Starting a YouTube channel may appear daunting to some people and easy as chips to others…however many would ask is it worth it, given that there are other social media platforms that are incredibly popular especially amongst the younger generations…such as Instagram, SnapChat and now Tik-Tok.
However, where YouTube shines above all others is that any video on the platform is searchable and its parent company; Google is also the biggest global search engine, whereas other social media content is either not searchable or doesn’t not perform as well.
So that is the biggest WHY YOU SHOULD choose YouTube to start making your videos and sharing them with the world. You can also share them across your social media channels or even create clips from the full length YouTube videos and post them across other social media platforms which can also drive traffic to your YouTube channel or it will help to grow your social media audience who may prefer the clips instead.
OK, so these are the top 5 things you need to do to start a Motorcycle YouTube Channel.
1. Sign up to Google and then sign into Youtube and create a channel. This is a relatively simple process. Then you should upload a photo or graphic for your channel art and icon. This you should consider as your branding, so think wisely but you can also change this at any time in the future. Try to make your channel art/banner work across all platforms and let it describe/explain what your channel is about too. There are many videos on YouTube which will describe how to do this.
2. Start making motorcycle videos! No you don’t need a motorcycle to do this either! There are so many ways to make videos…from motovlogs, motorcycle event vlogs, how to videos, tips and tricks, instructional or just plain fun. However there are also industry news videos and personal journey videos which can also be beneficial too.
Content is king here and when you are first starting out you need to create video content that people would be searching for…and these are usually How To videos. So let’s say you do not have a motorcycle or even a licence but you want to learn. So you first video could be titled: ‘How do I get a motorcycle licence’
This is very searchable and you will have future generations of potential riders who will search that question…so it will be searchable for a long time.
There could be a whole series of videos generated by going on this journey of getting a licence. Then once you have the licence, then as you learn new things, that can be shared and can also be searched for.
If you ever need to buy or fix something, then you can make ‘How To’ on the subject too.
The key here is to keep making searchable video content. Give it a searchable video title with tags that include those and similar searchable words especially used in the video. The same process is for the video description. All of this helps YouTube to identify and catalogue your video and enable it to be best seen when people are searching for that particular topic.
3. Thumbnails are the window dressing and are increasingly important to get people to click to view your video. The better the photo and big bold wording (3-4 max) with a clear and dynamic image…the better it will be for your video and your channel growth.
4. What camera equipment? Well, this depends on whether you are featuring riding footage or not. If not, then you can easily start off with a mobile phone and you can even edit and upload direct to YouTube too. In fact making videos from phones gets great results and is the most efficient way, certainly in the early days too.
If you are wanting to get riding footage or do motovlogs, then you will need an action camera of sorts and an external microphone if you want to talk along too. To start off with it doesn’t need to be the newest and most expensive action camera but it should be decent enough to capture suitable footage in at least 1080 HD.
Search online for used camera but good entry level just above the budget brands, are Drift HD Ghost and GoPro Hero 4. You might think the latest GoPro Hero 8 is the one to go for, however that is a big investment straight away, so start off with some bargain deals for cameras, bike or helmet mounts etc and then build from there as you gain more experience.
5. Remember Content Is KING! The title and thumbnail are really important but the type of content is the key factor here. You must be hyper aware that the content has to deliver what your title has suggested and that it needs a basic story flow of beginning, middle and end.
This has nothing to do with production value or cinematic appearance. Many people believe they have to invest in the most expensive cameras, lighting and microphones. Buy the latest tech or motorcycle to get the best view return, build up subscribers and grow a channel…but actually it has little to do with that but mostly to do with whether the message is clear, concise and delivers what the viewer expects.
So when you’re starting a motorcycle channel, then start off with what you know or talk about the things you want to learn. Each video should have an almost immediate introduction to tell people what the video will be about. The next portion of the video should be about the topic itself and the final phase is a recap and asking for further engagement with the viewer in the form of asking them to subscribe, like, share or better still direct them to watch another one of your videos or playlists.
As you progress with your video production, you will learn more about how YouTube works and how it evolves too. You will learn more about the technical side of motorcycle video production, better sound and lighting…and also develop you own style and confidence in front of the camera too.
Never forget that to build a channel and an audience you really need to specialise in a narrow field first of all, make it as uniquely to you as possible and always make it searchable. Even some of the simplest videos can become your best watched videos if they deliver a simple, clear and concise message.
If you produce a video called: ‘How to Fix a Broken Headlight’, you might get quite a number of views but the search is too broad. However if you change it to: ‘How to fix (insert motorcycle model) Headlight’, then this is much more specific and you will gain an audience of people searching for that particular question of that individual motorcycle.
You video has to say what the video will be about, then discuss or show how to fix the headlight and then recap at the end. Perhaps even add where you got the parts from etc.
Now the video is much more searchable and the video content will deliver regardless of the video quality. To improve your overall channel performance and audience appreciation however, you will nee to be constantly aiming to improve each video quality but especially the sound which can be the biggest downfall of any video.
If you stick to these Top 5 tips when you are first starting a YouTube channel then you will give yourself the best chance of making it grow too and begin the journey to improve in every facet of being a content creator.
For more motorcycle video tips go to YouTube/RevelatorAlf and keep researching and improving with each video as best as possible. Learn to appreciate and enjoy the process of making videos first and foremost and always aim to share, inform or entertain in your videos…and with any fortune your channel will grow faster.
Enjoy.