Embedded Files
NOTE: For every video that goes on Youtube, we need to have a corresponding short form cut, no exceptions.
NOTE: For every video that goes on Youtube, we need to have a corresponding short form cut, no exceptions.
Thumbnails
Thumbnails
- Thumbnails are extremely important for all YouTube videos. When publishing a new piece, find a screenshot that represents the subject of the video, but is also really grabbing and visually stimulating. Often times we use photoshop to boost the contrast and brighten the image so it stands out.
- It’s extremely important that this is done for every piece of content. Strong thumbnails are one of the most effective ways to increase clicks and subsequently, video views and subscribers.
- Every thumbnail should have a VICE watermark (pictured above), so when your videos show up on the recommended content sidebar, the viewer can easily identify other VICE content.
titling
titling
- Only the first 72 characters of the title will be displayed on the sidebar when you’re watching a video, so the most descriptive and intriguing part of the title should come first and fit within the character range.
- The title and thumbnail should complement one another, notice how the titles work well with the thumbnails in the example on the right.
- Branding like “VICE Presents..” should be left out of titles or placed at the end. Most brand names are meaningless to the majority of YouTube users.
- In most cases, titles on .com and YouTube do not have to match. YouTube titles have the opportunity to be far more exciting and descriptive.
DESCRIPTION
DESCRIPTION
Tagline
Tagline
- The first 157 characters of the description show up when people share YouTube videos on Facebook, and only the first 125 appear in subscriber feeds. Therefore, the first sentence of the description should be thought of as a tagline - it should be short, grabbing and descriptive.
- Here are a couple examples. Notice how even without a title or thumbnail they are interesting.
- “Most people know Dubai for its massive skyscrapers and luxurious hotels, but few know that the city was built by modern-day slaves.”
- “Former undercover DEA agent, Celerino Castillo, tells us about training death squads, blowing up cocaine labs, and how the cartels are controlling both sides of the border.”
Related Links
Related Links
- After the description be sure to include links to related videos, playlists, socials and anything else that the user may find helpful.
- Videos can live in more than one playlist. For example, the “North Korean Labor Camps” is in our Documentaries playlist and our Best Of playlist.
- Videos also have the option of being automatically added to playlists when made public based on keywords, tags, etc.
PLAYLISTS
PLAYLISTS
Every video should be added to a playlist. If a user ends up in a playlist via the channel page or video annotation they will see the list of videos in the playlist to the right of the video. This increases the likelihood of a user watching more than one video.
TAGS
TAGS
NUDITY & SEXUAL CONTENT
NUDITY & SEXUAL CONTENT
- When adding tags, always include as many as YouTube allows (Max. 500 characters). It’s good to include misspellings (i.e. Syria, Seria, Siria) and any combination of keywords that you think someone may search.
- For all our videos, the last 15 tags are always the same. We use a collection of generic keywords like, “culture” and “documentaries” while the rest are branding words like “vice” “vbs” etc. These tags will help for search and to get related videos in the sidebar.
- Videos that violate Google’s explicit content policies & guidelines will be age-gated. This means that viewers have to sign into their YouTube account to verify they are 18+ years old. This can be prevent by considered blurs or edits to content.
DAILY CHECKUPS
DAILY CHECKUPS
Channel Page
Channel Page
- Channel Trailer
- How old is it?
- Has a more recent trailer been published that could replace what is currently there?
- If not, is there another more recent short video that could take it’s place?
- Featured Video
- How old is it?
- Has a more recent video been published that could replace what is currently there?
- If not, is there another more recent video that could be featured?
- If not, remove what is currently there to allow the channel activity to be featured (4 most recently published videos)
- If not, is there another more recent video that could be featured?
Comments
Comments
- YouTube Help Guide: Comment on Videos
- As soon as a video is published, post and pin the one-liner in the comments section along with links to any related videos.
- Glossary:
- *bold text* → bold
- _italicized text_ → italics
- -strikethrough text- →
strikethrough
- Glossary:
- Add links to your comment
- If you add a URL to your comment, it will show as a hyperlink.
Interactivity
Interactivity
- Annotations
- Annotations help you engage with viewers and make your videos more interactive. Learn more about using annotations in your videos and adding InVideo programming across your YouTube channel.
- Annotations do not surface on mobile devices, only desktop.
- Cards
- As opposed to annotations, cards surface on both mobile and desktop platforms
- Always place a card at the very beginning of a video
- End Screens
- End screens are a part of the video that show during the last 5-20 seconds of a video.
- Always use an end screen to direct a viewer to a related video on YT.
Posting Frequency
Posting Frequency
- Strategy: Release content frequently and on a recurring schedule, React to trending topics. Regular release schedules, programming, and timely publishing are all important.
- Why It Works: Frequency of uploads affects the algorithm. To build an audience, "a consistent audience requires consistent content." Creating an expectation will keep viewers coming back.
How To Do It: Find the right release day for your audience. Maximize content gained from production investment.
GENERAL
GENERAL
- Does the full length documentary have a trailer? If so, does the trailer have a bit.ly/annotions/cards linking to the full length?
- Resurface content via messages in the YT feed: https://www.youtube.com/user/vice/feed
VICELAND
VICELAND
(To be moved once VICELAND site is up)
Monetization policy
- The following should be applied to all VICELAND videos:
- Usage policy = Monetize in all countries
- Content ID matches = Block in all countries
Shortcuts
Shortcuts
Tab for control
Hit the tab key to gain control of the video player. Tab lets you cycle through the various controls on the video player, cycling through play/pause, next video, mute, volume, settings, theater-mode and full-screen buttons before jumping down to the elements below the video player, including the add-to, share and like buttons.
Play/pause
Hit the spacebar or K key to pause a video. The K key works no matter where you are on the page, but you must have the video player selected by clicking on it or using the tab key for the spacebar to pause or play a video instead of paging down.
Skip forward or back 10 seconds
Conveniently located on either side of the K key: hit the J key to skip back 10 seconds and the L key to skip forward 10 seconds.
Skip forward or back 5 seconds
For 5-seconds skips, use the left and right arrow keys.
Jump to specific point in video
The number keys let you cut the video timeline into tenths. Hit 1 to jump the video playhead to 10 percent on the timeline; 9 to jump 90 percent of the way through a video; 5 places you at the midway point...you get the idea.
Fullscreen
Hit the F key to go fullscreen and Esc to exit out.
Restart video
Hit 0 (zero) to restart your video. On a Windows keyboard, you can also use the Home key.
Super slow-mo
With a video paused, hit the period key to move forward one frame at a time. Hit comma to move back a frame.
Turn it up
Or down. Use the up and down arrows to adjust the volume. The M key mutes the sound.
C for closed captioning
Hit the C key to turn on closed captioning. You can use the plus and minus keys change the font size.
Channels in the Digital Network
Report abuse