YouTube is the second-largest search engine behind Google with over 2 billion monthly users from more than 100 countries.

In fact, according to Hootsuite, YouTube is the second most-preferred platform for watching videos on TV for 18-34-year-olds. Therefore, if your brand targets this age group, you can especially benefit from publishing videos on this social media network.

That said, first, you need to learn how to make a YouTube promo video maker app that will build awareness, win subscribers, and grow your business.

1. Decide on Your YouTube Video Type

Video content is set to make up 82% of all internet traffic by the end of 2021, according to Cisco. This means that it’s more important than ever to produce well-thought-out content that will add value in an overcrowded marketplace.

There are currently five most popular types of YouTube videos.

• Tutorials and Guides: These videos are great for helping your target audience with a specific problem and showing them the solution, thus building trust (i.e. “How to Find Clothes for Your Curvy Figure”).
• Vlogs and Behind-the-Scenes: These videos focus on authenticity. They are designed to be shot organically to offer sneak-peeks into your brand (i.e. “A Day in the Life of Company X”).
• Storytelling: Short films are often shown on YouTube to entertain and engage new audiences (i.e. a comedy sketch or animated cartoon).
• Collaborations, Interviews, and Testimonials: These types of videos involve producing content in collaboration with industry leaders, brand partners, staff members or customers to inject new life into your channel and boost your metrics.
• Product Showcases, Hauls, and Unboxings: These videos are handy for displaying new arrivals, bestsellers, or getting an influencer to review your brand in the hopes that you can leverage their audience.

Then there are YouTube video ads, which consist of:

• Skippable — played before, during, or after the content that becomes skippable after five seconds
• Non-skippable — played before, during, or after the content and users must watch the full 15 seconds
• Mid-roll — played in the middle of content that’s longer than 10 minutes (like TV commercials) and can only be skipped after 30 seconds
• Bumper — played before the content and consists of six seconds that can’t be skipped

To decide on a particular YouTube video idea, consider your marketing objectives. What is it that you’d like to achieve with your content? And how can you achieve this in a way that makes your brand seem desirable?

You could also double-check the “Trending” tab of YouTube to increase the probability of your video going viral based on the present popularity of other videos.

2. Shoot Your YouTube Promo Video

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when you’re producing a YouTube video, mainly:

• Length — the maximum video length is 12 hours but it depends on your video type (i.e. a vlog tends to be ten minutes plus, whereas, a non-skippable ad has to be 15 seconds long)
• Aspect ratio — this must be 16:9 or 4:3 (but the smaller ratio will have pillarbox sides to make it fit)
• File size — the max file size is 128GB or 12 hours (whichever is less)
• Equipment — this might be your phone or a digital camera if you want to elevate your content

How your video will look and feel also depends on your budget. Small business owners with limited funds may not choose to fork out for ads and instead take advantage of content marketing.

Either way, ensure your video has a professional, high-quality aesthetic to effectively represent your brand.

You don’t have to spend a fortune shooting your video. A good social media video creation app, such as Boosted by Lightricks, will offer upscale templates that you can use to piece together your content using your own footage or their stock imagery. Needless to say, this can speed up and ease the process.

3. Make the Necessary Edits

Lastly, it’s fair to say that every type of YouTube video typically undergoes at least some edits. After all, the platform is more polished than, say, Tik Tok or Instagram Live.

To be specific, think about:

• Text and/or subtitles
• Animation and effects
• Your branding in terms of fonts, colors, and URLs
• Music and sound
• Filters

Luckily, there are no rules on YouTube. However, avoid placing visual elements right at the edges of your video frames. Otherwise, they run the risk of being cut off.

The Takeaway

Even with the rising popularity of Tik Tok and Instagram Reels, YouTube videos show no sign of going out of style.

There are lots of different types you could create. Just use the process of trial and error to work out which types are received best by your target audience (and provide you with the views, subscribers, and website clicks to prove it!).