YouTube Shorts for Small Business: Strategy That Gets Views! with Vicki O’Neill

Episode Summary

You can find Vicki O’Neill at:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VickiONeill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickioneill/

#LinkedInMarketing
#LeadGeneration
#KrisWard

Vicki O’Neil Podcast Transcription

[00:00:00] Kris Ward: Hey everyone. Welcome to another episode of Win The Hour, Win The Day, and I am your host, Kris Ward. And today in the house we have Vicki O’Neil, a YouTube strategist. So we’re gonna get into all things YouTube, which I have to say I think has been at least on my radar, a little bit neglected. So let’s get into it. Welcome to the show, Vicki.

[00:00:20] Vicki O’Neil: Thank you so much for having me, Kris. I’m excited about our conversation. 

[00:00:23] Kris Ward: Me too because I tripped across your content and it just started provoking a lot of questions to myself. And I think with the push of a couple things, there’s been a real focus on LinkedIn. I know we’ve talked about it a lot in the show here.

[00:00:35] Kris Ward: And then we did get into videos and short form videos and for a while we were talking about TikTok or reels and Instagram. And I think for so many of us, I do look at YouTube as, my, my encyclopedia. When I’m, oh my gosh, how do I change the filter in, in this or do that? And I’m doing all that.

[00:00:53] Kris Ward: And I think as a business owner, I started to neglect the importance ’cause then there’s all these YouTube I dunno, a [00:01:00] folklore of okay, there’s a kid opening YouTube parcels, five-year-old making all this money. So it just seemed I don’t know, it wasn’t a strategy for small business owners, but I think you bring a real simplicity and clarity to it and I really wanna dive into that. ‘Cause I think it’s getting neglected. It certainly is on in my marketing campaign. Where do we start? What are we missing? What? Where do you wanna start?

[00:01:22] Vicki O’Neil: I think you touched on something right there when you said there’s a variation of people who are actually on YouTube, and you do have those five-year-olds who are opening gifts, and those five-year-olds are making a ton of money.

[00:01:33] Vicki O’Neil: But you also have business owners, you also have individuals who are using it for entertainment purposes. Basically it’s saying that YouTube is for anyone, and no matter what you do, there’s an audience for you. 

[00:01:47] Kris Ward: I think that’s a really good point because I’m not an involved enough human being that I can’t find it annoying that my reel’s making a bunch of money, opening gifts, and I’m like, so then you just I it. Then you just, I hate [00:02:00] this saying ’cause I don’t, I think it’s a stupid one, but you throw the baby out with a bath water, right? Yeah. So then you’re like all, you just dismiss the whole platform. ’cause you’re like, alright, that’s the height of foolishness. So I’m not even gonna bother with that.

[00:02:10] Kris Ward: Yeah. But I think you’re, I think to your very salient point is there is something for everybody there. And we shouldn’t go amiss with that. So where do we, as small business owners, coaches, consultants, founders. What should we be looking at YouTube because for a while it was also a very high production thing.

[00:02:27] Kris Ward: Okay, if I’m gonna be on YouTube, this is gonna be a thing and we really have to put time, money, and muscle into this. And I think that kind of turned us away as well.

[00:02:36] Vicki O’Neil: Yeah, and that actually is a hundred percent accurate. In fact, that was the way it was with YouTube maybe a year ago, where it was a lot of high production.

[00:02:44] Vicki O’Neil: In fact, I was creating those types of videos too, mostly with the short form videos. But even with my long form videos, I started adding more and more effects and sound effects and transitions and all of the things, and it is very time consuming. The great thing, I get chills every time I say [00:03:00] this. The great thing about YouTube right now, especially for new YouTubers in small channels, is that the production is super low.

[00:03:08] Vicki O’Neil: Okay? So what you and I are doing right here, maybe if you added a couple of B roll, which is just taking other video footage. Okay. Like when you were saying your YouTube channel, you could take a video footage that shows your YouTube channel or my YouTube channel, or just a YouTube channel and have that be what flashes on the screen.

