Since it first launched in February of 2005, YouTube has evolved into becoming a platform that neither users nor content creators can ignore. People upload 3.7m videos to this platform on a daily basis, and it has positioned itself as the second-largest search engine on the internet world. It is not rare to say things like “you can learn anything on YouTube” because, nowadays, it totally looks like that.
However, Youtube being a popular platform doesn’t mean that it is an easy road to brand success. Sharing a video on a platform full of content means one thing: you need to make a real effort to stand out by providing original high-quality content. In this article, we will talk about what you need to consider in order to fix your video quality on YouTube. Be ready to take some notes, because this will get interesting.
What makes a good video?
YouTube was first released as a tool for online dating, where people would be able to share videos talking about themselves in order to connect with each other. Even when the dating aspect of it got lost along the way, it is curious to think that something about that idea is still there: the potential to connect with others just by talking to a camera.
How To Fix And Improve Your Video Quality On YouTube
Quality long-form video content implies a lot of different factors, starting with all the basic aspects related to image and audio resolution to more structural and creative details that make it pleasant to watch.
High resolution
If you want to create a valuable video, you will need to learn how to use an editing software in order to adjust lighting, contrast, and enhance the quality of your video to make sure that it doesn’t look blurry. There are many different softwares in the market, some of them are on the professional side of it (Adobe premier) and others can be used even as a beginner (moovly).
Engaging nature
After taking care of the basics, it is time to make your long and ad hoc boring content worth users’ time. In an era where short content is king, creating long videos requires great use of human stimulation. Keeping your users happy after minute 5 of you talking to a camera is like trying to keep a dog engaged with your presence in a dog park: you need to keep finding ways to be interesting and captivating.
Adding visual elements, including transitions that keep ‘ eyes entertained, working on a conversational script that makes your audience feel part of the narrative: all these aspects are also part of what quality means for long videos that are trying to generate an impact without losing their core structure. You need to make sure that people won’t feel drained after a few minutes of you talking to the camera, and the only way to do this is to provide stimulation that emulates what we are used to seeing in the content that fills our day-to-day life.
Once you have a well-recorded piece of content that is both engaging and interesting, most of the work is done.
However, quality content is not only about how your video looks and how others can perceive it, but also about what you want to communicate. In a world where a ridiculous amount of data is shared daily, creating quality pieces of content can’t be about saying what has been said over and over again. If you make the most entertaining, high-resolution video talking about obvious conclusions that everyone is tired of, then the quality of your content will be just superficial. Find reliable sources, share numbers and always try to come up with new perspectives to talk about those topics that have been talked about so much it seems there’s nothing left to say.
All these factors combined will determine if a video provides value in a way that users can enjoy and perceive as professional work. Now, let’s see how you can improve your content quality with some easily actionable steps.
Some quick tips to improve your quality on Youtube
Create a dedicated space for your filming time
Personally, I love having a dedicated space where I can display all my creativity. It is not a whole room dedicated to my writing time, but rather just a small corner where I have all my tools and I can sit down to change into working mood.
Filming, as it is a highly creative act that requires concentration, can benefit from this habit. Find a space in your house that you can be comfortable in, and make it your filming corner. This can be a great way to maintain brand consistency as time goes by, but also a nice resource to avoid procrastination. We all aim to work smarter rather than harder, and avoiding a constant debate on where to film your next video definitely counts as smart work.
Use a clean background and take advantage of the light
How to please users’ eyes? Well, there are a lot of things you need to take care of, but let’s reduce it to two basics: clean background and great light. Having a messy background on your video is not professional at all, and can distract your audience from the main focus of the content. A plain colored wall with some decoration is a great option to make sure that your background is always clean, or you can always create your own branded background and place it behind you. If you prefer something more natural, like a clear vision of your living room, make sure that the space that appears on camera is as tidy as possible.
Natural light makes everything better, so you must take advantage of daylight when deciding to film your content. Choose a spot that is near a window and evaluate when you should record in order to get the best results. If you can’t get the results you want with just natural light, implement different resources like a ring light or even a lamp. Getting creative always pays off.
Write a script and plan your video structure
Structure seems like a boring term, but it is necessary when we talk about quality content. Your video needs to be structured in a way that aims to keep users engage as time goes by, and this requires work that needs to be done before you hit the record button.
Set the different stages of your video and explain what elements you will include in each of them (images, animations, music), and then incorporate a clear script of what you want to say in each stage. Having this guide is a great way to avoid repetitive elements in the video while also helping you sound more confident and reliable.
Quality content is great, but worthless if no one takes the chance to check it, right? This is why Thumbnails need to be a key step in your video content strategy.
These images that appear when you scroll down a list of different video options are what grab people’s attention while giving them a reason to click the play option. If you want to make the most out of thumbnails, make sure to include all the keywords your audience would instantly focus on, a strong image that stands out from the crowd, and a quick summary of the value that video provides. This is your time to make any youtube user think “that video seems like what I’m looking for” without even hesitating.
Creating quality content requires a lot of work, but this is not an excuse to never publish anything. Some influencers stay trapped in that perfectionism circle where they always find something new to add, change or delete, but this only makes you lose time. If you have done your best to give your content the quality it deserves, hit the publish button before you can think about unnecessary changes to make. Trust me, you will thank me later.
David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.
