Everything You Need To Know About YouTube Stories
What are YouTube stories? YouTube Stories are short, mobile-only videos that allow creators with 10,000 subscribers or more to personally connect with their audience in a casual, in-the-moment way.
Believe it or not, YouTube stories have been around since it’s announcement in November of 2017. This method is meant to offer creators a way to connect with their audience (of 10,000 or more) in a more fun casual manner in an - on -the - go kind of way. This method of content distribution not only helps creators connect with their current subscribers but also helps them find new ones. According to Youtube Creator Academy, “Stories can accelerate weekly new subscribers by 8.5%”.
So how do you make a Youtube story?
Firstly, as mentioned previously you as a creator must have at least 10,000 subscribers to have access to this feature, much like Instagram’s 10,000 follower requirement to have the swipe up feature. Once you have your 10,000 or more subscribers you log in to YouTube via mobile app on your smartphone, tap the camera icon at the top, then story. You can then tap the capture button to take a photo or hold it down to record your video. You are also able to select an image or video from your mobile phone to use for a post. If you are an avid Instagram users this process will be an easy transition because of the similarities. Once you capture your image or record your video, you can then add effects, filters, text, music, and stickers before posting to your YouTube stories. In addition, like Instagram, you can add your location or an @ mention to your captured image or recorded story. You can even add a clickable video from your channel that your views can dd to their watch later playlist for easy click into video action.
Once you have access to YouTube stories you will see a stories “shelf” at the top of your screen. Your account’s videos will be first on the shelf. There is a + create button for you to simply click and create.
A few things you should know about the story feature
Stories are only available on mobile. Stories appear on the tories tab on your home page and are also viewable by subscribers on their subscriptions feed and on home and under videos to new viewers who YouTube thinks will be interested in your story content. You can view your own stories by clicking your channel icon in the stories row on your mobile home page or on the subscriptions feed. The number of views, likes and comments will be displayed for you on each of your stories. The big difference between Instagram stories and Youtube stories is that unlike Instagram stories that expire in 24 hours, YouTube stories expire after 7 days. The longer duration gives your viewers more time to view your content and gives you more time to respond to comments.
Here are a few best practices for YouTube stories
Let your audience know you are about to start YouTube stories. There may be followers who don’t know about the feature yet, make an announcement in one of your regular YouTube videos or post an announcement on your other social platforms. Be consistent, viewers tend to favor when they know what you will be posting and when. A fun way to do this is by coming up with a series of some sort, for example, “outfit of the day” “fun fact Friday”. Make it relevant to your content and what is valuable to your audience. Being that uploads last 7 days, it is best practice to post at least once a week to keep content fresh and up to date between uploads. YouTube also encourages content creators to try something new. Make your stories more than just an announcement about a new log form normal Youtube video upload. Think of content your viewers wouldn’t get from your normal YouTube video uploads that they may find fun and interesting via stories. YouTube also invites you to allow stories to be an opportunity to bring your viewers behind the scenes, viewers love day in the life, behind the scenes, what makes the magic type of footage; let this be raw, original and personal. You can also use stories to share big milestones for your YouTube channel, such as subscriber thresholds and thanking them for their support. Stories do not influence the discovery of your main uploads. Therefore this is a safe place to try out new content.
You can find this information and more here at Youtube Creator Academy.
