Google has been on a tear recently, revamping, redesigning, and re-launching a number of widely known, loved, and used user interfaces on the web, namely, Google Reader, Gmail and now, YouTube. The former two had little impact on brands, but the latter may come with challenges to companies who have, or are in the process of establishing a branded presence on YouTube. As with anything, it will take some time and experimentation to get used to. Here is a guide to help ease the redesign of your branded YouTube channel. It is important to note that this appears to be an open beta redesign, so early adopters, this one’s for you!
If you don’t like it, don’t change it… yet
All good interface redesigns know that not everyone will be comfortable with the changes instantly. Therefore, if you don’t like the new interface, don’t upgrade your channel to the new UI. If you already upgraded your channel, YouTube currently allows you to switch back to the old design. If you have time and money invested in your old design, by all means, leave it the way it is for now. The transition period may come with plenty of bugs and tweaks, so if you are feint of funds, it may be wise to let others lead the way until you feel comfortable upgrading and redesigning.
Three tabs, four new channel layouts
Google’s redesign has come with a unified look and feel; the boxy grey/black interface redesign has now hit YouTube. The upside of this is less clutter, and a prominent play on connectivity with social, subscriptions, and suggestions in the newly implemented homepage left-hand navigation bar. But where this redesign seems to focus is on your channel page. Each channel now has three main tabs, the “Featured” tab, which contains what’s being showcased by your channel, the “Feed” tab, which has all channel activity and comments, and the “Videos” tab which cuts to the chase and chronologically displays all video uploads by the channel. More tabs may be added over time to increase the feature set of a channel, allowing YouTube’s functionality to scale brilliantly. Channels will default to the “Featured” tab when your channel loads, but the default can be changed through settings, depending on which tab is most important to your audience. Here are the four types of “featured” tab:
1. Creators layout for multiple playlists
The Creator layout is the first option for the featured tab. This layout is designed for artists, animators, videographers, and anyone seeking to create a video portfolio with one large featured video and a number of featured playlists, presumably related to different projects you have worked on. If you find your channel has multiple audiences who only want to watch a sub-set of the many videos you create, a Creator channel may be for you.
2. Blogger layout for frequent, timely updates
The blogger layout is the second option for the featured tab. This layout is designed for anyone who has a video channel dedicated to consistently blogging/vlogging on one particular subject of interest. With a reverse chronological list of videos, your audience should be visiting several times per week to watch the latest episode you have uploaded.
3. Network layout for those without videos
The network layout is the third option for the featured tab. This layout is designed for parent channels which are related to several other YouTube channels which may include personalities, sub-brands, and anyone else who creates similar videos whom you are trying to link to in order to promote the video content they are creating. This is a new concept for YouTube, because it justifies a channel which is more interested in networking to other channels rather than creating and serving their own video content. This is the most progressive option available for brands, because it allows individual vloggers/employees to carry their own accounts while uploading content that is being shared through the parent (brand) account.
4. Everything layout reminds me of a bagel, has all the toppings
The “everything” layout is the final option for the featured tab. This is the closest thing there is to the old channel layout, as it mashes a bunch of content on the same page. For anyone who doesn’t fit the description of the other three layouts, this seems like the best place to start. By combining the UI bits of the previous 3 channel layouts you give your audience a balanced profile to view.
Background image, channel colors, and other design elements
For anyone who found joy uploading background images, adjusting font colors and the opacity of containers in an effort to fully brand your channel, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. YouTube’s redesign in many ways has killed the creative effort of channel design in favor of a more homogenous design layout which takes away many of the controls channel designers were accustom to. In terms of design, the YouTube bar at the top remains untouchable, but now, so does the first 970 (wide) pixels which make up the body of the channel. It would seem like background images are almost discouraged at this point, as even with a 1024 wide browser window, you only have 27 pixel columns on either side to work with. It is important to note that partner and brand channels that come with a header may be the only ones left to benefit from a background image.
Playlists redesigned for auto-play enjoyment
Playlists are an often overlooked aspect of YouTube which has undergone a design tweak to make it more visual and more prominent. Well built playlists offer viewers with an easy way to lean back, and enjoy the show. As YouTube earns hours of views per week per person, it becomes increasingly necessary to streamline the viewing experience. The new playlist option within the featured tab does this remarkably well, and lends itself to the uninterrupted auto-playing of episodic content. Remember; always arrange your playlist like a story, starting at the beginning. If you haven’t published a playlist, go make one!
YouTube Analytics replaces insights
For those wondering how to do better on YouTube, there was insights. Now, there is YouTube Analytics. The new measurement tool looks more like Google Analytics, and gives users an intuitive interface to track performance, engagement, demographics, along with your top viewed videos. Within no time you should be able to identify what videos, topics, and keywords are making your channel popular, and offer a real-time look into your efforts.
What it all comes down to
Besides the notion that everything’s going to be fine, I would like to stress that the redesign focuses the user’s attention on watching more videos more often, which is exactly what makes YouTube tick. So keep uploading those videos, adjust your channel layout to best suit your purpose, and remain active and attentive during this transition period. If you would like to chat about YouTube, branded channels, or how these changes might affect you, leave a comment and I’ll follow up with you!
That’s true, Greg. The new design of YouTube it makes the channel good looking, it’s really good for someone like you who has a channel. One thing I learned before I became a bestselling author and long before Inc Magazine voted my company as one of the fastest growing companies is all good interface redesigns. Know that not everyone will be comfortable with the changes instantly.