Did you know that YouTube tries really hard to be a social network? Most of the time people think of Facebook when they consider what a social network is, but YouTube has almost all of the same features plus other features that no social network has. First, what makes YouTube a social network? Here’s some of the social features YouTube offers:
• Comments – viewers can comment on specific videos or on a person’s YouTube channel. This encourages interaction with others which helps keep people on YouTube longer. It also creates dialog with other viewers which in turn helps increase views. There’s also an option to vote on the best comments.
• Sharing – giving viewers the chance to share their favorite videos helps increase view count and keep dialogue and interaction going.
• Bulletin Posts – you may post anything you want on your channel as a bulletin. Your subscribers will be alerted on YouTube and in their emails. Then, they’ll be able to read your bulletins. This is very similar to Facebook status updates. However, don’t go crazy with bulletins. If you send out too many, your subscribers may feel you are spamming them.
• Messaging – you can send a private message to any YouTube user.
• Voting – viewers can vote on other viewers comments as well as voting on specific videos.
• Favoring – you can favorite a video that you like – whether it’s your own or not. Your friends will be able to see what videos you’ve favorited. This can help increase views.
So what are some of the extra features that YouTube has?
• Video responses – viewers may respond to your video with a video of their own. These are called video responses.
• Insight – YouTube’s Insight allows you to get some information on your viewers such as age, gender, location, and when they stopped watching your video.
• YouTube power – YouTube is now the second largest search engine right behind Google. Isn’t that crazy that a video sharing site is now considered a very large search engine? This means videos are showing up in search results on Google. The number of videos on a particular keyword compared to articles on the same keyword is noticeable. The lower amount of videos means you have a better chance of showing up on the first page.
There are many more reasons why YouTube is a social networking site. That’s not important. What is important is whether or not you are using YouTube as the massive marketing tool it is. Are you?
Social Networking on YouTube
By Marc BullardDid you know that YouTube tries really hard to be a social network? Most of the time people think of Facebook when they consider what a social network is, but YouTube has almost all of the same features plus other features that no social network has. First, what makes YouTube a social network? Here’s some of the social features YouTube offers:
• Comments – viewers can comment on specific videos or on a person’s YouTube channel. This encourages interaction with others which helps keep people on YouTube longer. It also creates dialog with other viewers which in turn helps increase views. There’s also an option to vote on the best comments.
• Sharing – giving viewers the chance to share their favorite videos helps increase view count and keep dialogue and interaction going.
• Bulletin Posts – you may post anything you want on your channel as a bulletin. Your subscribers will be alerted on YouTube and in their emails. Then, they’ll be able to read your bulletins. This is very similar to Facebook status updates. However, don’t go crazy with bulletins. If you send out too many, your subscribers may feel you are spamming them.
• Messaging – you can send a private message to any YouTube user.
• Voting – viewers can vote on other viewers comments as well as voting on specific videos.
• Favoring – you can favorite a video that you like – whether it’s your own or not. Your friends will be able to see what videos you’ve favorited. This can help increase views.
So what are some of the extra features that YouTube has?
• Video responses – viewers may respond to your video with a video of their own. These are called video responses.
• Insight – YouTube’s Insight allows you to get some information on your viewers such as age, gender, location, and when they stopped watching your video.
• YouTube power – YouTube is now the second largest search engine right behind Google. Isn’t that crazy that a video sharing site is now considered a very large search engine? This means videos are showing up in search results on Google. The number of videos on a particular keyword compared to articles on the same keyword is noticeable. The lower amount of videos means you have a better chance of showing up on the first page.
There are many more reasons why YouTube is a social networking site. That’s not important. What is important is whether or not you are using YouTube as the massive marketing tool it is. Are you?
About The Author
Marc Bullard is a video editor, YouTube marketer, online business owner, and author. In his spare time he's out surfing or chasing his hyperactive 2 year old. Follow Marc's posts on Google+