Brand your channel

Why should you create a brand for your channel? Branding can establish your channel’s identity and attract viewers – and help bring them back for more. It’s a symbol (or set of symbols) designed to convey a consistent message about your channel. Most viewers will be introduced to your channel through a single video that they find in YouTube Search or Suggested videos, or embedded on a site. Use branding to let the audience know, at a glance, that this YouTube content is yours and that they can find more of it on your channel. Read on to learn how to design impactful branding and feature it across YouTube.

• Customise your channel

  On YouTube, you have the opportunity to broadcast yourself – your interests, passions, personality and more. The videos that you produce will, of course, cover these things, and in doing so, you can create a 'brand' for your channel that your audience will recognise.

  Your channel brand is the set of unique characteristics that separates your channel from the rest and communicates your key messages and content strategy.

  It's a good idea to make your branding:

  • Clear and representative so that people who find your channel will instantly understand what your videos are all about.
  • As simple as possible. Think of the logos or branding of products that you like – they're probably a singular image that sticks in your brain.
  • Something that you're proud of. Remember – your channel branding will become an extension of you, especially if you star in your channel.

  Tips

  • Think of your channel like a shopfront – give it the right look to show off your style.
  • Consistency is key across all of the places where your branding appears.
  • Make sure that your branding adheres to the YouTube Community Guidelines.

• Share your brand in four places

  Your brand can be conveyed in various places across YouTube. Remember to keep each of these elements consistent with the others so that your channel looks like one cohesive brand.

  1. Channel icon is your signature image or logo that represents your channel. It appears in many places – on your channel page, when you comment and in the bottom-right of videos in most playback modes. It's best to upload a square or round image. See design guidelines.
  2. Channel art is a larger banner space for you to show what your channel's about. A lot of creators include their upload schedule here. We recommend that banners are at least 2560 x 1440 px to achieve the best display on all devices. You can create this in your favourite photo-editing software. Canva is a popular resource for making banners.
  3. Channel description in the 'About' tab gives viewers an overview of what they can expect from your channel. It could describe the types of content that you will produce, include your upload schedule and note who is starring in your videos. You can also include links to your website, contact info and/or social media accounts.
  4. Channel trailer is a quick video that lives on your channel page and is displayed to unsubscribed viewers. You can use it to give your audience a preview of what to expect on your channel and encourage them to subscribe. Note: Your channel trailer may evolve as your channel grows.

  Once you have a handful of videos on your channel, other tools to consider are cards, end screens, sections and playlists.

  See it in action

  • 
    Producing an effective channel trailer
    The YouTube Creators channel trailer shares what types of videos viewers can expect to see on the channel in less than one minute.

Follow-up

• What’s the most essential part of building a brand on YouTube for you?

  Think about the most important message that you would like to communicate when viewers see your channel icon. How do you want viewers to feel when they watch your videos? What do you want them to remember about you?

• What will you do to ensure that you’re creating a consistent brand?

  Create a list of the most important aspects of your branding message. Tailor elements like your channel art, channel icon and thumbnail so that they all tell the same story and display optimally on all platforms. Make sure each branding element communicates the same message everywhere.

• How many viewers will see your featured content on mobile?

  Use the Devices report in YouTube Analytics to see how many mobile viewers you’re reaching by featuring content and maximising channel branding.

  Try it now