drive the van option')

http://www.youtube.com/user/hbo (great use of scrolling menu)

So there you have it - some YouTube intel.

Do you have any other YouTube tricks, tools and tips to share?

If so, lay 'em on us via the comments section below.

Adam
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Note: I spent most of my time scrawling through Google and YouTube pulling this post together but also wanted to make special note of a couple of posts:

http://www.guidingtech.com/1643/youtube-guide/

http://stedavies.com/2008/03/list-of-youtube-brand-channels/

They were very handy in pulling this together.

Choosing the right name for your blog aka child's play

Blog names are a bit like tattoos - once you've been inked (or bought that URL) you are together for life.

And, what might seem like the perfect concept at the time of creation, can feel like the complete opposite 12 months down the line.

So what's the solution then? How can you ensure you make the right decision?

I've been doing some research and have come back with approach you may want to consider...

Blog naming rights aka child's play

Before I unleash my theory, I thought it was worth getting a steer from some other sources to begin with - you know, a measuring stick.

DailyBlogTips.com suggests three rules for choosing a blog name:

1. It must describe your blog
2. It must be easy to remember
3. It must be equal with the domain name

Chris Garrett has also listed some good criteria when developing a catchy blog name, including some advice about possible future directions.

I took these posts, and many others into account, and then I stumbled on a post called Top Tips for Choosing Baby Names - and this is where it all began to crystallize.

We spend WAY too much time pontificating and providing advice when really, common sense rules the roost.

To be sure, let's test this theory...

Top tips for choosing a baby, erm, umm, blog name

1. Does the name fit with the baby?

An important tip - the last thing you want to do is give your blog a name that doesn't sit alongside its personality or purpose. It is for this very reason I didn't call my blog The Cat Corner. Meow!

2. Is the name difficult to pronounce? If so, consider how frustrated its parents might get by constant mispronunciation.

It could be argued that blogs are like babies - you bring them into the world, nurture them and introduce them to people you care about. So, it makes complete sense to choose a name that can be easily communicated or you may find yourself changing its name by deed poll, or even worse, using a URL that ends in .cc or .info.

3. Is the name difficult to spell? When your child starts going to school will he / she by hindered by your choice?

Although you can make money with mispelled names on Google, its not a decision I'd take lightly. It would also be a shame if you produced all this great content but a similar sounding URL was found before yours because you got too fancy. Keep it simple, or be made fun of...or even worse, be impossible to find.

4. Is the name very common? Do you mind that your child may be one of several children in his / her class or street with the same name?

The flip side to not being too clever is being too common - its the naming equivalent of turning up to a party in the same frock. Some of the most common words used in blog names have been compiled by Elliott C. Back - you may want to steer clear of these.

5. Would you still like the name when your child is not such a teeny tiny baby any more?

This is hard isn't it. You'll throw a bunch of names around and be convinced that you've found the 'one'.Annoyingly, flash-in-the-pan names are often just that, and something like Social Media Magician is tough to live up to.

6. Consider your other children's names

Yes, this is big. You may have other blogs. You may use specific handles throughout the rest of your social media portfolio. Does the name sit alongside the others? Is it different enough, yet could it feasibly be part of the family? 

7. Watch out for names that can be shortened or have a hidden joke

Imagine choosing a name or tag line like: Communications. Relationships. Answers. People. It says what you are about, clearly, but can easily be shortened to C.R.A.P. Not the ideal positioning for your blog...or child for that matter.

I hope I haven't made too much light of this very important process.

If anything, I think this brings a very important element of communications to life: balance.

Seeking advice is great, but often the answer is characterised by common sense.

In any event, choose your blog name wisely...you need to be able to live with it for life...or until Google pushes it back down its search results.

Adam

UK bank takes fraud protection to a new 'handmade' level

Bank rant? No. Bank high five? Yes.

I lost my debit card last week (not big news, I tend to lose one every 6 weeks or so).

So, I followed the normal process, cancelled it and ordered a new one.

They say it takes 4-5 working days to deliver a new one.

