The best YouTube tip ever – record, edit and publish! Three little words that can have a huge impact on the growth of your online reach. Now is the time to put your fears aside, swallow your pride, and do whatever it takes to put yourself in the right frame of mind to start making videos today! There is no better time than the present because the latest research from Compete Pro demonstrates that in the U.S., YouTube is more popular than Facebook.
Hard to believe it, right? But in June of 2014, YouTube had 1.4 million more visitors than Facebook, here's the breakdown:
“YouTube.com had 167,848,349 unique visitors in June 2014, up slightly from 167,737,934 in May. Facebook.com had 166,497,314 unique visitors in June 2014, down slightly from 168,320,857 in May.”
Source: YouTube is Now Bigger Than Facebook in the U.S. http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-bigger-than-facebook-u-s/#ixzz397nKaOm3
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More About the Popularity of YouTube
And it's easy to understand why. You can watch it whenever and where ever you want, thanks to that handy little pint-sized device we all carry around in our pockets known as a SmartPhone.
Even premium TV channels like Netflix are loosing the entertainment and edutainment battle to the much smarter, more personalized, and let's not forget, more affordable (free) video platform known as YouTube.
But you knew this day would come right?
If not, you must be new around here.
I've been going on and on about recording and uploading videos on YouTube since the first time I watched a tutorial from Lisa Irby back in the fall of 2009.
Funny how time flies when you're having fun.
That was five years ago but my enthusiasm hasn't waned, and I probably won't stop until I see you launching your first YouTube channel.
YouTube Channel Pre Audit Checklist
I recorded this short video that I hope will inspire you to take action. Take a quick look at Start Making YouTube Videos Today
Do It With Friends
Now that you know YouTube is more popular than Facebook and being watched more often than TV by some demographics, do you think it's worth a shot? One simple tip I can suggest to help you get over the fear of getting in front of the camera is to start by using Google Hangouts or Skype to connect with your friends on camera privately.
Recommended: Watch Gideon Shalwick talk about Why LIVE Video is Going to Crush Everything Else
You can do a quick Hangout and sort of rehearse what you're going to discuss before you go live and broadcast to YouTube via a Google Hangout on Air. Keep practicing until you're ready and when you do go live here are two things to consider: sound quality and proper lighting. Oh – and one last tip, don't forget to look at the camera instead of looking down at your keyboard on your monitor. It might seem odd at first but you'll get used it.
If you decide to do a pre-recorded video instead of a hangout, try recording a few tests to see what you'll look like on camera before uploading and hitting the publish button on YouTube. In this case, I suggest you upload the video as private first, then fill out the description, add your tags, edit the captions and make video annotation links before making the it available to the public.
Recommended reading The Anatomy of the Perfectly Profitable Video
Now get out there and record, edit and publish your first YouTube video. Come back and leave a link to your video in the comments below. Even if it isn't your first video, we can all use the extra encouragement we'll get from seeing what our friends have created.
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