[00:03:25] Vicki O’Neil: Okay. Which is what is maybe do that a few times throughout our conversation and you’re good to go. You don’t have to do the zooms, you don’t have to do the sound effects. So right now is a really good time in regards to getting started. If you don’t wanna spend a lot of time or money creating videos.

[00:03:42] Kris Ward: Because we do not, we got enough to do. Exactly. Yeah. That is what makes us insane. Okay, so I think what you’re saying is look, right now. As dynamically interesting as the two of us are together. And we are just rocking this, it is visually boring with talking heads. So even that, just adding [00:04:00] some B roll and yes, you did a beautiful job.

[00:04:01] Kris Ward: B roll is really something, a visual without audio. So a b roll in a movie. You see the camera zoom in on the landscape of the property that people are living in, but there’s no dialogue, no people, no action, right? So we could just break up the monotonous of the visual, which we’d have to do really almost anywhere, right?

[00:04:18] Kris Ward: Yeah. And then do we throw that up as a YouTube regular, or we’re talking YouTube clips? 

[00:04:25] Vicki O’Neil: You could do either one. I think it depends on what your goal is with YouTube and then also with your business, and then also with your time, because you can do YouTube shorts with the, which are the vertical videos that you would typically see like on Instagram reels or TikTok.

[00:04:39] Kris Ward: Yeah, 

[00:04:39] Vicki O’Neil: and you can use that type of video on YouTube. It’s really good for getting views. Which is really important on YouTube. So subscribers is not really important. There’s no impact in the number of subscribers that you have as to the reach that your videos get, but YouTube shorts is a really good place to start.

[00:04:58] Vicki O’Neil: In fact, I started [00:05:00] working with somebody last week or two weeks ago and I told her she kept hesitating to get started. And I told her, I was just like, just start with YouTube shorts. It’s the easiest, it’s the fastest. And it gets you into that cadence of creating content and doing it on a regular basis.

[00:05:16] Vicki O’Neil: And so she started creating YouTube shorts and her first two videos went up to 1500 views. So it didn’t convert to sales, but that’s 3000 views that she didn’t have before. And what that means as a business owner is That’s brand impressions. 

[00:05:32] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:05:32] Vicki O’Neil: They’re seeing her face now 3000 times.

[00:05:36] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:05:37] Vicki O’Neil: What would that mean In an in-person event? You would have to be invited to a room where there’s 3000 people for you to speak in front of. And then how impactful is that going to be if you’re one of many speakers? 

[00:05:51] Kris Ward: Yeah. And also we have to remember too, very few things in this world are going to be, I saw you, I bought from you.

[00:05:56] Kris Ward: Like that just doesn’t happen for anything. So there is advertising, there [00:06:00] is touch points, there’s all these things. There is networking. There are just so many aspects to that. So I totally, I don’t think anyone here is looking to say we got 1500 views. Where’s my sale now? To your point though, for a while there, when TikTok was all the buzz, I was on TikTok. I found it very stressful. I didn’t enjoy it. I do as a consumer tend to go on YouTube shorts. If I’m looking for nutritional stuff or things that I like, the health hack, stuff like that. I’ll scroll through YouTube and that’s great.

[00:06:28] Kris Ward: But we, they all did cur criticize YouTube at the time for copying TikTok. So be it, whatever. So are we back now into, I guess I feel like there’s all even more pressure in the shorts in YouTube because they have to have a stronger hook and we’re back into that chasing the dragon and you’ve got seven seconds and people scroll by you.

[00:06:45] Kris Ward: And so that just seemed like this big beast that I couldn’t wrangle. And it was so stressful. And so I tend to pull away from that. And am I overthinking it or I It just is what it is. Suck it up buttercup. 