I woke up Saturday morning (day five) praying that my card was in my mail box, I opened it up and there, to my disappointment, was just one letter. It had a hand written address label. My heart sunk. No cash for me this weekend then eh?

Agony to ecstasy to amazement...

I walked back up the stairs, feeling a bit miffed with my bank that I would be left stranded until Monday.

In a huff, I opened the letter that was delivered and my jaw dropped (OK, I'm exaggerating, but I was massively impressed), and here's why...



So, within the handwritten letter was this note and the original formal bank letter with my card enclosed - how very clever.

I won't show you the outer letter, there's nothing that special about it (and it has my address on it!) but its 'normalness' is what is so great about this.

What can other brands learn from this?

We all talk about wanting to put the customer first.

We all say we want to do things to in a bespoke manner.

But do we do it?

(Note: there is the argument here that banks have even more of a reason to invest in fraud protection because of the cost associated with it. In effect, they are not taking all this care in delivering my card for my protection, but rather for their own. You make your own mind up.)

No matter the motivation, this is a great example of customer service evolving and adjusting to the environment we now live in.

Often as communicators, we are given the challenge to amplify the customer service efforts of brands.

But, how often do we develop physical solutions?

How often do we create products that have an inherent story in them?

How often are we really given the chance?

Where are we really at?

The onset of social media has had several impacts but one is becoming increasingly apparent...well for me anyway.

The 'story' is still, in some cases, being created after the event - not during the embryonic phase.

When the story is an afterthought, there isn't a whole lot you can do with it, no matter how proficient you are as a communicator.

This view isn't anything entirely new.

My (long-winded) point is that I don't think we are are any closer to working in an integrated manner yet and even though we know the IDEA is what makes or breaks things, we're still not creating that many great ones.

The revolution is...erm...

Social media was earmarked as the evolution that would break the walls down, but perhaps it has created even more?

So, while I love this example of my bank taking things up a notch, I don't think it is an example of a revolution.

It's a one off...but a pretty damn good one.

• Have you spotted any other examples of brand activity that you are impressed with?
• Will we see more solutions like this?
• Who will instigate them? 
• And, are you making note of the brand lessons going on around you everyday?

I'd love you to share your thoughts.

Adam

What the launch of Facebook Places really means...

Facebook showed us two things last night with the launch of Facebook Places:

1. They are attempting to get as slick as Apple or Google when it comes to new product / service launches

2. Most importantly, they are aiming to make geo-location part of the mainstream (and, I personally think they will)

I don't want to go on about the Apple-like launch anatomy too much, but its worth taking a peek at some of the key characteristics:



Apples and Faces...

• Over-extended 'build up to announcement' buzz - we all knew what was being announced yesterday so Facebook used a tactic we are seeing more and more of which is to exploit the 'conjecture' window, as once something is official, it loses a great deal of momentum
• Top drawer production - OK, the video explaining Facebook Places is a bit cheesy (view here) but the quality of production is obvious, giving it an incredibly premium feel

Geo-location going mainstream

Again, a lot of opinion will be put forth about Facebook Places over the next few days, but I think the simple take-outs are:

• A previously disengaged group - Facebook users - will be tempted to try out location-based services (it is too easy for them not to)
• It will help services like Foursquare hugely - education is often the biggest challenge for new platforms, and now Facebook will provide a free education to potentially 500 million people, who are likely to want to go a step further and try out the native version(s)
• The 'Foursquare will die' predictions will ring loudly for a while - Facebook (and Google) have tried on several occasions to broaden their service offering to varying degrees of success. I wouldn't automatically assume Facebook will boss this area, in fact, I really think Facebook will struggle (for a while) to be an all encompassing platform...but one day maybe...

Update:

Privacy concerns will be a major talking point too - personally I think this issue will be the one that runs in mainstream media but not the real issue for marketers - people will adjust, they always do

There are hundreds of other talking points but I think we should keep the take-outs from this development as tight as we can.

More people will try geo-location technology, some may actually grow to see the usefulness of it, but let's not waste to much time pontificating - what will be, will be.

Adam

In search of...an education in search engine optimization...

