Video Blogging is not all about what it appears to be in the camera, there’s a lot that goes behind. It requires not just your time and effort but also a whole lot of planning, strategies, analytics, promotions and skills to make your video stand out. As a YouTuber, I’ll be sharing all of these and much more from my experience in this post.

From the previous few posts at Blogchatter, you already know the basics to keep in mind while recording your video. Let’s now see what you need to do after the video is recorded and how to make the best use of YT Studio for analytics.

Editing

Editing plays an important role in creating a good quality video. You can make good use of ‘Windows Movie Maker’ or ‘Microsoft Photos’ if you want to edit your videos from the desktop. You can trim, split, add text, motion, filters, adjust speed, rotate and use more such features. Other software and apps that are widely used to edit videos are Adobe Premiere Pro/Rush, Apple iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Blender, InShot and more. You can easily add music, captions, adjust exposure, stabilize volume and directly upload your final video to the desired social media platform.

When you start editing a video you realize there are some parts which are unnecessary and add no value to the final video. Editing helps you remove those parts or split the video and use those parts as extra shots. Also, while recording the video you might not record the entire video at one go. Editing helps you merge all those short videos and create one final product. Adding music and captions wherever required makes the video more interesting and might help the audience watch more of that video.

You can define your target audience and edit each video accordingly. For example, some of my music videos require no editing at all and I upload them directly but on the other hand, there are videos that I create specifically for children and I edit them to make the videos look attractive. Likewise, depending upon your requirement you can make good use of these editing tools.

YouTube Analytics

If you are a creator at YouTube then ‘YouTube Studio’ is a must for you. You can manage your channel, edit videos, interact with your viewers and also check how is your channel performing all at one place. You will get information on the number of views, watch time, subscribers, top video, traffic source, impressions, search terms, audience and even revenue. ‘YouTube Studio’ can be used both from desktop and as an app on your mobile device. You get an option to moderate your comments and you can easily delete the spam or irrelevant comments. You also get the option to download your own YouTube video and thumbnail from the studio.

Here are some of the features of YouTube Studio that will help you understand the performance of your channel better:

Watch time

It is the total amount of time in aggregate that viewers spend watching a video. It increases every time a viewer watches your video. However, if YouTube feels that it's a fake view then the view count and the watch time may also be removed later.

Traffic Source

It shows the data from where the viewers are finding your video. It can be internal through YouTube search or suggested videos, for which you should give importance to the SEO of your channel. External sources are mainly the other social media platforms where your video is available and for this, you have to promote and share your video on all possible platforms.

Search Terms

YouTube Analytics gives you a list of keywords that viewers use to search for videos online. You can use those keywords and edit the title, tags and description of your video accordingly. For example, earlier I used to upload the music videos as “Song Name – Instrumental” but when I checked the analytics I realized viewers are using other terms to search similar videos. Those were piano, tutorial, lyrics etc and it was from then I started using these keywords in my video.

Audience

This gives you the data of age, gender and location of the viewers. You will get an idea of where and what age group of viewers are watching your video.

Revenue

If the channel is monetized, you will get all your revenue data here. Your estimated revenue, transactions and also the list of top-earning videos.

Strategies and Tips

• After you check your analytics, you need to plan accordingly for your next upload. Check the search terms and use the keywords that are widely used in your Title, Tags and Description of your video.
• Customize your thumbnail and give it a personal touch by adding an image of what’s in the video. A viewer is likely to click the video with an attractive thumbnail.
• By checking your traffic source you will come to know which platform works best for you. Share your video with hashtags and tagging YouTube on all possible social media platforms like Facebook Profile/Page/Groups, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Whatsapp etc.
• Dedicate some time to interact with your viewers. Like their comments and reply to them, you will get an idea of what the audience is expecting from your channel.
• Keep your content ready and post at regular intervals, either weekly or twice a week for best results.

Over the years I have fallen in love with the entire process of being a YouTuber. I have learnt the technicalities of editing a video, made the right use of keywords, promoted my videos and the efforts have shown result. I started this channel to share my music videos and gradually started sharing a lot more things that I do like poetry, art, recycling crafts and travel. 

Video Blogging takes a lot of time, effort, energy and a zeal to keep going. As content creators, we love trying new ways to reach out to a wide range of audience. Videos attract more viewers and you can embed your relevant YouTube videos on your blog posts also. Similarly, you can add your blog’s link to the description of your video and easily attract more traffic. If you are planning to venture into video blogging, I hope this post helps.

If I don’t end this post in a YouTuber’s style then this post is incomplete! So, here it goes, if you are reading this, I would love to see you on my channel too. Don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to my channel here - www.youtube.com/c/rashiroy