[00:06:55] Vicki O’Neil: It’s a combination of the two. I would say. When you look at your LinkedIn posts, you know how [00:07:00] you’re writing your LinkedIn posts you’re not just gonna be like, start with a boring line, right?

[00:07:04] Vicki O’Neil: Even on LinkedIn posts, people are starting to be more I impactful or more like intuitive to having that first line be a hook, to get people to say, click on the more, whatever the link says to read the rest of the post. That’s the same thing that applies with a YouTube short or even like a regular form video on YouTube.

[00:07:23] Vicki O’Neil: Like you need to have that hook. It’s just. We have to think about our attention spans. And it’s not that our attention spans are shorter, it’s that what we’re watching and what we’re reading is boring. So you have to get, you have to capture their attention in those first couple of seconds or else they’re just gonna keep scrolling.

[00:07:39] Vicki O’Neil: So it’s a game, but it’s just the way the world is today. And if you want to capture someone’s attention, you just have to play. 

[00:07:46] Kris Ward: You are right. We’re not exempt from that as a responsibility on any platform. Absolutely. I guess I felt with video, it does take more effort to make a video on my behalf.

[00:07:55] Kris Ward: It does. And then. If you don’t do it well, by the time I breathe in and breathe out, somebody [00:08:00] can be scrolling past me. Where at these texts, sometimes in a way your eye lands on texts and you can’t help but read it. You see a word. Oh, like I didn’t expect to see that. Whereas you do choose to take a moment and hear somebody out on video.

[00:08:14] Kris Ward: So I felt more pressure from video, but, so let’s take a step back.

[00:08:18] Vicki O’Neil: When we’re looking at the, see something on that real quick. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, because I think it’ll bring some emphasis to what you’re saying too, like when we start thinking about like the text on screen, or just text in general, when we see a word, that same thing happens in videos in order to get people’s attention.

[00:08:35] Vicki O’Neil: So when you’re creating a video, especially a short form video, there’s a combination of that first frame, have. Some type of text on screen have movement. So if you watch some of my YouTube shorts or any of my Shortform videos, I’ve got a microphone and I’d be sitting there going today.

[00:08:52] Vicki O’Neil: So there’s like that motion, right? So there needs to be something. So the more you can have just in that first frame, that’s gonna draw [00:09:00] people in. Okay. And here’s an example. I was on camera, but it was a hundred percent B-roll. I was sitting at a desk, I was typing, and then I had trending audio that I chose from YouTube, and then on the screen I just had I don’t know, it was like a simple quote, but so I posted it twice.

[00:09:19] Vicki O’Neil: The reason why I’m sharing this with you is just show you the impact of text on screen, right? So same exact video. Everything exactly the same. The first time I posted the YouTube short, it got 176 views. Not bad, short, but whatever. I’m like, you know what in April, I posted one video every single day.

[00:09:36] Vicki O’Neil: It was just a challenge I gave myself and I’m like, let’s do this. I repurposed a lot of my videos, and so I went through my library and I said, which videos didn’t perform very well? So went back through. This one happened to be one of them that I picked, so I reposted it, but before I reposted, I’m like, why didn’t it perform very well?

[00:09:54] Vicki O’Neil: The title was boring. And then what was on screen is the thumbnail. [00:10:00] Like it wasn’t interesting. So I took a different thumbnail from the video and then made the title more interesting. The second time I posted it, 95,000 views.

[00:10:11] Kris Ward: Oh dear Lord. Okay.

[00:10:13] Vicki O’Neil: So there’s a huge difference. So you have to, when people I talk all the time, I’m like, plan your videos and it sounds so I know.

[00:10:22] Vicki O’Neil: But you really need to plan your videos because it’s things like that, that you need to think through the viewer experience. It’s not about me, it’s not about you. It’s about who we’re serving. And so in order to get the attention of those people who we’re serving, we have to think through what that experience is going to be like or them.