I've been struggling with my blog a bit of late. More specifically, I have been struggling with its purpose; capturing regular learnings about social media and digital platforms.

I haven't done that much lately.

In all honesty, I think a bit of complacency and fatigue has set in - and that is never (ever!) a good thing.

So, I'm going to spend the next month or so trying to get a better understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) - something that I really want to know more about.

The plan is to share the useful parts of this self-guided education with you. That sound OK? Cool...let's make a start...

In search of...an education in search engine optimization...
Part one - the basics

My objectives for this lesson:

- Understand exactly what SEO is and why it is important
- Get a better handle of keywords and the role they play
- Test out some basic tools and gauge effectiveness / usefulness

I started out by watching some videos on YouTube:



Both are worth a watch, but the following is a snapshot of what I found most useful / interesting.

Key learnings from video one

• 80% of internet users click on the first three organic listings on Google
• Keyword research is the first step in the process - Google has a free tool (AdWords) which can be used for this activity
• Word Tracker is a paid for service that has been recommended to me by others of late, keen to try that out
• SEO Book is a free tool that gives you some of the intelligence that Word Tracker provides
• Competition analysis is an important early step - video one suggests finding out four key things about your competitors 
• Find all your competitors to begin with
• Find out how important these websites are
• Find out link popularity
• Find out the number of indexed pages 

(Note: the plan is to test my own blog using this technique in the next part of this series, so I am just going to continue gathering the theory for now)

• Video one moves onto on page and off page optimization next - I will treat this element as a separate post too, but here are some interesting things I learnt in the on page department.
• Your meta title is one of the first attributes search engines see (automatically I want to alter the meta title of this blog)
• The proper keyword density and placement of keywords plays a big role (this is something I've never actively done before - I have to do my keyword analysis first - looking forward to trying that out)
• I never really take the time to do this, but search engines won't be able to find and index pictures you use unless you provide a description - these are called image Alt tags - add that to the list of things I need to learn more about 
• Google Webmaster tools can tell you if there are any errors with your site / blog - I had never considered this either - more reading required!
• Off page optimization is next up - I have intuitively done a few of the things listed here but there was one interesting technique I learnt about...
• Link development - there are three types - one way, two way and three way links
• Three way links are the most interesting for me as it involves re-routing reciprocal links back via 3rd party directory - is that ethical? Again, I need to understand this better.
• The remainder of video one takes you through the importance of fresh and relevant content - for me, this has always been something I 'got' but perhaps didn't consider all the bits that go before that

Key learnings from video two

This video literally takes you through two useful tools (I assume the other 18 are out there somewhere), but they are interesting.

• Spy Fu is a solid free keyword research tool (need to spend some time on it)
• Hit Tail is an analytics tools that I've never heard of before - the most useful element of this tool appears to be the 'suggestions' functionality

Well, I feel like I accomplished my mission for today - I learnt some new stuff, and am ready for a bit more digging next time.

Do you have any videos / resources you can point me to?

Is sharing this learning process useful to you?

Any feedback or direction would be great!

Adam
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Note: I haven't started applying any of these techniques to this blog yet but I will do before I get stuck into the next lesson.

Additional links:

15 minute SEO list

The beginner's checklist for learning SEO

Vroom! The man behind one of F1's fastest growing blogs...

I've been fortunate enough to learn more about Adam Mills recently - the man behind F1Badger.com - a blog which has enjoyed 600% growth in traffic in 2010.

On the back of his success, I thought it was worth interviewing him about how he has made his blog one of the fastest growing F1 blogs going around...

Note: Scroll to the bottom of the interview to find out more about Adam's background.

An interview with Adam Mills of F1Badger.com

Q1. Do you consider F1Badger.com to be a blog or online news portal? What's the difference in your eyes?

I would consider F1badger.com to be a blog rather than a news source - it may not sound as fancy but a news source would be a site that duplicates releases from agencies such as GMM (global motorsport media) or Reuters and co. Badger (as it's more affectionately known) is more opinion based and although it is a source of news, the news is inside a chatty, banter-tastic enjoyable wrapper and other articles are purely features on various topics or interviews and what have you.

