Can YouTube InVideo Programming Increase Subscribers? Early Signs Point to Yes!

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YouTube's Invideo Programming is a relatively new feature that allows users to overlay a linked 'watermark' on their videos. When clicked by a viewer, it takes them to the video maker's channel page. The idea is that Invideo Programming will help to drive more subscribers and views, and keep people engaged with your content. By default, the watermarked image is your account's avatar, but crucially YouTube allows you to switch this out with any image you want.

As the screengrabs from my subscriber statistics show, in the full 7 days before Invideo Programming was added to my content (November 22 to November 29, 2012), I gained a net total of 10 new subscribers. In the week after Invideo Programming was added (November 30 to December 7, 2012), the net total gain in subscribers had risen to 23 - more than double the week before!

Admittedly, this is early days and there are a variety of factors that could have influenced a rise or gain in subscribers (new videos posted during the period I measured, old videos promoting new subscribers, luck, etc.), but the initial signs are very promising. I'll return to this topic again when I have a month to measure either side of adding InVideo Programming to see if the benefits hold up.

Have you added Invideo Programming to your YouTube videos? Have they made a difference to your subscribers or views?

Andrew Macarthy is author of 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, the #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller:

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New YouTube Layout Guide December 2012 | Overview For Marketers

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Last night, YouTube rolled out the newest version of its site, with a new emphasis on Channels, and the aim to provide content creators with a site that drives more views and a loyal subscriber base to them.

There are three significant changes to the site, which are:

The Guide Bar
Visible on the left-hand side of every YouTube page is the Guide Bar, which gives viewers access to all of their subscriptions, as well as more content from the Channel they are currently visiting.

The Video Page and Avatars
On every video page, the video title and Subscribe button now sits below the player (instead of above it), in order to give the content centre stage. Comments are now accompanied by your Channel avatar, and this avatar is displayed in several more places across the site, including in your Feed and search results.

Playlists
The Playlist feature on YouTube has been given an overhaul. Now, the list of videos in the playlist is positioned on the right-hand side of the player instead of below it. This makes navigating the content of a playlist much easier, and will hopefully keep viewers more engaged with any given channel's content.

Do you like the new YouTube layout? How do you think it will benefit you as a YouTube content creator? Let me know in the comments below.

Andrew Macarthy is author of 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, the #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller:

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
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http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips
www.andrewmacarthy.com

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YouTube Invideo Programming Trick To Get More Views & Subscribers | Invideo Programming Tips Hack

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Invideo programming is a fantastic new feature on YouTube, part of which allows content creators to watermark their videos with a clickable image that links through to their Channel page. While the default image is your account's profile image, this can be customised to display anything you like.

In this video tutorial, I show how editing your invideo watermark to become a clickable call to action can help drive more subscribers and traffic to your YouTube videos.

5 Reasons Your Facebook Business Page Sucks

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Everyone knows how much of an asset a well built and effectively run Facebook Page can be to a business. All the big brands are on board and you might even have sneaked a look at your competitors, only to come away with a feeling of envy at their apparent success, and asking yourself What are they doing that I'm not?  Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference, so take a look at the following list of 5 Reasons Your Facebook Business Page Sucks and see if any of them ring true for you...

1. Poor Cover And Profile Photo

A cover photo and profile photo is the first thing that people see when they visit your Facebook Page, so it should they should be high quality, impactful, and tell customers who you are and what you do. In the above example, the cover photo is drab and uninspiring, and the dimensions of the profile photo are incorrect, so it does not display well. Make first impressions count.

2. Unfinished About Section

Don't forget to fill out the About section of your Facebook Page in full. Here, you can give customers a brief, written insight into who you are and what you do. Perhaps give a little history of the company, who you are, and what you offer - really sell the quality of your product or service. By leaving the space blank as in the above example from Cardiff Reptile Centre, visitors will be given the impression that they could not be bothered to fill this information in. And if they can't be bothered to do that, how does that make us feel about the rest of their business? They could be the best reptile centre in Wales, but first impressions don't leave us with that idea.

3. Automated Or Lazy Status Updates

Nothing kills enthusiasm and engagement on a Facebook Page than automated posts or pasted links as in the case of Silvercreek Finance Corp. above. Sharing stuff that your fans are interested in is great, but with no accompanying comment or images to encourage interaction, fans will very quickly turn away. 

4. Constant Self Promotion

As much as it pains marketers to admit the realisation, people do not visit Facebook (or any other social network for that matter) to be sold to. In addition, chances are that when someone likes your page, they are unlikely to re-visit it unless it appears in their news feed. That said, the last thing you want to do is put them off right away by blowing your own trumpet at every opportunity, or begging for likes and shares - sorry Wharfside Car Wash & Valet Services LTD. The moment a person visits your page to like it is the prime opportunity you have of keeping them loyal and engaged - that means posting content that is insightful, helpful, and entertaining, with the ocassional promotional post peppered into the mix.

5. Not Posting Regularly (Or At All)

If not having a Facebook Page when it could be a real benefit to your business is one of the biggest social media marketing sins, then creating one only to ignore it for weeks and months on end is perhaps the next worst thing. I once read that if you are not regularly updating a social media profile, then you are better off deleting it. A Facebook Page that hasn't updated in 6 months is like the modern day version of a shop with dusty stock and cobwebs in the windows - it does not give visitors confidence that you are active and thriving, or at least giving it a good go.

Conclusion

As you can see, simple changes to your Facebook Page can make a big difference to how customers will perceive and interact with it. The examples above were discovered with random Facebook search, and were by no means deliberately singled out for criticism.

Want More Help?

500 Social Media Marketing Tips is your guide to social media for business, covering all of the web's biggest players, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and many more! This book provides simply-written expert tips, sharing secrets about how to build your brand in social media spaces, attract and engage with customers, increase sales, and generally maintain an awesome social media strategy.

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33 Social Media Video Tutorials [INFOGRAPHIC]

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As you may know, I post up regular social media video tutorials over on my YouTube channel, covering tips and tricks for all the major social networks. Since been given the ability to create custom thumbnails, I've added them to every new video (and some of the most popular old ones). In my quest to re-purpose social media content in as many ways as possible, it struck me that the thumbnails looked quite infographic-y all together on my YouTube Channel page, so I stitched some of them together (and muddled the order a tad in places) to create what you see below. What do you think?

Don't forget to head over to my YouTube channel and subscribe for lots more social media marketing tutorials in the future.