[00:10:41] Vicki O’Neil: And if it’s boring, they’re not gonna watch it. But if you just do one thing at the very beginning that’s gonna make it more enticing or more intriguing and draw them in, then they’re gonna be able to at least watch the first part and maybe stay for the whole thing. 

[00:10:54] Kris Ward: So those are really good points.

[00:10:56] Kris Ward: Okay. And yeah. Okay. So then something like, is this. [00:11:00] Are we getting hammy now? Like I do a lot of rock climbing and kayaking. Rock climbing. I could be doing something with a B roll of rock climbing and then have a text layer over talking about three ways to your VA doesn’t have to work so hard.

[00:11:14] Kris Ward: ’cause rock climbing is hard freaking work. Exactly. So that’s a visual. It’s a little different. It’s a little interesting. And then we put text overlay on that. It doesn’t have to be all this, talking to camera, taking time outta your schedule, doing all this speeching thing, trying to get it right.

[00:11:27] Kris Ward: We need to do back, get back to the basics. 

[00:11:30] Vicki O’Neil: Yeah, exactly. And I would say if you’re just getting started, try different formats. So do talking to, talking to, I always call ’em talking head, talking to screen videos, do some b roll with you in it. Different activities inside, outside work.

[00:11:43] Vicki O’Neil: Relax. Yeah. Do some B-roll that doesn’t even have you in it. 

[00:11:47] Vicki O’Neil: Yeah. Write different type of text. It’s all about experimenting and for me that’s fun. Yeah. Because I like to try and figure things out. Yeah. So if you’re not somebody who likes to try those different things, you might wanna outsource it or, just figure out [00:12:00] a way that you can get started without doing all of the different variations.

[00:12:04] Vicki O’Neil: It really is an opportunity to have fun. If you’re a creative person or if you wanna be more creative, this is the perfect way to make that happen because your first videos are probably going to suck. It’s just how it’s, so once you can get past that, then you’re just like, okay. I’m gonna post 10 videos, post your first 50 videos, which sounds like a lot, but if you’re doing the YouTube shorts and they’re super simple, it really isn’t that much.

[00:12:28] Vicki O’Neil: No. So post ’em and then just have zero expectations and just see what happens. 

[00:12:33] Kris Ward: Okay. So I think it’s so easy for us to get distracted and to do I think for a while it was all the ker on TikTok ’cause it was really soaring there for a bit. And then there was all the, are they gonna lose TikTok and the drama around that.

[00:12:44] Kris Ward: And so I think. The YouTube shorts in my mind I certainly have used them for, like I said, whatever hacks or stuff, but I wasn’t looking at them as and then you don’t, I don’t need to be in it very long and all of a sudden I’m getting a couple people I follow, I’m getting [00:13:00] their videos all the time.

[00:13:00] Kris Ward: So then I don’t see it as a business owner platform because I’m not following business owners on that platform, which is just the algorithm. Fulfilling my needs. Not saying that business owners aren’t there. So I think I got distracted by the shininess and the loudness of TikTok.

[00:13:13] Kris Ward: Then we come back and say, okay, we can do some new YouTube shorts. Okay, fine. I think we just saw that as a plan B or an oversight. When we start having some success or just getting into practice, YouTube shorts. When we do a regular YouTube video, how long do we do that? How deep do we go into that?

[00:13:30] Kris Ward: It sounds like the format is changing where it used to be like a little bit of a TV show. Hi, if you don’t know me, I give you the tips on your Apple Watch la and then they’ve got a nice quick intro, like it was really like a short television show. So where are we at with that? What can we do with, as a basic business owner, coach, consultant, founder, what can we do with that?

[00:13:50] Kris Ward: How much effort, time, money, how long should they be? What are we looking at? 

[00:13:54] Vicki O’Neil: I always recommend, so two things. Make your video as long as it needs to be without adding the [00:14:00] fluff. Not saying it has to be a certain timeframe, but there’s a an asterisk to that if you want to monetize your videos in the future through the YouTube partner program, which is where you can place the paid ads and then, get a check or money deposited into your account from YouTube.

