How to use YouTube Premieres to grow your channel

What are YouTube Premieres, and why are they a great tool?

Remember the anticipation and buzzing excitement entire crowds experience in front of movie theaters just before they watch the sequel to their favorite motion picture for the first time? Take this feeling, add some digital magic and your favorite content creator to the mix, and you’ve got YouTube Premieres. 

There’s actually more than one reason to try out YouTube Premieres, so as long as you’ve got the tool at your fingertips, why not take advantage? Here’s the what and the why:

• YouTube premiere videos foster a meaningful connection between the creator and the audience through real-time interaction. Getting feedback while it’s hot, in real-time, is a unique benefit you don’t want to miss out on
• Ever wanted to create a sense of community for loyal viewers? The audience members who get to experience the YouTube premiere at the same time and live through the excitement and buzz that leads up to it stick together for other upcoming videos as well.
• Curiosity killed the cat but helped the video creator. Now that’s a saying we never thought we’d see in writing, but it’s a fact that sparking some curiosity around an upcoming YouTube premiere can boost views.
• You can monetize a YouTube premiere video. Need we say more?

YouTube Premiere Requirements

Looking for a checklist of requirements for YouTube premieres, from technicalities to overall guidelines? You’ve come to the right place. Here are the MUST HAVEs that enable you to premiere a video on your YouTube channel:

• You must have at least 1,000 subscribers. This proves to YouTube that you are actively working on building an online presence supported by a community.
• The YouTube video you wish to premiere must be at least 15 seconds and up to 3 minutes long. These limitations help the platform properly manage the YouTube premiere format.
• Maintain the same format for both the trailer and the full-length video. Matching the aspect ratio and resolution of the videos creates a more coherent viewing experience for your audience and is a great opportunity to showcase your trademark video-making style.
• YouTube premieres only work when your video is publicly available. You cannot set the visibility settings to “private” or “unlisted".

Tips and Tricks on Using YouTube Premieres

Before you even start shooting and editing a video, there’s some serious planning to be done ahead of time and other “to do” boxes you need to check. Have a look at our tips to improve your video marketing strategy and make sure you’ve prepped everything you need and got yourself covered.  Without further ado, here is what you need to do before YouTube premieres:

• Integrate YouTube Premieres into your content calendar strategically. Make sure the videos you are premiering are aligned with relevant events or seasonal trends. An example is using them to build anticipation for the release of a Christmas art print series or an Easter promotion. 
• Find the sweet spot that makes it the right day and time for your audience. Look at the insights YouTube’s built-in analytics provide and see what the peak activity and engagement hours are. Avoid scheduling a YouTube premiere video when your audience is not active, and if you’re dealing with time zone differences, consider where the majority of your viewers are located.
• Craft a compelling trailer to intrigue your viewers. Remember YouTube hover hooks as a great tactic to capture the attention of your viewers from the very beginning? This is the right time to apply that knowledge and go for a short preview that encapsulates the essence of your video. The right mix of an immersive audio-visual experience and eye-catching graphic elements you can create when you edit YouTube videos will definitely fuel the excitement.
• Schedule the YouTube premiere at least a day in advance to give your viewers all the more opportunity to see the video premiere thumbnail in the subscription feed. Even better, you can encourage them to tap the “Notify me” button to set a reminder. This means they will get a timely notification and another one right before the YouTube premiere starts. 
• Promote your YouTube premiere video on social media. By now, we’re sure you know the drill, so leverage various social platforms, set digital reminders for your followers, and even create a personalized hashtag if you’re encouraging active interaction from your viewers. Don’t forget about the power of ads to reach a wider audience
• Stick to YouTube’s Community guidelines to prevent your video from being taken down. YouTube premiere videos are simple, like playing a board game: you respect the rules, you can win big; you don’t follow the rules, you might be ruled out. 

Now that you’ve checked all the preliminary rules and requirements off the list, you can start planning for a strategy that’s going to boost your YouTube premiere video during the time it actually goes up. 

• YouTube premieres actually enable you to turn on a live chat feature and be present in real-time as your audience watches. Use this feature to moderate discussions and hype the viewers by introducing fun facts, telling behind-the-scenes stories, and encouraging them to ask questions. Hosting interactive Q&A sessions or polls means you get real feedback in real-time. Doesn’t get better than this.
• Take advantage of scheduling in advance so you can cross-promote your YouTube premiere on other social media platforms. You’d be surprised how many people either miss the reminders or decide to join at the spur of the moment. This also allows new audiences to tap into your YouTube premiere video as it is happening.

After the YouTube premiere ends, it’s a great idea to not lose momentum and ride the hype wave as fast and effectively as you can. Here are some tips on what to do after your video premiered on YouTube:

• Do a deep dive into analytics. Learn more about your viewers and the engagement metrics they generated, and try to centralize feedback from your YouTube premiere video to see what went great and what went wrong. This way, you’ll be better prepared for the next premiered video ;)
• Share some highlights and great moments on social media. Create short videos to post a recap of the YouTube premiere and thank your viewers for being there. Using the key takeaways from your premiered video can help drive further conversation around your content.

Extra YouTube Premieres Resources

Here at Flixier, we’re all about enabling creators to make the most of their videos, starting with the creative process and an all-encompassing video editing experience. We’ve cherry-picked some handy resources that can help you through the entire creative journey, starting from drafting up the blueprint of a video through scripts, all the way to promotion tactics:

• Create a video script 
• All the right tools to edit videos
• 50+ tactics to promote YouTube videos for free
• How to create the best YouTube thumbnails
• Create beautiful intros for YouTube
• How to add captions to YouTube videos or shorts
• YouTube Cards Guide
• All things YouTube SEO [tbd link]  and how to optimize your videos
• How to make your YouTube videos more engaging