Successfully Releasing, Promoting & Managing YouTube Releases

It’s exciting to have a release ready to go live, especially a music video that you’ve put a lot of work into planning, lming and editing. There are a few things you need to keep in mind when uploading your videos to YouTube because there is nothing worse than getting a less than adequate number of views on a video you worked so hard to create.

Verify Your Account

It’s always important to verify your Social Media accounts. This ensures your fans that your accounts are ofcial artist pages and all the information shared is genuine and accurate. (Verifying your YouTube account is also required for "Scheduling Your Release"). Verifying your account is a simple and quick process, so there is really no reason not to do it.

To check if you are veried, click on your YouTube prole icon and choose the third dropdown option, which is 'YouTube Studio.' That will bring you to your channel dashboard. In the left hand column, underneath your prole icon, you will see more options available. Scroll down and select Settings.

• Once in Settings, click 'Channel' then 'Feature eligibility.' At the bottom of that section, click through to 'Status' and 'Features.' Here, you’ll see if your account is already veried or you can begin the verication process. 
• YouTube will ask you to select the country you’re working in and how you’d like to receive your verication code. Then, you will be asked to provide a phone number.
• Shortly after choosing your verication method, you will receive a six-digit code. Depending on which option you chose, that will arrive via text message or to your phone as an automated voice message. Enter that into the box provided and click 'Submit.'
• Now, you are veried!

Verifying your account also unlocks a few other YouTube features such as custom thumbnails and longer videos. As you gain more followers, more features will become available to you.

Pay Attention To Detail

The YouTube video title and description are very important to the success and searchability of your video. Making sure the title of your video includes what people are searching for is crucial.

Keep the structure simple: “Artist Name - Release Name.” Extra details are left to the description.

Make sure you add the credits in the description to whom credit is due. Be sure to include the director, videographer, collaborators, etc. Also include your social links to your Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, website, etc. so fans can easily nd you on other platforms.

Remember to always hashtag. Some people overlook this but it will also help your audience nd your video and will help it appear in Google searches.

Don’t forget about your prole and banner photo. Change your prole photo when you have new press images ready. If you have a new release coming out, change the banner photo to a scaled version of your album artwork with the release date. Be sure to switch the banner to an “out now” version once the release is live.

Make sure to edit the thumbnail still of the video. You don’t want to see a blurry image sitting on your prole as the rst thing viewers see before they click to watch. YouTube suggests thumbnail images but you can also take a screenshot of your favourite part of the video and upload it to use instead

Schedule Your Release

Like many other Social Media platforms where you can schedule future posts, you can schedule YouTube video releases as well. This is a great feature to use and allows you to be thorough and not scrambling at the last minute trying to get your video uploaded.

First, upload your video to YouTube. Click on the camera icon in the top right hand corner of YouTube. Or, click on the red 'Create' button if you’re in YouTube Studio. Then, drag and drop your video to upload.

Add the video details (as seen under the “Pay Attention To Detail” heading). This is also when you’ll select which playlist you’d like your video to appear in and audience details for the video. Finally, you can place any age restrictions here.

After working through both the ‘Details’ and ‘Video’ elements tabs, you will end up at the ‘Visibility’ tab. This is when you’ll see the options to save, publish or schedule. First, choose whether you want the video to be public or private once it goes live.

Then, click ‘Schedule.’ This is when you enter the date and time you’d like your video to go live.

Now you’re done! You’ll see this notication if your video has been scheduled successfully

Feature

Many artists forget there is a feature option on their prole. Be sure to utilize the feature section for your new video to optimize the number of views

You should also take advantage of updating your existing video cards and end screens to ensure that you receive maximum views on your new video. Going back through your previously released videos and making your new release the rst card at the end of the video, or even creating a new release end screen to include on popular releases is a great method for increasing your views.

Advertisements

Ads can sometimes be annoying for viewers but they serve a purpose. Advertising is an essential tool in increasing awareness on any release, not only your videos on YouTube. Advertisements can increase engagement on popular content as well as increase views on new content releases. Utilize Google AdWords and create a campaign that allows you to place your new video on content related to similar videos, artists, etc. across YouTube. You can target your ads to run on specic videos on YouTube, for example, one of your own videos, or videos of a similar artist to your music. This will also help draw people to your prole, increase views as well as the number of subscribers to your page. This requires a budget but it should be included in your marketing plan when releasing your videos. Don’t ever be afraid of spending some money on advertising. You can get started with YouTube ads on a very minimal budget, and you only pay for ads that are served and viewed, meaning if someone skips your ad, you don’t pay.

Video Premieres

YouTube has a great feature that allows artists to do video premieres on their prole. YouTube Premieres lets you set up reminders for your subscribers to let them know about a new release premiere on the platform. During the premiere, there is a chat room available to you and your audience allowing them to chat with you and share in the excitement leading up to the release of the new video. Premieres are a great way for you to engage with your fans, share exclusive content and get instant feedback on your latest release. When used correctly, this creates a great connection between artists and their fans and makes them feel like they’re getting a “backstage” exclusive.

Double Check Your List

There is absolutely no harm in being thorough. There is nothing worse than uploading a video and realizing you have made a spelling error or realizing you forgot to include some important information. Double check everything and once it looks go-to-go, you should be on your way to a successful video release.

Bringing everything together can be tough...Creating, Posting and Promoting your music across platforms...(Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Apple, iTunes, PR Websites just to name a few...)