[00:14:17] Vicki O’Neil: Those videos that are eligible have to be at least eight minutes long. Okay. So I always have that transparency to say it depends, but if you want this, then they need to be this. Okay. Now if you’re just getting started, should you make eight minute videos? I would say no. And the reason being is that once you get to that point where you’re in the YouTube partner program, you probably don’t want to monetize your first videos anyway.

[00:14:41] Kris Ward: And then nobody’s knocking on a door. Let’s be real. 

[00:14:43] Vicki O’Neil: But they can, so that’s the thing about YouTube is that you don’t have to be in the YouTube partner program to, to make money. Okay? You can have zero subscribers because your subscribers don’t depend on your video being seen by people.

[00:14:56] Vicki O’Neil: Your video gets pushed out. People can watch your videos without being a sub [00:15:00] a subscriber. Okay? So if you create your videos in a way where you’ve got a lead magnet, you talk about your course, you talk about your product or an offer, something that you’re selling, and you incorporate it into your script or into your, you know what you’re saying in your video, you can make sales from your videos with your first video. Zero subscribers. 

[00:15:19] Kris Ward: Okay. Hold on. Oh. ’cause we don’t need subscribers. We just need somebody watching it.

[00:15:22] Vicki O’Neil: Exactly.

[00:15:23] Kris Ward: Okay. All right. Got, I’m easily confused when it comes to that.

[00:15:26] Vicki O’Neil: I know when I say that, people are like, wait, what am I done?

[00:15:28] Kris Ward: Hold on. Back on the track. Okay. Yeah, it is interesting. Like I do feel like I, I’m getting like, maybe I should wrap this up and go do some videos.

[00:15:37] Kris Ward: No, I don’t have time to talk to you, Vicki. Okay. I, and I think I got burnt out on videos for a while. ’cause then you’re like, especially where. I, you do hear, ah, there’s this person on TikTok, ah, there’s this person on YouTube, and then you’re doing the videos and you’re like, okay, I only got 200 views, or it’s not getting any better.

[00:15:53] Kris Ward: And so then I think nothing makes you crazier. This is what I talk to my clients all about when they have ambitions or [00:16:00] projects and they’re just not able to get to them. I think because, as we find higher on virtual assistants and help you get time back in all of our streamlined processes.

[00:16:08] Kris Ward: But what’s soul crushing is when you do something. And you’re doing and you’re doing, and you don’t see any results, like that’s when it’s just ugh, abandoned ship. So I think you’re giving us a different perspective on it too, to that point. As much as you gave that great example of things that you changed and improved your numbers.

[00:16:27] Kris Ward: We also wanna keep that other lesson you, you mentioned is remember even if you had 200 views, when in the opportunity, when it, when we weren’t doing all this online, would I have the opportunity to have 200 people? Know, see my face or hear what I’m talking about in a day or a week, and maybe even a month.

[00:16:44] Kris Ward: So I think not getting confused by shiny object syndrome and the people that are doing it big. Yeah, and I think, so to that point with the, my video blowing up to the 95,000, that didn’t happen. It didn’t start escalating [00:17:00] until day eight. Okay. Oh, so one of, oh, and here’s another great example of you two being magical, is that I had a video, I went back and looked at the date this morning.

[00:17:10] Vicki O’Neil: YouTube’s all about the long game, okay? So when you post a video, it can continue to get views, leads, sales. Weeks, months, years from now. 

[00:17:21] Vicki O’Neil: Okay. Here’s an example. This morning I wake up and I’ve got a comment on one of my videos, and it was someone saying, thank you. I need your help. And so I’m like, okay, cool.

[00:17:34] Kris Ward: My favorite thing.

