YOUTUBE & GOOGLE+
A recent update from Google means that you no longer have to have a Google+ account to create a YouTube channel. All you now need is a basic Google account, though we recommend using a Google+ account because it’s good for your school’s SEO.
This is the most efficient way to create a YouTube account for your school’s brand. If you don’t have a Google+ page for your business, you can learn how to make one through our Google+ How-To Guide.
Once you’re logged into that Google+ page, follow these steps:
Make sure that you’re logged into the Google+ account you want to attach to a YouTube page and go to YouTube.
Point your mouse to the top right corner where your page’s thumbnail is and click it. A dropdown will appear and you should select Creator Studio.
This will take you to a page informing you that you must create a channel (exactly what we want to do). Select it and you should see this page:
You’re now set up on YouTube so all we have to do now is customise your page and upload those school videos!
Firstly, go to the Dashboard button, on the left hand side. This shows you an overview of your channel, from your analytics to your Video manager.
To brand your page, click ‘View Channel’ which should be underneath your school name.
Here you can add a header image (2048 x 1152 pixels), and description about your page so that people know exactly who you are!
Once you have branded your Youtube account, it’s time to start uploading videos!
In the top right-hand corner of the screen, there will be an upload button. Click it and select your school video which you wish to upload.
YouTube will then proceed to upload it onto your channel and once it is done, you can edit the description of it, its title and add tags to it so that people can search for it.
Once you are happy with your video’s description, click ‘Publish’ and it will become live (you will also receive a confirmation email).
Once this is done, you can either choose to upload another video and repeat the previous process, or choose to return to your ‘Video Manager’ page, the central hub of all your YouTube activities.
Whether you want to check how many views your videos are getting in the analytics section, create a new video, or even live stream an event, your Video Manager is where you do it all!
SETUP A GOOGLE+ BUSINESS PAGE
ABOUT GOOGLE+
– Male heavy audience with 78% active users being male
– Best platform for increasing your SEO given its OBVIOUS ties with search engines!
– Good for communicating with: older demographics such as parents
– Good place to post articles with lots of hashtags which help Google rank and categorise your posts
STEP 1:
You must have a personal Google profile (a.k.a. Gmail account) to create a business page. Don’t worry about creating a new one that multiple team members can use—you can always add and remove page managers later. Just choose someone who will be actively using the account as the “owner” of the page.
STEP 2:
Sign in to your Gmail account and click here to get started.
Once you reach the Create page, you’ll see three options: Storefront, Service Area, or Brand. Select the kind of business page you want to start (your school should be a brand).
If you go with a Brand page, you’ll be asked to pick the page name and enter your website address; if you pick one of the other two options, you’ll be taken to a page where you’re asked to type in the name of your business. Do so, and see if Google can find your business’s location on the map. If so, select it.
If not, go to the option that says “None of these match/Add your business.” Be sure to check the map carefully, including any old addresses, before adding your business, though, because you don’t want to end up with multiple locations and Google map results for your business.
Once you click create, you may be asked to verify the page via text or phone call.
STEP 3:
Add information to the new page. There are lots of ways to optimise your Google+ profile, and there’s a blue progress bar on your new page to help guide you through it. You’ll need a profile picture, a cover photo, a tagline and a keyword-rich introduction. You’ll also need to include the best contact information, and links to your website and social media platforms.
After you’ve filled in the basic fields, you may see a prompt at the top of the page that you’re eligible for a custom URL. If so, be sure to take advantage of it! Otherwise, the URL of your Google+ business page will be a string of random numbers.
STEP 4:
The final step to making your page complete: Start sharing content, engaging with other people, joining groups, and connecting with friends and colleagues.
When creating posts, it is important to use hashtags like in Facebook and Twitter so that Google can categorise your posts and you have a higher chance of showing up in search results.
Furthermore, linking back to your school’s website increases your SEO links!