Not too long ago, YouTube was looking for the land of opportunity to vloggers everywhere. It’s a competitive space, but if you have the content, the charisma, and the work ethic, it could be your home. It’s still the best online video space for bloggers, and there’s no denying that. However, it might not possibly be the best choice to make your home, anymore. The landscape is changing and Youtubers, including some of the most famous and popular, are finding it necessary to branch out. Why is that and how do you do it?
Why branch out?
You might have heard about more Youtubers and vloggers moving from exclusively Youtube channels into different spaces. As of late, one of the major reasons has been the latest in a long-line of Youtube advertising disputes. In particular, it’s because advertisers have recently been pulling their pre-roll ads from the start of Youtube videos. T
he reasons for that are many, including some high-profile cases of unsavory content on Youtube that has shown the dangerous PR territory that is online. Regardless of the reason they might choose to do so, the consequences for Youtubers and vloggers is clear. At least for now, people are losing the money they were once able to earn.
There’s a good chance that advertisers will come back, and their money will come with them, as Youtube changes its content guidelines. But this recent mini-exodus has proven that keeping all your eggs in the one basket that is Youtube might not be the safest move.
Stay connected
It’s something that all Vloggers should have, to begin . But now more than ever is it essential to have a living social media presence. Not only does it give you the chance to foster the personal connection to your audience that so many viewers find an essential part of the relationship. But it also serves as a great platform for sharing your videos, especially with the recent additions of more social features on Youtube itself.
Have your own home
Your Youtube channel might feel like your very own space on the internet. However, it’s not truly all yours. You share it not only with YouTube, but the other videos were vying to get your fan’s attention.
Creating your own branded space is essential. But it’s also essential that said branded space has the same kind of quality that viewers can expect to see on your videos. But you’re not a web designer.
CandidSky are a web design agency that can ensure that as much care is put into your site as you would put into your videos. When branching to a new medium, make sure that you’re using those who see that medium as their art, just as you see video production and vlogging as yours.
Could it be a podcast?
Different styles of content might also work better for different mediums and different styles of media consumption, as well. For instance, Crash Course creator John Green has his own shared podcast with fellow vlogger and brother Hank have their own podcast.
Dear Hank and John that allows them to explore a much broader source of content without as much of the conventions that limit the kinds of subjects they can explore on Youtube such as length and the need to produce video alongside the audio. Podcast audiences tend to be smaller than Youtube audiences, but they also tend to be more consistent fans, sticking with a vlogger (or podcaster) for longer.
Take it live
It’s not going to be the best option for all and tends to depend on the kinds of material that you work. But for many vloggers and Youtubers, streaming has become another way not only to spread their roots and stay connected to a fanbase.
But to further monetize their content. Perhaps the most high-profile example of the Youtuber leaping streamer is with the most successful and perhaps most famous of them all, PewDiePie.
Twitch has become the home, in particular, for gaming content producers. In fact, it has led to a circular relationship between the two platforms, with many Twitch streamers using the stream to further create more Youtube videos from.
Make some friends
It doesn’t solve the need to look for other sources of monetization to preserve your livelihood. However, if you’re looking at how to keep growing your brand (which then support monetizing other methods), then collaboration might be the key.
There are plenty of opportunities to tap into an entirely new audience through another Youtuber or vlogger. There are a lot of different ways to work together, too. You don’t necessarily have to put in all the effort of creating a video with another.
Guest appearances and exchanging mentions might not give you as effective a cross-community reach as creating a guest vlog or collaborative video, but it’s an easy way to quickly heighten awareness of your channel to a new audience.
Keep on top of the channel
It’s important to be wary of just how much time and effort you put into new platforms and new content types, as well. If YouTube is the core of where your online brand started, then you will always need to manage a presence there. But it can become harder as your focus begins to spread, so creating a video editorial calendar can help you organize your approach and keep making videos without it taking too much time away from your other efforts.
It’s a good idea to connect with many of your different platform presences together as possible. Again, creating your website as mentioned above might be the most effective way to do that. But an effective way to monetize them all, if you have the community, is to launch a Patreon, as well.
YouTube and all kinds of internet branding are still reasonably young. They’re growing and getting more connected as time goes on. It never hurts to embed yourself further by focusing on a brand that reaches across different mediums and spaces. Especially not since any platform could have precedence over another from one year to the next.