[00:17:36] Vicki O’Neil: I know. Yeah, and I’ve had a lot of comments on this video too. It’s about using the green screen for your YouTube shorts, and that’s a popular topic and so I went and looked at the date that I published it. It was February 28th, 2023. Okay, so we’re talking about over two years ago.

[00:17:53] Vicki O’Neil: I’m still getting views. Getting comments. This is now a lead who, someone of [00:18:00] someone who wants to work with me.

[00:18:02] Vicki O’Neil: And it was a two minute video, which is an odd, back then it was like an odd timestamp for a video. Now you qualify as a YouTube short because YouTube shorts are up to three minutes.

[00:18:11] Vicki O’Neil: Okay. But typically anything there’s like a dead zone right now between three minutes and eight minutes where it’s just not for videos that you want to keep and you wanna monetize later. So if you’re just getting started and you’re like, my video’s only four minutes, keep it. Post it. Do another one.

[00:18:29] Kris Ward: Okay. That’s okay. Again, when you throw numbers, I, there’s an empty space in my head where leaves blow around whenever somebody says numbers. So hold on. Okay. First of all, that’s a really good point about the long game. And I know that as a consumer, but somehow I just like I’ll look at a video that I don’t care, it’s five years old ’cause I’m still just trying to get a battery into a frigging, whatever, a fire alarm.

[00:18:49] Kris Ward: Yeah. Fine. Then right now if we have a video that’s under three minutes, it’s gonna be a short yes. And then if we’re gonna make a video for the main channel, we wanted it to, we’re not [00:19:00] looking to get monetized at eight minutes ’cause we’re just starting out. How long should that video, I know you said as long as it needs to be, but what’s a sweet spot?

[00:19:07] Vicki O’Neil: I would say if you’re just getting started with those videos, make it between three and five minutes. Even though you just said that’s the dead zone. Exactly, but you’re just getting started. These are videos that are not going to get monetized. So right now it’s all about just publishing to okay, publish and start getting some recognition.

[00:19:24] Vicki O’Neil: Start getting some branding. Okay. So it gets pushed out. If I say, if you’re like, I’m in it a hundred percent, I know that it’s gonna be slow at first, but I’m in it for the long haul. Then definitely look at making eight minute videos. At least eight minute videos. 

[00:19:40] Vicki O’Neil: Okay? 

[00:19:40] Vicki O’Neil: That means taking as a business owner, what I tell new clients to look at, or what I even talk about my videos, is to go back and look at what questions do your clients ask you on a regular basis? Are these frequently asked questions that you already have on your website, which a lot of people do or are they [00:20:00] questions that are being asked in your social media posts? Are they sending you dms? Are they responding to your emails? Like, where are the questions coming from? And they could just be in like existing client conversations.

[00:20:12] Vicki O’Neil: So everybody has those types of questions that they can answer. Yes. I always say that’s a great place to start because it doesn’t require any research. It doesn’t really require any additional time. It’s something that you already have access to. So let’s leverage it. Let’s, okay, so take what we have and use it 

[00:20:30] Kris Ward: if we have those questions.

[00:20:33] Kris Ward: And I know we have to keep it interesting. Am I walking around let’s say the five biggest mistakes when hiring VA or why a VA ghost you, whatever, right? And again, we don’t wanna be a talking head, but we’re trying not to make this so crazy, so dynamic. What does that look like? Do I answer question one in the car and then two in my office and string it together.

[00:20:53] Kris Ward: So it’s a five minute video, or are we just, the content’s gonna be interesting enough that I can just sit at my desk and answer all these questions. What does [00:21:00] that look like? 

[00:21:01] Vicki O’Neil: I would say, if you want it to be a YouTube short, obviously, keep the answers. Those five things like short and succinct, that’s really hard for me to say succinct for those.

[00:21:13] Vicki O’Neil: But if they’re gonna be the longer form videos, see how long you can go on each one. So for an example, the first mistake people make. Then you say what it is, why is it important? If there’s any stats, here’s an example, here’s a story. So you can dive deeper on each one of those mistakes.

