Rene’s Top Five on YouTube: September 7, 2023 Edition
Sep 07, 2023 – [[read-time]] minute read
September! Techtember to some, Tubetember to me, and the pumpkin’ spice of back-to-school months for pretty much everyone else. I’m Rene Ritchie, your friendly neighborhood YouTube Liaison, and when I’m not helping our product and policy teams better understand creators or creators achieve better success on YouTube, I’m scouring the internet to bring you all the biggest and most impactful stories for the week!
🙋 We’re kicking off Season 2 of #CreatorAdvice, where some of the smartest and most strategic minds on the platform share their top tips for better contenting. And who better to get us started than the OG of the OG, iJustine, who shares her biggest pet peeve when it comes to video editing! We’ve got Soldier Knows Best, Gerald Undone, Jenna, and more on deck, so catch up on #CreatorAdvice Season 1 while you still can!
🎛️ YouTube just announced an important update to ads for creators. Rolling out in November, ad controls are going to be simplified, meaning you can turn ads on or off. If you turn them on, you’ll get pre-roll and post-roll ads that can be either skippable or non-skippable. 90% of creators already had their ads set up this way, but for newly monetized creators this change should make getting started super straightforward. If you turn ads on, you’ll also be able to turn mid-rolls on or off. That part isn’t changing and remains totally up to you! But, in addition to fully manual or fully automatic mid-roll slot setup, creators can now choose… both! Set up the key slots exactly where you really want them, then let YouTube pick the rest. Go read the forum post for details!
⚡️ There are also new ad options for Live! Streamers can set up intervals for mid-roll ads, like every 8 or 12 minutes. When a mid-roll is coming up, Live Control Room will show a 60 second count-down and if you decide you don’t want an ad right there or then, you can hit the skip button. You can even choose to prevent ads for a 10-minute stretch — you know, if you’re about ready to get your rant on! — or insert a previously skipped ad if you just need a coffee or bio break. Display ads will also let you overlay chat with an ad. It won’t interrupt anyone actively typing or fan funding, and viewers can X-out of it at any time. Otherwise, after 15-seconds, it’ll just see itself out. Ultimately, more options for more streamers is more better. For even more, check out Creator Insider!
📊 Related Video Links are here, and with them are Related Video Link Analytics! (What, you thought we’d make you spelunk down traffic sources to try to figure out which Shorts were the most effective in pulling views for your other videos?! Never!) Related Video Links is a new, top-level line item in Analytics and you’ll find it listed right along Browse, Search, and other fine traffic sources near you. Just remember, people get comfortable with the format they’re in, so if you really want to move someone from Shorts to long-form, you’re going to have to make one super compelling call-to-action and make sure you over-deliver on value once they tap through.
⛰️ Last week, I got to spend a day with over 400 camera, tech, film, travel, and lifestyle creators in Utah and conduct three live Q&A sessions with them on how the YouTube algorithm actually works. I all-caps LOVE meeting creators like this, because we’re the opposite of a monoculture — we all have very different goals, opinions, and needs. Hearing new and different questions helps inform everything I work on for YouTube social and video, where we can reach way, way more creators with videos like Shorts Algorithm Explained or the Long-Form Algorithm Explained. Give them a watch, and get with the contenting!