5 tips for starting a YouTube channel

Anyone can start their own YouTube channel these days. In this digital age, video content is ubiquitous. Here are five tips for starting a YouTube channel.

Set up your YouTube account

If you are starting out as a YouTuber, you need to set up your YouTube account. Create your account, and fill out the details carefully. Add details to the "About" section, and try to include what your channel is about. Link your other social media accounts. You can customise with a profile photo and cover banner. The YouTube channel name is important as it becomes your brand later on.

Find your audience and niche

You need to find your own niche audience with your video content. With millions of videos out every day, you need to create your own niche of videos that sets you apart. The best way to increase views and follower count is engaging your audience. When you attract a certain niche, you'll have a stable views and followers count.

Create a strategy for growth

You can build a solid online presence and brand identity around your YouTube channel. For that, you need to put effort into increasing your subscriber and view count. A Growth strategy like planning your content and deciding on one content category like: Travel, Cooking, Lifestyle, Tutorials etc. Connect with your audience and go the extra mile by giving them updates about your life on other social media platforms. Finally, keep your content engaging, and fresh. You need to keep an eye out for the latest video trends and make videos accordingly.

Pick your editing tools and equipment

The beauty of technology is that you can do anything on your mobile phone these days. If you don't have a camera, you can use your phone's camera. Although you'll be compromising on the video quality here. It's recommended that you invest in a reasonably priced good camera if you want to be a content maker in the long run. You don't need fancy expensive equipment starting out.

The most crucial aspect of videos is how you edit them. Turn simple footage into something gorgeous with editing. Learn how video editing softwares work. Windows Video Maker and Apple iMovie are built in video editing softwares on IOS and Windows. The more advanced tools are Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Learn analytics and SEO

Learning analytics and SEO is one of the most important skills for the digital age, not just for your YouTube channel but across all social media platforms. Learn how analytics and SEO work, so that your videos get more visibility on search engines with one search. With analytics, you can understand how trends work, and get an idea about your audience's preferences to create content accordingly.

The author is a freelance journalist.