YouTube's Playbook for Producing Compelling Videos

YouTube enjoys an astounding 3 billion views per day. It's no surprise that big brands are fighting to harness some of those eyeballs. Today the site has more than 20,000 revenue-generating partners.

At MIPCOM this year, YouTube announced its intentions to focus on content creators, offering guidance and even Creator Camps to help improve entrepreneurs' video production and marketing skills.

If you can't attend a Creator Camp, this should help: the YouTube Creator Playbook. This free, downloadable guide is divvied into three detailed parts: Programming and Producing, Publishing and Optimization, and Community and Social Media.

Topics include how to:

Make your video a show-stealer in the first 15 seconds
Optimize your channel page
Get your audience involved in promoting your video
Use different forms of social media in your promotions
Include calls to action in your video that boost response
Manipulate metadata and better leverage repurposed content

Now, don't sweat dealing with details like the ones above too much. Remember, this process should be fun! "The number-one thing [to keep in mind when creating a video] is just to be a good storyteller," YouTube's Patrick Walker advises. "Just do good stuff; it'll travel naturally."

After all, producing a video that goes viral is a lot like alchemy: You can never be sure of the formula's outcome upfront. But you can, at least, increase your chances of making videos as effective as possible from the outset—which makes the Creator Playbook an asset for any digital marketer.

The Po!nt: Let the experts be your guide. By learning a few basics about what works in YouTube vids, you can free yourself to be creative, knowing you've laid a strong foundation for success.

Looking for great social media marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed hundreds of research sources to create our most recent Social Media Marketing Factbook (May 2010). With 140 pages and 102 charts, it is full of relevant social media marketing stats and trends. The Social Media Marketing Factbook is Part 5 of the complete Digital Marketing Factbook (our 296-page full report).