Q2. F1Badger.com has enjoyed a huge jump in traffic in 2010 - can you put that down to specific tactics / strategies you've employed? If so, what were they and are they applicable to other blogs?

The huge jump in visitors for 2010 from '09 is partly down to time, i.e. the longer you're around the more people come across you due word of mouth thanks to the fantastically successful social media tools such as a facebook and twitter - they provide a great way to interact with your audience alongside the commenting feature on articles.

Another reason for Badger's jump in visitors is down to having 'FantasyGP' integrated with the site - it's an interactive predictions game developed in-house, which allows fans to get more involved with the sport from their armchair and helps make even the slightly less interesting races fun because the players have a vested interested in the result besides who they support - it really is good fun and race winners receive custom Badger trophy mugs...

Having such an interactive part to a blog or site really does help increase visitors and bring people back time and time again - as well as our superbly written articles of course!



Q3. What have you done from an SEO perspective to help increase traffic? And what advice would you give to others about to take SEO more seriously with their blogs?

Search Engine Optimisation is such a massive subject and there are no hard and fast rules to follow. Google and the other search engines are massively complex in their indexing of sites and pages - the rule of 'content is king' definitely applies, i.e. having excellent content helps SEO all by itself, especially when other sites start linking to it and referring back to it. If you're using WordPress as your blogging platform, there's a wealth of free plugins to aid your blog's SEO and Google themselves offer various tools, I'd just advise reading as much as possible about it, trying out the various tools and seeing what works best for you. The days of simply putting "free porn" in your site's keywords to boost visitors are thankfully behind us!

Q4. As far as content goes, do you find it challenging to strike a balance between creating content that appeals to your audience versus what you think is interesting? How much editorial control does your audience have over your blog?

In a word, no. The beauty of Badger is that it's written by the fans (who happen to have journalistic and writing skills) for the fans. I would never have an article published that wasn't interesting, there would be little point. In terms of news, most of it is covered in Badger, though we do concentrate on any particularly juicy news more than others.

In terms of control, Badger welcomes ideas and we often have readers asking questions making suggestions through various channels (twitter, facebook, comments or good ol' email) - on a similar note, Badger's unique style of writing (relative to other sites) attracts many people to submit guest pieces, a couple of our writers have come from having experience at Autosport and been highlighted via Red Bull Reporter's young journalism program.

Q5. If I was going to start a blog tomorrow, what advice would you give me in year one?

Keep it simple - it's very easy to look at established sites and want to compete with them from the outset, but to be successful it pays to start small and stick to what you're good at - it's best to put all your efforts into one area before branching out. Badger for example, started out as just me on my own writing on a standard out-the-box blogger site called Parc Ferme where I wrote my own thoughts on Grand Prix - the feedback was great, people loved the down-to-earth, chatty style and because I've been a fan for nearly 20 years, the content was grounded and intelligent (or so I'm told) - with a load of research and learning, I founded Badger and got some like-minded people onboard to help cover the writing duties and before I knew it F1badger.com was going full pelt.

As with any product, one of the major keys to success is having a uniqueness to it - you couldn't expect to open a bookshop and compete with Amazon, but if your bookshop offered something Amazon doesn't then you're onto something - maybe selling signed books or books that are out of print.

So, overall if you fancy having a go at a blog - choose a topic you're passionate about and have buckets of enthusiasm for and you'll find the task a lot easier and more enjoyable. Don't let the 'blogosphere' scare you if it's all new and bit overwhelming - make use of the free tools out there to get you going... you never know where it might lead.

About Adam Mills and F1Badger.com

I’m a young gentleman living in London – the city I now call home and am completely in love with.  I enjoy playing records, Vespa, photography, grand prix, coffee, tasty food, pretty much anything to do with badgers, anything Italian and using technology with a sacred fruit on it somewhere.

I have a full time job in IT Service Management (yawn!) but when I'm not working the 9-5, I'm running, running and editing F1Badger.com - the grand prix webzine where "Formula One isn't boring..." - a site that was born as a result of me being a huge fan of the sport since the days of Mansell, Senna and Prost and having a keen interest in social media and writing. 

