Brands & the New Era of YouTube

Brands & the New Era of YouTube:

Do Not Redesign Your YouTube Channel… Until You Read This

We are on the cusp of a new phase in the life of Google’s video juggernaut YouTube; a phase that adds significant benefits for brands that have adopted digital content strategies while increasing the table stakes for those that have not embraced the content-oriented world consumers live in and interact with. YouTube leaders have clearly rethought and retooled the site’s importance as content distribution point, social media hub, advertising outlet and zeitgeist barometer. Brands and marketers should do the same for their own YouTube channels and content.

With the long-anticipated upgrades to YouTube templates rolling-out, I caution the marketplace not to mistake this transformation for a superficial nip and tuck. The basis for change is a renewed focus on YouTube’s foundational elements of content and community. The media has been abuzz with the announcement of “premium” content created by TV, film and Internet heavyweights in partnership with YouTube. Rather than launch this featured content on a specialized platform, YouTube’s development team chose to bring the entire site up to the new standard. This egalitarian approach means YouTube shares new capabilities with all comers (from global brands and Hollywood producers to local hockey moms and piano-playing cats); emphasizing the value of a consistent user experience while underscoring the implicit understanding that nothing can replace the power of engaging, well-organized and search-optimized content.

Marketers employing advanced YouTube strategies are already practicing much of what the new philosophy advocates: channels as centralized hubs where information architecture (realized via playlists and multi-channel structures) makes content readily available for discovery and delight. Brands with forward-thinking YouTube channels probably see some reflection of their work in the new YouTube. Much of what used to require custom planning and execution now resides in off-the-shelf options. Social functions are coming in from the cold, as well, with deep integration of social networks moving to center stage. Judging from the early releases it is clear that YouTube has been watching and learning from the best of its community.

How should a brand proceed in this new era of YouTube? How do these upgrades impact the marketer (besides creating obvious new media opportunities around premium content)?

Embrace a full YouTube channel strategy, understanding that benefitting from the “new” YouTube will be easier for brands that already have a strategy in place. There is little to gain from the site’s advances for brands unwilling to give YouTube the same detailed planning – from IA to execution – as a dot com or microsite. Don’t forget that YouTube is mobile-capable and a good plan addresses reaching mobile users even if you don’t have an all-encompassing mobile strategy.

Update your content plan and editorial calendar (or begin creating them if they don’t already exist). We are well past the era where videos could be made for the sake of making videos. Every piece of content your brand creates needs to have a specific job to perform in a fashion that reflects well upon your product and values. In the new YouTube era, a shaky iPhone video of your CEO trying to be “cool” and “authentic” is more likely to cause a PR problem than a marketing sensation. Remember, all YouTube video will now be shoulder to shoulder with world-class content, not just vloggers and skateboarding dogs.

Revise how you set YouTube KPI’s. The launch of the new site coincided with YouTube Analytics replacing the previous Insights measurement tool. Improved access to a wider range of data and the fresh Analytics interface makes it easier to track KPI’s beyond the view count. Conversion, retention and social impact are all easier to track in the new site.

Align your media and content initiatives. Give YouTube it’s due and think about what it offers beyond being just a place to house your videos on the cheap. The site is a media powerhouse in terms of both reach and search domination, and when harnessed correctly it works as well for advertising as it does for content… so well that successful programs will find it hard to separate the two in the new experience.

And, yes, redesign your channel. After all is said and done, a channel needs to work well and look good. Just don’t start fretting over backgrounds and logos until the full impact of the changes is taken into consideration.

Rob Davis is the Director of Advanced Video Practice at Ogilvy in New York. Follow him on Twitter: @robertjohndavis