A YouTube channel’s subscribers and viewers are its lifelines. They are imperative for a YouTube channel to thrive on the platform. To help out, we give you the top YouTube features 2023.
Key Takeaways:
- Enhanced Playlists: Playlists in 2023 are pivotal for channel organization, allowing creators to categorize their content and guide viewers through their videos systematically, enhancing the viewer’s experience and channel navigability.
- Brand Watermark: Utilizing a brand watermark allows creators to subtly prompt viewers to subscribe by clicking on the watermark, which is designed to be noticeable yet unobtrusive, appearing at strategic times during the video.
- End Screen Promotions: The end screen is a powerful feature for promoting additional content at the conclusion of a video, encouraging viewers to watch more and potentially subscribe if they enjoy the content.
- Feature Video and Homepage Customization: The feature video and customizable homepage are critical for first impressions on a channel, allowing creators to showcase their best or most relevant content to new and returning viewers.
Regarding monthly active users, YouTube is today’s biggest video-sharing platform. Many renowned influencers and content creators kickstarted their careers on YouTube, and part of their success we can attribute to their loyal viewers and subscribers. Because, really, no creator will ever grow big without avid viewers waiting to devour their content.
Fortunately, YouTube has released multiple features to help creators gain more subscribers. If you want to know the top YouTube features 2023, this article is for you.
YouTube General Info
YouTube began as a simple video-sharing platform with limited features. However, the platform eventually became the only video player of choice online, so it grew so much that it now has over 1.7 billion unique visitors each month. Over time, YouTube constantly updated its features to improve its users’ overall experience.
While YouTube is still the same website, several things have changed since its operation in 2005. The YouTube Playlist is one of the platform’s first features that has become essential for YouTube users and content creators. It was also about the same time that YouTube added the subscription feature.
YouTube is continuously adding novel features and dropping those that don’t work. Apart from increasing features, YouTube channels are growing in popularity, too. From the first-ever “Me At the Zoo” uploaded YouTube video in 2005, the platform now has over 800 million videos.
The Indian record label T-Series is the most-subscribed channel with 211 million subscriptions, followed by the infamous nursery rhymes channel Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes with 131 million subscriptions. While these channels are impressive, numerous YouTube creators are more successful, even with fewer subscribers than the top channels.
These small-time creators mostly rely on using YouTube’s various features and techniques to their advantage. Here are some of the top YouTube features 2023 most creators maximize to increase their subscriptions and grow their channels:
Top 8 YouTube Features 2023
What are the new features of YouTube? Here are some of the old and new YouTube features 2023 that you can maximize to your advantage:
The Playlist
The playlists you create on your YouTube channel hold the power to attract viewers and subscribers. The Playlist feature is one of the top YouTube features 2023 that every creator must maximize.
Viewers find playlists helpful in understanding the logical order of a channel’s videos, especially if that channel has over a hundred uploads. Typically, you can categorize playlists based on topic or theme. And when a viewer completes one video on that particular topic, another video in the sequence plays next.
If you follow a fixed and regular posting schedule, your channel may become too overloaded with videos making it hard for users to find their way around. Hence, a playlist will help viewers locate the videos they like to watch.
Viewers can find the Playlist feature on two sections of your channel—Home Page and the Playlists tab. A channel’s Home Page features the most recent and active playlists.
Straight away, viewers can see and decide for themselves whether or not your content piques their interests. Otherwise, viewers may go to the Playlist tab to check out your channel’s back catalog of YouTube content.
In this tab, viewers will find every playlist your channel has, even special playlists you share with other YouTube channels.
If viewers find your playlist and overall content organized and easy to navigate, they will most likely subscribe.
Brand Watermark
Second on our list of the best YouTube features 2023 is the Brand Watermark.
YouTube allows creators to add a Brand Watermark to their videos. When a viewer clicks on the watermark, a subscription suggestion from YouTube will appear.
By using a properly-done watermark, you will attract potential subscribers. YouTube recommends making watermarks with a transparent background rather than a solid one. However, you must ensure your watermark isn’t too bland or dull so viewers will notice.
The most common watermark is a brand logo. The best way to put this watermark is to make it look like a “subscribe” button on a tiny portion of the video, so your viewers will realize they can actually tap that button.
There are two opinions on the best time to make the watermark appear on a video, although YouTube only allows creators to set the time per channel and not per video. Many suggest putting the watermark from the beginning of the videos or after 30 seconds to one minute before the start.
The End Screen
Your videos’ end screen is one of the top YouTube features 2023 you can use to promote and directly link your other YouTube videos. Viewers who get to the end screen most likely enjoy your videos.
Once viewers are on the end screen, they may choose another one of your videos or a video from someone else that complements the video they just recently watched.
Once viewers watch enough videos of your videos, it’s more likely for them to subscribe. You may allot the last ten seconds for your End Screen before using YouTube’s End Screen editor to link to your most preferred videos.
It also pays to check YouTube trends to discover what to put on the End Screen. What is the YouTube trend in 2023? One of the most popular trends this year is How-to videos. So, you may use this trend to your advantage by placing one of your how-to videos, if any, on your end screen.