[00:21:33] Vicki O’Neil: And when you’re doing that, obviously having voice inflections, you’re, maybe being drawn in and drawn out, you might be able, I would say, if there are things that you can put on screen just using Canva. Okay. Real quick, Canva always use YouTube thumbnail size. Okay.

[00:21:48] Vicki O’Neil: For like onscreen for longer form videos. And then just like use type out, use the the typewriter animation and Yeah. And just type out the question. Okay. Or out a [00:22:00] statistic or, a quote from a story. There’s all kinds of pieces that you can pull from, which is why the planning is so important.

[00:22:08] Kris Ward: Okay. So what I’m hearing is we do know. All of us, the human eye. I guess the example I often give is when you see somebody in an interview and they, I could be asking you a question and then you, the interview like, I’m talking to you, and then I go, and the camera goes back to me and then back to you.

[00:22:23] Kris Ward: We, they, why are they doing that? They’re for visual interruption, right? Yeah. And so I get it. We wanna keep it visually interesting. And I think where I got derailed before is, okay, we know the YouTube shorts. We still need those to be visually interesting and that’s fine. We can do different things. Great.

[00:22:37] Kris Ward: And then when we went to long form, as we mentioned earlier. They seem to be such high production value, like the little TV shows. So we all are, at least I pulled back from that. But what you’re saying is yes, they still need to be vi visually dynamic and interesting. Yeah, but they, and they, but they can still be the sh the raw and the real of the shorts where we’ve just got a graphic or we got something, a little light bulb.

[00:22:57] Kris Ward: It can be, just the simple canvas stuff. Yeah. [00:23:00] So we can just make it essentially a longer, short. Exactly. Yeah. There is a contradiction of terms. Okay. A longer, short. Okay. That helps a lot. Yeah. Okay, so what are some big mistakes people making when they start out? 

[00:23:15] Vicki O’Neil: I see them making, the biggest mistake I see them making is taking videos and just putting ’em on YouTube and not giving any thought to the thumbnail, the title.

[00:23:27] Kris Ward: Okay. 

[00:23:27] Vicki O’Neil: Adding a description, three very important pieces. That contribute to the optimization of the video, right? And when we have to think of how we choose what videos to choose, it’s based on the thumbnail and the title. Okay? So those are your first two most important pieces of a video, because if people aren’t going to click on it, your video.

[00:23:49] Vicki O’Neil: Doesn’t make any sense. Like it, you didn’t even need to make it. No, they don’t open the door. You’re done. Exactly. Yeah. So giving some thought to what does, what text should be on my [00:24:00] thumbnail, okay. Make sure that your brand colors are there. What do I want in the background? If anything? The thumbnail needs to create like intrigue.

[00:24:09] Vicki O’Neil: You’re essentially like with a visual component, you’re. Like tapping into a curiosity gap. 

[00:24:15] Kris Ward: Yeah, 

[00:24:16] Vicki O’Neil: so an example would be oh, I always use this example. I don’t know why. I guess I’m supposed to be creating, growing my own in-home garden at some point. I keep using this, if I was doing that, then you know, I search.

[00:24:28] Vicki O’Neil: If I’m looking down the left hand side, ’cause I’m on my comp, on my lap, or yeah, my laptop. I’m looking at all the thumbnails. I’m gonna find the one that’s gonna stop my curiosity. The one that has the most intriguing. 

[00:24:39] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:24:40] Vicki O’Neil: Scroll. Stopping visual. 

[00:24:42] Kris Ward: Yeah, 

[00:24:42] Vicki O’Neil: visual beings. That’s what we’re gonna look at first.

[00:24:45] Vicki O’Neil: Then if that thumbnail caught my interest, then I’m going to, take my eyes over to the right and I’m gonna read the title. 