Most people ask immediately "Why Badger" - to which one could simply respond "why not" but there's a bit more to than that, I like badgers, they're the best example of classic British wildlife, superbly elusive and full of character, they're also black and white, i.e. synonymous with the chequered flag and attract loads of interest.  There's a plethora of sites called F1 News or F1 Fans or what have you, which a little tiresome - Badger stands out and reflects the light-hearted nature of the webzine. (growing up with Wind in the Willows and Animals of Farthing Wood may have had something to do with all of this too!) 

Stay connected to Adam

You can check out f1badger.com and follow on the blog / Adam on Twitter @f1badger.

His personal blog and Twitter are also worth a look - rightpalava.com and @rightpalava.

What blog readers really want - Survey results, Aug 2010

The ideal blog architecture revealed?

I've been running a survey on my blog this week, attempting to get a clearer picture of what people want from it going forward.

Thanks to a really solid response, I not only have that insight, but some really interesting feedback about the general DNA of an ideal blog.

Below are the key findings from the survey as well as the raw data, I think you'll find it pretty useful...



What blog readers really want - Results

The big findings (outlined below) tend to indicate that when it comes to blogs, the human connection and 'realness' they exude play a huge role in success.

The big general findings:

• Nearly 70% or respondents feel that 2-3 new posts per week is the ideal amount (only 4% were hungry for new content daily)

• 70% of new blogs are discovered via Twitter / Facebook, with only 1% discovered via active subject searches

• Interaction with the blog author(s) is a huge element in blog loyalty / engagement - only 7% of people want a 'contact-less' relationship with their favourite blogger

• Interestingly, while video is recognised as one of the best ways to connect with an audience, only 8% or respondents consider video content as a vital element of a blog's DNA.

• When it comes to sharing, we seem to put the interests of our networks ahead of our own (see question 4 results below)

The big PR / comms-related findings:

• Practical, evidenced-based content is the most desired with nearly 50% of people stating that the level of usefulness and practicality is what makes a PR / comm blogs stand out from the crowd

• This is backed up by 20% of people saying that case studies are hugely valuable (second only to tools and tips posts which came in at 25%
• Link round up posts scored quite poorly, with only 3% of respondents indicating that they are the type of posts they are most interested in receiving

• As far as capacity goes, people tend to have space for up to seven blogs on regular rotation (66% of total) while people who read more than eight blogs regularly formed the minority at 34%

What can we take from these findings?

Without any previous data to benchmark these results against it is hard to ascertain whether certain trends are emerging or not.

Nevertheless, some interesting results have definitely popped up.

I'll now hand the raw data over to you to see if there are any nuggets / learnings you want to explore in greater detail.

Feel free to use the data as you see fit (but please credit the source if you do).

Thanks again to everyone who took part - hopefully this data comes in handy for everyone.

Adam

P.S I will announce the winner of the £50 Amazon.com gift voucher next Monday, 9 August.

NOTE: I can't reiterate enough how small this survey is (as far as sample size goes) and that it has primarily been completed by PR / comms professionals.

What do you want from a PR / Comms blog?

Fill out a quick survey and go into the draw to win a £50 (or equivalent) Amazon.com gift voucher!

I need your help for a few minutes if possible...and I come bearing a gift...

theCOMMScorner.com in nearing it's first birthday and I'd like to get an idea from you as to the type of blog you'd like it to be going forward.

To help make it worth your while, I will give an Amazon.com gift voucher worth £50 (or equivalent value if outside the UK) to one person, who will be selected at random, at the conclusion of the survey period.

You don't have to necessarily be a regular reader of this blog, I'm really just interested in the type of information you'd like from your ideal PR / Comms blog.

I've prepared a brief survey (link below) - just tell me what you think and you might win an Amazon.com gift voucher...and help shape my blog for the next 12 months or so.




Thanks!

Adam

If the pop up link doesn't work, try the direct link: http://polldaddy.com/s/B18E8F8B30CDEC0F
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