Since it first launched in February of 2005, YouTube has evolved into becoming a platform that neither users nor content creators can ignore. People upload 3.7m videos to this platform on a daily basis, and it has positioned itself as the second-largest search engine on the internet world. It is not rare to say things like “you can learn anything on YouTube” because, nowadays, it totally looks like that.
However, Youtube being a popular platform doesn’t mean that it is an easy road to brand success. Sharing a video on a platform full of content means one thing: you need to make a real effort to stand out by providing original high-quality content. In this article, we will talk about what you need to consider in order to fix your video quality on YouTube. Be ready to take some notes, because this will get interesting.
What makes a good video?
YouTube was first released as a tool for online dating, where people would be able to share videos talking about themselves in order to connect with each other. Even when the dating aspect of it got lost along the way, it is curious to think that something about that idea is still there: the potential to connect with others just by talking to a camera.
[Unsplash]
How To Fix And Improve Your Video Quality On YouTube
Quality long-form video content implies a lot of different factors, starting with all the basic aspects related to image and audio resolution to more structural and creative details that make it pleasant to watch.
High resolution
If you want to create a valuable video, you will need to learn how to use an editing software in order to adjust lighting, contrast, and enhance the quality of your video to make sure that it doesn’t look blurry. There are many different softwares in the market, some of them are on the professional side of it (Adobe premier) and others can be used even as a beginner (moovly).
Engaging nature
After taking care of the basics, it is time to make your long and ad hoc boring content worth users’ time. In an era where short content is king, creating long videos requires great use of human stimulation. Keeping your users happy after minute 5 of you talking to a camera is like trying to keep a dog engaged with your presence in a dog park: you need to keep finding ways to be interesting and captivating.
Adding visual elements, including transitions that keep ‘ eyes entertained, working on a conversational script that makes your audience feel part of the narrative: all these aspects are also part of what quality means for long videos that are trying to generate an impact without losing their core structure. You need to make sure that people won’t feel drained after a few minutes of you talking to the camera, and the only way to do this is to provide stimulation that emulates what we are used to seeing in the content that fills our day-to-day life.
[Unsplash]
Valuable information
Once you have a well-recorded piece of content that is both engaging and interesting, most of the work is done.
However, quality content is not only about how your video looks and how others can perceive it, but also about what you want to communicate. In a world where a ridiculous amount of data is shared daily, creating quality pieces of content can’t be about saying what has been said over and over again. If you make the most entertaining, high-resolution video talking about obvious conclusions that everyone is tired of, then the quality of your content will be just superficial. Find reliable sources, share numbers and always try to come up with new perspectives to talk about those topics that have been talked about so much it seems there’s nothing left to say.
All these factors combined will determine if a video provides value in a way that users can enjoy and perceive as professional work. Now, let’s see how you can improve your content quality with some easily actionable steps.
Some quick tips to improve your quality on Youtube
Personally, I love having a dedicated space where I can display all my creativity. It is not a whole room dedicated to my writing time, but rather just a small corner where I have all my tools and I can sit down to change into working mood.
Filming, as it is a highly creative act that requires concentration, can benefit from this habit. Find a space in your house that you can be comfortable in, and make it your filming corner. This can be a great way to maintain brand consistency as time goes by, but also a nice resource to avoid procrastination. We all aim to work smarter rather than harder, and avoiding a constant debate on where to film your next video definitely counts as smart work.
How to please users’ eyes? Well, there are a lot of things you need to take care of, but let’s reduce it to two basics: clean background and great light. Having a messy background on your video is not professional at all, and can distract your audience from the main focus of the content. A plain colored wall with some decoration is a great option to make sure that your background is always clean, or you can always create your own branded background and place it behind you. If you prefer something more natural, like a clear vision of your living room, make sure that the space that appears on camera is as tidy as possible.
[Unsplash]
Natural light makes everything better, so you must take advantage of daylight when deciding to film your content. Choose a spot that is near a window and evaluate when you should record in order to get the best results. If you can’t get the results you want with just natural light, implement different resources like a ring light or even a lamp. Getting creative always pays off.
Structure seems like a boring term, but it is necessary when we talk about quality content. Your video needs to be structured in a way that aims to keep users engage as time goes by, and this requires work that needs to be done before you hit the record button.
Set the different stages of your video and explain what elements you will include in each of them (images, animations, music), and then incorporate a clear script of what you want to say in each stage. Having this guide is a great way to avoid repetitive elements in the video while also helping you sound more confident and reliable.
Quality content is great, but worthless if no one takes the chance to check it, right? This is why Thumbnails need to be a key step in your video content strategy.
These images that appear when you scroll down a list of different video options are what grab people’s attention while giving them a reason to click the play option. If you want to make the most out of thumbnails, make sure to include all the keywords your audience would instantly focus on, a strong image that stands out from the crowd, and a quick summary of the value that video provides. This is your time to make any youtube user think “that video seems like what I’m looking for” without even hesitating.
[Unsplash]
Bonus tip: don’t overthink it
Creating quality content requires a lot of work, but this is not an excuse to never publish anything. Some influencers stay trapped in that perfectionism circle where they always find something new to add, change or delete, but this only makes you lose time. If you have done your best to give your content the quality it deserves, hit the publish button before you can think about unnecessary changes to make. Trust me, you will thank me later.