[00:24:53] Kris Ward: Okay, 

[00:24:54] Vicki O’Neil: is this interesting? Is this going to give me what I’m looking for? Then I will click on it. 

[00:24:59] Kris Ward: Okay. 

[00:24:59] Vicki O’Neil: That [00:25:00] hook, which is like the third most important part of the overall packaging of the video, has to be intriguing, but you also have to deliver on what you promised, what the thumbnail and the title, right?

[00:25:12] Vicki O’Neil: So I it in the thumbnail. Harvest your first Vegetables. Then in the title I’m like, here are five tips for growing. A fast growing in-home garden. Yeah. And then I click on it and the hook is like, how to take a hike when you’re on vacation. What? Like you have to deliver on what you promised in the thumb, in the title.

[00:25:35] Vicki O’Neil: So when you do that, you’re really increasing the chances of people watching your video longer. And wa video watch time is the most important metric on YouTube. So if you can get people watching your video longer, which makes sense. Yeah. 

[00:25:50] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:25:50] Vicki O’Neil: You think of it like Netflix and how people binge watch, yeah.

[00:25:54] Vicki O’Neil: Yeah. 10 episode series or something. They’re gonna watch one after the other ’cause it’s so good. [00:26:00] So the same thing takes effect and takes place on.

[00:26:03] Kris Ward: Oh, ’cause now we’re gonna go into other videos ’cause that one was good. Yes, that is true. I’ve just, I one time, ’cause I love stuff about fitness and vitality and I’ve, and there was a thumbnail, it was like.

[00:26:13] Kris Ward: The five biggest things for Optima health and vitality and aging, right? I’m like, okay. And I looked, and sometimes as this was the case, sometimes they’re like too broad or whatever, and sometimes they’re really great vitamin stuff. But anyways, number one was like, whatever, drink lots of water. All right, thanks, whatever.

[00:26:30] Kris Ward: Number two, fitness. Okay, I’m getting outta here. And number three was quit porn. I was like, what the hell? Oh my God. This, I already drink water. I’m pretty active. Oh, I have to give up porn cruises. I’m like, and the assumption that we’re all addicted to every, okay, you know what you gotta, this is like french fries.

[00:26:52] Kris Ward: You gotta stop eating the french fries. You gotta get off the porn, Kris. So I was like, 

[00:26:57] Vicki O’Neil: yeah. What would’ve been interesting is if at the beginning of that [00:27:00] video, the person said. Number three is gonna be a shocker. So definitely stick around until you hear that one. Yeah, because then regardless of the first and the second one, you’re gonna stay around because the third one, you gotta hear what this is.

[00:27:11] Kris Ward: And it was a shocker. I’ll tell you, Vicki, I was like, okay. Oh my gosh. Alright, Vicki, where can people find more of your brilliance? 

[00:27:21] Vicki O’Neil: I would say connect with me on LinkedIn. Okay. That’d be the best place first, because I always like to have people tell me where they found me. Yeah. And then no. Okay.

[00:27:29] Vicki O’Neil: Marketing in me. But I also have a lot of content on my LinkedIn profile and my featured section as well to help with getting started, how to use YouTube, how to make money on YouTube. Plus I’ve got a link to my YouTube channel over there and it’s just easier to remember since we’re already on LinkedIn.

[00:27:45] Kris Ward: Yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah. I do always find that interesting when somebody’s on one platform talking about another, but it makes sense. ’cause that’s, I found you on LinkedIn talking about YouTube and I’m like, oh, apparently I need to know more about YouTube. Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay, everyone, please share this show with a business [00:28:00] buddy.

[00:28:00] Kris Ward: They need to know this. I think this is flying beneath the radar and we have to regroup here and get back on it. So thank you again, Vicki. We so appreciate you. This was helpful. And alright, everyone, pull the car over, do what you gotta do and let’s start shooting videos. Thanks Vicki.

[00:28:13] Vicki O’Neil: Thanks so much Kris.