How to Create a YouTube Channel: A Guide to Getting Started

If you are looking for new tools to market your business, YouTube can help. Here is everything you need to know about getting started creating a YouTube channel.

Every single month, more than 2.5 billion people from all across the globe watch at least one YouTube video. But somewhat amazingly, less than 10% of American small businesses take advantage of this by creating YouTube videos.

If your small business isn't marketing with YouTube yet, it’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon. Your company might be passing up on a big marketing opportunity by not putting up regular YouTube posts.

YouTube allows companies to provide unique content for their customers and to improve brand recognition for potential customers.

If creating a YouTube channel from scratch sounds intimidating, we've put together a guide filled with the latest YouTube channel details to get your channel off to the right start. Check it out below.

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Start by Creating a Google Account If You Don't Have One Already

YouTube is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet. The company bought YouTube back in 2006 for $1.65 billion.

With this in mind, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise to hear that you're going to need to have a Google account to create a YouTube channel. So if you don't have one already, step one is creating an account before you set up your channel.

It should only take a few minutes at most to create a Google account. From there, you'll be able to sign into the YouTube platform so that you can begin creating a channel for your small business.

Visit YouTube and Sign In Using Your Google Account

Once you have a Google account, you can head over to YouTube's main website to start building your channel. When you get there, you should look for the "Sign In" button that will appear in the top right corner.

Click on that button and it'll ask you to provide details for the Google account that you would like to use to create a YouTube channel. The fact that you already have a Google account will make the YouTube process so much simpler than it would be otherwise.

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Take a Trip to "Settings" for Your YouTube Account

After you've signed into YouTube using your Google account, a profile icon for your account will appear in the top right corner. You should click on that icon and then select "Settings" to create a YouTube channel.

You will be able to choose to create either a personal YouTube channel or a YouTube channel for a business. In this case, you'll want to go ahead and create a YouTube channel for your small business.

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Come Up With a Great Name for Your YouTube Channel

Just before you're able to create a YouTube channel for your small business, YouTube will ask you to create a name for it. It's going to be very important for you to create the right name for your YouTube channel so that people are able to find it and know what your small business is all about. In most cases, we recommend naming the channel the same as your business so it’s easily identifiable.

If your small business currently has a very generic name that is going to blend into the crowd on YouTube, you might want to do what you can to make it stand out. Adding something like your city to it can make it more unique and ensure that people don't confuse your YouTube channel with another company's channel. Adding your city can also be a plus for SEO if you are a local business.

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Upload a Profile Picture for Your YouTube Channel

Outside of creating the right name for your YouTube channel, you should also upload a profile picture. Oftentimes, small businesses will choose to use their logo or something else that separates their company from the pack.

If you opt not to upload a profile picture, your YouTube channel is inevitably going to get lost in the crowd. People might also get the impression that you haven't added anything to your channel yet when it doesn't have a profile picture.

Write a Description for Your YouTube Channel

YouTube will give you the opportunity to write a description for your channel when you get to this point. This description can be up to 1,000 characters.

You should take full advantage of this by creating a description that breaks down what your channel is all about. It'll be your chance to grab people's attention by letting them know who your company is and what it brings to the table.

It'll also be your chance to get the attention of the different search engines that are out there. So it would be worth incorporating some keywords related to your industry into your description. It would be worth sticking a call to action into the description as well.

The first 100 to 150 words of your YouTube channel description will be especially important since the rest of it might get truncated by the search engines. Make sure you focus on making the most of that particular part of your description.

Create a Banner for Your YouTube Channel

You'll need to use more than just words to capture the attention of those who might come across your channel. You'll also need to stick a great banner at the top.

Ideally, you should rely on a graphic designer to create the perfect banner. YouTube recommends making banners that are 2560 x 1440 pixel images to ensure that they fit.

You should also keep in mind that certain parts of your banner might get cut off when the viewer is on a different device. So you should try to put your company's name, logo, etc. in places where it'll be visible on different devices.

Add Links to Your Website, Social Media Profiles, Etc.

You obviously don't want to send people away from your YouTube channel before they've had a chance to check it out. But if they are going to leave it, you want them to leave because they're visiting one of your other sites.

YouTube provides channel owners with the opportunity to add up to five links on their channels. To do this, all you'll need to do is:

Look for the "Customize Channel" button on your YouTube channel's homepage and click on it
Click on the gear icon that will show up somewhere in the top right-hand corner
Find the "Customize the layout of your channel" toggle and turn it on
Return to your YouTube channel's homepage and look for the "Edit Links" option and click on it
Go to the "About" section and add the links that you would like to appear on your YouTube channel.

The first link that you put in should be the one you want people to click on the most. It's going to be featured more prominently than the others, so you'll typically want to make it the homepage for your business website.

You can also add links to your various social media profiles and any other sites that are connected to your small business.

Put Together a Trailer for Your YouTube Channel

In a perfect world, you want to give those who visit your small business' YouTube channel a clear idea of what they can expect from it. What better way to do that than by creating a trailer for your channel? This is a great place for a brand story. If you don't have a brand story, Contact us. Lucie content can help.

This trailer should provide people with a taste of what your YouTube channel or business is going to offer them. It should entice them to want to watch all the other videos that you have on your channel.

Begin Creating Content for Your YouTube Channel and Update It Often

At this point, it's time to begin creating video content for your YouTube channel. Wether you're managing your companies credibility, looking for sales, or telling a brand story, Lucie Content is here for all of your content needs. High quality video and storytelling are the building blocks of successful messaging online. Let Lucie Content help you navigate telling your story today so you can avoid someone telling the wrong story tomorrow.

Want to get help with your content creation efforts? We've helped some of the largest companies around tell their stories. Contact us to see what we can do for you.

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