The videos on your end screen must be outstanding in quality. To create impressive videos, you may use professional video editing software. One of the widely-used professional editing tools is VEGAS Pro. You can learn more about this tool in our VEGAS Pro review.
Feature Video
The video that automatically plays once viewers visit a YouTube channel is called the Feature Video. And the Feature Video is one of the top YouTube features 2023 that creators must maximize to gain potential subscribers.
You can use your feature video to welcome your channel visitors and suggest they subscribe. YouTube algorithm 2023 allows setting multiple videos for new subscribers and viewers to avoid annoying your existing subscribers. You may set up a more in-depth or detailed feature video for existing subscribers so they won’t leave your channel.
The trick here is to upload an impactful and attention-grabbing feature video encouraging viewers to subscribe.
Homepage
Besides categorizing videos into playlists, you may feature your most relevant videos on your Home page. Customizing your channel’s setup the way you want is easy to do. Customize your homepage by splitting it into significant sections.
Your channel’s home page can include up to 12 sections. Although, every channel setup is preset to display four sections with public videos — Shorts, Uploads, Playlists, and Subscriptions.
To create a section, you can sign into YouTube Studio. From the Studio’s left menu, tap on Customization, then Layout, and Add Section. You can add videos, playlists, and featured channels to your section when done successfully.
YouTube Cards
A lot of users find YouTube videos by accident. They often find those videos surface on their Explore tab or come up as suggestions at the end of other videos. However, unless explicitly suggested, viewers will only jump from one video to another without subscribing to a channel.
Hence, you may promote your popular or related videos through a card. YouTube card is one of the most excellent YouTube features 2023.
Start by peeking at your YouTube Analytics to identify your most popular video because it most likely brought you the most number of subscribers since its upload date. The most popular video that brought in the most subscribers is called a subscriber magnet.
Then, repeatedly promote that video. Besides including that video on your end screen, you can encourage viewers to subscribe by placing a card. YouTube cards are interactive overlays you can place on every video and appear on mobile and PC viewing.
Carefully pick out your uploaded videos that match your subscriber magnet. To those content, add a card that links to your subscriber magnet video. The card will then pop out on your chosen videos.
Hopefully, users will click on the card and find your subscriber magnet video interesting, urging them to subscribe.
Links on The Description Box
Unlike most social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, you can place links on your videos’ descriptions. Hence, making it one of the best YouTube features 2023 and all-time. This feature is a great way to link viewers to the other socials or sites you handle, a personal blog, for example.
If you are involved in affiliate marketing, the description box is the best portion to place your affiliate links. In so doing, you are giving your viewers the best sites for additional information regarding your content or the products you use in your videos.
Aside from these YouTube features 2023, creators must make high-quality, creative, and engaging content to pique their viewers’ attention and interest. One of the most recommended ways to create superb videos is through a top-notch editing tool. Read this HitFilm Express review to get a glimpse of what to expect from a video editor.
YouTube Partner Program 2023
Once you meet YouTube’s criteria, such as hitting a certain number of views and subscribers, you will be eligible to join YouTube Partner Program.
YouTube currently revamped the Partner Program application policies this year. The changes affect new applicants and suspended YouTube channels. So, what are the changes to YouTube partner program 2023?
Starting June 5th, YouTube gives first-time applicants with rejected applications 21 days to appeal. Otherwise, they have to wait for 30 days before they can re-apply. While suspended channels from the program have 21 days to appeal and 90 waiting days to re-apply.
Besides YouTube features 2023, it pays to stay on top of every YouTube Partner Program change if you want to generate YouTube revenue through ads.
FAQ:
How do playlists benefit YouTube creators?
Playlists help in organizing content and improving viewer retention by systematically guiding them through related videos, which can lead to increased watch time and subscriber rates.
What is the significance of a brand watermark?
A brand watermark serves as both branding and a call-to-action for subscribing. It can be clicked, leading to a prompt to subscribe, effectively converting viewers to subscribers.
Why use the end screen feature?
The end screen allows creators to link to other videos, playlists, or channels and encourage subscriptions, maximizing engagement at a critical viewer interaction point.
What should be featured on a channel’s homepage?
The homepage should feature strategically selected videos or playlists that effectively communicate the channel’s value proposition and engage first-time or casual visitors, encouraging subscriptions.
Use YouTube Features to Blow Your Account
Is it worth starting a YouTube channel in 2023? Definitely! YouTube is only increasing and upgrading its features to help creators devise the best strategies to earn viewers and subscribers and allow subscribers to get the most out of their favorite creators’ content. Aside from maximizing the best YouTube features 2023, you can figure out how the YouTube algorithm for views works and the best YouTube algorithm hacks.
So, if you haven’t already, you may start a YouTube channel today, and through the help of this list’s top YouTube features 2023, you can gradually earn subscribers.
Now that you know the top YouTube features 2023, you may learn more about the platform’s Creator Studio in this “YouTube Creator Studio: A Deep Dive Into Navigating and Monetizing Your Channel” article.
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